Battle of Vitebsk

The Battle of Vitebsk was a WWII military engagement fought between the German Army and the Soviet forces in June 1944, in Belarus, on the Eastern Front. This city, which was an important railroad junction, had been taken by the Wehrmacht troops on July 10, 1941, during Operation Barbarossa and it remained so occupied until June 27, 1944, when a major Soviet counteroffensive, known as Operation Bagration, drove most of the Germans out of the city, pushing them westwards.

Opposing forces

By June 1944, Vitebsk and the area around it constituted a territorial salient that protruded into Soviet territory. To keep this strategic bulge, the German commanders had assigned 10 divisions from the 9th Army, under Kurt von Tippelskirch, Army Group Center, to stop any Russian counterattack.

The mission to reduce the salient and retake the city had been assigned to the Soviet 6th Guards Army, from 1st Baltic Front (equivalent to an Army Group), and the 5th Guards Tank Army, from the 3rd Belorussian Front. The 6th Guards was commanded by Ivan Chistiakov, while the 5th Guards was under Pavel Rotmistrov.

Summary of the battle

Preceded by an intense artillery bombardment to soften up the enemy positions, the attack on the Vitebsk salient began on June 22, 1944, simultaneously with Operation Bagration. The assault on the German front lines was carried out in a pincers movement, encircling the city from the north with the 6th Guards Army, and from the south with the 5th Guards Tank.

The Soviet armies breached the German defenses on the second and third day respectively. About two German divisions got trapped in the encirclement. The battle for Vitebsk was vicious, for the German put up a stiff resistance. Being surrounded on all sides and without supplies, the battered Wehrmacht units surrendered on June 27, 1944.

Map of Vitebsk and the salient before the battle

Below,Red Army's Infantry before the Battle of Vitebsk.