- was a 1944 counteroffensive by the soviets against the germans in the eastern front

- took place in 22 june and 19 august 1944

- at the same time the Allies such as the USA and Britain had begun the invasion of German occupied France 2 weeks ago in Normandy

- the allies were also in Italy tying up the axis troops

- the Germans had to fight a battle on three fronts and thus spread thin

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so the night before invasion the soviets sent out minesweepers who managed to clear 34000 mines before dawn

3 weeks of war= total American casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan

The Wehrmacht had redeployed one-third of Army Group Centre's artillery, half of its tank destroyers, and 88 per cent of tanks to the south in anticipation of attack, as well as 18 infantry and mechanized divisions (whole of the reserve

580 German tanks, tank destroyers and self propelled guns vs 4000+ of Russia

Due to this, Germany was deprived of 100,000 personnel and 552 tanks, assault guns and self-propelled guns at the start of Operation Bagration.

• Soviets left four tank armies in the L'vov-Peremyshl area and allowed the Germans to know it.

  
  

Soviets were convinced that the Axis powers in Romania needed to be removed and kept the Germans concerned about their defences there and in southern Poland, drawing German forces to the L'vov sector.

The offensive against Army Group Centre which lacked mobile reserves and support created a crisis in the central sector, forcing the German armoured forces north to Byelorussia from Poland and Romania, despite the presence of powerful Soviet concentrations threatening German-occupied Poland

Operation commenced

• a deception attack in the south to fool Germans into thinking main attack will come from the south

• main attack was in the Belorussian corridor

• first phase of Operation Bagration focused like a trident on three major German positions of Army Group Centre.

Vitebsk-Orsha Offensive

resulted in the towns of Vitebsk and Orsha being liberated while German armies were either pushed back or encircled.

June 23 to 28 1944

Mogilev offensive

Mogilev Offensive fulfilled all its immediate objectives

not only was the city itself taken

4th Army was successfully prevented from disengaging in time to escape encirclement in the Minsk Offensive

Bobruysk offensive

24 June

strategic offensive to the main

2nd phase

retake minsk

complete encirclement of german forces

Minsk offensive

june 28

Polotsk offensive

retaking of polotsk

3rd phase

Šiauliai offensive

Vilnius offensive

Lublin–Brest offensive

Kaunas offensive

Osovets offensive

Once the offensive against Army Group Centre, which lacked mobile reserves and support, had been initiated, it would force the German armoured forces north to Belarus from Poland and Romania and force it to fight against powerful Soviet concentrations.

Southern Pincer Movement - Bobruisk Offensive: Simultaneously, the 1st Ukrainian Front, under Marshal Ivan Konev, launched an offensive in the south, conducting a pincer movement with the 1st Belorussian Front. The southern offensive targeted the city of Bobruisk and contributed to the encirclement of German forces.

• The rapid advance of Soviet forces sometimes outpaced their supply lines. The extensive distances covered by the advancing fronts created logistical challenges, leading to difficulties in providing consistent and timely supplies to the advancing troops.

2. Weather conditions

• Heavy rains during the latter stages of the operation turned the terrain into mud, Rasputitsa, impeding the movement of both Soviet and German forces. The adverse weather conditions slowed down the Soviet advance and made maneuvering difficult.