Silesian offensives

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Silesian offensives - Wikipedia

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The Silesian offensives (Russian: Силезские наступления) were two separate offensives conducted in Silesia in February and March 1945 by the Soviet Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front in World War II, to protect the flanks of the Red Army during its push to Berlin to prevent a Wehrmacht counterattack. It delayed the final push toward Berlin by 2 months.

Eastern Front

Naval warfare

1941

Barbarossa
- Brest
- Białystok–Minsk
- 1st Baltic
- Brody
- Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina
- 1st Smolensk
- Uman
- Odessa
- 1st Kiev
- Tallinn
- Leningrad
- Sea of Azov
- 1st Kharkov
- 1st Crimea
- Sevastopol
- Rostov
- Gorky
- Moscow
Finland
Kerch
Chechnya
Air war 1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

Poland and Eastern Germany 1944–45

Red Army operations

Polish resistance operations

Wehrmacht operations

The offensives

The Lower Silesian offensive ran from 8–24 February 1945, and the Upper Silesian offensive from 15–31 March. Designed to flank the Soviet main advance on Berlin, the two operations pushed the Wehrmacht out of Silesia.

According to Soviet information, the Germans lost 54,000 soldiers: 40,000 dead and 14,000 captured in the Upper Silesian offensive.^[1]

The 1st Ukrainian Front under Ivan Konev’s command—having completed the Vistula–Oder offensive—was to advance westward toward Silesia with the primary objective of protecting the left flank of the 1st Belorussian Front, which was pushing toward Berlin. Similarly, the East Pomeranian offensive of the 2nd Belorussian Front in the north was tasked with protecting the 1st Belorussian Front's right flank.

Delay

The need to secure the flanks delayed till April the Soviets' final push toward Berlin, which had originally been planned for February. By mid-April, the East Pomeranian offensive—carried out by the 2nd, and elements of the 1st, Belorussian Fronts—had succeeded in its objectives, reaching the important German port city of Stettin (now Szczecin).

Motives

Joseph Stalin's decision to delay the push toward Berlin from February to April 1945 has been a subject of controversy among Soviet generals and military historians, with one side arguing that in February the Soviets had a chance of securing Berlin much faster and with far fewer losses, and the other arguing that the possibility of large German formations (remnants of the Czech fortification system) remaining on the flanks could have resulted in a successful German counterattack and further prolonged the war. Stalin's aim in delaying the advance on Berlin had likely been political, as it allowed him to occupy substantial parts of Austria in the Vienna offensive.

References

^ "Основные операции Советских Вооруженных Сил в ВОВ, начавшиеся в 1945 году".

Glantz, David M., The Soviet‐German War 1941–45: Myths and Realities: A Survey Essay

External links

Andrzej Wanderer, Piekło na Śląsku, Tygodnik Prudnicki nr 24, 2006-06-14 (in Polish)

Silesia topics

History
Offensives Uprisings Wars (First, Second, Third) 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite Treaty of Dresden Treaty of Teschen Book of Henryków Battle of Legnica Battle of Leuthen more...

Geography

Areas

Lakes

Mountains

Rivers

Elbe	Divoká Orlice Jizera Úpa
Oder	Barycz Bóbr Kaczawa Kłodnica Kwisa Liswarta Mała Panew Nysa Kłodzka Olza Ślęza
Vistula	Biała Brynica Gostynia Przemsza Pszczynka Rawa

Politics

Subdivisions

Former

Current

Jeseník District Moravian–Silesian Region Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis / Görlitz
Voivodeships	Lower Silesian Lubusz Voivodeships Opole Silesian

EP constituencies

Economy

Socioeconomics	Katowice urban area Metropolis GZM Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area
Industry	Bielski Okręg Przemysłowy Legnicko-Głogowski Okręg Miedziowy Lower Silesian Coal Basin Upper Silesian Coal Basin Industrial Region Ostrava-Karviná / Rybnik Coal Areas
Tourism	Tourism

Society

Culture

Architecture Familŏk Regional costume Upper Silesian Museum Silesian Museum (Opava) Silesian Museum (Katowice)
Cuisine	Black noodles Bryja Panczkraut (ciapkapusta) Klōzki Galert Hauskyjza Karminadle Kołŏcz Kopalnioki Kreple Krupniok Makōwki Moczka Modrŏ kapusta Siymiyniotka Szałŏt Wodziōnka Żur
Religion	Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland Roman Catholic Church Pentecostal Church in Poland
Sport	Football Association Moravian–Silesian Football League National football team Silesian Stadium

Languages

Symbols

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Unofficial anthems	Schlesien Unvergessene Heimat Schlesierlied Slezská hymna

The offensives

Delay

Motives

See also

References

Further reading

External links