‘Operation: Bagration’ was the codename for 1944 Soviet ‘Belarusian Strategic Offensive Operation’. The operation was named after Georgian Prince Pyotr Bagration, who lived during the 18th and 19th centuries and was a general of the Imperial Russian Army. The operation was designed to support Allied operations in France, liberate Russian territory and break the back of the Wehrmacht once and for all.
The huge offensive involved forces of four armies – the 1st Baltic Front and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Belarusian Fronts. More than 2 million soldiers took part, along with 4000 tanks and assault guns, 24,500 guns and 5300 aircraft. The result was that one of the biggest armies that the Germans had in the Soviet Union was completely destroyed, resulting in terrible casualties for the Germans: more than 500,000 soldiers were killed and 500 tanks, 2500 guns and 600 aircraft were destroyed. On the Soviet side there were nearly 800,000 casualties along with 3000 tanks destroyed, 2500 guns and 800 aircraft.
The operation was preceded by a complicated deception mission designed to misguide German High Command. The operation then started in full on the 22th of June 1944 – this date was the anniversary of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and was known as Operation Barbarossa. The main offensive started on the early hours of the 23rd of June. The Soviet Army attacked in three great and powerful attacks in Vitebsk and Orsha, Mogilev and Bobruysk.
On the 28th of June, the 3rd Belarusian Front reached the Berezina River, whilst the 2nd Belarusian Front encircled Mogilev, which was still in German hands. Finally, after a hard battle, Mogilev was captured. On the 29th of June, the 1st Belarusian Front captured Bobruysk.
The second phase of Bagration then began. This involved the retaking of Minsk and the encirclement and destruction of German Army Group Centre. Minsk was liberated on the 4th July, costing the German forces 25 divisions and 300 000 men. At the same time the 1st Baltic Front forces captured Polotsk. After that the Soviet forces continued their push towards Riga, Vilinus, Belostock, Lublin and Brest.
The Operation continued until the middle of August. By this point, the German forces had lost about a quarter of its Eastern Front troops with around 400 000 casualties. The scale of defeat was comparable to that of the Battle of Stalingrad.
Now it’s your opportunity to take part in some huge battles by entering our contest!
The rules are simple:
Play three battles with the tanks which took part in Operation: Bagration and score points for achieving the criteria listed below. The highest score will win. If a tie happens, the deciding factor will be the experience earned. Are you ready?
Score points depending on your achievements on the battlefields
- Enemy damaged: 2 points
- Enemy destroyed: 2 points
- Spot an enemy: 1 Point
- Battle Hero: 3 points (Steel Wall is excluded)
- Epic Achievements: Biolter: 4 points, others: 5 points
Requirements
- Send your submissions to: contests_eu@wargaming.net
- The mail subject should be: Operation: Bagration - Score:xxx - nickname
- In the email you will need to attach the replays of the three battles and screenshots of the after-battle log showing the awards and epic achievements that you received.
- You can play the battles from any time on Friday 22nd June until Monday 25th June at 24:00 CEST (10:00pm GMT), but you can send the submissions until Wednesday 27th June at 24:00 CEST (10:00pm GMT)
- Only battles played with the following tanks will be accepted:
|
Axis (Germany) |
Allies (USSR and USA) |
|---|---|
|
PzKpfw III |
SU-85 |
|
PzKpfw IV |
SU-76 |
|
Marder II |
ISU-152 |
|
Tiger |
IS |
|
Stug III |
T-34 |
|
Hetzer |
T-34-85 |
|
Panther |
KV-1S |
|
|
Valentine |
|
|
M4 Sherman |
|
|
M10 Wolverine |
Prizes
Because the most important thing is: what could you win?
|
1st place |
5000 gold |
|
2nd place |
3000 gold |
|
3rd place |
1500 gold |
|
4th to 8th place |
500 gold |
Which side will you play during battles? Use your calculator and show us your best score!
