The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command outlined the initial plan of the offensive in the direction of Vienna in a directive dated February 17, 1945. However, it was not possible to implement it due to the dramatically changed situation. In the last ten days of February, German troops liquidated the bridgehead of the 7th Guards Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front on the river. Gron, and also began to concentrate tank divisions against the 3rd Ukrainian Front. Under the circumstances, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command ordered the commander of its troops, Marshal of the Soviet Union, to gain a foothold on the reached line and repel enemy attacks on it.

Three days after the start of the Balaton defensive operation, on March 9, the Supreme Commander specified the tasks of the two fronts. Unlike the original plan, the main role in the upcoming offensive operation, which later became known as the "Vienna", was assigned to the 3rd Ukrainian Front. He was ordered no later than March 15-16 to move from defense to offensive without an operational pause and strike in the direction of Papa, Sopron. On March 17-18, the 46th Army and the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front were to start active operations, which had the task of conducting an offensive with the support of the Danube military flotilla and the 5th air army in the direction of Gyor.

The commander of the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front allocated the 9th (came from the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command) and the 4th Guards Army, Colonel General V.A., to the main strike group. Glagolev and Lieutenant General N.D. Zakhvataev - a total of 18 rifle divisions, 3900 guns and mortars, 197 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts. At the first stage, they had to surround and defeat the enemy grouping in the area south and southwest of Szekesfehervar, as well as cut off the possible escape routes for the main forces of the 6th SS Panzer Army, which, after localizing their wedging in the area of ​​Lake. Balaton were in the operational "bag". The destruction of the latter was assigned to the 27th and 26th armies of lieutenant generals and the 18th and 23rd tank and 1st guards mechanized corps (a total of 217 tanks and self-propelled guns). The task of the 57th and Bulgarian 1st armies of lieutenant generals and V. Stoichev was to defeat the German 2nd tank army in the Nagykanizha area. Ground forces were supported by the 17th Air Army (Colonel-General of Aviation V.A. Sudets), which numbered 837 aircraft.

On most axes, the enemy in mid-March hastily carried out the transition from offensive to defensive on previously reached lines and sought to prepare them in engineering terms. The exception was the section Esztergom, Szekesfehervar, occupied by him in advance. Here, in the main defense zone 5-7 km deep, there were two or three lines of trenches with wood-and-earth firing points, the approaches to which were covered with barbed wire and minefields. At a distance of 10-20 km from the front line, the second lane passed. It housed separate strongholds and nodes of resistance. In the operational depth, the line was equipped along the western bank of the river. Slave, which already represented a difficult natural obstacle to overcome. A large number of various defensive structures built using the advantages of rugged terrain were also located on the outskirts of the capital of Austria - Vienna. Their density increased as they approached the city.

The offensive of the main strike force of the 3rd Ukrainian Front began in the afternoon of March 16 after artillery and aviation preparation. Formations of the 9th and 4th Guards Armies successfully overcame the first position of the enemy defense, but later the pace of their advance slowed down. First of all, this was due to the lack of direct infantry support tanks and self-propelled guns in combat formations, as well as the backlog of escort artillery. As a result, the penetration of Soviet troops into the defense by the end of the day was from 3 to 7 km. They did not fulfill the task of the first day of the offensive. In order to increase the force of the strike, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command transferred the 3rd Ukrainian Front to the 6th Guards Tank Army, Colonel General, which until that time was part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and was located in the Budapest area. Entering it into battle after regrouping could be carried out no earlier than two days later.

During March 17, the rifle divisions of the 9th and 4th Guards Armies continued to slowly push the enemy and increased the penetration into his defenses only up to 10 km. Did not make a turning point in the course of hostilities and the next day. On the morning of March 19, the entry into battle of the 6th Guards Tank Army began, the task of which was to complete the encirclement of the groupings of German troops southeast and southwest of Szekesfehervar. However, its tank corps met stubborn resistance from numerous tactical groups of the enemy (several tanks and assault guns), could not break away from the rifle units and, as a result, did not have a significant impact on the overall pace of the offensive. In such a situation, the command of the Army Group "South" was able to increase its efforts against the formations of the right wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Front by maneuvering from non-attacked sectors and began to withdraw the 6th SS Panzer Army from the area southeast of Szekesfehervar.

In an effort to exclude her exit from the emerging environment, Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin decided to strike with the 4th Guards, 27th and 26th armies in order to cut the enemy grouping into two isolated parts. At the same time, the 9th Guards and 6th Guards Tank Armies were to continue the offensive in the same direction in order to exclude the approach of enemy reserves.

In the next two days, March 20 and 21, heavy fighting was fought on the right wing of the front. German tank divisions, using numerous rivers, canals, defiles and minefields, held back the advance of Soviet troops with fire and counterattacks, inflicting significant damage to them in people and military equipment. Only by the end of March 21, the main forces of the 6th SS Panzer Army were blocked in the Szekesfehervar, Berhida, Polgardi area. True, they soon made a powerful blow along the northern shore of the lake. Balaton broke through to the west.

On the direction of another strike, the 46th Army of Lieutenant General A.V. Petrushevsky, going on the offensive on March 17, broke through the enemy’s defenses on the very first day and ensured the entry into battle of the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps, Lieutenant General K.V. Sviridov. By the end of March 20, his brigades reached the Danube and deeply engulfed the Esztergom-Tovarosh grouping of the enemy from the south-west, numbering about 17 thousand people. In general, in the period from March 16 to March 25, the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts broke the resistance of the German and Hungarian army formations between the river. Danube and lake. Balaton, overcame the mountains Verteshkheldsheh and the Bacon forest, advanced to a depth of 80 km and created the conditions for the development of an offensive against Vienna.

During the pursuit of the enemy, which unfolded from March 26, the 46th Army, together with the Danube military flotilla (Rear Admiral G.N. Kholostyakov), liquidated the Esztergom-Tovarosh grouping, captured the cities of Komar and Gyor, completely cleared the southern bank of the Danube from enemy troops Esztergom to the mouth of the river. Slave. At the same time, the divisions of the 9th and 4th Guards Armies crossed this river on the move and continued the offensive in the direction of Sopron. As they approached the Hungarian-Austrian border, the resistance of the Hungarian units began to weaken significantly. Only for three days south of the river. Danube from their composition surrendered about 45 thousand soldiers and officers. On March 30, formations of the 6th Guards Tank Army broke through the border fortifications south of Sopron on the move and invaded Austria on a 20-kilometer stretch. By April 4, the main forces of the shock group of the 3rd Ukrainian Front had reached the approaches to Vienna.

In connection with the deep advance of the armies of its right wing in the direction of Sopron, and the 27th and 26th armies towards Zalaegerszeg and Sombatel, the German 2nd Panzer Army, which was defending in the Nagykanizsa region, was deeply engulfed from the north. Fearing to be cut off from communications with Germany, on March 28, her command began to withdraw its troops. The next day, the 57th and Bulgarian 1st armies, operating on the left wing of the front, went on the offensive. On April 1, their formations with battles captured the center of the oil-bearing region of Hungary - the city of Nagykanizsa.

On the same day, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command issued a directive to develop a further offensive. She ordered the 3rd Ukrainian Front to capture Vienna no later than April 10-15 with the forces of the right wing, and the armies of the center and left wing to gain a foothold at the turn of the Muri, Mur and Drava rivers. The 46th Army with the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps and the 23rd Tank Corps (transferred from the 3rd Ukrainian Front) had to cross from the right bank of the Danube to the left and cut off the enemy’s Vienna grouping retreat to the north.

On the outskirts of the capital of Austria and in the city itself, units of eight tank and one infantry divisions, which retreated from the area of ​​​​Lake Lake, took up the defense. Balaton, as well as up to fifteen separate infantry and Volkssturm battalions. Numerous defensive positions and engineering structures were prepared in advance here. German troops blocked the streets with barricades and mined blockages, fire points were placed in houses, carefully camouflaged tanks and guns designed for direct fire were placed in destroyed buildings, all bridges across the Danube were prepared for an explosion.

Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin decided to inflict several simultaneous strikes from various directions in order to capture Vienna: from the southeast - by the forces of the 4th Guards Army and the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps (85 serviceable tanks and self-propelled guns); from the south, west and northwest - by the forces of the 6th Guards Tank and 9th Guards Armies, for which they had to bypass the city through the eastern spurs of the Alps.

Fighting on the immediate outskirts of Vienna began on 5 April. But throughout the day, rifle formations only slightly pressed the enemy. Using numerous water barriers prepared for defense and settlements, which extremely limited the maneuver of tanks, he did not allow the front strike force to break through to the city. This result was achieved only by the evening of the next day, when the formations of the 4th and part of the forces of the 9th Guards Armies, with the support of the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, Lieutenant General I.N. Russiyanova went to the southern and western outskirts of Vienna and started fighting on its streets. At the same time, the 6th Guards Army and two rifle corps of the 9th Guards Army maneuvered across the eastern spurs of the Alps, reached the western approaches to the city, and cut off the enemy's retreat.

During April 7-9, Soviet troops, widely using assault groups, which included rifle units, tanks and self-propelled guns, escort guns and sappers, fought for each quarter and a separate house. The fighting did not stop at night, for which reinforced rifle battalions were allocated from the divisions. On April 10, units of the 4th Guards Army captured the central quarters of Vienna and threw back the opposing enemy over the Danube Canal.

This channel was a serious artificial obstacle. Its depth reached 3 m, and its width - 40-60 m. Vertical, granite-lined banks 6-7 m high made forcing extremely difficult. In addition, the German units destroyed all crossings during the withdrawal and raised the locks. In stone buildings along the canal, they equipped firing points and observation posts, which allowed them to control all approaches to the front line.

In order to fire at the enemy, it was necessary to undermine the walls of houses and install guns and mortars in the gaps made. Their low densities made it impossible to reliably suppress enemy firepower. The assault sapper groups, who crossed the canal using improvised means and set fire to buildings with bottles of combustible mixture, could not break his resistance either. And only the approach of the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps was able to make a change in the situation. Using the fire of tank guns, rifle units of the 4th Guards Army crossed the Danube Canal on the night of April 11 and began to move towards the railway bridge.

By 2 p.m. on April 13, that is, on the seventh day of the fighting, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front had completed the defeat of the Vienna garrison and completely captured the capital of Austria. Two days later, the 46th Army, the 23rd Tank and 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, after crossing the northern bank of the river. Danube, went to the area northwest of the city. However, delays in crossing the river and in the course of the advance did not allow timely interception of the withdrawal routes of the enemy's Vienna grouping to the north. Therefore, part of her forces was able to avoid destruction and captivity.

As a result of the operation, the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts defeated the main forces of the German Army Group South, completely cleared the territory of Hungary from the enemy, liberated a significant part of Czechoslovakia and the eastern regions of Austria with its capital. They captured more than 130 thousand soldiers and officers, destroyed and captured over 1300 tanks and assault guns, more than 2250 field guns, a large number of other military equipment. At the same time, the losses of the two fronts amounted to 167,940 people, of which 38,661 were irretrievable, 603 tanks and self-propelled guns, 764 guns and mortars, 614 aircraft. For courage, heroism and high military skill shown during the Vienna operation, 50 formations and units were awarded the honorary title "Viennese". By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 9, 1945, the medal "For the Capture of Vienna" was established, which was awarded to more than 268 thousand Soviet soldiers.

Sergey Lipatov,
researcher at the Research Institute
(military history) Military Academy
General Staff of the RF Armed Forces

Which ended on April 13, 1945, with the liberation of the capital of Austria from the Nazis, was one of the endings of the Great Patriotic War. Therefore, it is both quite simple and incredibly difficult. Such is the age-old dialectic of the last decisive battles.

The relative ease - in comparison with other operations - is due to the fact that the scheme for the destruction of enemy groups has already been worked out. In addition, by April 1945 there was no doubt about the inevitability and proximity of victory.

But therein lies the burden, mostly psychological. Is it easy to go to death when "a little more, a little more", to understand that you can die on the eve of peacetime. And this is against the backdrop of fatigue. Here is how the participant in the battles, Colonel-General Alexei Zheltov, describes the feelings of those days: “The guns are still thundering, the fighting is going on, but the imminent end of the war is already felt in everything: both in the stern expression of the tired faces of soldiers craving rest, and in the flowering of nature, yearning for silence, and in the victorious movement of formidable military equipment directed to the west.

It's like that. The Vienna operation was by no means a dashing spring walk. Our total losses amounted to 168 thousand people. I had to force the rivers, take three defensive lines, reinforced by an extensive system of trenches and passages. Army Group South resisted fiercely, although it was resistance in a paroxysm of desperation.

But in terms of the degree of desperation and intensity, the battles for Vienna could not be compared with the previous hostilities in Hungary. Judge for yourself: the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts covered the distance from Yugoslavia to Austria in seven months. In October 1944, having completed the Belgrade operation, they entered Hungarian territory. And only at the end of March they reached the border with Austria. And the direct assault on Vienna took only 10 days.

The Nazi leadership defended the bridgeheads in Hungary even to the detriment of the defense of the German lands proper and the border along the Oder. The battle for Budapest and the subsequent Balaton operation were among the bloodiest. There were several reasons for such persistence, which may seem pointless.

The Wehrmacht was tasked not only with stopping the victorious Red Army, but also at all costs to keep the oil-bearing regions in the west of Hungary, which gained special value after the loss of the Romanian oil fields.

But there was another circumstance that made the fighting in the two neighboring countries so different. Here I have to turn to family memories. Mom went as a signalman all the way from Belgrade to Vienna, along with her air regiment as part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. Like most front-line soldiers, she did not really like to remember the everyday life of the war. However, she spoke a lot and willingly about the attitude of the civilian population of the countries liberated from Nazism towards our military. The contrast between the cordiality of the Yugoslavs and a completely different attitude on the part of the Magyars was already very striking.

This is the picture that emerges from her memories. In Hungary, as they say, "every house was shot." Each step of progress was given with great difficulty. Constantly had to wait for a blow in the back. And not only from enemy fighters, ideological Nazi-Salashists, but even just from the townsfolk. So, in one of the towns, my mother's friend, a fellow soldier, was hacked to death with an ax, who, through negligence, got out into the street in the evening. Including because of this, the battles for Budapest and other Hungarian cities went on for so long and hard.

There was nothing like it in Austria. The local population, of course, did not greet the Red Army with bread and salt, but they did not hinder its advance through the territory of their country either. The townsfolk took a purely neutral position of contemplators. As history shows, the inhabitants of Austria almost always reacted this way to foreign armies, calmly letting them into the capital and leaving the military to sort things out with the enemy.

It happened this time as well. In the suburbs and in Vienna itself, only professional troops continued to resist. Sometimes - furiously and desperately. But too many forces were given by the Wehrmacht in those terrible Hungarian battles. And the numerical superiority of the advancing liberators could not but have an effect. Superiority in everything - both in manpower and in technology. And in a fighting spirit, if you take the intangible side.
On April 3, our troops reached Vienna, in a few days they completely surrounded it, and on the 13th it was all over. This operation even looked elegant, in the style of the homeland of the “king of waltzes”. It could have been faster, but the command decided to save people and not turn one of the most beautiful cities in Europe into ruins, as they had to do, for example, with Budapest.

Having kept the Viennese palaces, bridges and other architectural sights intact, the Soviet troops in record time - by August 1945 - decorated the city with a monument to the Liberator Soldier. The medal "For the Capture of Vienna" was awarded to about 268 thousand soldiers and officers.

But this is later. In the meantime, less than a month remained until the end of the Great Patriotic War. The road to Prague and from the south to Berlin was finally cleared of enemies.

April 15 is the date marked by the end of the Vienna operation in the fight against the German army during the 2nd World War. This operation put an end to fascist tyranny in the lands of Austria, including in its heart - Vienna.

Reference. The Vienna operation (03/16/1945 - 04/15/1945) is a strategically important offensive action by the USSR army against the enemy army during the 2nd World War. The participants in this operation were the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts with the support of the 1st Army of Bulgaria. The main task of the operation was to destroy the invaders in the west of Hungary and the east of Austria. The main center of Austria was liberated on 04/13/1945.

Dear friends, this event inspired us to create a selection of photos.

1. Soviet army officers lay flowers. Burial of Austrian composer Strauss I. Central Cemetery, Vienna, 1945.

2. 6th Tank Army 9th Mechanization Corps 46th Tank Brigade 1st Battalion, Sherman armored vehicles. Vienna street, April 1945

3. 6th Tank Army 9th Mechanized Corps 46th Tank Brigade 1st Battalion, Sherman armored vehicles. Vienna street, April 1945

4. Vienna, April 1945. 3rd Ukrainian Front. Red Army soldiers in the struggle for the Imperial Bridge.

5. Presentation of awards to the Red Army soldiers who proved themselves in the battles for Vienna. 1945

6. The first to cross the Austrian border of the war were gunners of self-propelled guns guards. Colony Shonicheva V.S. on the boulevards of one of the settlements. 1945

7. Crossing the line by the Red Army. 1945

8. Allied armored vehicles in the vicinity of Vienna. 1945

9. Vienna, 1945. The team of the Sherman M4A-2 vehicle with the commander, who broke into the city first. On the left side - Nuru Idrisov (mechanic driver).

10. Vienna, center, 1945 Machine-gun detachment, battle on one of the boulevards.

11. Vienna, 1945 Red Army soldiers on one of the liberated streets.

12. Vienna, 1945 Red Army soldiers on one of the liberated streets.

13. The Red Army on the streets of liberated Vienna. 1945

14. Vienna Boulevard after the fighting, 1945

15. Main square. Vienna, 1945 Residents against the backdrop of the ruins of the church of St. Stephen.

16. Vienna, 1945 Victory celebration on one of the boulevards.

17. Outskirts of Vienna, armored vehicles of the USSR. April 1945

18. One of the alleys of Vienna, signalmen of the USSR. April 1945

20. The return of residents after the release of city streets. Vienna, April 1945

21. Cossack patrol. Vienna street, 1945

22. Celebrating the liberation of the city on one of the squares. Vienna, 1945

23. Soviet armored vehicles on the slopes of the mountains. Austria, 1945

24. Combat armored vehicles of the USSR on the slopes of the Austrian mountains. April 1945

25. Austria, 1945 Lieutenant Gukalov in the battle for the city.

26. Meeting of tenants with the liberators. Austria, 1945

27. Firing from mortars at enemy positions. Detachment of the Hero of the USSR Nekrasov. Austria, 1945

28. Conversation of sir-that Zaretsky P. with residents of Lekenhaus. 1945

29. A Soviet officer lays flowers at the grave of the Austrian composer Johann Strauss. Central cemetery. Vienna, 1945

30. A detachment of Red Army mortarmen move the 82-mm gun of the battalion. Vienna, 1945

31. Vienna. May 1945. The passage of the Danube Canal by the Red Army.

32. Soviet officers lay flowers at the grave of the Austrian composer Johann Strauss. Central cemetery. Vienna, 1945

33. Outskirts of Vienna. April 1945 USSR traffic controller Klimenko N.

34. Soviet officer at the grave of composer L. Beethovin. Central Cemetery, Vienna

35. The traffic controller of the USSR at the fork in the Vienna roads. May-August 1945

36. Military equipment of the USSR SU-76M on the streets of Vienna. Austria, 1945

37. Red Army mortars with regimental weapons. Winter Palace Hofburg. Vienna, 1945

38. Armored vehicles of the USSR M3A1 in combat. Vienna, April 1945

39. Soviet armored vehicle T-34. Vienna, 1945

40. The suicide of a fascist in Vienna right on the street, who had shot his family before that in fear of retribution for what he had done in April 1945.

41. Soviet girl regulates traffic on the streets of Vienna after liberation in May 1945.

42. Soviet girl regulates traffic on the streets of Vienna after liberation in May 1945.

43. Reich soldier who died in the battle for Vienna in the spring of 1945.

44. First Guards fur. frame. American "Sherman" in Vienna in the spring of 1945.

45. The horrors of war on the streets of Vienna after liberation in the spring of 1945.

46. ​​The horrors of war on the streets of Vienna after liberation in the spring of 1945.

47. Liberators on the streets of Vienna in May 1945. Foreground - seventy-six-millimeter gun ZiS-3.

48. Sherman tanks of the 1st Battalion of the 46th Guards Tank Brigade of the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 6th Tank Army on the streets of Vienna. 04/09/1945

49. Combat boats of the Danube flotilla in the spring of forty-fifth in Austria.

50. Orchestra of Soviet troops in the village of Donnerskirchen, Austria, May 9, 1945. In the photo on the right, signalman and orchestra member Pershin N.I.

51. The Soviet division of T-34-85 tanks in the city of St. Pölten, Austria, in the victorious spring of forty-fifth.

52. Aircraft repair brigade of the 213th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment in Stockerau in Austria in 1945

53. A pair of medium armored vehicles Turan II40M of the Hungarian army, left by the retreating on the railway. stations near Vienna in March 1945.

54. In the photo, Hero of the Soviet Union, guardsman, Major General Kozak S. A. - commander of the 21st Guards Motorized Rifle Corps (years of life from 1902 to 1953). Next to him is S. F. Yeletskov, a colonel of the guard.

55. The long-awaited connection of two groups of troops of the USA and the USSR in the area of ​​​​the bridge over the Enns River in the spring of 1945 near the city of Liezen in Austria.

56. The long-awaited connection of two groups of troops of the USA and the USSR in the area of ​​​​the bridge over the Enns River in the spring of 1945 near the city of Liezen in Austria.

57. The offensive of our infantry, accompanied by British tanks "Valentine" in the vicinity of Vienna in April of the victorious forty-fifth year of the last century.

58. Soviet military against the background of the T-34-85 tank greet the American division of armored vehicles at a parade near the city of Linz on May 2, 1945.

59. Attack of the Austrian city by the troops of the Soviet Union and the US M3 Scout Car armored car in the victorious forty-fifth.

60. Soldiers of the Soviet troops at the post on the Austrian road from May to August 1945.

61. Guards Sergeant Zudin and his 120-mm mortar mortar fighters.

62. After the fall of the defense of Vienna, the soldiers-guards of the 80th division in the spring of 1945.

63. Monument to the Soviet soldiers-liberators of Vienna. Nowadays.

64. Monument to the Soviet soldiers-liberators of Vienna. Nowadays.

13-04-2016, 19:36

Early 1945. Even to the most fanatical leaders of Nazi Germany, the outcome of the most terrible war is already obvious.

At the same time, the leadership of the Soviet Union, who was well aware that there were only a few months left before the end of the war, had only one task - the defeat of the Third Reich and unconditional surrender.

Given the current situation, in February 1945, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command put before the commanders of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts the tasks of preparing and conducting the Vienna offensive operation.

The Headquarters set aside a month for the preparation of the operation and set the date for the start of the offensive - March 15, 1945.

By that time, Austria, deprived of independence after the Anschluss of 1938, found itself in a rather difficult situation: many Austrians considered themselves victims of Nazi Germany. On the other hand, more than six Austrian divisions fought in the Wehrmacht.

The defense of the Vienna direction for the Nazi command was one of the most important tasks: only by detaining the Soviet troops in Austria, the Nazi elite could get time to conclude a separate peace with the USA and Great Britain.

Soviet troops began the Vienna operation on March 16, 1945, and by April 4, Soviet troops, having liberated Bratislava and completely liberated Hungary, reached the approaches to Vienna. By that time, a large grouping of troops had already been created in the capital of Austria, which included one infantry and eight tank divisions, infantry battalions and Volkssturm battalions.

Natural conditions also presented certain difficulties for the advancing Soviet troops: on the one hand, the city was covered by mountains, on the other, it was protected by the full-flowing Danube. Where there were no natural obstacles, the Nazis built a powerful fortified area. Artillery firing positions were also set up in the city itself. In a word, the Nazi command did everything possible to turn Vienna into an impregnable fortress.

On April 5, 1945, the 6th Guards Tank Army, the 4th, and the 9th Guards Armies launched an assault on Vienna from three sides at once - fierce battles ensued on the outskirts of the city. Only by the evening of the next day, Soviet troops were able to break into the suburbs of Vienna.

At the same time, the troops of the 6th Guards Tank Army, having made the most difficult detour maneuver, went first to the western approaches to the city, and then to the southern bank of the Danube - the Vienna enemy group was surrounded on three sides.

By the evening of April 7, units of the forces of the 3rd Ukrainian Front were able to occupy the Pressbaum area and began to move in three directions at once.

Block by block, house by house, fighting heavy urban battles, Soviet troops moved towards the city center.

Fierce fighting continued on April 9 and 10: the enemy offered stubborn resistance at the bridges across the Danube, since if control over them were lost, the entire Vienna garrison would be surrounded.

By the end of April 10, the enemy troops were in a vice grip, and individual pockets of resistance remained only in the city center.

On the night of April 11, Soviet troops began forcing the Danube Canal - the final phase of the battle for Vienna began.

April 13, 2010 marks the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Vienna from Nazi invaders.

On April 13, 1945, after the Vienna Offensive, the capital of Austria, Vienna, was liberated by the Soviet Army. The Vienna offensive operation was carried out by troops of the 2nd (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky) and 3rd (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Tolbukhin) Ukrainian Fronts.

The German command attached great importance to the defense of the Vienna direction, hoping to stop the Soviet troops and hold out in the mountainous and wooded regions of Austria in the hope of concluding a separate peace with England and the USA. However, on March 16 - April 4, Soviet troops broke through the enemy defenses, defeated Army Group South and reached the approaches to Vienna.

For the defense of the Austrian capital, the fascist German command created a large grouping of troops, which included 8 tank divisions that withdrew from the area of ​​Lake. Balaton, and one infantry and about 15 separate infantry and Volkssturm battalions, consisting of youth 15-16 years old. The entire garrison, including fire brigades, was mobilized to defend Vienna.

The natural conditions of the area favored the defending side. From the west, the city is covered by a range of mountains, and from the north and east by the wide and abundant Danube. On the southern approaches to the city, the Germans built a powerful fortified area, consisting of anti-tank ditches, a well-developed system of trenches and trenches, and many pillboxes and bunkers.

A significant part of the enemy artillery was set up for direct fire. Artillery firing positions were located in parks, gardens, squares and squares. Guns and tanks designed for firing from ambush were disguised in the destroyed houses. The Nazi command intended to make the city an insurmountable obstacle in the way of the Soviet troops.

The plan of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Soviet Army ordered the liberation of Vienna by the troops of the right wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. Part of the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front were supposed to cross from the south bank of the Danube to the north. After that, these troops were supposed to cut off the retreat of the Vienna enemy grouping to the north.

On April 5, 1945, Soviet troops launched an assault on Vienna from the southeast and south. At the same time, tank and mechanized troops began bypassing Vienna from the west. The enemy, with strong fire from all types of weapons and counterattacks by infantry and tanks, tried to prevent the breakthrough of Soviet troops into the city. Therefore, despite the decisive actions of the troops of the Soviet Army, during April 5 they failed to break the resistance of the enemy, and they only slightly advanced.

All day on April 6, there were stubborn battles on the outskirts of the city. By evening, Soviet troops reached the southern and western outskirts of Vienna and broke into the adjacent part of the city. Stubborn fighting began within the boundaries of Vienna. The troops of the 6th Guards Tank Army, having made a detour, in the difficult conditions of the eastern spurs of the Alps, reached the western approaches to Vienna, and then to the southern bank of the Danube. The enemy grouping was surrounded on three sides.

Wanting to prevent unnecessary casualties among the population, to save the city and save its historical monuments, on April 5, the command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front appealed to the population of Vienna with calls to stay in place and shake the Soviet soldiers, not to let the Nazis destroy the city. Many Austrian patriots responded to the call of the Soviet command. They helped the Soviet soldiers in their difficult struggle against the enemy who had settled in the fortified quarters.

By the evening of April 7, the troops of the right wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Front had partly captured the Viennese outskirts of Pressbaum and began to spread like a fan - to the east, north and west.

On April 8, the fighting in the city became even more intense. The enemy used large stone buildings for defense, erected barricades, blocked the streets, laid mines and land mines. The Germans widely used "nomadic" guns and mortars, tank ambushes, anti-aircraft artillery, and Faust cartridges to fight Soviet tanks.

On April 9, the Soviet government issued a statement confirming its decision to implement the Moscow Declaration of Austrian Independence.
(Military Encyclopedia. Chairman of the Main Editorial Commission S.B. Ivanov. Military Publishing. Moscow. In 8 volumes -2004. ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8)

During April 9-10, Soviet troops fought their way to the city center. For each quarter, and sometimes even for a separate house, fierce battles flared up.

The enemy offered especially fierce resistance in the area of ​​​​the bridges across the Danube, since if Soviet troops reached them, the entire group defending Vienna would be surrounded. Nevertheless, the force of the strike of the Soviet troops continuously increased.

By the end of April 10, the defending German fascist troops were in a vice grip. The enemy continued to resist only in the center of the city.