Battle of Bautzen (1945)

Battle of Bautzen (1945)
Part of World War II
Memorial in Bautzen
Memorial in Bautzen to Polish and Soviet soldiers and civilians fallen near the town of Wuischke.
Date21–26 April 1945 (4 days)
Location
Bautzen and the rural areas to the northeast, Germany
Result

German victory

  • The Polish Second Army and the Soviet forces had repelled the German attack, forming a line toward Kamenz–DoberschützDauban, and was preparing to launch an offensive toward Prague.[1]
  • The German offensive did not achieve sufficient success.[2][3]
Belligerents
 Germany  Soviet Union
Poland
Commanders and leaders
Nazi Germany Ferdinand Schörner
Nazi Germany Wilhelm Schmalz
Nazi Germany H. v. Oppeln-Bronikowski
Nazi Germany Fritz-Hubert Gräser
Soviet Union Ivan Konev
Soviet Union Vladimir Kostylev
Soviet Union Ivan Petrov
Karol Świerczewski
Units involved
Nazi Germany 4th Panzer Army
Nazi Germany 17th Army
2nd Army
Soviet Union 5th Guards Army
Soviet Union 52nd Army (elements)
Strength
50,000
300 tanks[2]
600 artillery pieces
497 armoured vehicles
Polish Army: 80,000[2]
500 tanks[2]
Soviet Army: at least 20,000
Casualties and losses
5,000 killed Polish (official):
4,902 killed,10,532 injured,2,798 missing
Soviet: unknown
Battle of Bautzen (1945) is located in Germany
Battle of Bautzen
Battle of Bautzen
Königsberg
Königsberg
Warsaw
Warsaw
Berlin
Berlin
Location of the Battle of Bautzen

The Battle of Bautzen (or Battle of Budziszyn, April 1945) was one of the last battles of the Eastern Front during World War II in Europe. It was fought on the extreme southern flank of the Spremberg-Torgau Offensive, seeing days of pitched street fighting between forces of the Polish Second Army under elements of the Soviet 52nd Army and 5th Guards Army[a] on one side and elements of German Army Group Center in the form of the remnants of the 4th Panzer and 17th armies on the other.

The battle took place during Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front's push toward Berlin, which was part of the larger Soviet Berlin Offensive. The battle was fought in the town of Bautzen (Upper Sorbian: Budyšin) (Polish: Budziszyn) and the rural areas to the northeast situated primarily along the Bautzen–Niesky line. Major combat began on 21 April 1945 and continued until 26 April, although isolated engagements continued to take place until 30 April. The Polish Second Army under Karol Świerczewski suffered heavy losses, but, with the aid of Soviet reinforcements, prevented the German forces from breaking through to their rear.

After the battle both sides claimed victory and modern views as to who won the battle remain contradictory. Because the war was almost over and the battle had no strategic impact on the ongoing Battle of Berlin, German historiography has focused more on its tactical aspects. The German operation successfully recaptured Bautzen and its surroundings, which were held until the end of the war.

According to some sources, 26 April marks the end of this battle, although less severe and isolated clashes in that region continued until 30 April.[2] Other sources note that heavy fighting still took place on 27 April, and that the German advance was only completely halted on 28 April.[3] By the end of the month, the Polish Second Army and the Soviet forces had repelled the German attack, forming a line toward Kamenz–DoberschützDauban, and was preparing to launch an offensive toward Prague.[1]

As noted by historians such as Wawer and Komorowski, despite the heavy casualties, the Polish–Soviet frontline was not seriously breached, and thus the German offensive was a failure.[2][3]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Komornicki1967-134 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference zw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference KomorowskiHistorycznych2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).