The Battle of Vilnius occurred as part of Operation Bagration, the great summer offensive by the Red Army against the Wehrmacht, in June, and July, 1944. It lasted from the 7th to the 13th of July, 1944, and ended with a Soviet victory. Some three thousand German soldiers managed to breakout, including the commander, Rainer Stahel, of the encircled garrison of Vilnius. This article is becoming very long. ... Location Ethnographic region AukÅ¡taitija County Vilnius County Municipality Vilnius city municipality Elderate Number of elderates 20 Coordinates General information Capital of Lithuania Vilnius County Vilnius city municipality Vilnius district municipality Population (rank) 540,318 in 2005 (1st) First mentioned 1323 Granted city rights 1387 Vilnius ( (help· info), see also... For other meanings of Home Army see: Home Army (disambiguation) The Armia Krajowa or AK (Home Army) functioned as the pre-eminent underground military organization in German-occupied Poland, which functioned in all areas of the country from September 1939 until its disbanding in January 1945. ... The Eastern Front of World War II was the theatre of war covering the conflict in central and eastern Europe from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945. ... Combatants Axis Powers Soviet Union Commanders Supreme commander: Adolf Hitler Supreme commander: Josef Stalin Strength ~ 3. ... Combatants Axis Powers, Spanish Blue Division Soviet Union Commanders Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Georg von Kuechler Kliment Voroshilov Georgy Zhukov Strength 725,000 930,000 Casualties Unknown 300,000 military, 16,470 civilians from bombings and estimated 1 million civilians from starvation The Siege of Leningrad (Russian: блокада Ленинграда) was the German... Combatants Germany, Romania Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Filipp Oktyabrskiy, Ivan Petrov Strength 350,000+ 106,000 Casualties at least 100,000 killed, wounded or captured. ... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Fedor von Bock Georgi Zhukov Strength ~ 1,500,000 ~ 1,500,000 Casualties 250,000 700,000 The Battle of Moscow refers to the defense of the Soviet capital of Moscow and the subsequent counter-offensive against the German army, between October 1941 and January... The formation of the Rzhev salient during the winter of 1941-1942. ... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Fedor von Bock, Friedrich Paulus Semyon Timoshenko Strength 300,000 men, 1000 tanks, 1500 aircraft 640,000 men, 1200 tanks, 1000 aircraft Casualties 20,000 killed, wounded or captured 207,057 killed, wounded or captured, 652 tanks, 1,646 guns, 3,278 mortars, 57,626... Combatants Axis Powers Soviet Union Commanders Friedrich Paulus Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Georgy Zhukov Vasily Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilevsky Strength German Sixth Army German Fourth Panzer Army Romanian Third Army Romanian Fourth Army Hungarian Second Army Italian Eighth Army 500,000 Germans Unknown number Reinforcements Unknown number Axis-allies Stalingrad... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Kurt von der Chevallerie M. A. Purkayev Strength ~20,000 (on 19 Nov) 100,000 (on 19 Nov) Casualties 17,000 killed or wounded, 3,000 captured 30,000 killed or wounded Situation after the initial Soviet advance. ... The eastern front at the time of the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive. ... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein, Günther von Kluge, Walther Model Georgy Zhukov, Konstantin Rokossovsky, Nikolai Vatutin Strength 800,000 infantry, 2,700 tanks, 2,000 aircraft 1,300,000 infantry, 3,600 tanks, 2,400 aircraft Casualties 500,000 dead, wounded, or captured 500 tanks 200... Combatants Axis Soviet Union Commanders Günther von Kluge Andrei Yeremenko Vasily Sokolovsky Strength 850,000 men 8,800 guns 500 tanks 700 planes[1] 1,253,000 men 20,640 guns 1,430 tanks 1,100 planes[2] Casualties (Soviet est. ... Combatants Axis Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Rokossovsky, Konev Strength 1,250,000 men 12,600 guns 2,100 tanks 2,000 planes 2,650,000 men 51,000 guns 2,400 tanks 2,850 planes Casualties Low est. ... The 1943 Battle of Kiev resulted in a Soviet victory, forcing the German invaders of the Soviet Union to retreat further. ... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein, Wilhelm Stemmerman (Gruppe Stemmerman), Hermann Breith, III Panzerkorps Georgi Zhukov, Nikolai Vatutin (1st Ukrainian Front), Ivan Konev (2nd Ukrainian Front), Strength 56,000 70 tanks and assault guns In packet only but much large with relief troops 200,000 500 tanks Casualties... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein (Army Group South) Hans-Valentin Hube (First Panzer Army) Georgi Zhukov Nikolai Vatutin (1st Ukrainian Front) Ivan Koniev (2nd Ukrainian Front) Strength 200,000 500,000 Casualties  ?  ? 357 tanks The Battle of the Kamenets-Podolsky Pocket, also known as Hubes Pocket... During World War II, Operation Bagration was the general attack by Soviet forces to clear the Nazis from Belarus which resulted in the destruction of the German Army Group Centre, possibly the greatest defeat for the Wehrmacht during the war. ... The Lvov-Sandomierz Operation was the general attack by Soviet forces to clear the Germans from Ukraine. ... Combatants Red Army Wehrmacht Heeresgruppe Südukraine, Romanian Army Commanders Marshal Semyon Timoshenko Generaloberst Friessner Strength 1,341,200, 1,874 tanks and assault guns ca. ... Combatants Wehrmacht i. ... Combatants Axis Soviet Union Commanders General Otto von Lasch Marshal Vasilevsky Marshal Rokossovsky Strength 130,000 250,000 Casualties 50,000 60,000 The Battle of Königsberg was the last battle of the East Prussian Operation. ... Combatants Nazi Germany Soviet Union Commanders Gotthard Heinrici Helmuth Weidling Helmuth Reymann Wilhelm Mohnke Georgiy Zhukov Ivan Koniev Konstantin Rokossovskiy Vasiliy Chuykov Strength 1 million men (including 250,000 soldiers, the rest were Volkssturm and Hitler Youth units), 700 AFVs 500 aircraft 2. ... The Eastern Front at the time of the Prague Offensive. ... Combatants Soviet Union Japan Commanders Alexandr Vasilevskij Otsuzo Yamada Strength Soviet Union 1,577,225 men, 26,137 artillery, 1,852 sup. ... Combatants Axis Powers, Spanish Blue Division Soviet Union Commanders Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Georg von Kuechler Kliment Voroshilov Georgy Zhukov Strength 725,000 930,000 Casualties Unknown 300,000 military, 16,470 civilians from bombings and estimated 1 million civilians from starvation The Siege of Leningrad (Russian: блокада Ленинграда) was the German... Combatants Wehrmacht Red Army Commanders Colonel General Ernst Busch General Kurochkin Strength Unknown 122,100 Casualties Unknown 29,200 The Toropets-Kholm Operation was a military operation ~conducted by the Red Army during the Soviet-German War, from 9th January to 6th February 1942 south of Lake Ilmen. ... Demyansk Pocket (German: die Demjansker Operation, Russian: ) is a name of encirclement of German troops by Red Army near Demyansk (Demjansk), south of Leningrad, during the Second World War, which lasted mainly from February 8 until April 21, 1942. ... Operation Spark (1943) was a military operation by the Red Army during January 1943 which intended to create a land connection to break the siege of Leningrad, which was conducted by the German Wehrmacht. ... Combatants Germany (Spain) Soviet Union Commanders Emilio Esteban Infantes Vladimir P. Sviridov Strength 5,900 44,000 Casualties 3,945 dead, wounded, missing, or captured 11,000 dead, wounded, missing or captured The Battle of Krasny Bor was fought between the German Wehrmachts 250th Infantry Division, composed of Spanish... Battle of Lenino took place from 12th October to 13th October 1943 near Trigubovo village (later renamed Lenino, today on Belarus) between Soviet Union 33rd Western Front Army and Nazi German forces. ... Battle of Narva Conflict {{{conflict}}} Date {{{date}}} Place {{{place}}} Result {{{result}}} The Battle of Narva took place in the first half of 1944. ... Combatants Red Army Wehrmacht Commanders Soviet STAVKA German OKW Strength Unknown Unknown Casualties 260,000 all causes Unknown // [edit] Overview The Battle of the Baltic, called the Baltic Operation by the Red Army who undertook it, denotes combat operations between the German Wehrmacht and the Red Army in the Baltic... Combatants Axis Soviet Union Commanders Ernst Busch Konstantin Rokossovski Georgy Zhukov Aleksandr Vasilevsky Strength 800,000 1,700,000 Casualties (Soviet est. ... The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... German cavalry and motorized units entering Poland from East Prussia during the Polish Campaign of 1939 Wehrmacht (Defence force) was the name of the armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ...

Prelude

From 23 June 1944, the Red Army conducted a major offensive operation under the code-name Operation Bagration, liberating Belorussia, and driving towards the Polish border and the Baltic Sea coast. At the beginning of July the frontline had been torn open at the seam of German Army Group Center and Army Group North, roughly on a line from Vitebsk to Vilnius. While a large part of the Soviet forces was employed to reduce the German pocket at Minsk, the Soviet high command decided to exploit the situation along the breach to the north, by turning mobile formations towards the major traffic centre of Vilnius, in eastern Lithuania. For the German high command, it became imperative to hold Vilnius, because without it it would become almost impossible to re-establish a sustainable connection between the two German army groups, and to hold the Red Army off outside East Prussia and away from the Baltic Sea shores. Combatants Axis Soviet Union Commanders Ernst Busch Konstantin Rokossovski Georgy Zhukov Aleksandr Vasilevsky Strength 800,000 1,700,000 Casualties (Soviet est. ... Army Group Centre (Heeresgruppe Mitte in German) was one of three German army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, code-named Operation Barbarossa. ... Army Group North (Heeresgruppe Nord in German) was a high level command grouping of military units operating for Germany during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached army corps, reserve formations, and direct-reporting units. ... Categories: Belarus-related stubs | Towns in Belarus ... Location Ethnographic region AukÅ¡taitija County Vilnius County Municipality Vilnius city municipality Elderate Number of elderates 20 Coordinates General information Capital of Lithuania Vilnius County Vilnius city municipality Vilnius district municipality Population (rank) 540,318 in 2005 (1st) First mentioned 1323 Granted city rights 1387 Vilnius ( (help· info), see also... Location Location of Minsk, shown within the Minsk Voblast Government Belarus District City Belarus Minsk Voblast Minsk City City 980 (Polatsk) Mayor Mikhail Pavlov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 256 km² Population  - City (2006) 1,780,000 Coordinates Elevation 280. ... Stavka is an abbreviation for Shtab vierhovnogo komandovania, or General Headquarters of armed forces in late Imperial Russia and in the Soviet Union. ... Oberkommando der Wehrmacht OKW most notably stands for Oberkommando der Wehrmacht - the high Command of the Third Reich armed forces. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ...

The Battle

During the battle, the Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army, which was placed under the command of 3rd Belorussian Front, engaged the German garrison of the Fortress of Vilnius, under the command of Luftwaffe Major-General Rainer Stahel, and elements of 3rd Panzer Army under the command of Colonel-General Reinhardt. Soviet redirects here. ... The 3rd Belorussian Front (alternative spellings are 3rd Belarusian Front) was one of the Soviet Army fronts during the World War II. At various times, it was commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky and General Ivan Chernyakhovsky. ... The German Luftwaffe was one of the most powerful, doctrinally advanced, and battle-experienced air forces in the world when World War II started in Europe in September 1939. ... Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. ... The German Third Panzer Army (German: ) was a German panzer army that saw action during World War II. The Third Panzer Army was a constituent of Army Group Centre and fought in the Battle of Moscow in late 1941 and early 1942. ... Colonel General is a senior military rank which is used in some of the world’s militaries. ... Ad Reinhardt Betty Reinhardt Django Reinhardt Ernie Reinhardt G. Frederick Reinhardt Johan Reinhardt John Reinhardt Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (theater director) Max Reinhardt (publisher) Sandra Reinhardt Names Reinhardt Heydrich Reinhardt Kristensen Reinhardt Schneider Operation Reinhardt See also Reinhard, Reinhart This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise...

Contribution by the Polish Home Army

The battle was also marked by an uprising under the code-name Operation Ostra Brama by the Polish Home Army in expectation of the arrival of the Red Army, as part of Operation Tempest. The Wilno Uprising (also known as Operation Ostra Brama) was the armed struggle started by the Polish Home Army against the Nazi occupiers of Wilno (now Vilnius), during World War II. It started on July 7, 1944 as a part of a plan of all-national uprising codenamed Operation Tempest... For other meanings of Home Army see: Home Army (disambiguation) The Armia Krajowa or AK (Home Army) functioned as the pre-eminent underground military organization in German-occupied Poland, which functioned in all areas of the country from September 1939 until its disbanding in January 1945. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

Outcome

While the German aim to hold Vilnius was not achieved, the tenacious defense made a contribution in stopping the Red Army's drive west for a few precious days, and most importantly tieing down the 5th Guards Tank Army, which had been instrumental in the initial successes of the Red Army during Operation Bagration, thus giving the German army groups a chance to re-establish something resembling a continuous line further to the west. Hitler recognised this achievement of Stahel by awarding him the 76th set of Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross awarded during the war. Nevertheless, this achievement fell far short of what the German command had hoped for, and the continuous frontline that was established only held for a few weeks. Without the traffic network based on Vilnius, the German position in the southern Baltics was untenable. 1813 Iron Cross 1870 Iron Cross The Iron Cross (Eisernes Kreuz) was established in 1813 as a military honor by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia. ...

References

Notes

Literature

Glantz, D. (ed.) 'Belorussia 1944 - the Soviet General Staff Study' David M. Glantz is an American military historian and the editor of The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. ...