April 13 capture of the Austrian capital Vienna. Chapter sixteen. release of the vein. Attitude towards local residents and the city

Most recently, April 15, marked 70 years since the end of the Vienna offensive operation, during which the Nazi troops Austria was cleared, including its capital, Vienna.

The Vienna offensive operation is a strategic offensive operation of the Red Army against German troops during the Great Patriotic War. It was carried out from March 16 to April 15, 1945 by troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts with the assistance of the 1st Bulgarian Army (Bulgarian) with the aim of defeating German troops in western Hungary and eastern Austria. Vienna was taken on April 13.

To this event, friends, I dedicate this photo collection.

1. Soviet officers lay flowers at the grave of the Austrian composer Johann Strauss, son, buried in the central cemetery of Vienna. 1945.

2. Sherman tanks of the 1st battalion of the 46th Guards Tank Brigade of the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 6th Tank Army on the streets of Vienna. 04/09/1945.

3. Sherman tanks of the 1st battalion of the 46th Guards Tank Brigade of the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 6th Tank Army on the streets of Vienna. 04/09/1945.

4. Soviet soldiers are fighting for the Imperial Bridge. 3rd Ukrainian Front. Vienna. April 1945

5. Rewarding Soviet soldiers who distinguished themselves in the battles for the capture of Vienna. 1945

6. Artillerymen of self-propelled guns of the Guard, Lieutenant Colonel V.S. Shonichev, who were the first to enter Austrian land, driving along the street of one of the cities. 1945

7. Soviet self-propelled guns cross the border. 1945

8. Soviet tanks in the Vienna area. 1945.

9. The crew of the M4A-2 "Sherman" tank, the first to break into Vienna, with their commander; on the left is driver-mechanic Nuru Idrisov. 1945

10. Machine gunners are fighting a street battle in the central part of Vienna. 1945

11. Soviet soldiers walk along one of the streets of liberated Vienna. 1945

12. Soviet troops on the street of the liberated city of Vienna. 1945

13. Soviet soldiers on the streets of Vienna. 1945

14. View of one of the streets of Vienna after its liberation. 1945

15. Residents of Vienna on the square in front of the destroyed building of St. Stephen's Cathedral. 1945

16. Dancing on the streets of Vienna on the occasion of Victory Day. 1945

17. Soviet tanks on the outskirts of Vienna. April 1945

18. Soviet military signalmen on one of the streets of Vienna. April 1945

20. Residents of Vienna return to their homes after the end of street fighting and the liberation of the city by Soviet troops. April 1945

21. Cossack patrol on one of the streets of Vienna. 1945

22. Folk festival on the occasion of the liberation of Vienna by Soviet troops in one of the city squares. 1945

23. Soviet self-propelled guns on the mountain roads of Austria. 1945

24. Soviet military equipment on the mountain roads of Austria. April 1945

25. Guardsmen-machine gunners of senior lieutenant Gukalov’s unit are fighting for locality. Austria. 1945

26. Meeting of Soviet soldiers with residents of one of the cities in Austria. 1945

27. Hero's Mortarmen Soviet Union Nekrasova fire at enemy positions. Austria. March 31, 1945

28. Sergeant Pavel Zaretsky talks with residents of the Austrian village of Lekenhaus. 1945

29. Soviet officers lay flowers at the grave of the Austrian composer Johann Strauss, son, buried in the central cemetery of Vienna. .

30. Soviet mortarmen carry an 82-mm battalion mortar in Vienna. 1945

31. Soviet soldiers cross the bridge over the Danube Canal in Vienna. May 1945

32. Soviet officers lay flowers at the grave of Johann Strauss's son. April 1945.

33. Soviet traffic controller N. Klimenko on the outskirts of Vienna. April 1945

34. A Soviet officer visits the grave of the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, buried in the central cemetery of Vienna.

35. Soviet traffic policewoman on the street of Vienna. May-August 1945

36. Soviet self-propelled artillery units SU-76M in Vienna, Austria. 1945

37. Soviet mortar men with a regimental mortar at the Hofburg Winter Palace in Vienna. 1945

38. Soviet armored personnel carrier M3A1 in battle on the streets of Vienna. April 1945

39. Column of Soviet T-34 tanks on the streets of Vienna. 1945

40. Before the arrival of Soviet troops, the Nazi shot his family and committed suicide on the streets of Vienna. April 1945

41. Soviet traffic controller in liberated Vienna. May 1945

42. Soviet traffic controller in liberated Vienna. May 1945

43. Killed German soldier on the streets of liberated Vienna. April 1945

44. Sherman tank of the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps on Vienna Street. April 1945

45. Human remains on the streets of liberated Vienna. 1945

46. Human remains on the streets of liberated Vienna. 1945

48. Sherman tanks of the 1st battalion of the 46th Guards Tank Brigade of the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 6th Tank Army on the streets of Vienna. 04/09/1945.

49. Soviet armored boats of the Danube military flotilla in Austria. April 1945

50. Soviet regimental military band in the Austrian village of Donnerskirchen on Victory Day. On the far right is Private Nikolai Ivanovich Pershin (in addition to playing in the orchestra, he also served as a signalman). 05/09/1945

51. A column of Soviet T-34-85 tanks on the street of the Austrian town of St. Pölten. 1945

52. Aircraft technicians of the 213th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment on the street of the Austrian town of Stockerau. 1945

The assault on the capital of Austria was the final part of the Vienna offensive operation, which lasted 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 Fedor Tolbukhin) with the help of the 1st th Bulgarian Army (Lieutenant General V. Stoychev). Its main goal was the defeat of 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. Wöhler, from April 7, Colonel General L. Rendulic), part of the troops of Army Group F (commander Field Marshal General M. von Weichs), from March 25 Army Group “E” (commander Colonel General A. Löhr). The German high command attached great importance to the defense of the Vienna direction, planning to stop Soviet troops at these lines and stay in the mountainous and forested regions of Austria, hoping to conclude a separate peace with England and the United States. However, from March 16 to April 4, Soviet forces broke through the German defenses, defeated the forces of Army Group South and reached the approaches to Vienna.

On April 5, 1945, Soviet troops began an operation to capture Vienna from the southeast and south. At the same time, mobile formations, including tank and mechanized units, began to bypass the capital of Austria from the west. The enemy responded with fire and fierce 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 were unable to break the enemy’s resistance, and progress was insignificant.

The entire next day, April 6, there were fierce battles on the outskirts of the city. By the evening of this 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 within the city limits. The forces of the 6th Guards Tank Army made a roundabout maneuver in the difficult conditions of the eastern spurs of the Alps and reached the western approaches of the city, and after that to the southern bank of the Danube. The German group was surrounded on three sides.

The Soviet command, trying to prevent unnecessary casualties among civilian population, to preserve the beautiful city and its historical heritage, on April 5 addressed the population of the capital of Austria with an appeal to stay in their homes, in their localities, 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 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 Vienna outskirts of Pressbaum and continued to move east, north and west. On April 8, stubborn fighting continued in the city itself, the Germans created new barricades, blockages, blocking roads, laid mines, land mines, and transferred guns and mortars to dangerous directions. During April 9-10, Soviet forces continued to fight their way towards 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 Soviet troops reached it, the entire German group in Vienna would be completely surrounded. The Danube Flotilla landed troops to capture the Imperial Bridge, but heavy enemy fire stopped them 400 meters from the bridge. Only the second landing was able to capture the bridge without allowing it to be blown up. By the end of April 10, the defending German group was completely surrounded; its last units offered resistance only in the center of the city.

On the night of April 11, our troops began to cross the Danube Canal, and the final battles for Vienna were underway.
Soviet soldiers on the streets of Vienna. April 1945

Having broken the enemy's resistance in the central part of the capital and in the neighborhoods that were located on the northern bank of the Danube Canal, 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.

Results of the operation.
- As a result of the offensive of Soviet troops in the Vienna offensive operation, a large Wehrmacht group was defeated. The forces of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts were able to complete the liberation of Hungary and occupied the eastern regions of Austria along with its capital, Vienna. Berlin lost control over another major industrial center of Europe - the Vienna industrial region, including the economically important Nagykanizsa oil region. The road to Prague and Berlin from the south was opened. The USSR marked the beginning of the restoration of Austrian statehood.

- 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, which the Germans prepared for an explosion or were set on fire by Wehrmacht units during the retreat, including St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Vienna City Hall and other buildings.
80th Guards Rifle Division on the streets of liberated Vienna

- In honor of the next brilliant victory of the Soviet troops, on April 13, 1945 at 21.00 in the capital of the USSR - Moscow, a victorious salute was given with 24 artillery salvoes from 324 guns.
- To commemorate this victory, 50 military formations that distinguished themselves in the battle for Vienna received the honorary name “Viennese”. In addition, the Soviet government established the medal “For the Capture of Vienna,” which was awarded to all participants in the battles for the capital of Austria.

At the beginning of April, Vienna was defended by the remnants of eight tank divisions, one infantry division, personnel of the Viennese military school and up to 15 separate battalions. The basis of the enemy garrison was the undead units of the 6th SS Panzer Army. It is no coincidence that the commander of this army, SS Colonel General Sepp Dietrich, was appointed head of the defense of Vienna, who 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. In tank-dangerous directions along the outer perimeter, anti-tank ditches were opened and various obstacles and barriers were erected. The enemy blocked the streets of the city with numerous barricades and rubble. Almost all stone and brick buildings were equipped with firing points. The enemy sought to turn Vienna into an impregnable fortress.

On 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 line of Tulln, St. Pölten, Neu-Lengbach...

The fighting in the city continued continuously: the main forces fought during the day, and units and subunits specially assigned for this purpose fought at night. In the complex labyrinth of streets and alleys of the capital city, the actions of small rifle units, individual tank crews and gun crews, often fighting in isolation from each other, became especially important.

By April 10, the enemy garrison was squeezed on three sides. In this situation, the fascist German command took all measures to hold the only bridge across the Danube remaining in its hands and bring the remnants of its broken units to the northern bank of the river...

Having summarized the experience of combat operations in the previous days, the Front Military Council came to the conclusion that in order to speed up the defeat of the enemy group, it is necessary to conduct a decisive assault, organizing clear interaction of all forces and means participating in it.

In accordance with this conclusion, an operational directive was developed and issued on April 12 to the troops of the 4th, 9th Guards and 6th Guards Tank Armies, in which Special attention addressed the simultaneity of the assault. To quickly complete it, the troops were ordered to quickly rush into the attack after the signal - a salvo of Katyusha rockets. Tank units, despite the fire from 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 short term. 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 salvoes from three hundred and twenty-four guns.

Before the fireworks, a 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 city's inhabitants to a long siege and protracted street battles. 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 assault on Vienna. I was at the command post of the 20th Guards Rifle Corps, Major General N.I. Biryukov, when the scouts brought in a frail, blond boy in a clay-stained uniform.

He should have been kicking a ball in the yard, but they handed him a machine gun,” the corps commander sighed. Suddenly he became embittered: - Surely he shot?

“No way, 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 translator arrived and the interrogation began, the prisoner said that the Nazis first sent all the children from the senior classes of the gymnasium to build defensive facilities, and then gave them machine guns, Faustpatrons and threw them against the Russians... The young man said that he was an Austrian and hated the Germans. They are rapists and robbers. And he kept asking what would happen to him now. He said that their commander warned that the Russians were shooting everyone.

Translate to the prisoner, I told the translator, that the Red Army does not fight 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 boy was incredibly happy. He fell to his knees and began to swear that he would never forget how kind the Soviet general and officers were to him. Telling him to get up, I said:

Your mother is probably worried about you? Now you will be fed and you will go home. Just take with you the appeal of the Red Army command to the Austrians. Read it yourself, give it to your friends and acquaintances. Let them know the truth about the Red Army.

The young man promised to do everything as the Soviet general orders...

Here is the appeal:

“Residents of the city of Vienna!

The Red Army, crushing the Nazi troops, approached Vienna.

The Red Army entered Austria not with the goal of seizing Austrian territory, but solely with the goal of defeating enemy Nazi troops and liberating Austria from German dependence.

The hour for the liberation of the capital of Austria, Vienna, from German rule has come, 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 were inflicted by the Germans on Budapest and its population.

For the sake of preserving the capital of Austria, its historical monuments of culture and art, I propose:

1. The entire population who cares about Vienna should not evacuate 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 their deaths by the Germans.

2. Do not let the Germans mine Vienna, blow up its bridges and turn houses into fortifications.

3. Organize the fight against the Germans and protect it from destruction by the Nazis.

4. Everyone should actively prevent the Germans from exporting industrial equipment, goods, food 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 liberation of Austria from the Nazi yoke!

NEW STORM TEAM MOVEMENTS

In the labyrinth of streets, courtyards and alleys of an unfamiliar city, our assault groups mastered new tactics as the battle progressed. In particular, since every now and then it was necessary to break through walls and fences, each warrior, in addition to standard weapons, carried with him a crowbar, a pickaxe or an ax.

An assault group led by the company Komsomol organizer, Red Army soldier Vovk, approached a large five-story building. While the Red Army soldier Ananyev was firing at the windows with a machine gun, Vovk and other soldiers burst into the entrances. Close combat began in the rooms and corridors. Three hours later the building was cleared of the enemy. In the captured ammunition depot, Vovk found Faust cartridges. A few hours later he managed to burn two tiger tanks with them. Right there, on the streets of Vienna, Vovk was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

An enemy machine gunner was holed up in one of the houses, on the second floor. The crew of the anti-tank rifle could not reach him. Then the fighters Tarasyuk and Abdulov, passing through the courtyards, climbed onto the roof of this house. Abdulov attached a long rope to the chimney, Tarasov went down it to the window from which the machine gun was firing, threw an anti-tank grenade inside, and it was all over.

Officer Kotlikov’s unit advanced along the street, from house to house. The enemy entrenched itself on both sides; three-layer machine gun and mortar fire did not allow our guardsmen to drag a heavy machine gun across the street. Then Kotlikov tied a wire to the machine gun and divided his soldiers into two groups. Now they advanced simultaneously on both sides of the street, dragging a machine gun over the wire as needed from one group to another.

Initiative and independence in the actions of small units are 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 fascist 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 April 5 to April 13, 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 ending the Great Patriotic War. Therefore, at the same time it was both quite simple and incredibly difficult. These are the very last, decisive battles.

The relative ease of capturing the capital of Austria, compared to other operations, was due to the fact that the Red Army had already worked out a scheme for destroying enemy groups. In addition, by April 1945, our troops already felt the proximity of Victory, and it was impossible to stop them. Although it was especially difficult psychologically to fight at this time, people knew “a little more, a little more,” plus mortal fatigue.

It is clear that it was not an easy ride: our total losses in this operation were 168 thousand people (of which more than 38 thousand people died). The Germans desperately resisted, but their strength was already undermined - before that, the Red Army and the Wehrmacht, in alliance with Hungarian units, fought heavy battles in Hungary. Hitler ordered to hold the Hungarian oil fields at any cost - 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 reached Austria. The attitude of the population also differed; while the Hungarians mostly supported the Nazis and were hostile to the Red Army, the Austrians were neutral. Of course, they weren’t greeted with flowers or bread and salt, but there was no hostility.

Assault on Vienna (April 5 – 13, 1945)

Our troops were opposed by part of the troops of Army Group South (commander General of the Infantry O. Wöhler, from April 7, Colonel General L. Rendulic), part of the troops of Army Group F (commander Field Marshal General M. von Weichs), from March 25 Army Group “E” (commander Colonel General A. Löhr). The German high command attached great importance to the defense of the Vienna direction, planning to stop Soviet troops at these lines and stay in the mountainous and forested regions of Austria, hoping to conclude a separate peace with England and the United States. However, from March 16 to April 4, Soviet forces broke through the German defenses, defeated the forces of Army Group South and reached the approaches to Vienna.

Soviet soldiers fight for the Imperial Bridge in Vienna

To defend the capital of Austria, the German command created a fairly strong group of troops, which included the remnants of the 8th Panzer and 1st Infantry Divisions from the 6th SS Panzer Army, which had withdrawn from the Lake Balaton area, 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 each 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 ridge of mountains, and from the northern and eastern sides by a powerful water barrier, the wide and high-water Danube. On the southern side, on the approaches to the city, the Germans created a powerful fortified area, which consisted of anti-tank ditches, a developed system of fortifications - trenches, pillboxes and bunkers. In all tank-dangerous directions along the outer circumference of Vienna, ditches were dug and anti-tank and anti-personnel barriers were installed.

The Germans prepared a significant part of their artillery for direct fire to strengthen the city's anti-tank defense. Firing positions for artillery were equipped in parks, gardens, squares and squares of the city. In addition, in the destroyed houses of the city (from air strikes) guns and tanks were camouflaged, 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, with firing points equipped in their windows, attics, and basements. All bridges in the city were mined. The German command planned to make the city an insurmountable obstacle to 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 attacks: from the south-eastern side - by troops of the 4th Guards Army and 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, from the southern and south-western sides - by troops 6th Guards Tank Army with the 18th Tank Corps and part of the 9th Guards Army troops attached to it. The remaining part of the forces of the 9th Guards Army was supposed to bypass Vienna from the west and cut off the Nazis' escape route. At the same time, the Soviet command tried to prevent the destruction of the city during the assault.

The Soviet command, trying to prevent unnecessary casualties among the civilian population, to preserve the beautiful city and its historical heritage, on April 5 appealed to the population of the capital of Austria with an appeal to stay in their homes, in their localities, 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 Soviet soldiers in their difficult struggle for the liberation of Vienna.

On the night of April 11, our troops began to cross the Danube Canal, and the final battles for Vienna were underway. Having broken the enemy's resistance in the central part of the capital and in the neighborhoods that were located on the northern bank of the Danube Canal, 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

Results of the operation

As a result of the offensive of Soviet troops in the Vienna offensive operation, a large Wehrmacht group was defeated. The forces of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts were able to complete the liberation of Hungary and occupied the eastern regions of Austria along with its capital, Vienna. Berlin lost control over another major industrial center of Europe - the Vienna industrial region, including the economically important Nagykanizsa oil region. The road to Prague and Berlin from the south was opened. The USSR marked the beginning of the restoration of Austrian statehood.

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 had prepared for the explosion or were set on fire by Wehrmacht units during the retreat, including St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Vienna City Hall and other buildings.

Beginning of 1945. Even the most fanatical leaders of Nazi Germany, the outcome of the most terrible war is already obvious.

At the same time, the leadership of the Soviet Union, who perfectly understood that only a few months remained until the end of the war, was faced with only one task - the defeat of the Third Reich and unconditional surrender.

Taking into account the current situation, in February 1945, the Supreme Command Headquarters set the commanders of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts the task of preparing and conducting the Vienna offensive operation.

The Headquarters allocated a month to prepare the operation and set the date for the start of the offensive - March 15, 1945.

By that time, Austria, deprived of its independence after the Anschluss of 1938, found itself in a rather difficult situation: many Austrians considered themselves victims of Nazi Germany. On the other hand, more than six Austrian divisions fought as part of the Wehrmacht.

The defense of the Vienna direction for the Hitlerite command was one of the most important tasks: only by delaying Soviet troops in Austria, the Hitlerite elite could get time to conclude a separate peace with the USA and Great Britain.

Soviet troops began the Vienna operation on March 16, 1945, and by April 4, Soviet troops, having liberated Bratislava and completely liberated Hungary, reached the approaches to Vienna. By that time, a large group of troops had already been created in the capital of Austria, which included one infantry and eight tank divisions, infantry battalions and Volkssturm battalions.

Certain difficulties for the advancing Soviet troops were presented by natural conditions: on one side the city is covered by mountains, on the other it is protected by the deep Danube. Where there were no natural obstacles, the Nazis built a powerful fortified area. Artillery firing positions were also set up in the city itself. In a word, the Nazi command did everything possible to turn Vienna into an impregnable fortress.

On April 5, 1945, the 6th Guards Tank Army, 4th, 9th Guards Armies began an assault on Vienna from three sides at once - fierce battles ensued on the outskirts of the city. Only by the evening of the next day were Soviet troops able to break into the suburbs of Vienna.

At the same time, the troops of the 6th Guards Tank Army, having completed a difficult outflanking maneuver, reached first the western approaches to the city, and then the southern bank of the Danube - the Viennese enemy group was surrounded on three sides.

By the evening of April 7, units of the forces of the 3rd Ukrainian Front were able to occupy the Pressbaum area and began moving in three directions at once.

Block by block, house by house, fighting heavy urban battles, Soviet troops moved towards the city center.

Fierce fighting continued on April 9 and 10: the enemy put up stubborn resistance at the bridges over the Danube, since if they lost control over them, the entire Vienna garrison would be surrounded.

By the end of April 10, the enemy troops found themselves in a vice, and isolated pockets of resistance remained only in the center of the city.

On the night of April 11, Soviet troops began crossing the Danube Canal, and the final phase of the battle for Vienna began.

Soon the enemy garrison was cut into separate groups isolated from each other, which were destroyed by assault troops.