The area in the Vienna region was a hollow cut through by numerous canals and roads. The capital of Austria lay among the mountains and forests, which gave great advantages to the enemy for building a defense system that not only relied on engineering structures, but also used natural conditions.
The German military leadership made every effort to hold the city. By order of Hitler for the defense of the Austrian the capital was formed "Vienna Defense Zone" under the command of General of the Infantry R. von Byunau. The grouping defending Vienna included 9 divisions, 8 of which were tank divisions, including such elite units as the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Reich", the 3rd SS Panzer Division "Dead Head" and the 232nd Panzer Division "Tatra ". Also, training units, Volkssturm and police units were connected to the defense. By order of Dietrich, commander of the 6th SS Panzer Army, the male population of Vienna from 16 to 60 years old was herded into Volkssturm detachments and armed with fauspatrons. The entire city was blocked by barricades and mined blockages, and all bridges across the Danube and the Danube Canal were also mined. Carefully camouflaged ambushes of self-propelled artillery mounts and heavy tanks were prepared in dilapidated brick and stone buildings. Preparing Vienna for defense, the Nazis least of all thought that the most beautiful city would be destroyed, architectural monuments, beautiful Viennese parks would be destroyed.
On the eve of the assault on the Austrian capital, parliamentarians from the 17th Austrian mobilization corps arrived at the location of the 9th Guards Army: senior sergeant major F. Kez and corporal I. Reif. They said that an uprising was being prepared in Vienna. The insurgents had the following forces at their disposal: two reserve infantry battalions, an artillery battery, more than a thousand Austrian soldiers in other formations, were ready to join the uprising, according to them, and about twenty thousand inhabitants. The leader of the uprising was an officer of the corps, Karl Sokol. He sent parliamentarians. The command of the 9th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front discussed with the parliamentarians their tasks during the operation to take Vienna. The rebels were supposed to capture bridges across the Danube and tributaries, communications, defeat the institutions of the Nazi Party and the police, public utilities. Radio contact was established with the leadership of the rebels. Soon a meeting took place with Karl Sokol, signals for an uprising were agreed with him. The uprising was scheduled for 6 April.
On the eve, according to the agreement, the rebels were given a signal by radio and from an airplane, the signal was received, but the uprising did not start, although it would greatly facilitate the task of Tolbukhin's troops. As it turned out later, the traitors betrayed to the Nazis the leaders who were preparing an armed uprising. On the morning of April 6, many of them were arrested and later executed.
Throughout the day on April 5, fierce fighting continued on the eastern and southeastern outskirts of the city. German troops withstood the first onslaught of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. After analyzing the first day of the assault, the front commander decided to regroup the 6th Guards Tank Army northwest of Vienna in order to block possible escape routes for German forces, and also to begin the assault on the capital of Austria also from the western direction.
On the morning of April 6, the commander of the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, I.N. Russiyanov, received an order from the commander of the 4th Guards Army to break into Vienna and occupy Simmering with its industrial enterprises and the Arsenal during the day. Behind the Arsenal, our soldiers had to cross the Danube Canal. A particularly fierce battle broke out at the bridge over the canal leading to Star Square. From it opened the road to the North Station and the main avenue of the Vienna Woods. The right bank was cleared of the enemy by the morning of April 11. It was imperative to gain a foothold on the other side, to win back at least a piece of land, but the bridge was under fire and was mined.
The task of breaking through to the other side of the command set before the tankers. The tank of the Guard Lieutenant Alexander Kudryavtsev was the first to jump onto the bridge at high speed. Several enemy anti-tank guns immediately opened fire on the car. The tank managed to pass half of the bridge, but then the chassis was damaged by a shell. The car froze. The crew continued to fight with the enemy, suppressing enemy firing points from cannons and machine guns. After the second hit, only Alexander Kudryavtsev survived, he was also wounded, but continued to fight, allowing other combat vehicles to move forward. A tank of the guard, junior lieutenant Dmitriev, went to help Kudryavtsev. On the bridge, his tank was set on fire, but continued to move. The lieutenant ordered the battle to continue and the tank, engulfed in flames, rushed across the bridge, enticing the infantrymen with its example. Kudryavtsev did not have a chance to survive this fight. Hero Title Soviet Union he was awarded posthumously.
Stubborn street fighting for the city lasted more than a week. The German command, to the last, did not lose hope of holding at least part of the city, transferring more and more new units to Vienna, including the Fuhrer Grenadiers division.
By April 7, Army Group South was disbanded and Army Group Austria was created on its basis, the command of which was entrusted to the Austrian Lothar Rendulich. However, all the steps taken by the German leadership failed to change the situation. Block after block, street after street came under control Soviet troops .
The battle began in the Transdanubian quarters of the city. The battles for Vienna entered the final stage. Our troops already controlled most of the capital: Simmering, old Vienna, the North, East, South stations. The Nazis withdrew to the left bank of the Danube, blowing up all the bridges, except for one - the Imperial Bridge. It was necessary to protect it from an explosion, otherwise it would have been necessary to cross the full-flowing wide Danube. And these are hundreds of soldiers' lives. The Nazis, realizing the significance of this only crossing, literally stuffed the bridge with mines and explosives: hundreds of kilograms of it hung on piles and piers of the bridge. The approaches to the bridge were also mined. The Germans fired at the coastal line from cannons and machine guns. Repeated attempts to capture the bridge were crowned with success on April 12 thanks to the feat of the scouts of the 2nd Guards Mechanized Brigade. In the morning, along the saved bridge, our tanks made a throw to the shore, still occupied by the Germans, followed by artillery and infantry.
The medal "For the Capture of Vienna" is awarded to servicemen of the Red Army, the Navy and the NKVD troops who directly participated in the assault and clearing of the German invaders of the capital of Austria - Vienna in March - April 1945.
Description of the medal for the Capture of Vienna
Dimensions 32 mm.
Brass materials.
Artist Zvorykina.
To whom is awarded all participants in the assault and capture of the capital of Austria.
Grounds for awarding Participation in the storming of Vienna.
The price of the medal for the capture of Vienna
To date, prices for the medal For the Capture of Vienna start at 3,000 rubles.
Price updated as of 03/27/2020
Awarded with the medal "For the Capture of Vienna"
The medal was established by the Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces on June 9, 1945. The same Decree approved the description of the medal and its Regulations. Total medal "For the Capture of Vienna" awarded approximately 278,000 people.
Medal for the Capture of Vienna in the award system of the USSR
"For the capture of Vienna" medal of the USSR
The medal for the capture of Vienna was established along with other medals for the capture of the largest European cities, its development was carried out in connection with the decree of the head of the rear of the Red Army Khrulev, from the many works the project of the artist Zvorykina won. The assault on the capital of Austria took place from 03/16/1945 to 04/13/1945. As a result Vienna operation The Reich lost control of Austrian industry in the Vienna region, and also lost one of the last sources of oil in the Nagykanizsa region, which by and large practically paralyzed the German motorized troops. Particularly distinguished parts were called "Viennese". The medal bears the inscription "for the capture of VIENNA" under the inscription a laurel branch, and above it a five-pointed star, the reverse is also decorated with a five-pointed star and the date "APRIL 13, 1945".
Description of other awards of the Second World War of the USSR: Medal for the defense of Sevastopol for the defense of the city of the hero of Sevastopol and a medal for the victory over Japan in honor of the final defeat of the last enemy in World War II.
Capture of Vienna
The capture of the capital of Austria - Vienna was one of the stages of the Vienna offensive operation, the purpose of which was the final liberation of Hungary, the capture of the Nagykanizsa oil region and the Vienna industrial regions. The operation was carried out by the forces of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts, and involved the encirclement of the enemy in Vienna, and his destruction.
By the time of the offensive, the city was well prepared for a long-term defense, anti-tank ditches, anti-personnel and anti-tank barriers were dug in dangerous areas, firing points were equipped in all stone buildings in the city. To strengthen the defending group, the Hitlerite command created 4 separate regiments from the Vienna police, numbering about 6,000 people.
The first battles for the capture of Vienna broke out on April 5, 1945, but the fiercely defending German troops did not contribute to the rapid capture of the city. On April 7, 1945, the forces of the Ninth Guards Army, together with the Sixth Guards Tank Army of the USSR Armed Forces, overcame the mountain forest massif of the Vienna Woods, approaching Vienna from the west. As a result of fierce fighting, by April 10, the fascist group was tightly clamped on three sides, for the withdrawal of troops from the German command there was one surviving bridge - the "Imperial".
To capture the bridge, the command of the USSR army landed on April 11, 1945, but it did not succeed due to heavy enemy fire, and was forced to lie down, not reaching the bridge only 400 meters. In the current situation, the Soviet command decides on a simultaneous strike by all forces fighting for Vienna, in addition, another landing force is landed in the area of the Imperial Bridge, consisting of the 21st Infantry Regiment.
As a result of this strike, by lunchtime on April 13, 1945, the city was cleared of enemy troops, the Imperial Bridge was mined, but the blow of the USSR troops was so swift that the Germans did not have time to blow it up. In order to mark all the fighters who fought for the liberation of the Austrian capital, a Medal "For the Capture of Vienna" established on June 9, 1945.
April 13, 2010 marks the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Vienna from Nazi invaders.
On April 13, 1945, after the Vienna Offensive, the capital of Austria, Vienna, was liberated by the Soviet Army. The Vienna offensive operation was carried out by the troops of the 2nd (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky) and 3rd (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Tolbukhin) Ukrainian Fronts.
The German command gave the defense of the Vienna direction great importance, hoping to stop the Soviet troops and hold out in the mountainous and wooded regions of Austria in the hope of concluding a separate peace with England and the USA. However, on March 16 - April 4, Soviet troops broke through the enemy defenses, defeated Army Group South and reached the approaches to Vienna.
For the defense of the Austrian capital, the fascist German command created a large grouping of troops, which included 8 tank divisions who left the area of the lake. Balaton, and one infantry and about 15 separate infantry and Volkssturm battalions, consisting of youth 15-16 years old. The entire garrison, including fire brigades, was mobilized to defend Vienna.
natural conditions terrain favored the defending side. From the west, the city is covered by a range of mountains, and from the north and east by the wide and abundant Danube. On the southern approaches to the city, the Germans built a powerful fortified area, consisting of anti-tank ditches, a well-developed system of trenches and trenches, and many pillboxes and bunkers.
A significant part of the enemy artillery was set up for direct fire. Artillery firing positions were located in parks, gardens, squares and squares. Guns and tanks designed for firing from ambush were disguised in the destroyed houses. The Nazi command intended to make the city an insurmountable obstacle in the way of the Soviet troops.
Plan of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command Soviet army ordered the troops of the right wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Front to liberate Vienna. Part of the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front were supposed to cross from the south bank of the Danube to the north. After that, these troops were supposed to cut off the retreat of the Vienna enemy grouping to the north.
On April 5, 1945, Soviet troops launched an assault on Vienna from the southeast and south. At the same time, tank and mechanized troops began bypassing Vienna from the west. The enemy, with strong fire from all types of weapons and counterattacks by infantry and tanks, tried to prevent the breakthrough of Soviet troops into the city. Therefore, despite the decisive actions of the troops of the Soviet Army, during April 5 they failed to break the resistance of the enemy, and they only slightly advanced.
All day on April 6, there were stubborn battles on the outskirts of the city. By evening, Soviet troops reached the southern and western outskirts of Vienna and broke into the adjacent part of the city. Stubborn fighting began within the boundaries of Vienna. The troops of the 6th Guards Tank Army, having made a detour, in difficult conditions eastern spurs of the Alps, went to the western approaches to Vienna, and then to the southern bank of the Danube. The enemy grouping was surrounded on three sides.
Wanting to prevent unnecessary casualties among the population, to save the city and save its historical monuments, on April 5, the command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front appealed to the population of Vienna with calls to stay in place and shake the Soviet soldiers, not to let the Nazis destroy the city. Many Austrian patriots responded to the call of the Soviet command. They helped the Soviet soldiers in their difficult struggle against the enemy who had settled in the fortified quarters.
By the evening of April 7, the troops of the right wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, part of the forces captured the Viennese outskirts of Pressbaum and began to spread like a fan - to the east, north and west.
On April 8, the fighting in the city became even more intense. The enemy used large stone buildings for defense, erected barricades, blocked the streets, laid mines and land mines. The Germans widely used "nomadic" guns and mortars, tank ambushes, anti-aircraft artillery, and to combat Soviet tanks- Faust ammo.
On April 9, the Soviet government issued a statement confirming its decision to implement the Moscow Declaration of Austrian Independence.
(Military Encyclopedia. Chairman of the Main Editorial Commission S.B. Ivanov. Military Publishing. Moscow. In 8 volumes -2004. ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8)
During April 9-10, Soviet troops fought their way to the city center. For each quarter, and sometimes even for a separate house, fierce battles flared up.
The enemy offered especially fierce resistance in the area of the bridges across the Danube, since if Soviet troops reached them, the entire group defending Vienna would be surrounded. Nevertheless, the force of the strike of the Soviet troops continuously increased.
By the end of April 10, the defending German fascist troops were in a vice grip. The enemy continued to resist only in the center of the city.
On the night of April 11, the forcing of the Danube Canal by Soviet troops began. The last, final battles for Vienna unfolded.
After fierce fighting in the central part of the city and in the quarters located on the northern bank of the Danube Canal, the enemy garrison was divided into separate groups, and their destruction began. And by noon on April 13, Vienna was completely cleared of Nazi troops.
The swift and selfless actions of the Soviet troops did not allow the Nazis to destroy one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Soviet soldiers prevented the explosion of the Imperial bridge across the Danube, as well as the destruction of many valuable architectural structures prepared for the explosion or set on fire by the Nazis during the retreat, among them St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Vienna City Hall and others.
In honor of the victory won on April 13, 1945 at 21.00 in Moscow, salute was given by 24 artillery salvos from 324 guns.
To commemorate the victory, more than twenty formations that distinguished themselves in the battles for Vienna were given the name "Viennese". The Soviet government established the medal "For the Capture of Vienna", which was awarded to all participants in the battles for the city.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
In early April, Vienna was defended by the remnants of eight armored, one infantry divisions, the personnel of the Vienna military school and up to 15 separate battalions. The basis of the enemy garrison was the unfinished units of the 6th SS Panzer Army. It is no coincidence that the commander of this army, Colonel-General of the SS troops Sepp Dietrich, was appointed chief of defense of Vienna, who at the same time arrogantly declared: "Vienna will be saved for Germany." He failed to save not only Vienna, but also his life. On April 6 he was killed.
The fascist German command on the approaches to the city and in Vienna itself prepared numerous defensive positions in advance. Anti-tank ditches were dug along the outer periphery of the tank-hazardous areas and various obstacles and barriers were arranged. The enemy blocked the streets of the city with numerous barricades and blockages. Almost all stone and brick buildings were equipped with firing points. The enemy sought to turn Vienna into an impregnable fortress.
As early as April 1, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command set the 3rd Ukrainian Front the task of capturing the capital of Austria and, no later than April 12-15, reaching the Tulln, St. Pölten, Neu-Lengbach line ...
The fighting in the city went on continuously: during the day the main forces fought, and at night - units and subunits specially assigned for this purpose. In the complex labyrinth of streets and lanes of the capital city, especially importance acquired the actions of small rifle units, individual tank crews and gun crews, often fighting in isolation from each other.
By April 10, the enemy garrison was pinned down on three sides. In this situation, the fascist German command took all measures to keep the only bridge across the Danube that remained in its hands and to bring the remnants of its defeated units to the northern bank of the river ...
Summarizing the experience of hostilities in the previous days, the Military Council of the front came to the conclusion that in order to accelerate the defeat of the enemy grouping, it is necessary to conduct a decisive assault, organizing a clear interaction of all the forces and means involved in it.
In accordance with this conclusion, an operational directive was developed and given to the troops of the 4th, 9th Guards and 6th Guards Tank Armies on April 12, in which special attention was paid to the simultaneity of the assault. In order to quickly complete it, the troops were ordered, after a signal - a volley of "Katyushas" to quickly rush into the attack. Tank units, despite the fire of individual pockets of resistance, had to break through to the Danube as soon as possible. The military council of the front demanded from the army commanders: "Mobilize the troops for a decisive strike with all the means at your disposal and explain that only swift actions will ensure the rapid completion of the task." A well-organized and prepared assault on the fortified city was carried out in a short time. By the middle of the day on April 13, the enemy garrison was almost completely destroyed ... On the evening of April 13, for the liberation of Vienna, the capital of our Motherland, Moscow, saluted the troops of the 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian fronts with twenty-four salvos from three hundred and twenty-four guns.
Before the salute, the Moscow radio announcer read out a message from the Soviet Information Bureau, which said: “The Nazis intended to turn Vienna into a heap of ruins. They wanted to subject the inhabitants of the city to a long siege and protracted street fighting. With skillful and decisive actions, our troops thwarted the criminal plans of the German command. Within a few days, the capital of Austria, Vienna, was liberated from the Nazi invaders.
YOU WILL BE FEED AND YOU WILL GO HOME
It was, it seems, on the second day of the storming of Vienna. I was at the command post of the 20th Guards Rifle Corps, Major General N. I. Biryukov, when the scouts brought a frail, blond-haired boy in a clay-stained uniform.
He should have been chasing the ball in the yard, but they handed him a machine gun, - the commander sighed. Suddenly hardened: - Shot after all for sure?
Not at all, Comrade General, - the scout reported. - I didn’t have time or really didn’t want to, but I didn’t use the weapon, we checked his machine gun.
When the interpreter arrived and the interrogation began, the prisoner said that the Nazis first sent all the guys from the senior classes of the gymnasium to the construction of defensive objects, and then they issued machine guns, faustpatrons and threw them against the Russians ... The youth said that he was an Austrian and hated the Germans. They are rapists and robbers. And all the time he asked what would happen to him now. He said that their commander warned that the Russians were shooting everyone.
Translate to the prisoner, - I said to the interpreter, - that the Red Army does not fight with children. We are convinced that he will never again take up arms to fight against the Red Army. But if he takes it, let him blame himself ...
The little boy was overjoyed. He fell to his knees, began to swear that he would never forget how kind the Soviet general and officers were to him. I told him to get up and said:
Perhaps your mother is worried about you? Now you will be fed and you will go home. Take only with you the appeal of the command of the Red Army to the Austrians. Read for yourself, share with your friends and acquaintances. Let them know the truth about the Red Army.
The youth promised to do everything as the Soviet general orders...
Here is the appeal:
“Inhabitants of the city of Vienna!
The Red Army, crushing the Nazi troops, approached Vienna.
The Red Army entered Austria not with the aim of capturing Austrian territory, but solely with the aim of defeating the enemy German fascist troops and liberating Austria from German dependence.
The hour has come for the liberation of the capital of Austria - Vienna from German domination, but the retreating Nazi troops want to turn Vienna into a battlefield, as they did in Budapest. This threatens Vienna and its inhabitants with the same destruction and horrors of war that the Germans inflicted on Budapest and its population.
For the sake of preserving the capital of Austria, its historical monuments culture and arts offer:
1. The entire population to whom Vienna is dear should not be evacuated from the city, because with the cleansing of Vienna from the Germans, you will be spared the horrors of war, and those who are evacuated will be driven to death by the Germans.
2. Do not let the Germans mine Vienna, blow up its bridges and turn houses into fortifications.
3. Organize the struggle against the Germans and protect it from destruction by the Nazis.
4. Everyone actively interfere with the export of industrial equipment, goods, food by the Germans from Vienna and not allow the population of Vienna to be robbed.
Citizens of Vienna!
Help the Red Army in the liberation of the capital of Austria - Vienna, invest your share in the cause of the liberation of Austria from the Nazi yoke!
NEW STORM GROUP METHODS
In the labyrinth of streets, courtyards and lanes of an unfamiliar city, our assault groups in the course of the battle they mastered new tactics. In particular, since every now and then it was necessary to break through walls and fences, each warrior, in addition to regular weapons, carried a crowbar, pick or ax with him.
The assault group, led by the Komsomol organizer of the company, the Red Army soldier Vovk, approached a large five-story building. While the Red Army soldier Ananyev fired at the windows with a machine gun, Vovk and other soldiers broke into the entrances. Close combat began in the rooms and corridors. Three hours later, the building was cleared of the enemy. Vovk found faustpatrons in the captured ammunition depot. A few hours later, he managed to burn two tiger-type tanks with them. Right there, on the streets of Vienna, Vovk was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In one of the houses, on the second floor, an enemy machine gunner sat down. The calculation of the anti-tank rifle could not get it. Then the fighters Tarasyuk and Abdulov, passing through the yards, climbed onto the roof of this house. Abdulov fastened a long rope to the chimney, Tarasov climbed down it to the window from which the machine gun was firing, threw an anti-tank grenade inside, and it was all over.
The division of officer Kotlikov advanced along the street, from house to house. The enemy entrenched on both sides of it, three-layer machine-gun and mortar fire did not allow our guardsmen to drag an easel machine gun across the street. Then Kotlikov tied a wire to the machine gun and divided his soldiers into two groups. Now they attacked simultaneously on both sides of the street, dragging the machine gun by wire from one group to another as needed.
Initiative and independence in the actions of small subunits is one of the decisive conditions for success in battles for Big City. That is why we moved so quickly into the depths of Vienna.
70 years ago, on April 13, 1945, Soviet troops liberated the capital of Austria from Nazi invaders
The liberation of Vienna is one of the offensive operations ending the Great Patriotic War. It was part of the Vienna offensive operation of 1945, during which Soviet troops captured the capital of Austria, clearing it of Nazi troops. The operation lasted from 5 to 13 April 1945.
The Vienna offensive operation, which was completed on April 13, 1945 with the liberation of the capital of Austria from the Wehrmacht, was one of the brilliant offensive operations that ended the Great Patriotic War. Therefore, at the same time it was both quite simple and incredibly heavy. These are the last, decisive battles.
The relative ease of capturing the capital of Austria, in comparison with other operations, was due to the fact that the Red Army had already worked out a scheme for the destruction of enemy groups. In addition, by April 1945, our troops already felt the proximity of the Victory, and it was impossible to stop them. Although it was especially difficult psychologically to fight at that time, people knew “a little more, a little more”, plus deadly fatigue.
It is clear that there was no easy walk: our total losses in this operation were 168 thousand people (of which more than 38 thousand people died). The Germans desperately resisted, but their forces were already undermined - before that, the Red Army and the Wehrmacht, in alliance with the Hungarian units, fought heavy battles in Hungary. Hitler ordered to keep the Hungarian oil fields at all costs - the battle for Budapest and the subsequent Balaton operation were among the bloodiest battles of the Great Patriotic War. Our troops entered Hungary in October 1944, having previously carried out the Belgorod operation, and only at the end of March 1945 did they reach Austria. The attitude of the population was also different, if the Hungarians for the most part supported the Nazis, were hostile to the Red Army, then the Austrians were neutral. Of course, they did not meet with flowers and bread and salt, but there was no hostility.
Storming of Vienna (April 5 - 13, 1945)
The assault on the Austrian capital was the final part of the Vienna Offensive, which went from March 16 to April 15, 1945 by the forces of the 2nd (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky) and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Tolbukhin) with the help of 1- th Bulgarian Army (Lieutenant General V. Stoichev). Its main goal was to destroy German troops in western Hungary and eastern Austria.
Our troops were opposed by part of the troops of Army Group South (commander General of the Infantry O. Wehler, from April 7, Colonel General L. Rendulich), part of the troops of Army Group F (commander Field Marshal M. von Weichs), from March 25 Army Group E (commanded by Colonel-General A. Lehr). The German high command attached great importance to the defense of the Vienna direction, planning to stop the Soviet troops on these lines and hold out in the mountainous and wooded regions of Austria, hoping to conclude a separate peace with England and the USA. However, on March 16 - April 4, Soviet forces broke through the German defenses, defeated the forces of Army Group South and reached the approaches to Vienna.
Soviet soldiers are fighting for the Imperial bridge in Vienna
For the defense of the Austrian capital, the German command created a fairly strong grouping of troops, in its composition the remnants of the 8th Panzer and 1st Infantry Divisions from the 6th SS Panzer Army, which had withdrawn from the Lake Balaton area, were formed and about 15 separate infantry battalions and Volkssturm battalions. The entire composition of the Vienna military school was mobilized to defend Vienna, 4 regiments of 1.5 thousand people were created from the Vienna police. The natural conditions of the area around the city favored the German side. From the west, Vienna was covered by a mountain range, and from the northern and eastern sides by a powerful water barrier, the wide and abundant Danube. On the south side, on the outskirts of the city, the Germans created a powerful fortified area, which consisted of anti-tank ditches, a developed system of fortifications - trenches, pillboxes and bunkers. Ditches were dug in all tank-hazardous areas along the outer bypass of Vienna, anti-tank and anti-personnel barriers were installed.
The Germans prepared a significant part of their artillery for direct fire, to strengthen the anti-tank defense of the city. Firing positions for artillery were equipped in parks, gardens, squares and city squares. In addition, in the destroyed houses of the city (from air strikes), guns and tanks were disguised, which were supposed to fire from an ambush. The streets of the city were blocked by numerous barricades, many stone buildings were adapted for long-term defense, becoming real bastions, firing points were equipped in their windows, attics, basements. All bridges in the city were mined. The German command planned to make the city an insurmountable obstacle in the way of the Red Army, an impregnable fortress.
The commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, F.I. Tolbukhin, planned to take the city with the help of 3 simultaneous strikes: from the southeast side - by the troops of the 4th Guards Army and the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, from the south and southwest sides - by troops 6th Guards Tank Army with the 18th Tank Corps and part of the 9th Guards Army attached to help it. The rest of the forces of the 9th Guards Army were to bypass Vienna from the west and cut off the Nazis' escape routes. At the same time, the Soviet command tried to prevent the destruction of the city during the assault.
On April 5, 1945, Soviet troops began an operation to take Vienna from the southeast and south. At the same time, mobile formations, including tank and mechanized units, began to bypass the Austrian capital from the west. The enemy responded with fire and furious infantry counterattacks with reinforced tanks, trying to prevent the advance of Soviet troops into the city. Therefore, on the first day, despite the decisive actions of the Red Army troops, they failed to break the enemy’s resistance, progress was insignificant.
The whole next day - April 6, there were fierce battles on the outskirts of the city. By the evening of that day, Soviet troops were able to reach the southern and western outskirts of the city and broke into the adjacent suburbs of Vienna. Stubborn fighting began already in the city. The forces of the 6th Guards Tank Army made a detour in the difficult conditions of the eastern spurs of the Alps and reached the western approaches to the city, and then to the southern bank of the Danube. The German group was surrounded on three sides.
The Soviet command, trying to prevent unnecessary civilian casualties, to preserve the beautiful city and its historical heritage, April 5, appealed to the population of the Austrian capital with an appeal to stay in their homes, in the field and thereby help the Soviet soldiers, preventing the Nazis from destroying the city. Many Austrians, patriots of their city, responded to this call from the command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, they helped the Soviet soldiers in their difficult struggle for the liberation of Vienna.
By the end of the day on April 7, the forces of the right wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Front partly took the Viennese outskirts of Pressbaum and continued to move - to the east, north and west. On April 8, stubborn battles continued in the city itself, the Germans created new barricades, blockages, blocking roads, set mines, land mines, and transferred guns and mortars to dangerous directions. During April 9-10, Soviet forces continued to fight their way to the city center. The Wehrmacht offered especially stubborn resistance in the area of the Imperial bridge across the Danube, this was due to the fact that if the Soviet troops came to him, all German group in Vienna, would be completely surrounded. The Danube Flotilla landed troops to capture the Imperial Bridge, but heavy enemy fire stopped it 400 meters from the bridge. Only the second landing was able to capture the bridge without letting it blow up. By the end of April 10, the defending German group was completely surrounded, its last units offered resistance only in the city center.
On the night of April 11, our troops began to cross the Danube Canal, the final battles for Vienna were underway. Having broken the resistance of the enemy in the central part of the capital and in the quarters that were located on the northern bank of the Danube Canal, the Soviet troops cut the enemy garrison into separate groups. The "cleansing" of the city began - by lunchtime on April 13, the city was completely liberated.
Light armored car BA-64 moves through the streets of Vienna
Operation results
As a result of the offensive of the Soviet troops in the Vienna Offensive Operation, a large Wehrmacht grouping was defeated. The forces of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts were able to complete the liberation of Hungary, occupied the eastern regions of Austria, along with its capital, Vienna. Berlin lost control over another major industrial center in Europe - the Vienna industrial region, including the economically important Nagykanizsa oil region. The road to Prague and Berlin was opened from the south. The USSR initiated the restoration of the statehood of Austria.
The quick and selfless actions of the Red Army troops did not allow the Wehrmacht to destroy one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Soviet soldiers were able to prevent the explosion of the Imperial Bridge over the Danube River, as well as the destruction of many other valuable architectural structures that the Germans prepared for the explosion or were set on fire by Wehrmacht units during the retreat, including St. Stephen's Cathedral, and the Vienna City Hall and other structures.
