| Prague offensive | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Eastern Front of World War II | |||||||
 Map of Prague offensive | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
Allies: Soviet Union Czechoslovakia Romania Poland Russian Liberation Army | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Ferdinand Schörner Lothar Rendulic Friedrich Altrichter  Kurt Agricola Carl Friedrich von Pückler-Burghauss |
Ivan Konev Rodion Malinovsky Andrey Yeryomenko Karel Klapálek Vasile Atanasiu Nicolae Dăscălescu Karol Świerczewski Sergei Bunyachenko | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
Army Group Centre: 600,000–650,000[2] Army Group Ostmark: 430,000[3]  9,370[1] |
1,770,700[4] 139,500[4] 69,500[4] 48,400[4] 18,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Some 860,000 captured; remainder killed, missing in action, or fled |
49,348[5] 1,730[4] 887[4] 533[4][a] 300 | ||||||
| Soviet forces (May 6, 1945) | |
|---|---|
| Components | 1st Ukrainian Front • 2nd Air Army • 3rd Guards Army • 5th Guards Army • 3rd Guards Tank Army • 4th Guards Tank Army • 13th Army • 21st Army • 28th Army • 31st Army • 52nd Army • 59th Army • Polish 2nd Army 2nd Ukrainian Front • 5th Air Army • 6th Guards Tank Army • 7th Guards Army • 9th Guards Army • 40th Army • 46th Army • 53rd Army • 1st Romanian Army • 4th Romanian Army 4th Ukrainian Front • 8th Air Army • 1st Guards Army • 18th Army • 38th Army • 60th Army • 1st Czechoslovak Corps |
| German forces (May 6, 1945) | |
|---|---|
| Components | 7th Army • XIII Corps • XII Corps 4th Panzer Army • LXXXX Corps • Hermann Goering Panzer Corps • Grossdeutschland Panzer Corps • LVII Panzer Corps 17th Army • VIII Corps • XVII Corps • XXXX Corps 1st Panzer Army • XI Corps • LIX Corps • LXXII Corps • XXXXIX Corps • XXIV Panzer Corps 8th Army • Feldherrnhalle Panzer Corps • XXXXIII Corps |
The Prague offensive (Russian: Пражская стратегическая наступательная операция, romanized: Prazhskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya, lit. 'Prague strategic offensive') was the last major military operation of World War II in Europe. The offensive was fought on the Eastern Front from 6 May to 11 May 1945. Fought concurrently with the Prague uprising, the offensive significantly helped the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945. The offensive was one of the last engagements of World War II in Europe and continued after Nazi Germany's unconditional capitulation on 8/9 May.
The city of Prague was ultimately liberated by the USSR during the Prague offensive.[6] All of the German troops of Army Group Centre (Heeresgruppe Mitte) and many of Army Group Ostmark (formerly known as Army Group South) were killed or captured, or fell into the hands of the Allies after the capitulation.[b]
- ^ a b Frajdl 2007.
- ^ Lakowski 2008, p. 674.
- ^ Ziemke 2002, p. 498.
- ^ a b c d e f g Krivosheev 1997, p. 159.
- ^ Glantz 1995, p. 300.
- ^ "Lest we forget, the Czechs became a free nation on May 8, 1945". Praguemonitor.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
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