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Soviet Gains
on the Eastern Front: July 1, 1943 - June 1944
Red Army military forces pushed the Axis armies back to the Rumanian frontier in the south leaving a massive German
salient, defended by Army Group Center, before Moscow. |
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Soviet Gains
on the Eastern Front: June 1944 - January 1945
The constant military pressure on the southern front led to a serious German intelligence failure in the summer of 1944. The Soviet summer offensive, opened on June 22, 1944, was directed against the Minsk salient. Army Group Center collapsed under the weight of the
Red Army assault and the Soviet armed forces advanced on to the Vistula River line. The Balkans were cleared of German forces in the follow-up offensive. |
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From the Vistula to the Oder:
January 11 - February 2, 1945
The Soviet military offensive across Poland positioned the Red Army within the borders of prewar Germany. |
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East Prussia: January 13 - May 9, 1945
Soviet attacks isolated Army Group Center (then renamed Army Group North) in East Prussia. German
military resistance continued until the end of the war by which time Soviet pressure had reduced the pocket
controlled by German armed forces to beachheads. |
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Balaton to Vienna:
March 6 - April 15, 1945
The German military plan and execution of offensive operations against Soviet forces advancing beyond Budapest failed to produce lasting results.
Soviet counterattacks followed and pushed the German defenders back behind Vienna. |
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The Final Offensive:
April 16 - May 8, 1945
Soviet armed forces along the Oder and Neisse built-up continuously from the completion of
the conquest of Polish territory in January. The final Red Army offensive ultimately overran eastern Germany and produced a link-up between Soviet and Allied forces. |
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Battle of Berlin:
April 26-28, 1945
Soviet armies complete the encirclement of Berlin and continued to press the attack into
the city of Berlin. Most of the city was occupied within a matter of days. |
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The Battle for the Reichstag:
April 29 - May 2, 1945
German military resistance within Berlin continued and a prestige battle developed around the capture of the German parliament building (the Reichstag). |
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