Parade of 57,000 German prisoners of war in the streets of Moscow. Under escort, 1944.
In the summer of 1944, the Soviet Union launched Operation Bagration, a large-scale, complex offensive against the Nazi invaders in Belarus, Poland and the Baltic republics.
This decisive Soviet offensive was launched immediately after the Allied landings in Normandy. And it is indicative of the public’s lack of information about the war in the East: while almost everyone has heard of D-Day, few people outside of specialist historians know much about Operation Bagration.
Operation Bagration (named after a Georgian prince in the war against Napoleon 130 years earlier) was not only one of the largest military offensives of the war, but also one of the most sophisticated.
On June 19, 1944, Red Army partisan units operating behind German lines attacked Wehrmacht transport routes and other supply lines. Two days later, the Soviets launched massive air raids. On June 23 (one day after the third anniversary of the German invasion), the Red Army advanced under cover of darkness.
German prisoners, July 17, 1944.
The Soviet advance surprised the Germans. Once again, the Soviet technique of “maschirovka” (deception) had worked. The Soviets advanced in powerful fronts, leaving the enemy units isolated behind – a tactic made even more effective by a tactically disastrous decision by Hitler. The German leader had ordered the soldiers of Army Group Center to remain firm and unyielding in the face of any Soviet advance.
Hitler’s directive of March 8, 1944, announced that “fortified places” should form the core of the German defense. The idea was that the Soviets would advance past these fortifications, which, according to Hitler, “would fulfill the function of fortresses in earlier historical times.”
The commander of the German 9th Army, General Jordan, could hardly believe the order he had received. “The 9th Army is on the eve of another major battle,” he wrote, “the extent and duration of which are unpredictable… The army believes that even under the present conditions it would be possible to halt the enemy offensive, but not under the current directives, which require an absolutely strict defense.”
“Hitler’s orders to remain steadfast were absolutely disastrous,” confirms military historian Antony Beevor. “He denied his generals any flexibility or leeway, which was in complete contradiction to all the principles and doctrines of the German General Staff… but because Hitler distrusted his generals so much, he wanted to control everything, and that was basically the downfall of the German army.”
All these prisoners surrendered after “Operation Bagration”.
The operation led to the almost complete destruction of Army Group Center, which lost the entire Fourth Army and the majority of the Third Panzer and Ninth Armies.
This defeat was as devastating for the German armed forces as all other defeats in the Second World War. By the end of the operation, most of the western Soviet Union had been liberated, and the Red Army had gained a foothold in Romania and Poland. German losses ultimately amounted to well over half a million men killed or wounded, even exceeding the casualty figures at Verdun in 1916.
The Germans lost 350,000 men, 160,000 prisoners died en route to POW camps, and 57,000 prisoners were paraded in Moscow. Operation Bagration was Hitler’s worst military defeat of World War II. It broke the back of the Wehrmacht and contributed to the fall of Hitler’s “Reich,” which lasted barely a decade instead of the promised 1,000 years.
For its offensive, the Red Army deployed 118 rifle divisions, 13 artillery divisions, 6 cavalry divisions, and 8 tank and mechanized corps. More than two million Soviet front-line and support troops participated.
Over one million tons of ammunition and supplies were needed. The Soviet troops were supported by almost 11,000 artillery pieces, 2,300 Katyusha multiple rocket launchers, 2,300 fighter aircraft, 1,800 Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft, 650 medium bombers, and 430 night bombers.
Operation Bagration – the Soviet destruction of the German Army Group Center – was probably the most successful military operation of the entire war.
This defeat was the most devastating for the German armed forces in the entire Second World War.
The Germans lost 350,000 men, 160,000 prisoners died on the way to prisoner-of-war camps, and 57,000 prisoners were brought before Moscow.
German losses ultimately amounted to well over half a million dead and wounded, even more than the victims of the Battle of Verdun in 1916.
High-ranking officers lead the parade.
The operation broke the back of the Wehrmacht.
Most of these prisoners of war did not return to Germany alive.