Belgrade Offensive The Belgrade Offensive or the Belgrade Strategic Offensive Operation ( , Београдска офанзива ; ) ( 14 September - 24 November 1944 ) was an offensive military operation in which Belgrade was liberated from the German Wehrmacht by the joint efforts of the Soviet Red Army , the Yugoslav Partisans , and the Bulgarian People ' s Army . These forces launched separate but loosely coordinated operations that successfully forced the Germans out of the Belgrade area . The offensive involved the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front ( including the Bulgarian 2nd Army ) , elements of the 2nd Ukrainian Front to the north , the 1st Army Group of the Yugoslav Partisans to the west , and First , Third and elements of the Fourth Bulgarian Armies to the south . They conductied an offensive against part of Germany ' s Army Group E ( " Korpsgruppe " " Schneckenburger " and " Stern " ) which included the forces of the German - installed puppet government , quisling troops , and the military forces of the puppet government . The objective was to destroy the forces of the German Army Group E in the Suva Planina region , and those of Army Group F east of Velika Morava river , and ultimately to free Belgrade from Nazi occupation . A secondary objective for the offensive was to sever the line of retreat for German Army Group E from Greece , Albania and the southern regions of Yugoslavia through Belgrade to Hungary , including the Salonica - Belgrade railroad . Background . By early September 1944 , two German Army Groups were deployed in the Balkans ( Yugoslavia , Greece , and Albania ) : Army Group E ( southern area of operations ) , and Army Group F ( northern area of operations ) . In response to the defeat of German forces in the Jassy - Kishinev Operation ( which forced Bulgaria and Romania to switch sides ) and the advance of the Red Army troops into the Balkans , Army Group E was ordered to withdraw into Hungary . Another Army Group was created in Hungary called Army Group Serbia from elements of Army Group F . As a result of the Bulgarian coup d ' état of 1944 , the monarchist / fascist regime in Bulgaria was overthrown and replaced with a government of the Fatherland Front led by Kimon Georgiev . Once the new government came to power , Bulgaria declared war on Germany . Under the new pro - Soviet government , four Bulgarian armies , 455 , 000 strong were mobilized and reorganized . In the early October 1944 three Bulgarian armies , consisting of around 340 , 000 man , were located on the Yugoslav - Bulgarian border . By the end of September , the Red Army 3rd Ukrainian Front troops under the command of Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin were concentrated at the Bulgarian - Yugoslav border . The Soviet 57th Army was stationed in the Vidin area , while the Bulgarian 2nd Army ( General K . Stanche commanding under the operational command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front ) was stationed to the south on the Niš rail line at the junction of Bulgarian , Yugoslav , and Greek borders . This further caused the arrival of the Partisans 1st Army from Yugoslav territory , in order to provide support to their 13th and 14th Corps collaborating in the liberation of Niš and supporting the 57th Army ' s advance to Belgrade , respectively . The Red Army 2nd Ukrainian Front ' s 46th Army was deployed in the area of the Teregova river ( Romania ) , poised to cut the rail link between Belgrade and Hungary to the north of Vršac . Pre - operations were coordinated between the Soviets and the commander - in - chief of the Yugoslav Partisans , Marshal Josip Broz Tito . Tito arrived in Soviet - controlled Romania on 21 September , and from there flew to Moscow where he met with Soviet premier Joseph Stalin . The meeting was a success , in particular because the two allies reached an agreement concerning the participation of Bulgarian troops in the operation that would be conducted on Yugoslav territory . The offensive . Before the start of ground operations the Soviet 17th Air Army ( 3rd Ukrainian Front ) was ordered to impede the withdrawal of German troops from Greece and southern regions of Yugoslavia . To do so , from , it carried out air attacks on the railroad bridges and other important facilities in the areas of Niš , Skopje , and Kruševo lasting from 15 – 21 September . The operations begun on the far southern flank of the Front with the offensive by the 2nd Bulgarian Army into the Leskovac - Niš area , and almost immediately engaged the infamous 7th SS Mountain Division " Prinz Eugen " . Two days later , having encountered the Yugoslav partisans , the Army with partisan participation defeated a combined force of Chetniks and Serbian Frontier Guards and occupied Vlasotince . Using its Armored Brigade as a spearhead , the Bulgarian Army then engaged German positions on 8 October at Bela Palanka , reaching Vlasotince two days later . On 12 October , the Armored Brigade — supported by the 15th Brigade of the 47th Partisan Division — was able to take Leskovac , with the Bulgarian reconnaissance battalion crossing the Morava and probing toward Niš . The goal of this was to not so much to pursue the remnants of the " Prinz Eugen " Division withdrawing northwest , but to for the Bulgarian 2nd Army to begin the liberation of Kosovo which would have finally cut the route north for the German Army Group E withdrawing from Greece . On 17 October , the leading units of the Bulgarian Army reached Kursumlija , and proceeded to Kuršumlijska Banja . On 5 November , after negotiating the Prepolac Pass with heavy losses , the Brigade occupied Podujevo , but was unable to reach Pristina until the 21st . The Soviet 57th Army began its attack on September 28 from the region of Vidin in the general direction of Belgrade . Its 64th Rifle Corps advanced from the area of south of Vidin to secure the crossing of the Morava river at Paraćin , while the 68th Rifle Corps advanced from Vidin toward Mladenovac , encountering elements of the Yugoslav 14th Corps south of Petrovac . The 75th Rifle Corps — advancing from the area of Turnu - Severin — covered the Army ' s northern flank by advancing toward Požarevac . The Soviet 57th Army enjoyed the support of the Danube Military Flotilla , which operated along the Danube on the northern flank of the Front , and provided river transport to troops and military equipment . The Yugoslav 14th Corps — supported by the Soviet 17th Air Army — broke through the enemy ' s border defense in the eastern Serbian mountains with heavy fighting . On 8 October , the Yugoslavs advanced to the Morava river , capturing two bridgehead s on the Velika Plana and Palanka , where on 12 October , the 4th Guards Mechanised Corps was introduced into the penetration after moving here from South - East Bulgaria for the development of the offensive toward Belgrade from the south . Meanwhile , the offensive was continued by the newly arrived Yugoslav 1st Proletarian Division and the 12th Slavonian Division which secured bridgeheads over the Sava river west of Belgrade . On the northern face of the offensive , the Red Army 2nd Ukrainian Front ' s supporting 46th Army advanced in the attempt to outflank the German Belgrade defensive position from the north , by cutting the river and rail supply lines running along the Tisa . Supported by the 5th Air Army , its 10th Guards Rifle Corps was able to rapidly perform assault crossing s of the rivers Tamiš and Tisa north of Pančevo to threaten the Belgrade - Novi Sad railroad . Further to the north the Red Army 31st Guards Rifle Corps advanced toward Petrovgrad , and the 37th Rifle Corps advanced toward , and assault crossed the Tisa to threaten the stretch of railway between Novi Sad and Subotica to prepare for the planned Budapest strategic offensive operation . Assault on Belgrade . The 4th Guards Mechanized Corps of the Red Army and the Yugoslav 12th Corps broke through the enemy resistance south of Belgrade on 14 October , approaching the city . The Yugoslavs advanced along the roads in the direction of Belgrade south of the Sava River , while the Red Army engaged in fighting on the northern bank outskirts . The assault on the city was delayed due to the diversion of forces for the elimination of thousands of enemy troops surrounded between Belgrade and Smederevo ( to the south - east ) . On 20 October , Belgrade had been completely overrun by joint Soviet and Yugoslav forces . The Yugoslav 13th Corps , in cooperation with the Bulgarian 2nd Army , advanced from the south - east . They were responsible for the area of Niš and Leskovac . The forces were also responsible for cutting off the main for the evacuation of Army Group E , along the rivers of South Morava and Morava . Army Group E had , therefore , been forced to retreat through the mountains of Montenegro and Bosnia and was unable to strengthen the German forces in Hungary . The next day , elements of the 3rd Ukrainian Front stormed Kraljevo and finally cut Thessaloniki highway to Belgrade . The Soviet 10th Guards Rifle Corps of the 46th Army ( 2nd Ukrainian Front ) , together with units of the Yugoslav Partisans moving via the Danube — provided more offensive strength from the north - east against the Wehrmacht ' s position in Belgrade . They cleared the left bank of the Tisa and Danube ( in Yugoslavia ) and took the town of Pančevo . Allied forces . Participating in the assault on the capital of Yugoslavia were : By the end of the September the First Army , together with the Bulgarian Second , Third and elements of the Fourth Armies , was in full - scale combat against the German Army along the Bulgaria - Yugoslavia border , with Yugoslavian guerrillas on their left flank and a Soviet force on their right . They consisted from around 340 , 000 men . By December 1944 , the First Army numbered 100 , 000 men . The First Army took part in the Bulgarian Army ' s advance northwards into the Balkan Peninsula with logistical support and under command of the Red Army . The First Army , advanced into Serbia , Hungary and Austria in the spring of 1945 , despite heavy casualties and bad conditions in the winter . During 1944 – 45 , the Bulgarian First Army was commanded by Lieutenant - General Vladimir Stoychev . Aftermath . Upon completion of the Belgrade operation , the 3rd Ukrainian Front troops were transferred to Hungary to support forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and subsequently assisted the Yugoslav Partisans in the liberation of their country , mainly with weapons , equipment , and ammunition . A Medal " For the Liberation of Belgrade " was established by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet decree of June 19 , 1945 .