The offensive began on the same day as the much larger
Vistula–Oder offensive, while the
East Prussian offensive was opened a day later.
Offensive of the 4th Ukrainian Front On January 12, at 8:15 a.m., the
38th Army (Colonel General
Kirill Moskalenko) of the 4th Ukrainian Front attacked after heavy artillery preparation with two Rifle Corps (the 101st and
67th). Behind its left flank, the
52nd Rifle Corps was held in reserve for a follow-up attack. On 15 January, the breakthrough through the German
XI SS Panzer Corps (General
Matthias Kleinheisterkamp) was achieved and could be pursued up to 18 km in the next few days. On January 16,
Jasło (in present-day south-eastern Poland) was captured by the
70th Guards and
140th Rifle Division of the 101st Rifle Corps. On 18 January, to the south, the
1st Guards Army (General
Andrei Grechko) opened its offensive against the German
XI Army Corps (General
von Bünau) over the
Ondava river. The 4th Ukrainian Front used about 215 tanks and self-propelled guns, 134 of them with the 38th Army and only 42 tanks in the 1st Guard Army because of the mountainous terrain. The front of the German 253rd Infantry Division (Lieutenant General
Carl Becker), deployed in the area 25 km south of Jasło, from
Polany to south of
Stropkov, was torn apart by the Soviet
11th and 107th Rifle Corps. The German troops were pushed back up to 22 km and the next day
Prešov was captured by Soviet troops. Further to the south, the Soviet
18th Army (Lieutenant General
Anton Gastilovich) attacked the positions of the German
XXXXIX Mountain Corps (General
Karl von Le Suire), in the section of the Hungarian V. Corps, and the city of
Košice (in present-day Eastern Slovakia) was taken.
Offensive of the 2nd Ukrainian Front The left wing of the 2nd Ukrainian Front simultaneously launched its offensive from northern Hungary and invaded the
Slovak Ore Mountains. The Soviet
40th Army (Lieutenant General
Filipp Zhmachenko) pushed the Hungarian 1st Army back through the Rosenau cauldron to
Rožňava, crossed the river
Sajó and captured the city of
Brezno (
Pleshevets–Breznovsk offensive or
Plešivec–
Brezno offensive). To the left of it, the Soviet
27th Army (Colonel-General
Sergei Trofimenko) accompanied the advance on
Zvolen.
Final phase By the end of January, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front reached the German defensive lines on the river
Soła east of the line
Żywiec -
Jablonka -
Liptovský Hrádok -
Liptovský Mikuláš. The advance of the 4th Ukrainian Front was stopped west of
Strumień,
Żywiec and
Jablonka, east of
Liptovský Hrádok and
Liptovský Mikuláš. The heavily defended town of
Bielsko-Biała was captured by the 1st Guards Army and the 38th Army. The 2nd Ukrainian Front continued the fighting until mid-March and reached the
Hron River.
Losses and consequences The Red Army crushed 17 divisions and 1 brigade of the Axis powers, taking 137,000 prisoners, according to its own not always verifiable sources. In addition, it destroyed or captured 2,300 guns, 320 tanks and 65 aircraft, also according to its own data. Large parts of Slovakia and the southern areas of Poland were liberated from the German occupiers. The Red Army puts its own casualties at 78,988 (including 16,337 dead and 62,651 wounded). The Romanian 1st and 4th army lost 12,000 soldiers (2,500 dead) and the 1st Czechoslovak Corps 970 men (260 dead). In addition, 359 tanks, 753 guns and 94 aircraft are said to have been lost on the Soviet side. Germany lost control of the
Slovak Ore Mountains, and their strategic resources. == Sources ==