page_title: Belgrade Offensive
section_title: Attack of the 57th Army
hierarchical_section_title: Belgrade Offensive / The offensive / First Stage / Attack of the 57th Army
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Наступление войск 3-го Украинского фронта на Белград. Одна из последних фотографий фотокорреспондента ТАСС В. Н. Иванова
context_page_description: The Belgrade Offensive or the Belgrade Strategic Offensive Operation was a military operation during World War II in Yugoslavia in which Belgrade was liberated from the German Wehrmacht through the joint efforts of the Soviet Red Army, Yugoslav Partisans, and the Bulgarian Army. Soviet forces and local militias launched separate but loosely cooperative operations that undermined German control of Belgrade and ultimately forced a retreat. Martial planning was coordinated evenly among command leaders, and the operation was largely enabled through tactical cooperation between Josip Broz Tito and Joseph Stalin that began in September 1944. These martial provisions allowed Bulgarian forces to engage in operations throughout Yugoslav territory, which furthered tactical success while increasing diplomatic friction.
  The primary objectives of the Belgrade Offensive centered on lifting the German occupation of Serbia, seizing Belgrade as a strategic holdout in the Balkans, and severing German communication lines between Greece and Hungary. The spearhead of the offensive was executed by the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front in coordination with the Yugoslav 1st Army Corps.
context_section_description: After the Iassy-Kishinev Operation, a wide and deep area of possible advancement opened up in front of the Red Army. This started a race between the Soviets and the Germans to the "Blue Line", an intended front-line running from the southern slopes of the Carpathians over the Iron Gates down the Yugoslav-Bulgarian border. By the end of September, both the 2nd and the 3rd Ukrainian Front managed to deploy some 19 Rifle Divisions with supporting units to the line (compared to 91 Rifle Divisions in the Iassy-Kishinev Operation). Vast terrain with poor and damaged roads, uncertainty over local forces, and logistical difficulties dispersed the German groups and slowed down their advancement. On the other side, Army Group F encountered much larger problems in concentrating their forces. This resulted in the Red Army achieving substantial superiority in numbers on the Blue Line by the end of September. Given this fact, and the prospect of cooperation with NOVJ, the offensive was launched.
  First to reach the Iron Gates area were reconnaissance elements of the 75th Rifle Corps. On 12 September, they established contact with the partisans on the other side of the Danube. However, in the following days, the Germans succeeded in pushing out the partisans from the river bank, and launched a limited attack on Red Army elements across the Danube. According to the general plan, the 75th Corps was to be included in the composition of the 57th Army during its attack south of the Danube, and the completion of the 57th Army transfer to the Vidin area was not expected before 30 September. Having a fluid situation on the Yugoslav side of the Iron Gates, and a German attack across the Danube, 75th Corps launched its attack earlier, crossing the Danube on 22 September. After initial success, in the next days, the German 1st Mountain Division undertook a vigorous counter-attack, pushing the Soviets back to the shores of the Danube. Because of this, the 57th Army attack was launched on 27 and 28 September with troops brought in over night. Divisions of the 68th and the 64th Rifle Corps were introduced to the area from Negotin to Zaječar.
  This attack by three Army Corps allowed the Red Army to gain supremacy on the combat line and to advance in spite of the stubborn German defense. On 30 September, Negotin was liberated and heavy fighting erupted in Zaječar.
  Army Group F Command in Belgrade sought to bring more units to Belgrade as soon as possible. Commander-in-Chief Maximilian von Weichs ordered the 104th Jäger Division to be transported immediately as soon as transport of the 117th Jäger Division was completed. However, transport from the south was hindered by partisan operations and Allied Air Force attacks. The 117th Jäger Division had been boarded on forty-four trains in Athens on 19 September, but only seventeen of them had reached Belgrade by 8 October. The 104th Jäger Division remained blocked in Macedonia. Because of the lack of troops at the front-line, on 29 September, Army Group F Command ordered a defensive assault by the 1st Mountain Division and the 92nd Motorized Brigade in an attempt to buy time. Assault Regiment Rhodes was transported to Belgrade by air without heavy weapons, but this method of transport could not meet the army's needs.
  The attack on the German forces by three Soviet Rifle Corps, supported by the 14th Corps NOVJ, stretched between Donji Milanovac and Zaječar, gradually progressed, despite persistent resistance. The fight broke down into a number of skirmishes for the strong points in towns and on the crossroads and passes, and the Germans were forced to withdraw gradually. The 14th Corps NOVJ won control over communications behind the front-line, and the commander of the 57th Army sent his Chief of Staff Major General Verkholovich (Russian: Верхолович) to the 14th Corps Headquarters to coordinate actions. On 1 October, after a fierce battle, the 223rd Division of the 68th Corps seized an important crossroad in the village of Rgotina, 10 km to the north of Zaječar. Another important crossroad in Štubik fell on 2 
caption: Troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front on the offensive near Belgrade.
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