Encirclement of the Chisinau group

On August 19, 1944, the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts conducted reconnaissance in force. On the morning of August 20, artillery preparation began, Soviet aviation launched powerful attacks on enemy defense centers, headquarters, and accumulations of enemy equipment. At 7:40 a.m., Soviet troops, supported by artillery fire, went on the offensive. The advance of infantry and close support tanks was also supported by attacks from attack aircraft, which attacked enemy firing positions and strongholds.

According to the testimony of prisoners, artillery and air strikes were a significant success. In the breakthrough areas, the first line of German defense was almost completely destroyed. Control at the battalion-regiment-division level was lost. Some German divisions lost up to half of their personnel on the first day of fighting. This success was due to the high concentration of firepower in the breakthrough areas: up to 240 guns and mortars and up to 56 tanks and self-propelled guns per 1 km of front.

It should be noted that by August 1944, the Germans and Romanians had prepared a deep defensive system with well-developed engineering structures on the territory of the Moldavian SSR and Romania. The tactical defense zone consisted of two stripes, and its depth reached 8-19 kilometers. Behind it, at a distance of 15-20 kilometers from the front line, along the Mare ridge ran the third defense line (the “Trajan” line). Two defensive lines were created on the western banks of the Prut and Siret rivers. Many cities, including Chisinau and Iasi, were prepared for all-round defense and turned into real fortified areas.

However, the German defense was unable to stop the offensive impulse of the Soviet armies. The strike group of the 2nd Ukrainian Front broke through the main line of enemy defense. By mid-day, the 27th Army under the command of Sergei Trofimenko had also broken through the second line of enemy defense. The Soviet command brought the 6th Tank Army under the command of Andrei Kravchenko into the breakthrough. After this, as the commander of Army Group Southern Ukraine, General Friesner, admitted, “incredible chaos began” in the ranks of the German-Romanian troops. The German command tried to stop the advance of the Soviet troops and turn the tide of the battle; operational reserves were thrown into the battle - three infantry and tank divisions. However, German counterattacks could not change the situation; there were few forces for a full-fledged counterattack, and besides, Soviet troops were already well able to respond to such enemy actions. Malinovsky's troops reached Iasi and began a battle for the city.

Thus, on the very first day of the offensive, our troops broke through the enemy’s defenses, brought the second echelon into battle and successfully developed the offensive. Six enemy divisions were defeated. The Soviet armies reached the third line of enemy defense, which ran along the wooded Mare ridge.

The troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front also successfully advanced, wedging into the enemy’s defenses at the junction of the 6th German and 3rd Romanian armies. By the end of the first day of the offensive, formations of the 3rd Ukrainian Front had broken through the main line of enemy defense and began breaking through the second line. This created favorable opportunities for isolating units of the 3rd Romanian Army with the aim of its subsequent destruction.

On August 21, Soviet troops fought heavy battles on the Mara Ridge. It was not possible to break through the German defenses of the 6th Tank Army on the move. Units of the 7th Guards Army and the cavalry-mechanized group fought stubborn battles for Tirgu-Frumos, where the Germans created a powerful fortified area. By the end of the day, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front had overcome all three enemy defensive lines, and two powerful enemy fortified areas were taken - Iasi and Tirgu-Frumos. Soviet troops expanded the breakthrough to 65 km along the front and to 40 km in depth.

In the offensive zone of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, the Germans launched a counterattack. The German command, trying to disrupt the Soviet offensive, pulled up reserves on the morning of August 21 and, relying on the second line of defense, launched a counterattack. Particular hopes were placed on the 13th Panzer Division. However, the troops of the 37th Army repelled enemy counterattacks. In general, during August 20 and 21, the troops of the shock group of the 3rd Ukrainian Front broke through the enemy’s tactical defenses, repelled his counterattacks, defeating the 13th Tank Division, and increased the penetration depth to 40-50 km. The front command introduced mobile formations into the breakthrough - the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps in the 46th Army zone and the 7th Mechanized Corps in the 37th Army zone.

Tanks of the 7th MK fight in the Iasi-Kishinev operation. Moldova August 1944

On August 21, the Headquarters, fearing that the offensive would slow down and the enemy would take advantage of favorable terrain conditions and would be able to pull together all available forces, delaying Soviet troops for a long time, issued a directive in which it slightly adjusted the tasks of the fronts. To prevent Soviet troops from being late in reaching the Prut River and missing the opportunity to encircle the Chisinau group, the command of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts was reminded that their main task in the first stage of the offensive was to quickly create an encirclement ring in the Khushi area. In the future, it was necessary to narrow the encirclement in order to destroy or capture enemy troops. The Headquarters directive was necessary, since with a quick breakthrough of the German defense, the command of the 2nd Ukrainian Front was tempted to continue the offensive along the Roman - Focsani line, and the 3rd Ukrainian Front - Tarutino - Galati. The headquarters believed that the main forces and means of the fronts must be used to encircle and eliminate the Chisinau group. The destruction of this group already opened the way to the main economic and political centers of Romania. And so it happened.

On the night of August 21 and the entire next day, the 6th Tank Army and the 18th Tank Corps pursued the enemy. Malinovsky's troops penetrated 60 km into the enemy's defenses and expanded the breakthrough to 120 km. The armies of the 3rd Ukrainian Front were rapidly advancing towards the Prut. The front's mobile formations went 80 km deep into the enemy's defenses. By the end of the second day of the operation, Tolbukhin's troops isolated the 6th German Army from the 3rd Romanian Army. The main forces of the 6th German Army were surrounded in the area of the village of Leusheny. On the left wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, units of the 46th Army, with the support of the Danube Military Flotilla, successfully crossed the Dniester Estuary. On the night of August 22, Soviet soldiers liberated Akkerman and continued their offensive to the southwest.

Bombing by Soviet aircraft of the Romanian port of Constanta

Soviet boats of the Black Sea Fleet type MO-4 enter the port of Varna

Aviation was active: in two days of fighting, Soviet pilots made 6,350 sorties. Aviation of the Black Sea Fleet dealt heavy blows to the German naval bases in Sulina and Constanta. It should be noted that throughout the entire operation, Soviet aviation completely dominated the air. This made it possible to launch powerful air strikes against enemy troops and their rear, reliably cover the advancing Soviet armies from the air and fend off the actions of the German Air Force. In total, during the operation, Soviet pilots shot down 172 German aircraft.

The command of Army Group “Southern Ukraine”, having analyzed the situation following the first day of fighting, decided to withdraw troops to the rear line along the Prut River. Friesner gave the order to retreat without even receiving Hitler's consent. The troops still retreated chaotically. On August 22, the high command also agreed to the withdrawal of troops. But it was already too late. By this moment, Soviet troops had intercepted the main escape routes of the Chisinau group, it was doomed. In addition, the German command did not have strong mobile reserves with which to organize strong relief strikes. In such a situation, it was necessary to withdraw troops even before the start of the Soviet offensive.

On August 23, Soviet troops fought with the goal of tightly closing the encirclement and continued moving west. The 18th Tank Corps reached the Khushi area. The 7th Mechanized Corps reached the crossings of the Prut in the Leushen area, and the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps reached Leovo. Units of the Soviet 46th Army pushed back the troops of the 3rd Romanian Army to the Black Sea, in the Tatarbunar region. On August 24, Romanian troops stopped resistance. On the same day, ships of the Danube military flotilla landed troops in the Zhebriyany-Vilkovo area. Also on August 24, units of the 5th Shock Army liberated Chisinau.

As a result, on August 24, the first stage of the strategic offensive operation was completed. The enemy’s defensive lines fell, the Iasi-Kishinev group was surrounded. 18 divisions out of 25 available in Army Group “Southern Ukraine” fell into the “cauldron”. A huge gap appeared in the German defense, which there was nothing to cover. A coup d'etat took place in Romania, the Romanians began to fold or turn it against the Germans. By August 26, the entire territory of the Moldavian SSR was liberated from the Nazis.

German self-propelled artillery unit Hummel, destroyed as a result of the bombing of a German column with high-explosive bombs

Coup d'etat in Romania. Destruction of the Chisinau group

Joseph Stalin’s calculation that the main consequence of the successful offensive of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts would be the “sobering up” of the Romanian leadership was completely justified. On the night of August 22, a secret meeting was held in the royal palace of Mihai. It was attended by opposition figures, including communists. It was decided to arrest Prime Minister Antonescu and other pro-German figures. On August 23, returning from the front after a meeting with the command of Army Group Southern Ukraine, Antonescu was arrested. Before his arrest, he planned to carry out additional mobilization in the country and create a new line of defense together with the Germans. At the same time, many members of his cabinet were arrested. King Michael gave a speech on the radio in which he announced that Romania was leaving the war on the side of Germany and accepting the terms of the armistice. The new government demanded the withdrawal of German troops from Romanian territory. It should be noted that Stalin highly appreciated Mihai’s courage; after the end of the war, the king was awarded the Order of Victory.

German diplomats and the military mission were taken by surprise. The German command refused to comply with the demand for the withdrawal of troops. Hitler was furious and demanded that the traitors be punished. The German Air Force attacked the Romanian capital. However, attempts by German troops to occupy strategic targets in Romania and attacks on the capital failed. There was no strength for such an operation. In addition, the Romanians actively resisted. The government of Constantin Sanatescu declared war on Germany and asked for help from the Soviet Union.

The front finally collapsed. Everywhere where the Romanians defended, the defensive formations collapsed. Soviet troops could easily move on. Chaos began. Any centralized leadership of the German troops collapsed, the rear was cut off. Individual scattered combat groups of German formations were forced to fight their way to the west on their own. German ships, submarines, transports and boats filled with German soldiers sailed from Romanian ports to Bulgarian Varna and Burgas. Another wave of fleeing German soldiers, mostly from rear units, poured across the Danube.

At the same time, the German military-political leadership did not give up hope of keeping at least part of Romania under its control. Already on August 24, the creation of a pro-German leadership led by the fascist organization “Iron Guard” Horia Sima was announced in Berlin. Adolf Hitler ordered the arrest of the Romanian king. The Wehrmacht occupied the strategic oil-producing region of Ploesti. During August 24 - 29, 1944, there were stubborn battles between German and Romanian troops. During these clashes, the Romanians were able to capture more than 50 thousand Germans, including 14 generals.

The Soviet command provided assistance to Romania: 50 divisions, supported by the main forces of two air armies, were sent to help the Romanian troops who were resisting the Germans. The remaining troops were left to eliminate the Chisinau group. The surrounded German troops put up stubborn resistance. They rushed to break through in large masses of infantry, supported by armored vehicles and artillery. We were looking for weak points in the encirclement ring. However, during a series of separate heated battles, the German troops were defeated. By the end of August 27, the entire German group was destroyed. By August 28, that part of the German group that was able to break through to the western bank of the Prut and tried to break through to the Carpathian passes was also liquidated.

Meanwhile, the Soviet offensive continued. The 2nd Ukrainian Front advanced towards Northern Transylvania and in the Focci direction. On August 27, Soviet troops occupied Focsani and reached the approaches to Ploiesti and Bucharest. Units of the 46th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front developed an offensive on both banks of the Danube, cutting off the escape routes for the defeated German troops to Bucharest. The Black Sea Fleet and the Danube Military Flotilla assisted the offensive of the ground forces, landed tactical troops, and crushed the enemy with the help of aviation. On August 27, Galati was occupied. On August 28, Soviet troops captured the cities of Braila and Sulina. On August 29, the landing force of the Black Sea Fleet occupied the port of Constanta. On the same day, the advance detachment of the 46th Army reached Bucharest. On August 31, Soviet troops entered Bucharest. This completed the Iasi-Chisinau operation.

Residents of Bucharest greet Soviet soldiers. The inscription on the large banner can be translated as “Long live the great Stalin - the brilliant leader of the Red Army”

Results

The Iasi-Kishinev operation ended in complete victory for the Red Army. Germany suffered a major military-strategic, political and economic defeat. Troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts, with the support of the Black Sea Fleet and the Danube Military Flotilla, defeated the main forces of the German Army Group “Southern Ukraine”. German-Romanian troops lost about 135 thousand people killed, wounded and missing. More than 208 thousand people were captured. 2 thousand guns, 340 tanks and assault guns, almost 18 thousand vehicles and other equipment and weapons were captured as trophies. Soviet troops lost more than 67 thousand people, of which over 13 thousand people were killed, missing, died from disease, etc.

Soviet troops liberated the Izmail region of the Ukrainian SSR and the Modavian SSR from the Nazis. Romania was withdrawn from the war. Under favorable conditions created by the successes of the Soviet fronts, Romanian progressive forces rebelled and overthrew the pro-German dictatorship of Antonescu. She went over to the side of the anti-Hitler coalition and entered the war with Germany. Although a significant part of Romania still remained in the hands of German troops and pro-German Romanian forces and fighting for the country continued until the end of October 1944, it was a great success for Moscow. Romania will field 535 thousand soldiers and officers against Germany and its allies.

The way to the Balkans was open for Soviet troops. An opportunity arose to enter Hungary and provide assistance to the allied Yugoslav partisans. Favorable conditions arose for the development of the struggle in Czechoslovakia, Albania and Greece. Bulgaria abandoned the alliance with Germany. On August 26, 1944, the Bulgarian government declared neutrality and demanded the withdrawal of German troops from Bulgaria. On September 8, Bulgaria declared war on Germany. Yes, and Türkiye is concerned. She maintained neutrality, but was friendly to Germany, and was waiting in the wings when she could profit at the expense of Russia. Now one could pay for preparing an invasion of the Caucasus. The Turks urgently began to establish friendship with the British and Americans.

From a military point of view, the Iasi-Kishinev operation was one of the most successful operations of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. Iasi-Chisinau Cannes was distinguished by a skillful choice of directions for the main attacks of the fronts, a high level of attack tempo, rapid encirclement and the destruction of a large enemy group. The operation was also distinguished by close and skillful interaction of all types of troops, high enemy losses, and relatively low losses of Soviet troops. The operation clearly demonstrated the greatly increased level of Soviet military art, the combat skills of the command staff and the combat experience of soldiers.

Almost immediately after the liberation of Moldova, its economic restoration began. Moscow in 1944-1945. allocated 448 million rubles for these purposes. First of all, the military, with the help of the local population, restored railway communications and bridges across the Dniester, which were destroyed by the retreating Nazis. Even during the war, equipment was received to restore 22 enterprises, and 286 collective farms began operating. For the peasantry, seeds, cattle, horses, etc. came from Russia. All this contributed to the resumption of peaceful life in the republic. The Moldavian SSR also made its contribution to the overall victory over the enemy. After the liberation of the republic, more than 250 thousand people volunteered to go to the front.

Residents of Bucharest greet Soviet soldiers

In August 1944, our troops attacked seventh strike - in the Chisinau-Iasi area , where 22 German divisions were surrounded and defeated, forced the Romanian army to surrender. As a result of this operation, Moldova was completely liberated, Romania and Bulgaria were withdrawn from the war.

70 years ago, Soviet armies liberated the Moldavian SSR, took Romania out of the war and paved the way for themselves to the Balkans. The Iasi-Kishinev operation (August 20-29, 1944) was Stalin’s seventh blow. “Iasi-Chisinau Cannes” is considered one of the most successful Soviet operations during the Great Patriotic War. The troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front under the command of General Rodion Malinovsky and the 3rd Ukrainian Front, General Fedor Tolbukhin, were able to destroy the main forces of Army Group “Southern Ukraine”.

Background. Political situation in the Balkans.

The situation in the Balkans during the war was difficult. Yugoslavia and Greece were occupied by German troops, Albania by Italians. Romania and Bulgaria chose to become allies of the Third Reich. However, their situation was different. Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu and his supporters were active allies of Germany and dreamed of implementing the plan for building “Greater Romania” with the help of the Germans. Romanian nationalists, unable to return Southern Dobruja and Northern Transylvania (they had to be ceded to Bulgaria and Hungary), wanted to compensate as much as possible for the losses of Romania at the expense of Soviet (Russian) territories.

In accordance with the German-Romanian treaty signed in Bendery on August 30, 1941, Transnistria was formed. The Romanians gained control of the territory between the Southern Bug and the Dniester. It included parts of Vinnitsa, Odessa, Nikolaev regions of Ukraine and left-bank Moldova. Subsequently, the appetites of Romanian radicals grew even more intense: they began to dream of annexing territories up to the Dnieper and even further into “Greater Romania.” Some politicians agreed on a “Romanian Empire to the gates of Asia,” that is, to the Urals, demanding the creation of “living space” for the Romanian nation.

However, these dreams were dashed by the might of the Red Army. The Romanian army suffered terrible losses during the Battle of Stalingrad, the Odessa and Crimean operations of 1944 (Stalin's Third Strike. Liberation of Odessa; Stalin's Third Strike. Battle for Crimea). Romania, as a result of the offensive of Soviet troops, lost control over Northern Bessarabia and Odessa. At the end of March 1944, hostilities were transferred to the territory of Romania. In the summer, there was a temporary calm at the front. Moscow offered Romania a truce on its own terms, but the Romanian government categorically refused peace with the Soviet Union, continuing the war on the side of the German Empire.

Antonescu was nervous, the situation was critical. He hinted to Hitler that the best way out would be to make peace with England and the United States and concentrate all forces against the Soviet Union. However, the Fuhrer calmed him down. Hitler promised that German troops would defend Romania like Germany itself. This is not surprising, given that the main oil reserves were located in Romania. The defeat of the German-Romanian troops in the Iasi-Chisinau operation led to the fall of the Antonescu regime. Romanian King Mihai I, united with the anti-fascist opposition, ordered the arrest of Antonescu and the pro-German generals, withdrew Romania from the Nazi coalition and declared war on the Third Reich. As a result, the Romanian army became an ally of the Red Army and fought on the side of the USSR in Hungary and Austria.

Bulgaria was an ally of Germany, but did not enter the war with the Soviet Union. The Prime Minister of Bulgaria and President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Bogdan Filov was a great admirer of Hitler. In 1941, he annexed Bulgaria to the Berlin Pact and the Anti-Comintern Pact. With the support of Berlin, Sofia regained Southern Dobruja, lost during the Second Balkan War in 1913. In 1941, Bulgaria agreed to provide its territory to the Wehrmacht for the war against Greece and Yugoslavia. With the consent of Berlin and Rome, Bulgarian troops occupied territories in Macedonia and Northern Greece. As a result, “Great Bulgaria” was formed.

After the attack on the USSR, Berlin repeatedly demanded that Sofia send Bulgarian troops to the Eastern Front. But Tsar Boris III took into account the traditional sympathies of the Bulgarian people towards the Russians. Therefore, Bulgaria declared war on Britain and the USA, but war was not declared on the USSR. True, this neutrality was not complete. The Third Reich received the opportunity to develop deposits and extract minerals in Bulgaria. Sofia presented its territory for the basing of German troops, supported them, and gave them the opportunity to use the entire infrastructure - airfields, railways, ports, etc.

After a radical turning point in the war, the situation worsened. After Stalingrad and the Kursk Bulge, Adolf Hitler was looking for sources of manpower; he wanted to use the Bulgarian army on the Eastern Front. And Tsar Boris realized that the star of the Third Reich was setting, and tried to break the alliance with Germany. He began to express ideas that Sofia could act as a mediator between Berlin and the allies in peace negotiations. In August 1943, the Tsar flew to the Fuhrer in East Prussia. The essence of their conversation is unknown. On August 28, 1943, a few days after returning to Sofia, Tsar Boris III suddenly died. According to the official version - from a heart attack. Historians still argue about the true reason. Some believe that the Bulgarian Tsar was poisoned by the Nazis, trying to prevent separate negotiations between Bulgaria and its allies. Others say that Boris became worried after a difficult conversation with the Fuhrer. The heart, weakened by alcohol, could not stand it. Still others are of the opinion that he was poisoned by his own confidants, supporters of an alliance with Germany. They feared a change in political course, loss of power and arrests.

The throne was taken by the 6-year-old Tsar Simeon. The Regency Council, consisting of Boris's brother Prince Kirill, Prime Minister Filov and General Nikola Mikhov, ruled on his behalf. All of them were supporters of an alliance with Germany. The Regency Council and the new Prime Minister Dobri Bozhilov pursued a policy loyal to Germany. But a full-fledged union with Germany did not work out. The Bulgarian army was not thrown into battle with the Soviet army. The temporary workers feared that the army would go over to the side of the Fatherland Front (a coalition of anti-fascist forces) and turn their weapons against them. Meanwhile, the forces of the opposition have seriously increased. Rumors about the assassination of the Tsar, dissatisfaction with the policies of the regents and the defeat of Germany on the Eastern Front sharply increased the number of dissatisfied people.

On May 18, 1944, the Soviet government demanded that Sofia stop providing assistance to the German army. The internal crisis and deterioration on the Eastern Front forced Bozhilov's government to resign. The new government was headed by the representative of the farmers, Ivan Bagryanov. The new government simultaneously tried to avoid a war with Germany, appease the USSR and the internal opposition, and begin negotiations with the USA and Great Britain.

On August 12, 1944, Moscow again demanded that Sofia stop providing assistance to Germany. On August 26, when the defeat of German troops in the Iasi-Kishinev operation became obvious, Bagryanov announced the neutrality of Bulgaria and demanded the withdrawal of German troops from the country. At the same time, the Bulgarian government did not take any measures to neutralize the German garrisons in Bulgaria and did not interfere with the movement of the Wehrmacht. Therefore, German troops retreating from Romania calmly passed through Bulgarian territory into Yugoslavia.

Units of the 49th Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Shock Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front on the march during the Iasi-Kishinev operation

The situation at the front.

The completion of the Lvov-Sandomierz operation (Stalin's sixth strike. Lvov-Sandomierz operation) almost coincided with the beginning of a new offensive by the Soviet armies in the southwestern strategic direction. On July 31, 1944, a military meeting was held at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command under the leadership of Joseph Stalin on the preparation of a new offensive by the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts. The meeting was attended by front commanders Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky and Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin. Also present was the representative of the Headquarters in the southwestern direction, Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko.

According to the memoirs of S. M. Shtemenko, the “highlight” of the plan of the Iasi-Chisinau operation was the idea of powerful flank attacks with the aim of encircling and destroying the powerful Chisinau enemy group. The fact was that the German command expected the enemy’s main attack in the Chisinau direction and concentrated the main forces of the Wehrmacht and the most combat-ready German divisions on it. Moreover, the troops were located compactly in the tactical zone. That is, the German command hoped to extinguish the strongest Soviet first strike at shallow depths. Apparently, the Germans planned that if things went badly, they would be able to retreat to the positions they were preparing in the depths of the defense. At the same time, to fend off the attacks of the Soviet armies, the main German operational reserves were also located in the Chisinau direction. True, they were small and consisted of two infantry and one tank divisions. The weaker Romanian armies defended on the flanks of the Chisinau group. The Romanians were much inferior to the Germans in fighting qualities. Romanian troops were significantly worse armed, trained and supplied. According to Soviet intelligence, the morale of Romanian soldiers was low. Many soldiers and even entire units were tired of defeats, high losses and were opposed to the Germans.

Therefore, at the meeting, the Headquarters came to the conclusion that the best option would be flank attacks with the aim of encircling and destroying in a short time the main forces of Army Group “Southern Ukraine” in the Chisinau region. The first task was to achieve surprise in the start of the offensive and a high rate of advance by the Red Army. It was necessary to take crossings across the Prut River before the enemy had time to use them. To do this, it was necessary to advance at a speed of at least 25 km at a time. In order to ensure a quick breakthrough of the defense of the German-Romanian troops, it was decided to weaken all secondary sectors of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts and thereby create a huge advantage in the breakthrough areas. In addition, the breakthrough areas themselves were greatly reduced (on the 2nd Ukrainian Front - 16 km, on the 3rd Ukrainian Front - 18 km), sharply increasing the density of artillery fire. High artillery densities guaranteed a quick breakthrough of the enemy's defenses and development of success in depth to the crossings on the Prut River. The fronts were asked to use tank, mechanized and cavalry formations after breaking through the enemy’s defenses to develop an offensive in operational depth and quickly capture crossings on the river. Rod, for crossing the river. Siret. Stalin noted the great political significance of this operation. It was supposed to influence the policy of Romania and lead to its withdrawal from the Hitlerite coalition.

The situation was made easier by the fact that the method of the Soviet Headquarters - “Stalinist strikes”, which were consistently applied first in one direction and then in the other, completely justified itself. The Belarusian (Operation Bagration) and Lvov-Sandomierz operations were at their end (they ended on August 29), the offensive of the Soviet troops in these directions stalled. The German command hastily patched up the “holes”, restored the collapsed front line, hastily transferring troops from Germany, Western Europe, and “quiet sectors” of the Eastern Front. Including, from the end of June to August 13, 12 divisions were withdrawn from Moldova. Meanwhile, the Soviet armies rested and were replenished with manpower and equipment. The 2nd Ukrainian Front of Marshal Malinovsky and the 3rd Ukrainian Front of Marshal Tolbukhin prepared for a new offensive.

It cannot be said that the preparation of the Soviet armies for a new offensive remained a complete secret for the Germans. German and Romanian intelligence discovered some regroupings of Soviet troops, the supply of ammunition and other ominous signs of an approaching enemy offensive. However, the Soviet command was still able to deceive the Germans. To achieve this, disinformation was launched about the upcoming local operation, which would be aimed at leveling the front and capturing Chisinau. In the Chisinau direction, the call signs of “fresh units” began to flash on the radio. They conducted reconnaissance demonstratively, including in combat. The German command believed. Available reserves were pulled towards the Chisinau direction.

In addition, the behavior of the Romanian elite caused great concern among the command of Army Group “Southern Ukraine”. The entourage of King Mihai I of Romania was actively looking for ways of rapprochement with the powers of the Anti-Hitler coalition. By August, a conspiracy against Antonescu, led by the king, had matured. In the event of a major Soviet offensive, the conspirators planned to either convince the dictator to conclude a truce with the Soviet Union or arrest him. Already on August 3, the commander of Army Group “Southern Ukraine” Johannes Friesner, having received information that dictator Antonescu could be overthrown at any time, sent a letter to Hitler. He proposed to subjugate all troops and military institutions in Romania. He also said that if unrest is noticed among the Romanian troops at the front, it is necessary to immediately begin the withdrawal of the army group to the line on the Prut River, and further to the line of Galati, Focsani, and the spurs of the Eastern Carpathians.

However, Hitler and Keitel did not give such permission. They did not give Friesner the rights of commander in chief. True, Ribbentrop proposed introducing a tank division into Bucharest to calm the Romanian leadership. But there were no free tank divisions on the Eastern Front. Then they proposed sending the 4th SS Police Division from Yugoslavia to the Romanian capital, but Jodl opposed this idea. He believed that the SS troops were necessary to fight the Serbian partisans and there was no point in weakening the German troops in this area. In general, Friesner’s idea of withdrawing troops to the Prut River could ease the situation of Army Group Southern Ukraine, although it would not prevent Romania from leaving the Nazi coalition.

Troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front are advancing near Iasi

The plan of the Soviet command. Soviet forces.

The Soviet command decided to launch the main attacks on the flanks of the German group, on two sections of the front far apart from each other. The operation involved forces of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts, the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Admiral F. S. Oktyabrsky and the Danube Military Flotilla of Rear Admiral S. G. Gorshkov. The 2nd Ukrainian Front was supposed to strike north-west of Yassy, the 3rd Ukrainian Front - south of Bendery (Suvorovskaya Mountain).

The troops of the fronts had to break through the enemy’s defenses and develop an offensive along directions converging towards the Hushi - Vaslui - Falciu area in order to encircle and then destroy the main forces of the enemy’s Chisinau group. Then the Soviet troops had to quickly develop an offensive deep into Romanian territory in the general direction of Focsani, Izmail, prevent the enemy from leaving behind the Prut and Danube, and secure the right wing of the strike force from the Carpathians. The Black Sea Fleet was supposed to support the coastal flank of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, disrupt sea communications, defeat the enemy Navy and, with the help of aviation, attack naval bases in Sulina and Constanta.

The strike group of the 2nd Ukrainian Front included 3 combined arms (7th Guards, 27th and 52nd armies) and one tank army (6th Tank Army). In addition, the front had a number of mobile formations - the 18th separate tank corps and a cavalry-mechanized group (it included the 5th Guards Cavalry Corps and the 23rd Tank Corps). Malinovsky also commanded the 40th, 4th Guards Armies and the 5th Air Army.

The shock group of the 3rd Ukrainian Front included three combined arms armies - the 5th shock, 57th and 37th armies. In addition, the front included the 46th Army, 7th Mechanized, and 4th Guards Mechanized Corps. The front troops were supported from the air by the 17th Air Army.

In total, Soviet troops numbered more than 920 thousand soldiers and commanders, 1.4 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, 16.7 thousand guns and mortars, more than 1.7 thousand aircraft (according to other sources, more than 1.2 million people, more than 1.8 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, 16 thousand guns and mortars, 2.2 thousand aircraft). The Black Sea Fleet aviation consisted of about 700 aircraft. The Black Sea Fleet (including the Danube Flotilla) consisted of 1 battleship, 4 cruisers, 6 destroyers, 30 submarines and 440 other ships and vessels.

Germany.

In front of the Red Army, the front was defended by Army Group “Southern Ukraine”. It included two army groups: in the Iasi direction - the Wöhler group (it included the 8th German and 4th Romanian armies and the 17th German army corps) and in the Chisinau direction - "Dumitrescu" (6th German and 3rd Romanian Army). From the air, Army Group Southern Ukraine was supported by the 4th Air Fleet. In total, the army group consisted of 25 German (including 3 tank and 1 motorized), 22 Romanian divisions and 5 Romanian infantry brigades. The German-Romanian troops numbered 643 thousand soldiers and officers in combat units (about 900 thousand people in total), more than 400 tanks and self-propelled guns, 7.6 thousand guns and mortars, more than 800 combat aircraft.

Commander of Army Group Southern Ukraine Johannes Friesner

Encirclement of the Chisinau group.

It should be noted that by August 1944, the Germans and Romanians had prepared a deep defensive system with well-developed engineering structures on the territory of the Moldavian SSR and Romania. The tactical defense zone consisted of two stripes, and its depth reached 8-19 kilometers. Behind it, at a distance of 15-20 kilometers from the front edge, along the Mare ridge ran the third defense line (the “Trajan” line). Two defensive lines were created on the western banks of the Prut and Siret rivers. Many cities, including Chisinau and Iasi, were prepared for all-round defense and turned into real fortified areas.

In the offensive zone of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, the Germans launched a counterattack. The German command, trying to disrupt the Soviet offensive, pulled up reserves on the morning of August 21 and, relying on the second line of defense, launched a counterattack. Particular hopes were placed on the 13th Panzer Division. However, the troops of the 37th Army repelled enemy counterattacks. In general, during August 20 and 21, the troops of the strike group of the 3rd Ukrainian Front broke through the enemy’s tactical defenses, repelled his counterattacks, defeating the 13th Tank Division, and increased the penetration depth to 40-50 km. The front command introduced mobile formations into the breakthrough - the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps in the 46th Army zone and the 7th Mechanized Corps in the 37th Army zone.

Tanks of the 7th MK fight in the Iasi-Kishinev operation. Moldova August 1944

In the future, it was necessary to narrow the encirclement in order to destroy or capture enemy troops. The Headquarters directive was necessary, since with a quick breakthrough of the German defense, the command of the 2nd Ukrainian Front was tempted to continue the offensive along the Roman - Focsani line, and the 3rd Ukrainian Front - Tarutino - Galati. The headquarters believed that the main forces and means of the fronts must be used to encircle and eliminate the Chisinau group. The destruction of this group already opened the way to the main economic and political centers of Romania. And so it happened.

By the end of the second day of the operation, Tolbukhin's troops isolated the 6th German Army from the 3rd Romanian Army. The main forces of the 6th German Army were surrounded in the area of the village of Leusheny. On the left wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, units of the 46th Army, with the support of the Danube Military Flotilla, successfully crossed the Dniester Estuary. On the night of August 22, Soviet soldiers liberated Akkerman and continued their offensive to the southwest.

Bombing by Soviet aircraft of the Romanian port of Constanta

Soviet boats of the Black Sea Fleet type MO-4 enter the port of Varna

As a result, on August 24, the first stage of the strategic offensive operation was completed. The enemy’s defensive lines fell, the Iasi-Kishinev group was surrounded. 18 divisions out of 25 available in Army Group “Southern Ukraine” fell into the “cauldron”. A huge gap appeared in the German defense, which there was nothing to cover. A coup d'etat took place in Romania, the Romanians began to lay down their arms or turn them against the Germans. By August 26, the entire territory of the Moldavian SSR was liberated from the Nazis.

German self-propelled artillery unit Hummel, destroyed as a result of the bombing of a German column with high-explosive bombs

Coup d'etat in Romania. Destruction of the Chisinau group.

Before his arrest, he planned to carry out additional mobilization in the country and create a new line of defense together with the Germans. At the same time, many members of his cabinet were arrested. King Michael gave a speech on the radio in which he announced that Romania was leaving the war on the side of Germany and accepting the terms of the armistice. The new government demanded the withdrawal of German troops from Romanian territory. It should be noted that Stalin highly appreciated Mihai’s courage; after the end of the war, the king was awarded the Order of Victory.

At the same time, the German military-political leadership did not give up hope of keeping at least part of Romania under its control. Already on August 24, the creation of a pro-German leadership led by the fascist organization “Iron Guard” Horia Sima was announced in Berlin. Adolf Hitler ordered the arrest of the Romanian king. The Wehrmacht occupied the strategic oil-producing region of Ploiesti. During August 24 - 29, 1944, there were stubborn battles between German and Romanian troops. During these clashes, the Romanians were able to capture more than 50 thousand Germans, including 14 generals.

They rushed to break through in large masses of infantry, supported by armored vehicles and artillery. We were looking for weak points in the encirclement ring. However, during a series of separate heated battles, the German troops were defeated. By the end of August 27, the entire German group was destroyed. By August 28, that part of the German group that was able to break through to the western bank of the Prut and tried to break through to the Carpathian passes was also liquidated.

Residents of Bucharest greet Soviet soldiers. The inscription on the large banner can be translated as “Long live the great Stalin - the brilliant leader of the Red Army”

Results.

German-Romanian troops lost about 135 thousand people killed, wounded and missing. More than 208 thousand people were captured. 2 thousand guns, 340 tanks and assault guns, almost 18 thousand vehicles and other equipment and weapons were captured as trophies. Soviet troops lost more than 67 thousand people, of which over 13 thousand people were killed, missing, died from disease, etc.

On September 8, Bulgaria declared war on Germany. Yes, and Türkiye is concerned. She maintained neutrality, but was friendly to Germany, and was waiting in the wings when she could profit at the expense of Russia. Now one could pay for preparing an invasion of the Caucasus. The Turks urgently began to establish friendship with the British and Americans.

The operation was also distinguished by close and skillful interaction of all types of troops, high enemy losses, and relatively low losses of Soviet troops. The operation clearly demonstrated the greatly increased level of Soviet military art, the combat skills of the command staff and the combat experience of soldiers.

(Visited 2,789 times, 4 visits today)

Home Encyclopedia History of Wars More details

Iasi-Kishinev strategic offensive operation (August 20 - 29, 1944)

The Iasi-Kishinev operation is a strategic offensive operation of the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts in cooperation with the forces of the Black Sea Fleet in the Great Patriotic War, carried out on August 20 - 29 with the aim of defeating the German Army Group “Southern Ukraine”, which covered the Balkan direction, complete the liberation of Moldova and withdraw Romania from the war.

Iasi-Kishinev strategic offensive operation
August 20 - 29, 1944

In April 1944, as a result of a successful offensive on the right bank of Ukraine, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached the line. Iasi - Orhei and went on the defensive. Troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front reached the river. Dniester and captured several bridgeheads on its western bank. These fronts, as well as the Black Sea Fleet and the Danube Military Flotilla, were tasked with carrying out the Iasi-Kishinev strategic offensive operation with the aim of defeating a large group of German and Romanian troops covering the Balkan direction.

Colonel General
Hans Friesner

The Army Group “Southern Ukraine” under the command of Colonel General G. Friesner defended in front of the Soviet troops.

It included 2 army groups: “Wehler” (8th German and 4th Romanian armies, and 17th German Army Corps) and “Dumitrescu” (6th German and 3rd Romanian armies). In total, it had 900 thousand people, 7,600 guns and mortars, over 400 tanks and assault guns and 810 combat aircraft (4th German Air Force and Romanian aviation). The enemy created a strong defense in depth, consisting of 3 - 4 defensive lines linked to water barriers and hilly terrain. Strong defensive lines encircled many cities and other populated areas.

The operation was entrusted to the troops of the 2nd (40th, 7th Guards, 27th, 52nd, 4th Guards, 53rd, 6th Tank, 5th Air Army, 5th Guards cavalry corps, 23rd and 18th tank corps; commander - Army General R. Ya. Malinovsky), 3rd (5th shock, 57th, 37th, 46th and 17th air armies , 7th and 4th Guards Mechanized Corps; commander - Army General F.I. Tolbukhin) of the Ukrainian fronts, the Black Sea Fleet (commander Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky) and the Danube Military Flotilla (commander - Rear Admiral S.G. Gorshkov). The actions of the fronts were coordinated by a representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Soviet troops numbered 1,250 thousand people, 16 thousand guns and mortars, 1,870 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, 2,200 combat aircraft. In areas where enemy defenses were broken through (on the 2nd Ukrainian Front - 16 km, on the 3rd - 18 km), high operational densities of attacking troops were created - up to 240 guns and mortars and up to 56 tanks and self-propelled artillery units per 1 km of front .

According to the Headquarters directive of October 2, 1944, the 2nd Ukrainian Front received the task of breaking through the enemy’s defenses, striking with the forces of three combined arms and tank armies at Iasi-Felchiul. At the first stage of the operation, the troops were supposed to capture crossings across the river. Prut and, together with the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, defeat the enemy’s Chisinau grouping, preventing its withdrawal, and then develop an offensive in the general direction of Focsani, securing the right flank of the strike group from the Carpathians.

The 3rd Ukrainian Front was tasked with breaking through the enemy’s defenses south of Bendery and striking with the forces of three combined arms armies in the direction of Khushi, providing a strike force for the front from the south. At the first stage, they had to, in cooperation with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, defeat the enemy’s Chisinau grouping and capture the Leonovo-Moldavka line, and then develop an offensive in the general direction of Reni and Izmail, preventing the enemy from retreating beyond the Prut and Danube rivers.

The fronts were asked to use tank and mechanized formations after breaking through the enemy’s defenses to quickly capture crossings on the river. Prut, and the 5th Guards Cavalry Corps - to cross the river. Seret and providing troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front from the west. The Black Sea Fleet received the task of facilitating the offensive of the troops of the left wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, ensuring they crossed the Dniester estuary, landing tactical troops, and destroying enemy ships. The Danube flotilla was supposed to assist the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front in crossing the Danube.

On August 20, at 7:40 a.m., after powerful artillery and air preparation, the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts went on the offensive, accompanied by a double barrage of fire. At the same time, attack aircraft in groups of 8 to 20 aircraft, at intervals of 15 minutes, carried out bombing and assault strikes on the strongest strongholds and enemy artillery firing positions. Artillery preparation and air strikes turned out to be very effective. The enemy's fire system was suppressed. The enemy suffered heavy losses in manpower and military equipment, especially on the main strip. Control of troops in the battalion-regiment-division link was lost by the enemy. This favorable situation was used by the troops of the shock groupings of the fronts to develop high rates of offensive and break through the enemy’s tactical defenses in the shortest possible time.

In the first half of the day, formations of the 2nd Ukrainian Front broke through two enemy defense lines. In the zone of the 27th Army of Lieutenant General S.G. Trofimenko, the 6th Tank Army of Lieutenant General A.G. Kravchenko began to enter the breakthrough, which, despite all efforts, was unable to break away from the infantry in the offensive. This was explained by the fact that the German advanced units of the 1st Panzer and 18th Mountain Infantry Divisions, advanced from the operational reserve, took up defense on the approaches to the Mare Ridge and, together with the retreating remnants of the defeated units of the 5th and 76th Infantry Divisions, offered stubborn resistance Soviet troops. Due to the fact that the enemy held the Yassy heights in his hands, the 18th Tank Corps could not be brought into the breakthrough on the first day of the operation. Serious assistance to the advancing Soviet troops was provided by the 5th Air Army of Colonel General S.K. Goryunov, which carried out 1,580 sorties on that day.

The offensive of the 3rd Ukrainian Front was so rapid that by the end of the first day of the operation, its troops completed the breakthrough of the enemy’s main defense line and reached the second defensive line, in places wedged to a depth of 10 - 12 km and expanding the breakthrough front to 40 km. This created favorable conditions for the development of a rapid offensive in depth and for isolating the formations of the 3rd Romanian Army with the goal of their subsequent defeat in parts.

Units of the 49th Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Shock Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front on the march during the Iasi-Kishinev operation (Moldova, late August 1944)

The enemy, trying to disrupt the ongoing offensive, pulled up reserves in the morning of August 21 and, relying on the second line of defense, launched a counterattack on the troops of the 37th Army of Lieutenant General I. T. Shlemin, placing special hopes on the actions of his 13th Tank Division. However, all his attempts to stop our advance were unsuccessful. Having exhausted and bled the enemy, the troops of the 37th Army captured the village of Yermoklia with a decisive attack, and by the end of the day they reached the Opach region. By this time, formations of the 46th Army had reached the Alexandreni area.

On the second day of the operation, August 21, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front continued to expand and deepen the breakthrough. By the end of the day, formations of the 27th and 6th Tank armies captured the passes on the Mare ridge, and during the night completed the breakthrough of the enemy’s army defense line. By this time, the troops of the 52nd Army of Lieutenant General K. A. Koroteev had captured the major political and economic center of Romania - the city of Iasi, overcome all three enemy defensive lines and entered the operational space. On the same day, a cavalry-mechanized group and the 18th Tank Corps were introduced into the breakthrough, which proceeded to build on the success in the general direction of Khushi.

In connection with the success achieved by the strike group of troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, its commander at 10 o’clock on August 21 introduced the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps into the breakthrough in the 46th Army zone, which proceeded to rapidly pursue the enemy and by the end of the day reached line Railen - Klyastitsy. At 16:00, in the zone of the 37th Army, its mobile group - the 7th Mechanized Corps - was brought into battle, which, however, did not act decisively enough and by the end of the day was unable to break away from the rifle formations. However, during August 20 and 21, the troops of the shock group of the 3rd Ukrainian Front broke through the enemy’s tactical defenses, defeated his 13th Panzer Division and, increasing the breakthrough to a depth of 40 - 50 km, created a real threat to the isolation of the 6th German Army from the 3rd Romanian. By the morning of August 22, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front captured the Mare ridge and entered the operational space in the direction of the main attack. The troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front also achieved serious results. By this time, the enemy had used up all of its operational reserves and did not have any large forces or means to counter the advance of our troops.

In connection with the successes achieved, the Supreme Command Headquarters issued a directive on August 21, which indicated the need “to quickly close the enemy’s encirclement ring in the Khushi area by the combined efforts of the two fronts, and then narrow this ring with the aim of destroying or capturing the enemy’s Chisinau group.” Following the instructions of the Headquarters, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front continued to develop the offensive. On August 22, formations of the 4th Guards Army under Lieutenant General I.V. Galanin went on the offensive, delivering the main blow on the right flank along the eastern bank of the river. Rod. By the end of this day, the front's troops deeply engulfed the enemy group in the area of Iasi and Chisinau from the west. On August 23, formations of the 27th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front completed the task planned for five days. On the same day, the 6th Tank Army completed clearing the city of Vaslui from the enemy and, having advanced 45 km to the south, captured the city of Birlad. The troops of the 7th Guards Army, Colonel General M.S. Shumilov, completely overcame the Tyrgu - Frumossky fortified area and crossed the river. Seret, and the cavalry-mechanized group of Major General S.I. Gorshkov liberated the city of Roman. The 73rd Rifle Corps of the 52nd Army captured the city of Khushi on the same day.

Continuing the offensive on August 24, troops of the 4th Guards and 52nd Armies and the 18th Tank Corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front reached the river. Prut at the line west of Khushi - Kotumori and connected with the advanced units of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, completing the encirclement of a large enemy group. At the same time, the forward detachments of the 6th Tank Army captured the crossings on the river. Seret in the area north of Focsani and were more than 120 km from the troops of the 52nd Army and the 18th Tank Corps, operating on the internal front of the encirclement. On August 27, the 6th Tank Army broke through the enemy defenses at the Focsani Gate and developed an offensive at a rate of 50 km or more per day.

On August 22, mobile groups and the 37th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front rapidly advanced into the depths of enemy defenses. The 7th Mechanized Corps fought 80 km that day, completing the task set for two days, and the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps covered 90 km. By the end of the day, the front's strike group had expanded the breakthrough to 170 km along the front and to 70 km in depth.

On the left wing of the front, on the night of August 22, General Bakhtin’s group crossed the Dniester estuary and captured a narrow coastal strip. With the support of aviation and naval artillery of the Black Sea Fleet, the first echelons of the 46th Army landed, whose troops defeated the enemy's 310th Infantry Division. In the current situation, the commander of the enemy army group “Southern Ukraine” requested permission from the main command of the ground forces to withdraw the troops of the 6th and 3rd Romanian armies to positions equipped along the river. Rod. Such permission was given to him only on the night of August 22, but it turned out to be late. By the beginning of the withdrawal of these armies (on the night of August 23), the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front were already advancing to their rear and communications, and the next day they completed the encirclement of the 3rd Romanian Army (3 divisions and 1 brigade). On August 24, this army ceased to exist, many of its scattered units, realizing the futility of resistance, surrendered, and the units that offered stubborn resistance were destroyed.

On the night of August 23, the Chisinau enemy group began to retreat to the river. Rod. Having discovered this, the troops of the 5th Shock Army of the Lieutenant General went on the offensive, by the end of August 23 they broke into Chisinau, and the next day they liberated it. By the morning of August 23, formations of the 57th Army captured Bendery and continued the offensive towards the Prut. On the same day, the 7th Mechanized Corps entered the enemy’s retreat route to the river. Prut and took up defense to the northeast, and the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps entered the area to the northeast and also took up defense.

Thus, by the end of August 23, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front cut off the main escape routes of the 6th German Army. The next day, the 37th Army reached the Prut and united with the troops of the 52nd Army and the 18th Tank Corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, thereby finally closing the internal encirclement front, where the 7th, 44th, 52nd, 30th and partially The enemy's 29th Army Corps, as well as a number of its other units.

German self-propelled artillery unit Hummel, destroyed as a result of the bombing of a German column with high-explosive bombs. Iasi-Kishinev offensive operation, 1944

Taking advantage of the indecisive actions of the 78th Rifle Corps of the 4th Guards Army, advancing along the Prut, the enemy held crossings in the Leuseni area and to the north. This allowed him to penetrate part of his forces to the west bank. There were significant enemy forces in the rear of the 52nd Army, north and south of Khushi. The armored boats of the Danube military flotilla, fulfilling the assigned task, on the morning of August 24 broke through the Ochakov arm of the Danube to the port of Vilkov and captured it, and then Kiliya.

The liquidation of the main forces of the encircled enemy group on the left bank of the Prut was carried out by troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front on August 25 - 27. The destruction of the enemy group that broke through to the right bank was completed by the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front mainly by August 29. Only one large enemy group of over 10 thousand people managed to break through to the southwest, travel 70 km and reach the area north of Adjul-Nou. To eliminate it, 3 rifle divisions of the 7th Guards Army, the 23rd Tank Corps and other units were sent, which completed this task on September 4.

In the period from August 20 to 29, troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts, in cooperation with the Black Sea Fleet and the Danube Military Flotilla, defeated the main forces of the enemy army group "Southern Ukraine", liberated the Moldavian Republic and continued to develop an offensive in the central regions of Romania and to borders of Bulgaria.

Under favorable conditions created by the outstanding victories of the Red Army, the democratic forces of Romania raised an armed uprising on August 23, 1944 and overthrew the fascist Antonescu regime. The next day, Romania came out of the war on the side of Germany and declared war on Germany on August 25. Romanian troops took part in the battles with the German invaders, now on the side of the Red Army.

Developing an offensive in the Bucharest and Izmail directions, the main forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and part of the forces of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, breaking through the Focsani fortified area, captured the city of Focsani on August 27. The next day they took the city of Brailov and the port of Sulina, and on August 29, together with the Black Sea Fleet, they captured the port city of Constanta. On the same day, a mobile detachment of the 46th Army entered Bucharest.

As a result of the successful implementation of the Iasi-Kishinev operation, Soviet troops completed the liberation of the Moldavian SSR and the Izmail region of the USSR and withdrew Romania from the war on the side of Nazi Germany.

Again, during the campaign of the second half of 1944, following the breakthrough in Belarus, the enemy’s strategic defense front was broken through. The defeat of the German troops created favorable conditions for deep coverage of the entire southern wing of the German strategic front. The routes to Hungary were opened for Soviet troops. The opportunity arose to provide direct assistance to the allied Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. Favorable conditions arose for the development of the struggle against the Nazi enslavers in Albania and Greece.

The Iasi-Kishinev operation is perhaps one of the few major strategic operations of the Great Patriotic War in which victory over the enemy was achieved with relatively few casualties. The 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts lost 12.5 thousand people, while the enemy lost 18 divisions as a result of the encirclement and destruction of its group. Soviet troops captured 208,600 enemy soldiers and officers as prisoners alone. This is clear evidence of the high level of Soviet military art and the combat skills of the command staff.

Compared to other encirclement operations during the Great Patriotic War, in the Iasi-Kishinev operation the fronts did not scatter their efforts across the main and auxiliary directions, and each of them initially carried out one, but extremely powerful blow. Auxiliary strikes were delivered only after the defense on the main direction was broken through, using the already formed gap to expand the offensive front.

The combat operations of our aviation took place with its complete air supremacy. This made it possible to reliably support and cover advancing troops and inflict great damage on enemy aircraft. Thus, during the operation, 124 air battles were carried out, as a result of which 172 enemy aircraft were shot down - 24.4% of the initial composition of its air force in this operation.

The Iasi-Kishinev operation is characterized by a skillful choice of directions for the main attacks of the fronts, a decisive massing of forces and means, a high rate of attack, the rapid encirclement and liquidation of a large group, and close interaction between ground forces, aviation and naval forces. Based on the results of the operation, 126 formations and units were awarded the honorary names of Chisinau, Iasi, Izmail, Foksani, Rymnik, Constanta and others.

The Iasi-Kishinev operation began early in the morning of August 20, 1944 with a powerful artillery offensive, the first part of which consisted of suppressing enemy defenses before attacking infantry and tanks, and the second part of artillery support of the attack. At 7:40 a.m., Soviet troops, accompanied by a double barrage of fire, went on the offensive from the Kitskansky bridgehead and from the area west of Iasi.
The artillery strike was so strong that the first line of German defense was completely destroyed. This is how one of the participants in those battles describes the state of the German defense in his memoirs:
When we moved forward, the terrain was black to a depth of about ten kilometers. The enemy's defenses were practically destroyed. Enemy trenches, dug to their full height, turned into shallow ditches, no more than knee-deep. The dugouts were destroyed. Sometimes dugouts miraculously survived, but the enemy soldiers in them were dead, although there were no signs of wounds. Death occurred from high air pressure after shell explosions and suffocation.

The offensive was supported by attack aircraft strikes on the strongest strongholds and enemy artillery firing positions. Shock groups of the Second Ukrainian Front broke through the main, and by the middle of the day the 27th Army broke through the second line of defense.

In the offensive zone of the 27th Army, the 6th Tank Army was introduced into the breakthrough, and in the ranks of the German-Romanian troops, as admitted by the commander of Army Group Southern Ukraine, General Hans Friessner, “incredible chaos began.”

The German command, trying to stop the advance of Soviet troops in the Iasi area, launched three infantry and one tank divisions into counterattacks. But this did not change the situation. On the second day of the offensive, the strike force of the 2nd Ukrainian Front fought stubbornly for the third zone on the Mare ridge, and the 7th Guards Army and the cavalry-mechanized group fought for Tirgu-Frumos. By the end of August 21, the front troops had expanded the breakthrough to 65 km along the front and to 40 km in depth and, having overcome all three defensive lines, captured the cities of Iasi and Tirgu-Frumos, thereby taking two powerful fortified areas in a minimum period of time. The 3rd Ukrainian Front successfully advanced in the southern sector, at the junction of the 6th German and 3rd Romanian armies.
On August 21, the Supreme Command Headquarters issued a directive according to which it was necessary “to quickly close the enemy’s encirclement ring in the Khushi area by the combined efforts of the two fronts, and then narrow this ring with the aim of destroying or capturing the enemy’s Chisinau group.”

By the end of the second day of the operation, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front isolated the 6th German Army from the 3rd Romanian Army, closing the encirclement ring of the 6th German Army near the village of Leuseni. Its commander fled, abandoning his troops. Aviation actively assisted the fronts. In two days, Soviet pilots flew about 6,350 sorties. Aviation of the Black Sea Fleet attacked Romanian and German ships and bases in Constanta and Sulina. German and Romanian troops suffered heavy losses in manpower and military equipment, especially on the main line of defense, and began to hastily retreat. In the first two days of the operation, 7 Romanian and 2 German divisions were completely defeated.

The commander of the army group "Southern Ukraine" Friesner, having analyzed the situation in detail after the first day of the offensive of the Soviet troops, realized that the battle was not in favor of the army group and decided to withdraw the troops of the army group beyond the Prut and, despite the absence of Hitler's order, brought his order to troops on August 21. The next day, August 22, he gave permission to the army group and the General Staff to withdraw troops, but it was too late. By that time, the strike groups of the Soviet fronts had already intercepted the main escape routes to the west. The German command overlooked the possibility of encircling its troops in the Chisinau region. On the night of August 22, sailors of the Danube Military Flotilla, together with the landing group of the 46th Army, successfully crossed the 11-kilometer Dniester estuary, liberated the city of Akkerman and began to develop an offensive in the southwestern direction.

On August 23, the Soviet fronts fought in order to close the encirclement and continue advancing on the external front. On the same day, the 18th Tank Corps reached the Khushi area, the 7th Mechanized Corps to the crossings of the Prut in the Leushen area, and the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps to Leovo. The 46th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front pushed the troops of the 3rd Romanian Army to the Black Sea, and it ceased resistance on August 24. On the same day, ships of the Danube military flotilla landed troops in Zhebriyany - Vilkovo. Also on August 24, the 5th Shock Army under the command of General N. E. Berzarin occupied Chisinau.

On August 24, the first stage of the strategic operation of two fronts was completed - breaking through the defense and encircling the Iasi-Kishinev group of German-Romanian troops. By the end of the day, Soviet troops had advanced 130-140 km. 18 divisions were surrounded. On August 24-26, the Red Army entered Leovo, Cahul, and Kotovsk. By August 26, the entire territory of Moldova was occupied by Soviet troops.
In the battles for the liberation of Moldova, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to more than 140 soldiers and commanders. Six Soviet soldiers became full holders of the Order of Glory: G. Alekseenko, A. Vinogradov, A. Gorskin, F. Dineev, A. Karasev and S. Skiba.
The lightning-fast and crushing defeat of the German-Romanian troops near Iasi and Chisinau aggravated the internal political situation in Romania to the limit. The regime of Ion Antonescu has lost all support in the country. Many senior government and military figures in Romania established contacts with opposition parties, anti-fascists, and communists at the end of July and began to discuss preparations for the uprising. The rapid development of events at the front accelerated the onset of the anti-government uprising, which broke out on August 23 in Bucharest. King Michael I took the side of the rebels and ordered the arrest of Antonescu and the pro-Nazi generals. A new government of Constantin Sănatescu was formed with the participation of National Tsaranists, National Liberals, Social Democrats and Communists.

The new government announced Romania's withdrawal from the war on the side of Germany, acceptance of the peace terms offered by the Allies, and demanded that German troops leave the country as soon as possible. The German command refused to comply with this demand and attempted to suppress the uprising. On the morning of August 24, German aircraft bombed Bucharest, and in the afternoon German troops went on the offensive.

The Soviet command sent 50 divisions and the main forces of both air armies deep into Romania to help the uprising, and 34 divisions were left to eliminate the encircled group. By the end of August 27, the group surrounded east of the Prut ceased to exist.
By August 28, that part of the German troops that managed to cross to the western bank of the Prut with the intention of breaking through to the Carpathian passes was also destroyed.
The offensive of Soviet troops on the external front grew increasingly stronger. The troops of the Second Ukrainian Front developed success towards Northern Transylvania and in the Focsani direction; on August 27 they occupied Focsani and reached the approaches to Ploesti and Bucharest. Units of the 46th Army of the Third Ukrainian Front, advancing south along both banks of the Danube, cut off the route of retreat for the defeated German troops to Bucharest.

The Black Sea Fleet and the Danube Military Flotilla facilitated the offensive of troops, landed troops, and carried out strikes with naval aviation. On August 28, the cities of Braila and Sulina were taken, and on August 29, the port of Constanta. On this day, the liquidation of the encircled enemy troops west of the Prut River was completed. This completed the Iasi-Chisinau operation.
The Iasi-Kishinev operation had a great influence on the further course of the war in the Balkans. During it, the main forces of Army Group “Southern Ukraine” were defeated, Romania was withdrawn from the war, and the Moldavian SSR and the Izmail region of the Ukrainian SSR were liberated. Although by the end of August most of Romania was still in the hands of the Germans and pro-Nazi Romanian forces, they were no longer able to organize powerful defensive lines in the country. On August 31, troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front entered Bucharest, occupied by Romanian rebels.

The Iasi-Chisinau operation entered the history of military art as the “Iasi-Chisinau Cannes”. It was characterized by a skillful choice of directions for the main attacks of the fronts, a high tempo of the offensive, rapid encirclement and liquidation of a large enemy group, and close interaction of all types of troops. Based on the results of the operation, 126 formations and units were awarded the honorary names of Chisinau, Iasi, Izmail, Foksani, Rymnik, Constance and others. During the operation, Soviet troops lost 12.5 thousand people, while German and Romanian troops lost 18 divisions. 208,600 German and Romanian soldiers and officers were captured.
Immediately after the completion of the Iasi-Kishinev operation, the post-war restoration of the economy of Moldova began, for which 448 million rubles were allocated from the USSR budget in 1944-45. The socialist transformations that began in 1940 and were interrupted by the Romanian invasion also continued. By September 19, 1944, units of the Red Army, with the help of the population, restored railway communications and bridges across the Dniester, blown up by the retreating German-Romanian troops. Industry was rebuilt. In 1944-45, equipment from 22 large enterprises arrived in Moldova. 226 collective farms in the left bank regions and 60 state farms were restored. The peasantry received, mainly from Russia, seed loans, cattle, horses, etc. However, the consequences of the war and drought, while maintaining the system of compulsory state grain procurements, led to mass starvation and a sharp increase in mortality.

By August 1944, a favorable situation had developed for Soviet troops in the Balkan direction to deliver a decisive blow. In the summer of 1944, the German command transferred 12 divisions from this direction to Belarus and Western Ukraine, thereby weakening the Southern Ukraine Army Group. Despite this, the German-Romanian command created a powerful, deeply layered defense here, consisting of 3-4 defensive lines linked to water obstacles and hilly terrain. Strong defensive lines encircled many cities and other settlements in Moldova and eastern Romania.
By this time, the political situation in Romania had become sharply complicated. On August 4, 1944, Romanian conductor Ion Victor Antonescu met with German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler. At this meeting, Hitler assured his Romanian ally that the Wehrmacht would defend Romania as well as Germany. But, in turn, he demanded assurances from Antonescu that, no matter what the circumstances, Romania would remain an ally of the Reich and would take upon itself the maintenance of German troops operating on Romanian territory. However, in Romania itself, dissatisfaction with the Antonescu regime was growing. Many no longer believed in the successful development of events on the fronts for the Axis countries and feared the threat of the occupation of Romania by Soviet troops.
The Soviet command believed that the Romanian troops, which were mainly located on the flanks, were less combat-ready than the German ones. Therefore, it was decided to deliver the main attack on the flanks in two areas far apart from each other. The 2nd Ukrainian Front struck north-west of Yassy, the 3rd Ukrainian Front - south of Bendery (Suvorovskaya Mountain). At the same time, it was necessary to convince the enemy that the main blow was supposed to be delivered in the tactically more advantageous Chisinau direction. For this purpose, special operational camouflage measures were developed and implemented. Developing an offensive along directions converging towards the Hushi - Vaslui - Falciu area, the fronts were supposed to encircle and destroy the main forces of the Southern Ukraine Army Group, and then quickly advance deep into Romania. The Black Sea Fleet was to provide fire support to the coastal flank of the Third Ukrainian Front, disrupt the coastal sea communications of Germany and Romania, destroy enemy ships and launch massive air strikes on the naval bases of Constanta and Sulina.
The Iasi-Kishinev operation began early in the morning of August 20, 1944 with a powerful artillery offensive, the first part of which consisted of suppressing enemy defenses before attacking infantry and tanks, and the second part of artillery support of the attack. At 7:40 a.m., Soviet troops, accompanied by a double barrage of fire, went on the offensive from the Kitskansky bridgehead and from the area west of Iasi.
The artillery strike was so strong that the first line of German defense was completely destroyed.

The offensive was supported by attack aircraft strikes on the strongest strongholds and enemy artillery firing positions. The strike groups of the Second Ukrainian Front broke through the main line, and the 27th Army, by mid-day, broke through the second line of defense.
In the offensive zone of the 27th Army, the 6th Tank Army was introduced into the breakthrough, and in the ranks of the German-Romanian troops, as admitted by the commander of Army Group Southern Ukraine, General Hans Friessner, “incredible chaos began.” The German command, trying to stop the advance of Soviet troops in the Iasi area, launched three infantry and one tank divisions into counterattacks. But this did not change the situation. On the second day of the offensive, the strike force of the 2nd Ukrainian Front fought a stubborn battle for the third zone on the Mare ridge, and the 7th Guards Army and the cavalry-mechanized group fought for Tirgu-Frumos. By the end of August 21, the front troops had expanded the breakthrough to 65 km along the front and to 40 km in depth and, having overcome all three defensive lines, captured the cities of Iasi and Tirgu-Frumos, thereby taking two powerful fortified areas in a minimum period of time. The 3rd Ukrainian Front successfully advanced in the southern sector, at the junction of the 6th German and 3rd Romanian armies.
By the end of the second day of the operation, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front isolated the 6th German Army from the 3rd Romanian Army, closing the encirclement ring of the 6th German Army near the village of Leuseni. Its commander fled, abandoning his troops. Aviation actively assisted the fronts. In two days, Soviet pilots flew about 6,350 sorties. Aviation of the Black Sea Fleet attacked Romanian and German ships and bases in Constanta and Sulina. German and Romanian troops suffered heavy losses in manpower and military equipment, especially on the main line of defense, and began to hastily retreat. In the first two days of the operation, 7 Romanian and 2 German divisions were completely defeated.
The commander of the army group "Southern Ukraine" Friesner, having analyzed the situation in detail after the first day of the offensive of the Soviet troops, realized that the battle was not in favor of the army group and decided to withdraw the troops of the army group beyond the Prut and, despite the absence of Hitler's order, brought his order to troops on August 21. The next day, August 22, he gave permission to the army group and the General Staff to withdraw troops, but it was too late. By that time, the strike groups of the Soviet fronts had already intercepted the main escape routes to the west. The German command overlooked the possibility of encircling its troops in the Chisinau region. On the night of August 22, sailors of the Danube Military Flotilla, together with the landing group of the 46th Army, successfully crossed the 11-kilometer Dniester estuary, liberated the city of Akkerman and began to develop an offensive in the southwestern direction.
On August 23, the Soviet fronts fought in order to close the encirclement and continue advancing on the external front. On the same day, the 18th Tank Corps reached the Khushi area, the 7th Mechanized Corps to the crossings of the Prut in the Leushen area, and the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps to Leovo. The 46th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front pushed the troops of the 3rd Romanian Army to the Black Sea, and it ceased resistance on August 24. On the same day, ships of the Danube military flotilla landed troops in Zhebriyany - Vilkovo. Also on August 24, the 5th Shock Army under the command of General N. E. Berzarin occupied Chisinau.
On August 24, the first stage of the strategic operation of two fronts was completed - breaking through the defense and encircling the Iasi-Kishinev group of German-Romanian troops. By the end of the day, Soviet troops had advanced 130–140 km. 18 divisions were surrounded. On August 24-26, the Red Army entered Leovo, Cahul, and Kotovsk. By August 26, the entire territory of Moldova was occupied by Soviet troops.

The lightning-fast and crushing defeat of the German-Romanian troops near Iasi and Chisinau aggravated the internal political situation in Romania to the limit. The regime of Ion Antonescu has lost all support in the country. Many senior government and military figures in Romania established contacts with opposition parties, anti-fascists, and communists at the end of July and began to discuss preparations for the uprising. The rapid development of events at the front accelerated the onset of the anti-government uprising, which broke out on August 23 in Bucharest. The young Romanian King Mihai I took the side of the rebels and ordered the arrest of Antonescu and the pro-Nazi generals. A new government of Constantin Sănatescu was formed with the participation of National Tsaranists, National Liberals, Social Democrats and Communists. The new government announced Romania's withdrawal from the war on the side of Germany, acceptance of the peace terms offered by the Allies, and demanded that German troops leave the country as soon as possible. The German command refused to comply with this demand and attempted to suppress the uprising. On the morning of August 24, German aircraft bombed Bucharest, and in the afternoon German troops went on the offensive. The new Romanian government declared war on Germany and asked the Soviet Union for help.
The Soviet command sent 50 divisions and the main forces of both air armies deep into Romania to help the uprising, and 34 divisions were left to eliminate the encircled group. By the end of August 27, the group surrounded east of the Prut ceased to exist.
By August 28, that part of the German troops that managed to cross to the western bank of the Prut with the intention of breaking through to the Carpathian passes was also destroyed.
The offensive of Soviet troops on the external front grew increasingly stronger. The troops of the Second Ukrainian Front developed success towards Northern Transylvania and in the Focsani direction; on August 27 they occupied Focsani and reached the approaches to Ploesti and Bucharest. Units of the 46th Army of the Third Ukrainian Front, advancing south along both banks of the Danube, cut off the route of retreat for the defeated German troops to Bucharest. The Black Sea Fleet and the Danube Military Flotilla facilitated the offensive of troops, landed troops, and carried out strikes with naval aviation. On August 28, the cities of Braila and Sulina were taken, and on August 29, the port of Constanta. On this day, the liquidation of the encircled enemy troops west of the Prut River was completed. This completed the Iasi-Chisinau operation.

Who led the Iasi Chisinau operation? How it happened: Iasi-Chisinau operation

Iasi-Kishinev strategic offensive operation (August 20 - 29, 1944)