The Vienna Offensive was launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to invade Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945. The battle for the Austrian capital was characterized in some cases by fierce urban combat, but there were also parts of the city the Soviets advanced into with little opposition.
About Vienna Offensive in brief
The Vienna Offensive was launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to invade Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945. After a few days’ street fighting the Soviet troops captured the city. Joseph Stalin reached an agreement with the Western Allies prior to April 1945 concerning the relative postwar political influence of each party in much of Eastern and Central Europe. These agreements said virtually nothing about the fate of Austria, then officially considered to be merely the Ostmark area of Greater Germany after the Anschluss. As a result, the victory of a Soviet offensive toward Austria and the liberation by the Red Army of a large part of this country would have been very beneficial for subsequent postwar negotiations with theWestern Allies. The battle for the Austrian capital was characterized in some cases by fierce urban combat, but there were also parts of the city the Soviets advanced into with little opposition.
The last defenders in Vienna finally surrendered in the city on 13 April, when the Danube de Flotilla landed on the Reichsbrücke Bridge, moving the rest of the 9th of the 46th Army to cut off the city from rest of Austria. The Soviet success in the western suburbs was followed quickly by infiltration of the eastern and northern suburbs later the same day. By 11 April, the Soviet began to infiltrate the center of Vienna, but on the night of 11 April the 4th Guards Army stormed the canals, cutting the bridge, and securing the bridge. However, other important bridges were destroyed, and the last defenders finally surrendered on the last day of the offensive. The only major German force facing the Soviets was the German II SS Panzer Corps of the 6th SS Panzer Army, along with ad hoc forces made up of garrison and anti-aircraft units.
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This page is based on the article Vienna Offensive published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 12, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
