Belostock Offensive The Belostock Offensive ( ) was part of the third and final phase of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the Red Army in summer 1944 , commonly known as Operation Bagration . Role in the conflict . The Belostock Offensive was part of the third , or ' pursuit ' phase of Operation Bagration , and was commenced after the completion of the encirclement and destruction of much of Army Group Centre in the Minsk Offensive . " Belostock " ( ) is the Russian name of the Polish city of Białystok . Planning . Operational goals . After completing its mission of liquidating the pocket east of Minsk , in which the Fourth Army had been trapped , the bulk of the 2nd Belorussian Front was issued new objectives : initially , to capture Volkovysk and advance towards Białystok . The 49th Army , however , was further employed in reducing the encirclement until mid - July . The 4th Air Army continued its mission of providing support for the Front ' s ground forces . German intelligence . After the fall of Minsk the " Oberkommando des Heeres " could call on few reserves to stop the Soviet advance . On the Białystok axis , the remaining forces were organised into a ' blocking group ' ( ) under the command of General Helmuth Weidling . This included several new formations in addition to the very few troops that had escaped from east of Minsk . To the south , the defence was conducted by the northern wing of Second Army , which had been reinforced , notably with the 28th Jäger Division , in the hope of mounting an attack to break through to the units of Army Group Centre still trapped east of Minsk . The Germans ' defence efforts were aided by the presence of old fortifications and defence works from World War I and earlier . Deployments . " Wehrmacht " . The above units were under the overall command of Army Group Centre ( Field - Marshal Walter Model ) . The offensive . Grodno falls . By July 11 the 50th Army had forced crossings of the Neman south of Dokudovo and moved forward against Weidling ' s forces . It crossed the Kotra River by July 13 , and reached Grodno by July 15 . Its 69th and 81st Rifle Corps stormed Grodno on the morning of the next day . The Soviet 3rd Army , on the northern flank of the neighbouring 1st Belorussian Front , took Volkovysk in fighting against Herrlein ' s LV Corps . The German counter - attack . On the 23rd July , the Fourth Army commander , Hoßbach , in agreement with Model , committed the newly arrived 19th Panzer Division into a counter - attack with the intention of cutting off the Soviet spearheads in the Augustow Forest . One regiment surprised the Soviet forces in Grodno ( and claimed to have destroyed some 180 tanks , though this seems excessive ) before turning southwards towards Białystok . A second regiment recaptured Lipsk , but then was forced to withdraw to assist the first regiment ' s disengagement . Due to a lack of resources , the German counter - offensive failed , but revealed the exhaustion of both the Soviet and German troops in comparison to fresh units . The 2nd Belorussian Front had successfully forced the entire length of the Neman and Svisloch by July 24 ; the 50th Army , with support from the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps , took or retook the eastern part of the Augustow Forest and part of the outlying fortifications of Grodno which the Germans had retained after their counter - offensive . There was intense fighting as the German 50th Infantry Division attempted to defend the highway between Grodno and Białystok . In the meantime , the 3rd Army had reached the outskirts of Białystok itself , despite strong resistance from the LV Corps . It stormed the city and took it by July 27 , after several days of street fighting . Outcome . The Belostock Offensive had proved largely successful in terms of its immediate tactical objectives : by the end of July the Soviets were in possession of the communications centres of Grodno and Białystok . However , their supply lines were becoming dangerously extended and their troops exhausted ; progress slowed as the Army Group Centre commander , Model , was able to organise an effective defence through judicious management of the few units available . The 2nd Belorussian Front ' s final objective in Operation Bagration was to advance to the Narew River in the Osovets Offensive .