Vilnius offensive

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Vilnius offensive
Part of Operation Bagration and the Eastern Front
Date 5 July – 13 July 1944 (1 week and 1 day) Location Belarus (Minsk Region) and Lithuania (Vilnius and Alytus regions) 54°40′N 25°15′E / 54.667°N 25.250°E / 54.667; 25.250 Result Soviet victory
Belligerents
Soviet Union  Polish Underground State Air support: France	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Ivan Chernyakhovsky Pavel Rotmistrov	Walter Model Dietrich von Saucken Rainer Stahel Theodor Tolsdorff
Strength
~100,000 13,000	7,700
Casualties and losses
50–70 tanks destroyed	8,000 killed; 5,000 captured in Vilnius alone (Soviet estimate)

The Vilnius offensive (Lithuanian: Vilniaus operacija; Russian: Вильнюсская наступательная операция, lit. 'Vilnius offensive operation') occurred as part of the third phase of Operation Bagration, the Soviet Red Army's strategic summer offensive against the German Wehrmacht in June and July 1944. It lasted from 5 July to 13 July 1944 and ended with a Soviet victory.

During the offensive, Soviet forces encircled and captured the city of Vilnius; this phase is sometimes referred to as the Battle of Vilnius. However, 3,000 German soldiers of the encircled garrison managed to break out with their commander, Reiner Stahel.