The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command outlined the initial plan of the offensive in the direction of Vienna in a directive dated February 17, 1945. However, it was not possible to implement it due to the dramatically changed situation. In the last ten days of February, German troops liquidated the bridgehead of the 7th Guards Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front on the river. Gron, and also began to concentrate tank divisions against the 3rd Ukrainian Front. Under the circumstances, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command ordered Marshal, commander of his troops, Soviet Union to gain a foothold on the reached line and repel the blows of the enemy on it.

Three days after the start of the Balaton defensive operation, March 9, the Supreme Commander clarified the tasks of the two fronts. Contrary to the original intention, the main role in the upcoming offensive operation, which later became known as the "Vienna", was assigned to the 3rd Ukrainian Front. He was ordered no later than March 15-16 to move from defense to offensive without an operational pause and strike in the direction of Papa, Sopron. On March 17-18, the 46th Army and the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front were to start active operations, which had the task of conducting an offensive with the support of the Danube military flotilla and the 5th air army in the direction of Gyor.

The commander of the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front allocated the 9th (came from the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command) and the 4th Guards Army, Colonel General V.A., to the main strike group. Glagolev and Lieutenant General N.D. Zakhvataev - a total of 18 rifle divisions, 3900 guns and mortars, 197 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts. At the first stage, they had to surround and defeat the enemy grouping in the area south and southwest of Szekesfehervar, as well as cut off the possible escape routes for the main forces of the 6th SS Panzer Army, which, after localizing their wedging in the area of ​​Lake. Balaton were in the operational "bag". The destruction of the latter was assigned to the 27th and 26th armies of lieutenant generals and the 18th and 23rd tank and 1st guards mechanized corps (a total of 217 tanks and self-propelled guns). The task of the 57th and Bulgarian 1st armies of lieutenant generals and V. Stoichev was to defeat the German 2nd tank army in the Nagykanizha area. Ground troops were supported by the 17th air army(Colonel-General of Aviation V.A. Sudets), numbering 837 aircraft.

On most axes, the enemy in mid-March hastily carried out the transition from offensive to defensive on previously reached lines and sought to prepare them in engineering terms. The exception was the section Esztergom, Szekesfehervar, occupied by him in advance. Here, in the main defense zone 5-7 km deep, there were two or three lines of trenches with wood-and-earth firing points, the approaches to which were covered with barbed wire and minefields. At a distance of 10-20 km from the front line, the second lane passed. It housed separate strongholds and nodes of resistance. In the operational depth, the line was equipped along the western bank of the river. Slave, which already represented a difficult natural obstacle to overcome. A large number of various defensive structures built using the advantages of rugged terrain were also located on the outskirts of the capital of Austria - Vienna. Their density increased as they approached the city.

The offensive of the main strike force of the 3rd Ukrainian Front began in the afternoon of March 16 after artillery and aviation training. Formations of the 9th and 4th Guards Armies successfully overcame the first position of the enemy defense, but later the pace of their advance slowed down. First of all, this was due to the lack of direct infantry support tanks and self-propelled guns in combat formations, as well as the backlog of escort artillery. As a result, the penetration of Soviet troops into the defense by the end of the day was from 3 to 7 km. They did not fulfill the task of the first day of the offensive. In order to increase the force of the strike, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command transferred the 3rd Ukrainian Front to the 6th Guards Tank Army, Colonel General, which until that time was part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and was located in the Budapest area. Entering it into battle after regrouping could be carried out no earlier than two days later.

During March 17, the rifle divisions of the 9th and 4th Guards Armies continued to slowly push the enemy and increased the penetration into his defenses only up to 10 km. Did not make a turning point in the course of hostilities and the next day. On the morning of March 19, the entry into battle of the 6th Guards Tank Army began, the task of which was to complete the encirclement of the groupings of German troops southeast and southwest of Szekesfehervar. However, its tank corps met stubborn resistance from numerous tactical groups of the enemy (several tanks and assault guns), could not break away from the rifle units and, as a result, did not have a significant impact on the overall pace of the offensive. In such a situation, the command of the Army Group "South" was able to increase its efforts against the formations of the right wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Front by maneuvering from non-attacked sectors and began to withdraw the 6th SS Panzer Army from the area southeast of Szekesfehervar.

In an effort to exclude her exit from the emerging environment, Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin decided to strike with the 4th Guards, 27th and 26th armies in order to cut the enemy grouping into two isolated parts. At the same time, the 9th Guards and 6th Guards Tank Armies were to continue the offensive in the same direction in order to exclude the approach of enemy reserves.

In the next two days, March 20 and 21, heavy fighting was fought on the right wing of the front. German tank divisions, using numerous rivers, canals, defiles and minefields, held back the advance of Soviet troops with fire and counterattacks, inflicting significant damage to them in people and military equipment. Only by the end of March 21, the main forces of the 6th SS Panzer Army were blocked in the Szekesfehervar, Berhida, Polgardi area. True, they soon made a powerful blow along the northern shore of the lake. Balaton broke through to the west.

On the direction of another strike, the 46th Army of Lieutenant General A.V. Petrushevsky, going on the offensive on March 17, broke through the enemy’s defenses on the very first day and ensured the entry into battle of the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps, Lieutenant General K.V. Sviridov. By the end of March 20, his brigades reached the Danube and deeply engulfed the Esztergom-Tovarosh grouping of the enemy from the south-west, numbering about 17 thousand people. In general, in the period from March 16 to March 25, the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts broke the resistance of the German and Hungarian army formations between the river. Danube and lake. Balaton, overcame the mountains Verteshkheldsheh and the Bacon forest, advanced to a depth of 80 km and created the conditions for the development of an offensive against Vienna.

During the pursuit of the enemy, which unfolded from March 26, the 46th Army, together with the Danube military flotilla (Rear Admiral G.N. Kholostyakov), liquidated the Esztergom-Tovarosh grouping, captured the cities of Komar and Gyor, completely cleared the southern bank of the Danube from enemy troops from Esztergom to the mouth of the river. Slave. At the same time, the divisions of the 9th and 4th Guards Armies crossed this river on the move and continued the offensive in the direction of Sopron. As they approached the Hungarian-Austrian border, the resistance of the Hungarian units began to weaken significantly. Only for three days south of the river. Danube from their composition surrendered about 45 thousand soldiers and officers. On March 30, formations of the 6th Guards Tank Army broke through the border fortifications south of Sopron on the move and invaded Austria on a 20-kilometer stretch. By April 4, the main forces of the shock group of the 3rd Ukrainian Front had reached the approaches to Vienna.

In connection with the deep advance of the armies of its right wing in the direction of Sopron, and the 27th and 26th armies towards Zalaegerszeg and Sombatel, the German 2nd Panzer Army, which was defending in the Nagykanizsa region, was deeply engulfed from the north. Fearing to be cut off from communications with Germany, on March 28, her command began to withdraw its troops. The next day, the 57th and Bulgarian 1st armies, operating on the left wing of the front, went on the offensive. On April 1, their formations with battles captured the center of the oil-bearing region of Hungary - the city of Nagykanizsa.

On the same day, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command issued a directive to develop a further offensive. She ordered the 3rd Ukrainian Front to capture Vienna no later than April 10-15 with the forces of the right wing, and the armies of the center and left wing to gain a foothold at the turn of the Muri, Mur and Drava rivers. The 46th Army with the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps and the 23rd Tank Corps (transferred from the 3rd Ukrainian Front) had to cross from the right bank of the Danube to the left and cut off the enemy’s Vienna grouping retreat to the north.

On the outskirts of the capital of Austria and in the city itself, units of eight tank and one infantry divisions, which retreated from the area of ​​​​Lake Lake, took up the defense. Balaton, as well as up to fifteen separate infantry and Volkssturm battalions. Numerous defensive positions and engineering structures were prepared in advance here. German troops they blocked the streets with barricades and mined blockages, placed firing points in houses, carefully camouflaged tanks and guns designed for direct fire were placed in destroyed buildings, all bridges across the Danube were prepared for an explosion.

Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin decided to inflict several simultaneous strikes from various directions in order to capture Vienna: from the southeast - by the forces of the 4th Guards Army and the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps (85 serviceable tanks and self-propelled guns); from the south, west and northwest - by the forces of the 6th Guards Tank and 9th Guards Armies, for which they had to bypass the city through the eastern spurs of the Alps.

Fighting on the immediate outskirts of Vienna began on 5 April. But throughout the day, rifle formations only slightly pressed the enemy. Using numerous water barriers prepared for defense and settlements, which extremely limited the maneuver of tanks, he did not allow the shock group of the front to break through to the city. This result was achieved only by the evening of the next day, when the formations of the 4th and part of the forces of the 9th Guards Armies, with the support of the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, Lieutenant General I.N. Russiyanova went to the southern and western outskirts of Vienna and started fighting on its streets. At the same time, the 6th Guards Army and two rifle corps of the 9th Guards Army maneuvered across the eastern spurs of the Alps, reached the western approaches to the city, and cut off the enemy's retreat.

During April 7-9, Soviet troops, widely using assault groups, which included rifle units, tanks and self-propelled guns, escort guns and sappers, fought for each quarter and a separate house. The fighting did not stop at night, for which reinforced rifle battalions were allocated from the divisions. On April 10, units of the 4th Guards Army captured the central quarters of Vienna and threw back the opposing enemy over the Danube Canal.

This channel was a serious artificial obstacle. Its depth reached 3 m, and its width - 40-60 m. Vertical, granite-lined banks 6-7 m high made forcing extremely difficult. In addition, the German units destroyed all crossings during the withdrawal and raised the locks. In stone buildings along the canal, they equipped firing points and observation posts, which allowed them to control all approaches to the front line.

In order to fire at the enemy, it was necessary to undermine the walls of houses and install guns and mortars in the gaps made. Their low densities made it impossible to reliably suppress enemy firepower. The assault sapper groups, who crossed the canal using improvised means and set fire to buildings with bottles of combustible mixture, could not break his resistance either. And only the approach of the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps was able to make a change in the situation. Using the fire of tank guns, rifle units of the 4th Guards Army crossed the Danube Canal on the night of April 11 and began to move towards the railway bridge.

By 2 p.m. on April 13, that is, on the seventh day of the fighting, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front had completed the defeat of the Vienna garrison and completely captured the capital of Austria. Two days later, the 46th Army, the 23rd Tank and 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, after crossing the northern bank of the river. Danube, went to the area northwest of the city. However, delays in crossing the river and in the course of the advance did not allow timely interception of the withdrawal routes of the enemy's Vienna grouping to the north. Therefore, part of her forces was able to avoid destruction and captivity.

As a result of the operation, the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts defeated the main forces of the German Army Group South, completely cleared the territory of Hungary from the enemy, liberated a significant part of Czechoslovakia and the eastern regions of Austria with its capital. They captured more than 130 thousand soldiers and officers, destroyed and captured over 1300 tanks and assault guns, more than 2250 field guns, a large number of another military equipment. At the same time, the losses of the two fronts amounted to 167,940 people, of which 38,661 were irretrievable, 603 tanks and self-propelled guns, 764 guns and mortars, 614 aircraft. For courage, heroism and high military skill shown during the Vienna operation, 50 formations and units were awarded the honorary title "Viennese". By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 9, 1945, the medal "For the Capture of Vienna" was established, which was awarded to more than 268 thousand Soviet soldiers.

Sergey Lipatov,
researcher at the Research Institute
(military history) Military Academy
General Staff of the RF Armed Forces

Chapter sixteen.

RELIEF OF VIENNA

In 1943, Allied aircraft began bombing Vienna. As a result, by August 1944, according to the historian Jean de Cara, "Vienna ceased to be Vienna."

On March 12, 1945, Vienna was again subjected to a barbaric bombardment. In total, during the 52 air attacks of the allied forces, about nine thousand people died. Thousands of buildings were damaged or destroyed, tens of thousands of Viennese apartments became uninhabitable, the streets of the city were literally littered with the rubble of what until recently constituted the unique image of Vienna. In general, it can be said that during the Anglo-American bombing and then street fighting, the city suffered enormous damage, but at the same time, the historical ensemble of the Old City was miraculously preserved.

Street fighting for the liberation of Vienna. April 1945

In the period from March 16 to April 15, 1945, after the Vienna offensive operation was carried out by the forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Marshal R.Ya. Malinovsky and the 3rd Ukrainian Front Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin, Vienna was liberated from the Nazi troops.

On the German side, the Soviet troops were opposed by Army Group South, led by Generals Otto Wöhler and then Lothar von Rendulich.

Hitler was not going to surrender Austria and Vienna without a fight. The 6th SS Panzer Army and a number of other units were transferred here. Defensive structures were hastily erected. Barricades were set up on the streets and squares of Vienna, firing points were equipped in the houses. Bridges across the Danube and canals were mined.

Colonel General von Rendulich, who replaced Otto Wöhler, was considered a defense specialist. It was not without propaganda tricks. In particular, rumors were deliberately spread that Soviet army will destroy all the Austrians who were members of the National Socialist Party, that the forcible evacuation of the population from the eastern regions of the country to Siberia has allegedly already begun.

In addition, the fascist command turned to the inhabitants of Vienna with an appeal to fight "to the last opportunity."

On April 5, 1945, units of the 3rd Ukrainian Front were already fighting on the outskirts of Vienna. The next day, street fighting broke out on the outskirts of the city. After that, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front were also involved in the operation, which were supposed to bypass the Austrian capital from the north.

As for the mined bridges across the Danube, a group of Russian intelligence officers managed to recapture one of them from the Germans. Here is what A.A. Chkheidze, who at that time was a scout of the Danube flotilla, who traveled from Odessa to Vienna:

“On April 5, 1945, Soviet warships with landing troops moved away from the moorings of Bratislava and headed up the Danube. The fighting for the liberation of Austria began […]

I remember it was a warm spring day. From the Danube embankment, I carefully examined the bridges through binoculars - Vienna and Imperial. The heavy farms of the first bathed in the water. The Danube water flowed through them. Hitler's generals turned Vienna into a powerful center of resistance. The enemy blocked the streets of the city with numerous barricades and created blockages. Many stone buildings were equipped with firing points. Vienna was the last bastion on the outskirts of the southern regions of Germany.

Of the five bridges in Vienna, four were blown up, and only the fifth - the Imperial - was mined, but not yet blown up. The fascist German command did everything possible to keep the entire right-bank part of Vienna in its hands. The attempts made by our troops on April 9 and 10 to capture the bridge were repulsed by the enemy.”

It is surprising, but exactly 140 years before that, the Napoleonic general Marbo had already noted the importance of bridges across Vienna. In his famous Memoirs, this man wrote:

“The city of Vienna is located on the right bank of the Danube, a huge river, the small branch of which passes through this city, and the large one is about half a league away. The Danube forms here a large number of small islands, united together by a whole series of wooden bridges, ending with one large bridge crossing a wide branch of the river. The bridge comes out on the left bank of the river at a place called Spitz. The road to Moravia from Vienna passes through this long chain of bridges. When the Austrians left the crossing, they had one very bad habit of keeping the bridges until the very last moment. They did this in order to be able to return and attack the enemy, who almost always did not give them time for this, but attacked himself, capturing not only manpower, but also the bridges themselves, which, through negligence, were not burned. This is exactly what the French did during the Italian campaign of 1796 at numerous crossings between Lodi and Arcole. However, these lessons were in vain for the Austrians. After they left Vienna, practically unfit for defense, they retired to the opposite bank of the Danube without destroying any of all the bridges that were thrown over this wide river. They limited themselves to preparing various flammable materials in front of the large bridge, in order to set fire to it as soon as the French appeared.

But the Germans of 1945 were not Austrians early XIX century. Of the five bridges in Vienna, they had already blown up four, and the fifth was carefully mined, being ready to blow it up at any moment.

According to A.A. Chkheidze, commander of the brigade of river ships A.F. Arzhavkin proposed to capture the bridge, landing simultaneously on the right and left banks of the Danube at the approaches to the bridge. This plan was approved by the commander of the flotilla.

“A landing detachment and a cover detachment were formed under the command of Senior Lieutenant S.I. Klopovsky. It included five armored boats. The detachment of artillery support ships consisted of eight mortar boats. They were commanded by Senior Lieutenant G.I. Bobkov. A reinforced rifle company from the 80th Guards Rifle Division under the command of Senior Lieutenant E.A. Pilosyan.

Our armored boats were stationed near the place where I was on duty and monitored the enemy. Finally, a company of submachine gunners appeared. There were over a hundred of them. The paratroopers brought with them a 45 mm cannon and four heavy machine guns.

Before landing, the naval officer explained to the machine gunners how best to act during the transition on the boat. The entire company was loaded onto two armored boats.

Exactly at 11 o'clock, five armored boats moved away from the right bank and headed for the Imperial Bridge. They safely passed the destroyed Vienna Bridge and ended up in the enemy's position.

The appearance of Soviet ships in the city center during the day came as a surprise to the Nazis. Taking advantage of this, Senior Lieutenant Klopovsky put up a smokescreen. And he himself opened fire from guns and machine guns on enemy batteries located on both sides of the Danube. The enemy responded with heavy fire. The shells of the enemy battery installed on the elevator were especially accurately torn.

Immediately, our aviation made a raid on the Nazis. The fighting ships, firing, were approaching the Imperial Bridge. While three boats, maneuvering, destroyed enemy firing points on the shore, two other boats with landing troops separated. The armored boat under the command of senior lieutenant A.P. Sinyavsky headed to the left bank, and the armored boat under the command of senior lieutenant A.P. Tretyachenko - to the right bank. Klopovsky's boat covered them with a smoke screen.

I clearly saw how our paratroopers quickly disembarked from the boats, how they quickly drove the submachine gunners guarding the Imperial Bridge. Soon he was in our hands, and the wires leading to the explosives were cut by miners.

Naturally, as soon as the paratroopers captured the Imperial Bridge, the Germans immediately launched violent attacks, as they perfectly understood what the loss of this only bridge threatened them with (the troops on the right bank would immediately be cut off from the main forces). The defense of the bridge was led by Senior Lieutenant E.A. Pilosyan. On the night of April 12-13, the Germans made fierce attacks on the bridge, and although the guards held on very staunchly, the forces were unequal ...

It is not known how it would have ended, but on the morning of April 13, Soviet troops broke through the German defenses in the area of ​​the Vienna Bridge. Following the paratroopers, the soldiers of the 80th Guards Division rushed into the gap. Help arrived in time, the bridge was saved, and on the same day Vienna was completely liberated.

And here is what General S.M. writes about the capture of Vienna in his book “The General Staff during the War Years”. Shtemenko:

“On one of these days, the Supreme Commander, when reporting on the situation, said, as he often did, without directly addressing anyone:

And where is the same Social Democrat Karl Renner who was a student of Kautsky now? He worked for many years in the leadership of the Austrian Social Democracy and, it seems, was the head of the last parliament of Austria? ..

No one answered: such a question was not expected at all.

You can not neglect the influential forces that stand on anti-fascist positions, - continued Stalin. - Probably, the Hitlerite dictatorship taught the Social Democrats something...

And then we got the task to ask about the fate of Renner and, if he is alive, to find out his place of residence. We transmitted the corresponding order by telephone to the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

We knew little about the internal situation in Austria [...] There was no information about Renner either.

But on April 4, a report came from the Military Council of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, which reported that Karl Renner himself appeared at the headquarters of the 103rd Guards Rifle Division. Later I was told that this was the case. A tall, gray-haired man in a black suit was led into the office where the staff officers worked and introduced himself in German. At first, no one paid much attention to him. Then, however, one of the political workers realized who he was dealing with and quickly reported to his superiors.

Renner turned out to be a sociable person. He willingly told the officers about his duty life path. Since 1894, Renner was a member of the Social Democratic Party, in 1918-1920. was Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, and in 1931-1933. - President of the Austrian Parliament. After the Anschluss, Renner retired to Lower Austria, withdrawing from official political activity.

Our officers asked Carl Renner what he thought of living on. He said that he was already old, but he was ready to “conscience and deed” contribute to the establishment of a democratic regime in Austria. “Now both the communists and the social democrats have the same task - the destruction of fascism,” Renner said. Perfectly understanding the situation in Austria, the astute politician, who was in his eighth decade, correctly assessed his importance as the last pre-Hitler leader of the country's parliament. He offered his assistance in the formation of the provisional government of Austria on war time and warned in advance: "Nazis I exclude from parliament."

The conversation went on for quite some time. It was important for us to know the mood of the Viennese, since intelligence reported on extensive preparations for battles in the Austrian capital. Obviously, the Nazi leaders were preparing the fate of Budapest for the city. Very vague information also reached us about resistance allegedly taking place somewhere in the bowels of the Vienna garrison.

Renner believed that nine-tenths of the population of Vienna was opposed to the Nazis, but fascist repression and Anglo-American bombing frightened the Viennese: they feel depressed and incapable of action. The Social Democrats, for their part, did not take any organized measures to mobilize the population for the fight against the Nazis.

The message about the meeting with Karl Renner was received in Moscow on the evening of April 4th. We with A.I. Antonov understood that some decisions would be made on this matter. As a rule, if everything was fine at the fronts, I.V. Stalin, the members of the Politburo, the State Defense Committee and the government, who usually gathered for meetings in his office in the Kremlin, did not ask any special questions. But this time, during a report on the situation on the 3rd Ukrainian Front, I.V. Stalin, narrowing his eyes cunningly, stopped and looked at the “General Staff” for a long time. After making sure that we understand his thoughts and mood in connection with the telegram about Renner, he again began to walk along the carpet with a satisfied expression on his face. Then, after talking with members of the Politburo, he dictated to us a telegram from the Headquarters to the Military Council of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

The telegram said: 1) trust Karl Renner; 2) inform him that for the sake of restoring a democratic regime in Austria, the command of the Soviet troops will support him; 3) explain to Renner that the Soviet troops entered Austria not to seize its territory, but to expel the fascist invaders. The telegram was signed by I.V. Stalin and A.I. Antonov. I immediately took it to the control room for the transfer of F.I. Tolbukhin.

After that, as General S.M. Shtemenko, it was decided that Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin will appeal to the population of Vienna to resist the Nazis and prevent them from destroying the city, and on behalf of the Soviet government will pass on a statement about the future of Austria.

This statement said:

“The Soviet government does not pursue the goal of acquiring any part of the Austrian territory or changing the social order of Austria. The Soviet Government adheres to the point of view of the Moscow Declaration of the Allies on the independence of Austria. It will implement this declaration. It will contribute to the liquidation of the regime of the Nazi occupiers and the restoration of democratic orders and institutions in Austria.”

“The Red Army entered Austria not with the aim of seizing Austrian territory, but solely with the aim of defeating the enemy Nazi troops and liberating Austria from German dependence. The Red Army is at war with the German occupiers, and not with the population of Austria, who can safely go about their peaceful work. The rumors spread by the Nazis that the Red Army is destroying all members of the National Socialist Party are lies. The National Socialist Party will be disbanded, but the rank and file members of the National Socialist Party will not be touched if they show loyalty to the Soviet troops.

At this time, Soviet troops had already broken into the southwestern, and then the southeastern part of Vienna and started stubborn battles there. The most crucial moment in the history of the liberation of the capital of Austria has come.

These explanations yielded results, and the inhabitants of Vienna, despite all the calls of the German command, not only did not resist the Soviet troops, but also took part in the fight against the Nazi invaders.

Wehrmacht General Kurt von Tippelskirch writes about this:

"Vienna, like other cities, also became the scene of heavy street fighting, but the behavior of the population, as well as individual units participating in the battles for the city, was more aimed at a quick end to the fighting than at resistance."

Everything that happened was immediately reported to Hitler's headquarters. The answer from Berlin was not long in coming.

"To suppress the rebels in Vienna with the most cruel methods."

In early April 1945, General von Bünau was assigned to lead the situation in Vienna, but already on April 7 he was removed, transferring his authority to the commander of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps. Fascist terror raged in the city, aimed at suppressing the resistance movement.

By April 10, German troops in Vienna were pinned down on three sides. Three days later, the armed resistance of the Nazis was broken, and Vienna was liberated.

The results of the operation were: the defeat of eleven Wehrmacht tank divisions, 130,000 captured soldiers and officers, over 1,300 destroyed tanks and self-propelled guns. Soviet troops reached the southern borders of Germany, marking the already predetermined collapse of the Third Reich.

Soviet soldiers and residents of Austria in liberated Vienna. April 1945

Major General I.N. Moshlyak, who commanded the 62nd Guards Rifle Division, recalls:

“Vienna rejoiced. Its inhabitants took to the streets. Sheets with the text of the appeal of the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin […] Crowds of Vienna residents stood in front of sheets pasted on the walls, animatedly discussing the text of the appeal. The townspeople affably waved their hands to the columns of our soldiers passing through the streets, many raised their clenched fist- “Mouth front!” For the inhabitants of Vienna, the war is over, the cannons have ceased to rattle, the machine guns have ceased to scribble, the faustpatrons have ceased to burst. Our sapper units began building crossings across the Danube (all the bridges except one were blown up by the Nazis), repairing tram and railway tracks.

And here is the story of the former scout of the Danube flotilla A.A. Chkheidze:

“The streets and squares of the Austrian capital were crowded with people. Residents warmly treated the Soviet soldiers. We liked the architecture of Vienna and its friendly and elegant people. There are many architectural monuments. I especially remember the majestic St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Austrians are very musical people. Therefore, the sounds of a violin or an accordion were often heard from an open window.

We also visited Strauss' grave. The Danube sailors laid a wreath to the talented composer. They stood at his grave for a long time, recalling what they had read about Strauss's life, and especially the episodes of his life, known to us from the movie "The Great Waltz".

We got acquainted with another “attraction” of Vienna. Near the capital was a large concentration camp. At that time, the name Mauthausen still did not tell us anything. But the Austrians told how many Soviet prisoners of war died here. Particularly shocking was the report that in February 1945, feeling the imminent retribution for their crimes, the Nazis took a group of prisoners out into the cold in their underwear and began to water them with fire hoses. Among the prisoners of war was Lieutenant General Karbyshev, who, together with his comrades, suffered a terrible death.

Karl Renner, in a note sent to the governments of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain at the end of April 1945, said:

“Thanks to the victorious advance of the Red Army, which liberated the capital Vienna and a significant part of Austria from the armies German Empire, it became possible to restore our full political independence again, and, relying on the decisions of the Crimean Conference, as well as the Moscow Conference of 1943, representatives of various political parties of the country decided to restore the Republic of Austria as an independent, independent and democratic state.

General SM. Shtemenko tells that Karl Renner wrote a letter to I.V. Stalin. Here is its content:

“During its offensive, the Red Army found me and my family in my residence of Gloggnitz (near Wiener Neustadt), where, together with my party comrades, full of confidence, I expected her arrival. The local command treated me with deep respect, immediately took me under their protection and again gave me complete freedom of action, which I had to give up with pain in my soul during the fascism of Dollfuss and Hitler. For all this, on my own behalf and on behalf of the working class of Austria, I most sincerely and most humbly thank the Red Army and you, its Supreme Commander-in-Chief, covered with glory.

The following part of Karl Renner's letter dated April 15, 1945, consisted of various kinds of requests. In particular, he wrote:

“The Hitler regime doomed us here to absolute helplessness. We will stand helpless at the gates of the great powers when the transformation of Europe is accomplished. Already today I ask for your favorable attention to Austria in the council of the great ones and, insofar as tragic circumstances permit, I ask you to take us under your mighty protection. We are currently threatened by famine and an epidemic, we are threatened by the loss of territory in negotiations with our neighbors. In our stony Alps, we already have very little arable land, it provides us with only a meager daily subsistence. If we lose another part of our territory, we will not be able to live.”

I.V. Stalin replied to Karl Renner:

“Thank you, dear comrade, for your message of April 15. You can rest assured that your concern for the independence, integrity and well-being of Austria is also my concern.”

As a result, the Provisional Government of Austria was established at the end of April. Karl Renner was at the head of the government.

Under the terms of the Potsdam Conference (July 16 - August 2, 1945), Austria and Vienna were divided into four sectors of occupation: Soviet, American, British and French. The city center was set aside for joint quadripartite occupation.

Colonel G.M. Savenok, who in the post-war period worked for several years in the Soviet military commandant's office in Vienna, recalls how cruelly Vienna was mutilated:

“Before the war, there were about 100,000 residential buildings in Vienna. By April 13, 3,500 houses were completely destroyed, 17,000 buildings required major repairs. In short, a fifth of the housing stock of the Austrian capital was out of order. 35,000 people were left homeless, including those Viennese who returned from concentration camps and prisons.

Before the war there were 35,000 cars in Vienna. By April 13, by some miracle, 11 trucks and 40 cars survived.

The fire department of the Austrian capital consisted of 3,760 firefighters and 420 vehicles. There are 18 firefighters and 2 cars left. There was no one and nothing to put out the fires.

There was no gas in Vienna. And not only because the gas plants were out of order. Network gas pipes with a total length of 2000 kilometers was killed in 1407 places.

The electricity supply was almost completely cut off: power plants were destroyed, and the electric cable within the city received 15,000 damage.

Vienna was left without water: out of 21 reservoirs, 2 survived, the city's water supply network was broken in 1447 places.

Of the many dozens of bridges and viaducts, only two bridges managed to save the Soviet troops: one across the Danube, the second through the Danube Canal. The rest jutted out of the water like warped skeletons.

Many streets of Vienna became impassable: 4457 shell craters gaped on them.

However, the worst thing is that Vienna was left without food.

The central and regional warehouses were burned, destroyed, devastated by the retreating fascists. Only a few stocks of flour remained. It was only enough for a few random, far from regular distributions, and even then at the rate of no more than a kilogram of bread per person per week. Vienna was on the verge of a real famine."

On November 25, 1945, the first post-war elections were held in Vienna, and Karl Renner (1870-1950) became the first president of the Second Austrian Republic.

This man was born on December 14, 1870 in the German part of Moravia in peasant family. He studied law in Vienna, earned his living as a private tutor, and held a position as a government librarian. In 1894, he became one of the leaders of the Austrian Social Democratic Party, although he never adhered to orthodox Marxist views. Rather, he was a supporter of the right wing of social democracy, the ideologist of the so-called Austro-Marxism.

Karl Renner, President of the Second Austrian Republic

Karl Renner died in Vienna on December 31, 1950. He was buried at the Central Cemetery, which was opened in 1874. There, in the center, in front of the church, there is a round platform sunk into the ground, where the presidents of the Second (post-war) Republic are buried.

After the death of Karl Renner, Austria chose Theodor Kerner (1873-1957), a retired general of the Austrian army, who on April 17, 1945, was appointed by the Soviet occupation forces in Austria as temporary burgomaster of Vienna in his place. In fact, this was the first president of the country, elected by direct vote. According to the memoirs of Colonel G.M. Savenoka, it was "a seventy-year old man of rare honesty and modesty."