The famous Sandomierz bridgehead was captured by Soviet troops on the left bank of the Vistula in late July 1944. It got its name from the nearby Polish city.
Soviet offensive
In historical literature, the Sandomierz bridgehead is also sometimes called Baranuvsky or Baranow-Sandomierz. The operation to seize this important sector of the front was undertaken by the forces of the 1st Ukrainian Front (13th and 1st Guards Tank Armies, commanded by Marshal of the USSR Ivan Konev).
First of all, the Sandomierz bridgehead was vital for the continuation of the offensive to the west. In early August, bloody battles took place on this sector of the front, which ended with the strategic success of the Red Army. Under continuous fire, another 50 kilometers were passed (the width of the bridgehead increased to 60 kilometers).
On the way to the Vistula
In the summer of 1944, the battle for Sandomierz became the key battle in Poland. Before this, I had to force the Vistula. The forces of the 1st Ukrainian Front marched non-stop and without delay to the river, leaving behind the liberated Polish settlements. The field operation was led by Lieutenant General Nikolai Pukhov and Colonel General Mikhail Katukov. On July 27, Yaroslav was taken. After that, the army received an order to continue moving to the Vistula, without getting involved in skirmishes with the enemy.
The advance of the tank detachments was complicated by the lack of any air support. The fact was that due to the high pace of advancement, airfields simply could not keep up with the advanced units. Two weeks before the surrender of the city of Wisla, the 3rd Guards Army was forced by Colonel General Vasily Gordov. On July 29, its units defeated an enemy group located in the vicinity of Annopol. This success made it possible to expand the Sandomierz bridgehead.
Crossing
The width of the Vistula crossing was no more than two kilometers. All the time there was a threat that the seizure of the bridgehead was about to "choke". However, the Germans panicked, they were paralyzed and only thought about how to retreat with the least losses. The Wehrmacht even decided to blow up the dams on the Vistula. However, the rapid offensive of the Red Army frustrated these plans.
The Lviv-Sandomierz operation was an overwhelming blow for the Germans. The dams did not explode just because German units continued to remain on the opposite bank. Destroying communications meant cutting off their own.
Meanwhile, on July 30, the Red Army launched ferries, and the next day the construction of a low-water bridge across the Vistula River began. There was still no auxiliary aircraft, so the crossing was covered with a smokescreen. In the evening, the first Soviet units were on the opposite bank. A bridgehead was formed on it. He became the starting point of the further offensive.
Bridgehead expansion
On July 31, the 17th Wehrmacht Army attempted to strike a counterattack on the crossed Red Army soldiers. However, these efforts were in vain. Strategic initiative and qualitative superiority were on the side of the Soviet soldiers. For some time they held their positions, did not go on the offensive and only repelled the attacks of the enemy. This was done in order to gain time. For two weeks, all new detachments crossed to the opposite bank of the Vistula.
Only after gaining strength and coordinating their actions, on August 15, the 13th and 3rd Guards armies took the strategically important city of Sandomierz. The Germans retreated in a panic. Their attempts to push the enemy over the river failed every time. Now the Wehrmacht could only leave the position and go west. The formed bridgehead was held until January 1945. Then from Sandomierz began another major offensive, which was called the Sandomierz-Silesian operation. During it, the Red Army finally liberated Poland from Nazi occupation.