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April 13, 1945 liberation of Vienna. The liberation of Vienna by Soviet troops is one of the most brilliant operations of the great war. Overall assessment of the operation

In early April, Vienna was defended by the remnants of eight tank divisions, one infantry division, the personnel of the Vienna military school and up to 15 separate battalions. The basis of the enemy garrison was the unfinished units of the 6th SS Panzer Army. It is no coincidence that the commander of this army, Colonel-General of the SS troops, Sepp Dietrich, was appointed chief of defense of Vienna, who at the same time arrogantly declared: "Vienna will be saved for Germany." He failed to save not only Vienna, but also his life. On April 6 he was killed.

The fascist German command on the approaches to the city and in Vienna itself prepared numerous defensive positions in advance. Anti-tank ditches were dug along the outer periphery of the tank-hazardous areas and various obstacles and barriers were arranged. The enemy blocked the streets of the city with numerous barricades and blockages. Almost all stone and brick buildings were equipped with firing points. The enemy sought to turn Vienna into an impregnable fortress.

As early as April 1, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command set the 3rd Ukrainian Front the task of capturing the capital of Austria and reaching the line of Tulln, St. Pölten, Neu-Lengbach no later than April 12-15 ...

The fighting in the city went on continuously: during the day the main forces fought, and at night - units and subunits specially assigned for this purpose. In the complex labyrinth of streets and lanes of the capital city, the actions of small rifle units, individual tank crews and gun crews, often fighting in isolation from each other, acquired particular importance.

By April 10, the enemy garrison was pinned down on three sides. In this situation, the fascist German command took all measures to keep the only bridge over the Danube that remained in its hands and to bring the remnants of its defeated units to the northern bank of the river ...

Summarizing the experience of hostilities in the previous days, the Military Council of the front came to the conclusion that in order to accelerate the defeat of the enemy grouping, it is necessary to conduct a decisive assault, organizing a clear interaction of all the forces and means involved in it.

In accordance with this conclusion, an operational directive was developed and given to the troops of the 4th, 9th Guards and 6th Guards Tank Armies on April 12, in which special attention was paid to the simultaneity of the assault. In order to quickly complete it, the troops were ordered, after a signal - a volley of "Katyushas" to quickly rush into the attack. Tank units, despite the fire of individual pockets of resistance, had to break through to the Danube as soon as possible. The military council of the front demanded from the army commanders: "Mobilize the troops for a decisive strike with all the means at your disposal and explain that only swift actions will ensure the quick completion of the task." A well-organized and prepared assault on the fortified city was carried out in a short time. By the middle of the day on April 13, the enemy garrison was almost completely destroyed ... On the evening of April 13, for the liberation of Vienna, the capital of our Motherland, Moscow, saluted the troops of the 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian fronts with twenty-four salvos from three hundred and twenty-four guns.

Before the salute, the Moscow radio announcer read out a message from the Soviet Information Bureau, which said: “The Nazis intended to turn Vienna into a heap of ruins. They wanted to subject the inhabitants of the city to a long siege and protracted street fighting. With skillful and decisive actions, our troops thwarted the criminal plans of the German command. Within a few days, the capital of Austria, Vienna, was liberated from the Nazi invaders.

YOU WILL BE FEED AND YOU WILL GO HOME

It was, it seems, on the second day of the storming of Vienna. I was at the command post of the 20th Guards Rifle Corps, Major General N. I. Biryukov, when the scouts brought a frail, blond-haired boy in a clay-stained uniform.

He should have been chasing the ball in the yard, but they handed him a machine gun, - the commander sighed. Suddenly hardened: - Shot after all for sure?

Not at all, Comrade General, - the scout reported. - I didn’t have time or really didn’t want to, but I didn’t use the weapon, we checked his machine gun.

When the interpreter arrived and the interrogation began, the prisoner said that the Nazis first sent all the guys from the senior classes of the gymnasium to the construction of defensive objects, and then they issued machine guns, faustpatrons and threw them against the Russians ... The youth said that he was an Austrian and hated the Germans. They are rapists and robbers. And all the time he asked what would happen to him now. He said that their commander warned that the Russians were shooting everyone.

Translate to the prisoner, - I said to the interpreter, - that the Red Army does not fight with children. We are convinced that he will never again take up arms to fight against the Red Army. But if he takes it, let him blame himself ...

The little boy was overjoyed. He fell to his knees, began to swear that he would never forget how kind the Soviet general and officers were to him. I told him to get up and said:

Perhaps your mother is worried about you? Now you will be fed and you will go home. Take only with you the appeal of the command of the Red Army to the Austrians. Read for yourself, share with your friends and acquaintances. Let them know the truth about the Red Army.

The youth promised to do everything as the Soviet general orders...

Here is the appeal:

“Inhabitants of the city of Vienna!

The Red Army, crushing the Nazi troops, approached Vienna.

The Red Army entered Austria not with the aim of capturing Austrian territory, but solely with the aim of defeating the enemy German fascist troops and liberating Austria from German dependence.

The hour has come for the liberation of the capital of Austria - Vienna from German domination, but the retreating Nazi troops want to turn Vienna into a battlefield, as they did in Budapest. This threatens Vienna and its inhabitants with the same destruction and horrors of war that the Germans inflicted on Budapest and its population.

For the sake of preserving the capital of Austria, its historical monuments of culture and art, I propose:

1. The entire population to whom Vienna is dear should not be evacuated from the city, because with the cleansing of Vienna from the Germans, you will be spared the horrors of war, and those who are evacuated will be driven to death by the Germans.

2. Do not let the Germans mine Vienna, blow up its bridges and turn houses into fortifications.

3. Organize the struggle against the Germans and protect it from destruction by the Nazis.

4. Everyone actively interfere with the export of industrial equipment, goods, food by the Germans from Vienna and not allow the population of Vienna to be robbed.

Citizens of Vienna!

Help the Red Army in the liberation of the capital of Austria - Vienna, invest your share in the cause of the liberation of Austria from the Nazi yoke!

NEW STORM GROUP METHODS

In the labyrinth of streets, yards and lanes of an unfamiliar city, our assault groups mastered new tactics in the course of the battle. In particular, since every now and then it was necessary to break through walls and fences, each warrior, in addition to regular weapons, carried a crowbar, pick or ax with him.

The assault group, led by the Komsomol organizer of the company, the Red Army soldier Vovk, approached a large five-story building. While the Red Army soldier Ananyev fired at the windows with a machine gun, Vovk and other soldiers broke into the entrances. Close combat began in the rooms and corridors. Three hours later, the building was cleared of the enemy. Vovk found faustpatrons in the captured ammunition depot. A few hours later, he managed to burn two tiger-type tanks with them. Right there, on the streets of Vienna, Vovk was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

In one of the houses, on the second floor, an enemy machine gunner sat down. The calculation of the anti-tank rifle could not get it. Then the fighters Tarasyuk and Abdulov, passing through the yards, climbed onto the roof of this house. Abdulov fastened a long rope to the chimney, Tarasov climbed down it to the window from which the machine gun was firing, threw an anti-tank grenade inside, and it was all over.

The division of officer Kotlikov advanced along the street, from house to house. The enemy entrenched on both sides of it, three-layer machine-gun and mortar fire did not allow our guardsmen to drag an easel machine gun across the street. Then Kotlikov tied a wire to the machine gun and divided his soldiers into two groups. Now they attacked simultaneously on both sides of the street, dragging the machine gun by wire from one group to another as needed.

Initiative and independence in the actions of small subunits is one of the decisive conditions for success in battles for a large city. That is why we moved so quickly into the depths of Vienna.

The assault on the capital of Austria was the final part of the Vienna offensive operation, which went from March 16 to April 15, 1945 with the forces of the 2nd (commander marshal Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky) and the 3rd Ukrainian Fronts (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Tolbukhin) with the help of the 1st Bulgarian Army (Lieutenant General V. Stoychev). Its main goal was to defeat German troops in western Hungary and eastern Austria.

Our troops were opposed by part of the troops of Army Group South (commander General of the Infantry O. Wehler, from April 7, Colonel General L. Rendulich), part of the troops of Army Group F (commander Field Marshal M. von Weichs), from March 25 Army Group E (commanded by Colonel-General A. Lehr). The German high command attached great importance to the defense of the Vienna direction, planning to stop the Soviet troops on these lines and hold out in the mountainous and wooded regions of Austria, hoping to conclude a separate peace with England and the USA. However, on March 16 - April 4, Soviet forces broke through the German defenses, defeated the forces of Army Group South and reached the approaches to Vienna.

On April 5, 1945, Soviet troops began an operation to take Vienna from the southeast and south. At the same time, mobile formations, including tank and mechanized units, began to bypass the Austrian capital from the west. The enemy responded with fire and furious infantry counterattacks with reinforced tanks, trying to prevent the advance of Soviet troops into the city. Therefore, on the first day, despite the decisive actions of the Red Army troops, they failed to break the resistance of the enemy, progress was insignificant.

The whole next day - April 6, there were fierce battles on the outskirts of the city. By the evening of that day, Soviet troops were able to reach the southern and western outskirts of the city and broke into the adjacent suburbs of Vienna. Stubborn fighting began already in the city. The forces of the 6th Guards Tank Army made a detour in the difficult conditions of the eastern spurs of the Alps and reached the western approaches to the city, and then to the southern bank of the Danube. The German group was surrounded on three sides.

The Soviet command, trying to prevent unnecessary civilian casualties, to preserve the beautiful city and its historical heritage, on April 5 appealed to the population of the Austrian capital to stay in their homes, on the ground and thereby help the Soviet soldiers, preventing the Nazis from destroying the city. Many Austrians, patriots of their city, responded to this call from the command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, they helped the Soviet soldiers in their difficult struggle for the liberation of Vienna.

By the end of the day on April 7, the forces of the right wing of the 3rd Ukrainian Front partly took the Viennese outskirts of Pressbaum and continued to move - to the east, north and west. On April 8, stubborn battles continued in the city itself, the Germans created new barricades, blockages, blocking roads, set mines, land mines, and transferred guns and mortars to dangerous directions. During April 9-10, Soviet forces continued to fight their way to the city center. The Wehrmacht offered especially stubborn resistance in the area of the Imperial bridge across the Danube, this was due to the fact that if the Soviet troops had reached it, the entire German group in Vienna would have been completely surrounded. The Danube Flotilla landed troops to capture the Imperial Bridge, but heavy enemy fire stopped it 400 meters from the bridge. Only the second landing was able to capture the bridge without letting it blow up. By the end of April 10, the defending German group was completely surrounded, its last units offered resistance only in the city center.

On the night of April 11, our troops began to force the Danube Canal, the final battles for Vienna were underway.
Soviet soldiers on the streets of Vienna. April 1945

Having broken the resistance of the enemy in the central part of the capital and in the quarters that were located on the northern bank of the Danube Canal, the Soviet troops cut the enemy garrison into separate groups. The "cleansing" of the city began - by lunchtime on April 13, the city was completely liberated.

The results of the operation.
- As a result of the offensive of the Soviet troops in the Vienna Offensive Operation, a large Wehrmacht grouping was defeated. The forces of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts were able to complete the liberation of Hungary, occupied the eastern regions of Austria, along with its capital, Vienna. Berlin lost control over another major industrial center in Europe - the Vienna industrial region, including the economically important Nagykanizsa oil region. The road to Prague and Berlin was opened from the south. The USSR initiated the restoration of the statehood of Austria.

- Quick and selfless actions of the Red Army did not allow the Wehrmacht to destroy one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Soviet soldiers were able to prevent the explosion of the Imperial Bridge over the Danube River, as well as the destruction of many other valuable architectural structures that the Germans prepared for the explosion or were set on fire by Wehrmacht units during the retreat, including St. Stephen's Cathedral, and the Vienna City Hall and other structures.
80th Guards Rifle Division on the streets of liberated Vienna

- In honor of the next brilliant victory of the Soviet troops on April 13, 1945 at 21.00 in the capital of the USSR - Moscow, a victorious salute was given by 24 artillery volleys from 324 guns.
- In commemoration of this victory, 50 military formations that distinguished themselves in the battle for Vienna received the honorary name "Viennese". In addition, the Soviet government established the medal "For the Capture of Vienna", which was awarded to all participants in the battles for the capital of Austria.

Chapter sixteen.

RELIEF OF VIENNA

In 1943, Allied aircraft began bombing Vienna. As a result, by August 1944, according to the historian Jean de Cara, "Vienna ceased to be Vienna."

On March 12, 1945, Vienna was again subjected to a barbaric bombardment. In total, during the 52 air attacks of the allied forces, about nine thousand people died. Thousands of buildings were damaged or destroyed, tens of thousands of Viennese apartments became uninhabitable, the streets of the city were literally littered with the rubble of what until recently constituted the unique image of Vienna. In general, it can be said that during the Anglo-American bombing and then street fighting, the city suffered enormous damage, but at the same time, the historical ensemble of the Old City was miraculously preserved.

Street fighting for the liberation of Vienna. April 1945

In the period from March 16 to April 15, 1945, after the Vienna offensive operation was carried out by the forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Marshal R.Ya. Malinovsky and the 3rd Ukrainian Front Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin, Vienna was liberated from the Nazi troops.

On the German side, the Soviet troops were opposed by Army Group South, led by Generals Otto Wöhler and then Lothar von Rendulich.

Hitler was not going to surrender Austria and Vienna without a fight. The 6th SS Panzer Army and a number of other units were transferred here. Defensive structures were hastily erected. Barricades were set up on the streets and squares of Vienna, firing points were equipped in the houses. Bridges across the Danube and canals were mined.

Colonel General von Rendulich, who replaced Otto Wöhler, was considered a defense specialist. It was not without propaganda tricks. In particular, rumors were deliberately spread that the Soviet army would destroy all the Austrians who were members of the National Socialist Party, that the forcible evacuation of the population from the eastern regions of the country to Siberia had allegedly already begun.

In addition, the fascist command turned to the inhabitants of Vienna with an appeal to fight "to the last opportunity."

On April 5, 1945, units of the 3rd Ukrainian Front were already fighting on the outskirts of Vienna. The next day, street fighting broke out on the outskirts of the city. After that, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front were also involved in the operation, which were supposed to bypass the Austrian capital from the north.

As for the mined bridges across the Danube, a group of Russian intelligence officers managed to recapture one of them from the Germans. Here is what A.A. Chkheidze, who at that time was a scout of the Danube flotilla, who traveled from Odessa to Vienna:

“On April 5, 1945, Soviet warships with landing troops moved away from the moorings of Bratislava and headed up the Danube. The fighting for the liberation of Austria began […]

I remember it was a warm spring day. From the Danube embankment, I carefully examined the bridges through binoculars - Vienna and Imperial. The heavy farms of the first bathed in the water. The Danube water flowed through them. Hitler's generals turned Vienna into a powerful center of resistance. The enemy blocked the streets of the city with numerous barricades and created blockages. Many stone buildings were equipped with firing points. Vienna was the last bastion on the outskirts of the southern regions of Germany.

Of the five bridges in Vienna, four were blown up, and only the fifth - the Imperial - was mined, but not yet blown up. The fascist German command did everything possible to keep the entire right-bank part of Vienna in its hands. The attempts made by our troops on April 9 and 10 to capture the bridge were repulsed by the enemy.”

It is surprising, but exactly 140 years before that, the Napoleonic general Marbo had already noted the importance of bridges across Vienna. In his famous Memoirs, this man wrote:

“The city of Vienna is located on the right bank of the Danube, a huge river, the small branch of which passes through this city, and the large one is about half a league away. The Danube forms here a large number of small islands, united together by a whole series of wooden bridges, ending with one large bridge crossing a wide branch of the river. The bridge comes out on the left bank of the river at a place called Spitz. The road to Moravia from Vienna passes through this long chain of bridges. When the Austrians left the crossing, they had one very bad habit of keeping the bridges until the very last moment. They did this in order to be able to return and attack the enemy, who almost always did not give them time for this, but attacked himself, capturing not only manpower, but also the bridges themselves, which, through negligence, were not burned. This is exactly what the French did during the Italian campaign of 1796 at numerous crossings between Lodi and Arcole. However, these lessons were in vain for the Austrians. After they left Vienna, practically unsuitable for defense, they retired to the opposite bank of the Danube, without destroying any of all the bridges that were thrown over this wide river. They limited themselves to preparing various flammable materials in front of the large bridge, in order to set fire to it as soon as the French appeared.

But the Germans of 1945 were not the Austrians of the early 19th century. Of the five bridges in Vienna, they had already blown up four, and the fifth was carefully mined, being ready to blow it up at any moment.

According to A.A. Chkheidze, commander of the brigade of river ships A.F. Arzhavkin proposed to capture the bridge, landing simultaneously on the right and left banks of the Danube at the approaches to the bridge. This plan was approved by the commander of the flotilla.

“A landing detachment and a cover detachment were formed under the command of Senior Lieutenant S.I. Klopovsky. It included five armored boats. The detachment of artillery support ships consisted of eight mortar boats. They were commanded by Senior Lieutenant G.I. Bobkov. A reinforced rifle company from the 80th Guards Rifle Division under the command of Senior Lieutenant E.A. Pilosyan.

Our armored boats were stationed near the place where I was on duty and monitored the enemy. Finally, a company of submachine gunners appeared. There were over a hundred of them. The paratroopers brought with them a 45 mm cannon and four heavy machine guns.

Before landing, the naval officer explained to the machine gunners how best to act during the transition on the boat. The entire company was loaded onto two armored boats.

Exactly at 11 o'clock, five armored boats moved away from the right bank and headed for the Imperial Bridge. They safely passed the destroyed Vienna Bridge and ended up in the enemy's position.

The appearance of Soviet ships in the city center during the day came as a surprise to the Nazis. Taking advantage of this, Senior Lieutenant Klopovsky put up a smokescreen. And he himself opened fire from guns and machine guns on enemy batteries located on both sides of the Danube. The enemy responded with heavy fire. The shells of the enemy battery installed on the elevator were especially accurately torn.

Immediately, our aviation made a raid on the Nazis. The fighting ships, firing, were approaching the Imperial Bridge. While three boats, maneuvering, destroyed enemy firing points on the shore, two other boats with landing troops separated. The armored boat under the command of senior lieutenant A.P. Sinyavsky headed to the left bank, and the armored boat under the command of senior lieutenant A.P. Tretyachenko - to the right bank. Klopovsky's boat covered them with a smoke screen.

I clearly saw how our paratroopers quickly disembarked from the boats, how they quickly drove the submachine gunners guarding the Imperial Bridge. Soon he was in our hands, and the wires leading to the explosives were cut by miners.

Naturally, as soon as the paratroopers captured the Imperial Bridge, the Germans immediately launched violent attacks, as they perfectly understood what the loss of this only bridge threatened them with (the troops on the right bank would immediately be cut off from the main forces). The defense of the bridge was led by Senior Lieutenant E.A. Pilosyan. On the night of April 12-13, the Germans made fierce attacks on the bridge, and although the guards held on very staunchly, the forces were unequal ...

It is not known how it would have ended, but on the morning of April 13, Soviet troops broke through the German defenses in the area of the Vienna Bridge. Following the paratroopers, the soldiers of the 80th Guards Division rushed into the gap. Help arrived in time, the bridge was saved, and on the same day Vienna was completely liberated.

And here is what General S.M. writes about the capture of Vienna in his book “The General Staff during the War Years”. Shtemenko:

“On one of these days, the Supreme Commander, when reporting on the situation, said, as he often did, without directly addressing anyone:

And where is the same Social Democrat Karl Renner who was a student of Kautsky now? He worked for many years in the leadership of the Austrian Social Democracy and, it seems, was the head of the last parliament of Austria? ..

No one answered: such a question was not expected at all.

You can not neglect the influential forces that stand on anti-fascist positions, - continued Stalin. - Probably, the Hitlerite dictatorship taught the Social Democrats something...

And then we got the task to ask about the fate of Renner and, if he is alive, to find out his place of residence. We transmitted the corresponding order by telephone to the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

We knew little about the internal situation in Austria [...] There was no information about Renner either.

But on April 4, a report came from the Military Council of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, which reported that Karl Renner himself appeared at the headquarters of the 103rd Guards Rifle Division. Later I was told that this was the case. A tall, gray-haired man in a black suit was led into the office where the staff officers worked and introduced himself in German. At first, no one paid much attention to him. Then, however, one of the political workers realized who he was dealing with and quickly reported to his superiors.

Renner turned out to be a sociable person. He willingly told the officers about his long life. Since 1894, Renner was a member of the Social Democratic Party, in 1918-1920. was Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, and in 1931-1933. - President of the Austrian Parliament. After the Anschluss, Renner retired to Lower Austria, withdrawing from official political activity.

Our officers asked Carl Renner what he thought of living on. He said that he was already old, but he was ready to “conscience and deed” contribute to the establishment of a democratic regime in Austria. “Now both the communists and the social democrats have the same task - the destruction of fascism,” Renner said. Perfectly understanding the situation in Austria, the astute politician, who was in his eighth decade, correctly assessed his importance as the last pre-Hitler leader of the country's parliament. He offered his assistance in the formation of an interim wartime government of Austria and warned in advance: "I exclude the Nazis from parliament."

The conversation went on for quite some time. It was important for us to know the mood of the Viennese, since intelligence reported on extensive preparations for battles in the Austrian capital. Obviously, the Nazi leaders were preparing the fate of Budapest for the city. Very vague information also reached us about resistance allegedly taking place somewhere in the bowels of the Vienna garrison.

Renner believed that nine-tenths of the population of Vienna was opposed to the Nazis, but fascist repression and Anglo-American bombing frightened the Viennese: they feel depressed and incapable of action. The Social Democrats, for their part, did not take any organized measures to mobilize the population for the fight against the Nazis.

The message about the meeting with Karl Renner was received in Moscow on the evening of April 4th. We with A.I. Antonov understood that some decisions would be made on this matter. As a rule, if everything was fine at the fronts, I.V. Stalin, the members of the Politburo, the State Defense Committee and the government, who usually gathered for meetings in his office in the Kremlin, did not ask any special questions. But this time, during a report on the situation on the 3rd Ukrainian Front, I.V. Stalin, narrowing his eyes cunningly, stopped and looked at the “General Staff” for a long time. After making sure that we understand his thoughts and mood in connection with the telegram about Renner, he again began to walk along the carpet with a satisfied expression on his face. Then, after talking with members of the Politburo, he dictated to us a telegram from the Headquarters to the Military Council of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

The telegram said: 1) trust Karl Renner; 2) inform him that for the sake of restoring a democratic regime in Austria, the command of the Soviet troops will support him; 3) explain to Renner that the Soviet troops entered Austria not to seize its territory, but to expel the fascist invaders. The telegram was signed by I.V. Stalin and A.I. Antonov. I immediately took it to the control room for the transfer of F.I. Tolbukhin.

After that, as General S.M. Shtemenko, it was decided that Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin will appeal to the population of Vienna to resist the Nazis and prevent them from destroying the city, and on behalf of the Soviet government will pass on a statement about the future of Austria.

This statement said:

“The Soviet government does not pursue the goal of acquiring any part of the Austrian territory or changing the social order of Austria. The Soviet Government adheres to the point of view of the Moscow Declaration of the Allies on the independence of Austria. It will implement this declaration. It will contribute to the liquidation of the regime of the Nazi occupiers and the restoration of democratic orders and institutions in Austria.”

“The Red Army entered the borders of Austria not with the aim of capturing Austrian territory, but solely with the aim of defeating the enemy German fascist troops and liberating Austria from German dependence. The Red Army is at war with the German occupiers, and not with the population of Austria, who can safely go about their peaceful work. The rumors spread by the Nazis that the Red Army is destroying all members of the National Socialist Party are lies. The National Socialist Party will be dissolved, but the rank and file members of the National Socialist Party will not be touched if they show loyalty to the Soviet troops.

At this time, Soviet troops had already broken into the southwestern, and then the southeastern part of Vienna and started stubborn battles there. The most crucial moment in the history of the liberation of the capital of Austria has come.

These explanations yielded results, and the inhabitants of Vienna, despite all the calls of the German command, not only did not resist the Soviet troops, but also took part in the fight against the Nazi invaders.

Wehrmacht General Kurt von Tippelskirch writes about this:

“Vienna, like other cities, also became the scene of heavy street fighting, but the behavior of the population, as well as individual units participating in the battles for the city, was more aimed at a quick end to the fighting than resistance.”

Everything that happened was immediately reported to Hitler's headquarters. The answer from Berlin was not long in coming.

"To suppress the rebels in Vienna with the most cruel methods."

In early April 1945, General von Bünau was assigned to lead the situation in Vienna, but already on April 7 he was removed, transferring his authority to the commander of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps. Fascist terror raged in the city, aimed at suppressing the resistance movement.

By April 10, German troops in Vienna were pinned down on three sides. Three days later, the armed resistance of the Nazis was broken, and Vienna was liberated.

The results of the operation were: the defeat of eleven Wehrmacht tank divisions, 130,000 captured soldiers and officers, over 1,300 destroyed tanks and self-propelled guns. Soviet troops reached the southern borders of Germany, marking the already predetermined collapse of the Third Reich.

Soviet soldiers and residents of Austria in liberated Vienna. April 1945

Major General I.N. Moshlyak, who commanded the 62nd Guards Rifle Division, recalls:

“Vienna rejoiced. Its inhabitants took to the streets. Sheets with the text of the appeal of the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin […] Crowds of Vienna residents stood in front of sheets pasted on the walls, animatedly discussing the text of the appeal. The townspeople affably waved their hands to the columns of our soldiers passing through the streets, many raised their clenched fists - “Rot front!” For the inhabitants of Vienna, the war is over, the cannons have ceased to rattle, the machine guns have ceased to scribble, the faustpatrons have ceased to burst. Our sapper units began building crossings across the Danube (all the bridges except one were blown up by the Nazis), repairing tram and railway tracks.

And here is the story of the former scout of the Danube flotilla A.A. Chkheidze:

“The streets and squares of the Austrian capital were crowded with people. Residents warmly treated the Soviet soldiers. We liked the architecture of Vienna and its friendly and elegant people. There are many architectural monuments here. I especially remember the majestic St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Austrians are very musical people. Therefore, the sounds of a violin or an accordion were often heard from an open window.

We also visited Strauss' grave. The Danube sailors laid a wreath to the talented composer. They stood at his grave for a long time, recalling what they had read about Strauss's life, and especially the episodes of his life, known to us from the movie "The Great Waltz".

We got acquainted with another “attraction” of Vienna. There was a large concentration camp near the capital. At that time, the name Mauthausen still did not tell us anything. But the Austrians told how many Soviet prisoners of war died here. Particularly shocking was the report that in February 1945, feeling the imminent retribution for their crimes, the Nazis took a group of prisoners in the cold in their underwear and began to water them with fire hoses. Among the prisoners of war was Lieutenant General Karbyshev, who, together with his comrades, suffered a terrible death.

Karl Renner, in a note sent to the governments of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain at the end of April 1945, said:

“Thanks to the victorious advance of the Red Army, which liberated the capital Vienna and a significant part of Austria from the armies German Empire, it became possible to restore our full political independence again, and, relying on the decisions of the Crimean Conference, as well as the Moscow Conference of 1943, representatives of various political parties of the country decided to restore the Republic of Austria as an independent, independent and democratic state.

General SM. Shtemenko tells that Karl Renner wrote a letter to I.V. Stalin. Here is its content:

“During its offensive, the Red Army found me and my family in my residence of Gloggnitz (near Wiener Neustadt), where, together with my party comrades, full of confidence, I expected her arrival. The local command treated me with deep respect, immediately took me under their protection and again gave me complete freedom of action, which I had to give up with pain in my soul during the fascism of Dollfuss and Hitler. For all this, on my own behalf and on behalf of the working class of Austria, I most sincerely and humbly thank the Red Army and you, its Supreme Commander-in-Chief, covered with glory.

The following part of Karl Renner's letter dated April 15, 1945, consisted of various kinds of requests. In particular, he wrote:

“The Hitler regime doomed us here to absolute helplessness. We will stand helpless at the gates of the great powers when the transformation of Europe is accomplished. Even today I ask for your favorable attention to Austria in the council of the great ones and, insofar as tragic circumstances permit, I ask you to take us under your mighty protection. We are currently threatened by famine and an epidemic, we are threatened by the loss of territory in negotiations with our neighbors. In our stony Alps, we already have very little arable land, it provides us with only a meager daily subsistence. If we lose another part of our territory, we will not be able to live.”

I.V. Stalin replied to Karl Renner:

“Thank you, dear comrade, for your message of April 15. You can rest assured that your concern for the independence, integrity and well-being of Austria is also my concern.”

As a result, the Provisional Government of Austria was established at the end of April. Karl Renner was at the head of the government.

Under the terms of the Potsdam Conference (July 16 - August 2, 1945), Austria and Vienna were divided into four sectors of occupation: Soviet, American, British and French. The city center was set aside for joint quadripartite occupation.

Colonel G.M. Savenok, who in the post-war period worked for several years in the Soviet military commandant's office in Vienna, recalls how cruelly Vienna was mutilated:

“Before the war, there were about 100,000 residential buildings in Vienna. By April 13, 3,500 houses were completely destroyed, 17,000 buildings required major repairs. In short, a fifth of the housing stock of the Austrian capital was out of order. 35,000 people were left homeless, including those Viennese who returned from concentration camps and prisons.

Before the war there were 35,000 cars in Vienna. By April 13, by some miracle, 11 trucks and 40 cars survived.

The fire department of the Austrian capital consisted of 3,760 firefighters and 420 vehicles. There are 18 firefighters and 2 cars left. There was no one and nothing to put out the fires.

There was no gas in Vienna. And not only because the gas plants were out of order. The network of gas pipes with a total length of 2000 kilometers was interrupted in 1407 places.

The electricity supply was almost completely cut off: power plants were destroyed, and the electric cable within the city received 15,000 damage.

Vienna was left without water: out of 21 reservoirs, 2 survived, the city's water supply network was broken in 1447 places.

Of the many dozens of bridges and viaducts, only two bridges managed to save the Soviet troops: one across the Danube, the second through the Danube Canal. The rest jutted out of the water like warped skeletons.

Many streets of Vienna became impassable: 4457 shell craters gaped on them.

However, the worst thing is that Vienna was left without food.

The central and regional warehouses were burned, destroyed, devastated by the retreating fascists. Only a few stocks of flour remained. It was only enough for a few random, far from regular distributions, and even then at the rate of no more than a kilogram of bread per person per week. Vienna was on the verge of a real famine."

On November 25, 1945, the first post-war elections were held in Vienna, and Karl Renner (1870-1950) became the first president of the Second Austrian Republic.

This man was born on December 14, 1870 in the German part of Moravia into a peasant family. He studied law in Vienna, earned his living as a private tutor, and held a position as a government librarian. In 1894, he became one of the leaders of the Austrian Social Democratic Party, although he never adhered to orthodox Marxist views. Rather, he was a supporter of the right wing of social democracy, the ideologist of the so-called Austro-Marxism.

Karl Renner, President of the Second Austrian Republic

Karl Renner died in Vienna on December 31, 1950. He was buried at the Central Cemetery, which was opened in 1874. There, in the center, in front of the church, there is a round platform sunk into the ground, where the presidents of the Second (post-war) Republic are buried.

After the death of Karl Renner, Austria chose Theodor Kerner (1873-1957), a retired general of the Austrian army, who on April 17, 1945, was appointed by the Soviet occupation forces in Austria as temporary burgomaster of Vienna in his place. In fact, this was the first president of the country, elected by direct vote. According to the memoirs of Colonel G.M. Savenoka, it was "a seventy-year old man of rare honesty and modesty."

From the book Another Stalin author Zhukov Yury Nikolaevich

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From the book Liberation of Vienna: a chronicle novel author Korolchenko Anatoly Filippovich

IN THE ALPS, NEAR VIENNA

70 years ago, on April 13, 1945, Soviet troops liberated the capital of Austria from Nazi invaders

The liberation of Vienna is one of the offensive operations ending the Great Patriotic War. It was part of the Vienna offensive operation of 1945, during which Soviet troops captured the capital of Austria, clearing it of Nazi troops. The operation lasted from 5 to 13 April 1945.

The Vienna offensive operation, which was completed on April 13, 1945 with the liberation of the capital of Austria from the Wehrmacht, was one of the brilliant offensive operations that ended the Great Patriotic War. Therefore, at the same time it was both quite simple and incredibly heavy. These are the last, decisive battles.

The relative ease of capturing the capital of Austria, in comparison with other operations, was due to the fact that the Red Army had already worked out a scheme for the destruction of enemy groups. In addition, by April 1945, our troops already felt the proximity of the Victory, and it was impossible to stop them. Although it was especially difficult psychologically to fight at that time, people knew “a little more, a little more”, plus deadly fatigue.

It is clear that there was no easy walk: our total losses in this operation were 168 thousand people (of which more than 38 thousand people died). The Germans desperately resisted, but their forces were already undermined - before that, the Red Army and the Wehrmacht, in alliance with the Hungarian units, fought heavy battles in Hungary. Hitler ordered to keep the Hungarian oil fields at all costs - the battle for Budapest and the subsequent Balaton operation were among the bloodiest battles of the Great Patriotic War. Our troops entered Hungary in October 1944, having previously carried out the Belgorod operation, and only at the end of March 1945 did they reach Austria. The attitude of the population was also different, if the Hungarians for the most part supported the Nazis, were hostile to the Red Army, then the Austrians were neutral. Of course, they did not meet with flowers and bread and salt, but there was no hostility.

Storming of Vienna (April 5 - 13, 1945)

The assault on the Austrian capital was the final part of the Vienna Offensive, which went from March 16 to April 15, 1945 by the forces of the 2nd (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky) and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Tolbukhin) with the help of 1- th Bulgarian Army (Lieutenant General V. Stoichev). Its main goal was to defeat German troops in western Hungary and eastern Austria.

Our troops were opposed by part of the troops of Army Group South (commander General of the Infantry O. Wehler, from April 7, Colonel General L. Rendulich), part of the troops of Army Group F (commander Field Marshal M. von Weichs), from March 25 Army Group E (commanded by Colonel-General A. Lehr). The German high command attached great importance to the defense of the Vienna direction, planning to stop the Soviet troops on these lines and hold out in the mountainous and wooded regions of Austria, hoping to conclude a separate peace with England and the USA. However, on March 16 - April 4, Soviet forces broke through the German defenses, defeated the forces of Army Group South and reached the approaches to Vienna.

Soviet soldiers are fighting for the Imperial bridge in Vienna

For the defense of the Austrian capital, the German command created a fairly strong grouping of troops, in its composition the remnants of the 8th Panzer and 1st Infantry Divisions from the 6th SS Panzer Army, which had withdrawn from the Lake Balaton area, were formed and about 15 separate infantry battalions and Volkssturm battalions. The entire composition of the Vienna military school was mobilized to defend Vienna, 4 regiments of 1.5 thousand people were created from the Vienna police. The natural conditions of the area around the city favored the German side. From the west, Vienna was covered by a mountain range, and from the northern and eastern sides by a powerful water barrier, the wide and abundant Danube. On the south side, on the outskirts of the city, the Germans created a powerful fortified area, which consisted of anti-tank ditches, a developed system of fortifications - trenches, pillboxes and bunkers. Ditches were dug in all tank-hazardous areas along the outer bypass of Vienna, anti-tank and anti-personnel barriers were installed.

The Germans prepared a significant part of their artillery for direct fire, to strengthen the anti-tank defense of the city. Firing positions for artillery were equipped in parks, gardens, squares and city squares. In addition, in the destroyed houses of the city (from air strikes), guns and tanks were disguised, which were supposed to fire from an ambush. The streets of the city were blocked by numerous barricades, many stone buildings were adapted for long-term defense, becoming real bastions, firing points were equipped in their windows, attics, basements. All bridges in the city were mined. The German command planned to make the city an insurmountable obstacle in the way of the Red Army, an impregnable fortress.

The commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, F.I. Tolbukhin, planned to take the city with the help of 3 simultaneous strikes: from the southeast side - by the troops of the 4th Guards Army and the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, from the south and southwest sides - by troops 6th Guards Tank Army with the 18th Tank Corps and part of the 9th Guards Army attached to help it. The rest of the forces of the 9th Guards Army were to bypass Vienna from the west and cut off the Nazis' escape routes. At the same time, the Soviet command tried to prevent the destruction of the city during the assault.

On the night of April 11, our troops began to force the Danube Canal, the final battles for Vienna were underway. Having broken the resistance of the enemy in the central part of the capital and in the quarters that were located on the northern bank of the Danube Canal, the Soviet troops cut the enemy garrison into separate groups. The "cleansing" of the city began - by lunchtime on April 13, the city was completely liberated.

Light armored car BA-64 moves through the streets of Vienna

Operation results

As a result of the offensive of the Soviet troops in the Vienna Offensive Operation, a large Wehrmacht grouping was defeated. The forces of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts were able to complete the liberation of Hungary, occupied the eastern regions of Austria, along with its capital, Vienna. Berlin lost control over another major industrial center in Europe - the Vienna industrial region, including the economically important Nagykanizsa oil region. The road to Prague and Berlin was opened from the south. The USSR initiated the restoration of the statehood of Austria.

The quick and selfless actions of the Red Army did not allow the Wehrmacht to destroy one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Soviet soldiers were able to prevent the explosion of the Imperial Bridge over the Danube River, as well as the destruction of many other valuable architectural structures that the Germans prepared for the explosion or were set on fire by Wehrmacht units during the retreat, including St. Stephen's Cathedral, and the Vienna City Hall and other structures.