Soviets launch Operation Bagration

On 22 June 1944, the Soviet Union launched Operation Bagration, a massive offensive against German Army Group Centre in Belarus. Timed to coincide with the third anniversary of Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the operation was one of the largest of the Second World War, involving more than 2.3 million Soviet personnel, 5,800 tanks and assault guns, 30,000 artillery pieces, and 5,300 aircraft under the coordination of the 1st Baltic, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Belorussian Fronts. The German Army Group Centre, commanded by Field Marshal Ernst Busch (later replaced by Field Marshal Walter Model), held heavily fortified positions but was understrength and stretched thin. Employing deception measures (maskirovka), the Soviets concealed their true points of attack, achieving surprise. Beginning with massive artillery bombardments and air strikes, Soviet forces broke through German defenses, encircling entire formations. The pivotal battle at Bobruisk resulted in the destruction of large German forces, followed by the capture of Minsk on 3 July. By the end of July, the Red Army had advanced hundreds of kilometers, liberating most of Belarus and pushing into eastern Poland and the Baltic States. German losses were catastrophic, with estimates of 300,000 to 400,000 men killed, wounded, or captured, effectively annihilating Army Group Centre. Operation Bagration was a decisive turning point on the Eastern Front, crippling German defensive capacity and enabling subsequent Soviet offensives into Central and Eastern Europe. #MomentsOfLife #MoofLife_Moment #MoofLife #WWII #OperationBagration #EasternFront #SovietOffensive #Belarus1944