At the final stage of World War II, when Soviet troops had already recaptured the entire territory of the RSFSR from the Germans, the 2nd Belorussian Front was formed. There were only two formations of this association, which included several armies.
First formation
On February 17, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command decided to form the 2nd Belorussian Front. The execution of the decree took place on February 24. The new front included the armies (47th, 61st, 70th), which operated in Polesie - the region on the border between Belarus and Ukraine. Here the Germans retained a strategic advantage, despite significant defeats in the east. Wehrmacht soldiers held important cities, which were not so easy to recapture. Due to the fact that the strategic initiative in the war finally passed to the USSR, Stalin demanded the maximum acceleration of the offensive in order to be the first to be in Germany and capture Berlin. However, before setting foot on German soil, Soviet soldiers had to pass not only Belarus, but also Poland.
The 2nd Belorussian Front was led by Colonel General Pavel Kurochkin. The chief of staff was Lieutenant General Vladimir Kolpakchi. It was these people who led the Polesie offensive operation, which lasted from March 15 to April 5, 1944. The main goal of the Soviet armies in this direction was the city of Kovel. The offensive towards the Pripyat River also developed in parallel .
Retreat from Kovel
Here were the divisions of the German groupings Center and South. A general blow was inflicted on them, and the Soviet troops were able to briefly block Kovel, who nevertheless did not give up. In addition, the Wehrmacht pulled up the reserves that were in the rear of the Germans. The 2nd Belorussian Front stalled. Soon, a shortage of forces became noticeable, which the Soviet command had nothing to compensate for. The reason was that the Headquarters continued to insist on an early attack, regardless of the state of human resources. The soldiers who were at the front did not leave it for many months and already marched hundreds of kilometers in a single march.
Due to the combination of these reasons, the front failed to fulfill its main task - to free Kovel. However, a good start was made for the future. The Germans also had nothing to counter-attack, so for some time the war became positional. On April 5, the 2nd Belorussian Front was disbanded. Commander Pavel Kurochkin received a new goal.
Belarusian operation
However, only a few weeks later, on April 24, the 2nd Belorussian Front was re-formed. Its second formation lasted until the very end of the war and was disbanded already in June 1945. The year before, he was tasked with the final liberation of Belarus.
In May, the front armies fought in positional fights, awaiting orders for a new offensive. It began on June 23 when another order was given the order to go forward. It was a planned attack of all Soviet forces, which were reorganized after the spring lull and were ready to go forward again, pursuing the retreating German soldiers.
The Belorussian operation was attended not only by the 2nd Belorussian Front, but also by the 1st Baltic (commander - Ivan Baghramyan), 3rd Belorussian (commander - Ivan Chernyakhovsky), 1st Belorussian (Konstantin Rokossovsky). At the beginning of the operation, the Soviet troops had more than one and a half million people, thousands of tanks and artillery pieces.
Mogilev operation
On the eve of the offensive, a new general led the 2nd Belorussian Front. Commander Ivan Petrov received several armies, including the 50th and 4th Air.
At the end of June, this strategic association participated in the Mogilev operation. In the course of it, enemy positions were broken through in just a week, the Dnieper and Pronya rivers were forced. Such important cities as Mogilev, Bykhov and Shklov were liberated. Army Group Center received a significant gap, which became its Achilles heel. On the way of the 2nd Belorussian Front was the 12th German Infantry Division, which was completely defeated. Also during the air raid, the famous commander of one of the tank corps, the Austrian Robert Martinek.
Then Colonel General Georgy Fedorovich Zakharov headed the 2nd Belorussian Front. The battle path of this formation ran through dense swamps, in which it was difficult to fight both the Germans and Soviet privates.
Bialystok operation
Soon, the front armies took part in the Bialystok operation, which was an integral part of the Belarusian operation. A new offensive began on July 5, and ended on July 27. That summer, units of the front worked closely with the armies of the young general Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky, who tragically died in East Prussia in the last months of the war.
On July 24, the Belarusian city of Grodno was finally liberated. Ahead is the border with Poland. There were hundreds of kilometers behind which the 2nd Belorussian Front left behind. The army was regularly replenished with new soldiers who came from the rear, healing their wounds or completing accelerated training courses for soldiers. Belarus was cleared of the Wehrmacht.
On July 27, the Soviet army entered Bialystok. This was the first large and important Polish city, which was abandoned by German interventionists who came here at the very beginning of World War II, in 1939. With the liberation of Bialystok, the Bialystok operation ended.
East Prussian operation
In November, Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky was placed at the head of the front. At the end of summer and all autumn, Soviet troops again gained strength in order to make a breakthrough in Poland. In addition, ahead was East Prussia - the German enclave, which administratively already belonged to the Third Reich. Here was the important city of Koenigsberg, as well as the “Wolf's Lair” - the main bet of Adolf Hitler, in which he led the attack on the Soviet Union, until the situation in the region became completely deplorable for the Wehrmacht.
On January 13, the East Prussian operation began, in which the 2nd Belorussian Front also took part. The list of participants in the war is so great that it is impossible to bring it. The names of the heroes preserved archival documents. At the beginning of 1945, about 1.6 million people took part in the operation.
If the 3rd Belorussian Front was moving towards Koenigsberg, then the 2nd went to Marienburg (modern Malbork in Poland). Their concerted actions were to lead to the encirclement of the entire East Prussian Wehrmacht group. For the most part, it was the personnel of Army Group Center (renamed North in January).
Mlaw-Elbing operation
On January 26, Soviet troops belonging to the 2nd Belorussian Front reached the banks of the Vistula River. Over the past two weeks, Soviet units successfully completed the Mlaw-Elbing operation. An important foothold in the vicinity of Bromberg was also captured. Finally, Marienburg fell, which made it possible to group forces for an offensive in Pomerania. In the area of the Masurian Lakes , the 2nd Wehrmacht Army was surrounded and defeated. The 4th Army was also badly damaged.
East Pomeranian operation
From February 10 to April 4, the East Pomeranian operation continued, in which the 2nd Belorussian Front took part. 1945 promised to be victorious, but there were still northern Polish provinces, as well as Berlin.
In the first ten days of the offensive, Soviet troops managed to advance only 40 kilometers. Due to large losses and the inability to move forward, the operation was briefly suspended. On February 24, the 19th Army and the 2nd Shock Army joined the front. Their goal was the city of Keslin (modern Koszalin). The Germans stubbornly resisted, realizing that by and large there was nowhere to retreat.
At the same time, the 1st Belorussian Front advanced to the aid of the Rokossovsky group. The coordinated actions of the two formations allowed to break through the defenses of the German army. It was cut into several small detachments, each of which either retreated or surrounded. On March 5, Soviet units reached the coast of the Baltic Sea. At the end of the month, the important port of Danzig (Gdansk) was captured. East Pomeranian operation was successfully completed. The 2nd Belorussian Front played a major role in this victory. The composition was awarded various medals and orders. Dozens of people received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Berlin operation
There was a decisive battle ahead, although the outcome of the war was already clear to all parties. The question was only who will enter Berlin first - the army of the USSR or the Western allies. Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin did not want to give in to Churchill and Roosevelt. From all his commanders in chief, he demanded to step forward at all costs, regardless of the number of those killed. Human casualties have become extremely numerous.
Nevertheless, the front was advancing. The Berlin operation began on April 16th. First, the Oder was forced, which was the natural border between Poland and Germany. The Soviet army in a single rush advanced 200 kilometers, sweeping away the remaining German forces in its path. On Victory Day, May 9, the 19th Army took part in the landing on the Danish island of Bornholm. On the whole, the 2nd Belorussian Front covered up the actions of other units that entered directly into Berlin.
Value
Forces of the 2nd Belorussian Front liberated the whole of Belarus during the year of its existence. They recaptured northern Poland from the Germans, having greatly assisted the local population in their struggle against the invaders. Finally, the armies entering the front took part in the battle for Berlin. In the summer of 1945, the front was transformed into the Northern Group of Forces, which was in Germany before the collapse of the Soviet Union.