"1945: As The Soviet Army Closed In Slowly..." Topic

….Last Stages Of WW2

"The Battle of Bautzen (or Battle of Budziszyn, April 1945) was one of the last battles of the Eastern Front in World War II. It was fought on the extreme southern flank of the Spremberg–Torgau Offensive, seeing days of pitched street fighting between forces of the 2nd Polish Army and elements of the Soviet's 52nd Army and 5th Guards Army on one side and the elements of German Army Group Centre in the form of the remnants of the 4th Panzer and 17th armies.

The battle took place during Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front push toward Berlin, part of the larger Soviet Berlin Offensive. The battle was fought in the town of Bautzen (Polish: Budziszyn) and the rural areas to the northeast situated primarily along the Bautzen-Niesky line. Combat began on April 21, 1945, and continued until April 26. Isolated engagements took place until April 30. The 2nd Polish Army under Karol Świerczewski suffered heavy losses, but with the aid of Soviet reinforcements prevented the German forces from breaking through to their rear. It was one of the most bloody battles that the Polish Army had ever been involved in.

After the battle both sides claimed victory. Modern statements as to who won the battle are also contradictory. Polish historiography during People's Republic of Poland portrayed the battle as difficult, but victorious. After the fall of communism, modern Polish historians became much more critical of Świerczewski's command, blaming his incompetence and desire to capture Dresden for the near destruction of the Polish forces. In modern historiography, the battle's outcome is seen as a very costly victory for the Soviets and their Polish allies (despite the heavy casualties, the Polish–Soviet frontline was not seriously breached), because the German local success could not help to slow down the German defeat. German historiography mostly focused more on the regional outcome and speaks of a German victory (because of the recapture of large areas in Upper Lusatia, the by far fewer losses and the slowdown of Soviet and Polish advance to Dresden), but which came too late to have any significant impact on the outcome of the war. It is also sometimes called the last successful German tank operation of World War II…"
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