| Josip Broz Tito’s (May 7, 1892 – May 4, 1980), Communist guerrillas celebrate the liberation of Belgrade. On October 14, Soviet tankers, in cooperation with the troops of the 1st Proletarian Corps of General Peko Dapčević (June 25, 1913 – February 10, 1999) from the 1st Army Group, reached the outskirts of the Yugoslav capital. At the same time, troops of the 12th Yugoslav Corps under the command of General Danilo Lekić (1913 – 1986) were moving towards Belgrade from the southwest. The locals greeted the Soviet tank crews with pure delight. In the corps newspaper “Stalingradets”, tank gunner Sergeant Major I. Ya. Ivanov (???? – ????) noted: “When we entered the village, it was impossible to drive along the street. There were people standing around. They blocked the roads and surrounded the tanks. They gave us gifts. Everyone brought what they could…” The assault on the city began after intense artillery preparation. On the same day, the outer defensive perimeter was broken. Soviet and Yugoslav troops engaged in combat on the southern outskirts of the city. The fighting became fierce. The garrison numbered over 30,000 soldiers with 40 tanks and a 170 guns and mortars. The city was heavily mined, which made the offensive difficult. The German command decided to sacrifice the Belgrade garrison in order to tie up as many Soviet and Yugoslav troops as possible in a stubborn defense of the city, ensuring the withdrawal of other forces. The fight for Belgrade was difficult. The German troops resisted stubbornly. Some strongholds changed hands several times. In addition, part of the forces were diverted to eliminate the “cauldron” southeast of Belgrade, where a strong Nazi German group continued to resist. This “cauldron” was eliminated by the joint efforts of Soviet and Yugoslav troops by October 19. Most of Belgrade was liberated by the end of October 15, but it took until October 20 for Yugoslav capital to be completely cleared of the Nazi Germans. The last heavy fighting went on in the area of Kalemegdan, the Old Fortress. During the battle for Belgrade, 15,000 were killed and 9,000 German soldiers were captured. In pursuit of the enemy, Soviet troops reached the Rum area. On October 21, Marshal Josip Tito (May 7, 1892 – May 4, 1980) sent a letter to the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, expressing gratitude to the soldiers, officers and generals of the Red Army who, together with units of the People’s Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOAJ), liberated Belgrade. On October 21, Soviet troops liberated Kraljevo, finally cutting off the Salonika-Belgrade communications. The 2nd Bulgarian Army, in cooperation with the XIII Corps of the People’s Liberation Army, liberated the cities of Niš and Leskovac. After the liberation of Belgrade, the Soviet units, in accordance with the instructions of the Headquarters, were ordered to go on the defensive and not to advance deep into the country. For political reasons, the opportunity to complete the complete liberation of Yugoslavia was given to the Yugoslav army. Taking advantage of the defeat of the army group “Serbia” and the sharp deterioration of the Heer’s (“Nazi German Army”) maneuvering capabilities, as well as Soviet military assistance, the Yugoslav troops reached the Drina River line by the end of October. Soviet, Yugoslav and Bulgarian troops inflicted a heavy defeat on the Nazi German Army Group F. The eastern and north-eastern regions of Yugoslavia and its capital Belgrade were liberated from the Germans. Favorable conditions were created for an offensive on Budapest. During this operation, German troops lost up to 45,000 soldiers (according to other sources, German losses were much higher). Soviet losses amounted to over 18,000 people (including 4,300 killed). Army Group F was defeated and retreated to southern Hungary and Croatia, where it formed the Sremsk Front. The German command was forced to accelerate the evacuation of its units from the southern part of the Balkans. German troops stationed in Greece (Group E) were forced to retreat northward through the hard-to-reach mountainous regions of Bosnia and Montenegro. They were controlled by partisans, so the retreat resulted in heavy losses. In addition, the German troops had to abandon most of their equipment, ammunition and food supplies. All this prevented the units of Army Group F from taking timely part in the Battle of Hungary. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0705.jpg |
| Image Size | 78.89 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 700 x 357 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Royal Navy official photographer |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | October 20, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Belgrade |
| State or Province | Belgrade |
| Country | Yugoslavia |
| Archive | Royal Navy |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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