View source for First Jassy–Kishinev offensive

{{short description|Soviet 1944 offensive into Romania}}
{{about|the April–June 1944 offensive|the later operation|Second Jassy–Kishinev offensive}}
{{singlesource|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = First Jassy–Kishinev offensive
| partof = [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]], [[World War II]]
| image = Eastern Front 1943-08 to 1944-12.png
| caption = Advance of the [[Red Army]], 1943–1944
| date = 8 April – 6 June 1944
| place = Eastern [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]]
| coordinates =
| result = Axis victory{{sfn|Glantz|pp=371–376}}
| combatant1 ={{flagcountry|Kingdom of Romania}}<br>{{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}
| combatant2 ={{flag|Soviet Union|1936}}
| commander1 ={{flagicon|Kingdom of Romania}} [[Petre Dumitrescu]]<br>{{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Otto Wöhler]]
| commander2 ={{flagicon|Soviet Union|1936}} [[Ivan Konev]]<br>{{flagicon|Soviet Union|1936}} [[Rodion Malinovsky]]
| strength1   = 300,000{{sfn|Glantz|p=381}}
| strength2   = 830,000{{sfn|Glantz|p=380}}
| casualties1 = 45,000 casualties{{sfn|Glantz|p=381}}
| casualties2 = 150,000 casualties{{sfn|Glantz|p=379}}
| notes =
|campaignbox=
{{Campaignbox Axis–Soviet War}}
{{Campaignbox Balkans 1944}}
{{Romanian military actions in World War II}}
}}
The '''first Jassy–Kishinev offensive''', named after the two major cities in the area, [[Iași|Jassy]] and [[Kishinev]], was a series of military engagements between 8 April and 6 June 1944 (according to [[David Glantz]]) by the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Axis powers]]. Richard C. Hall also refers to a '''first Jassy–Kishinev operation''' which began on 5 April, without providing an exact date for its end.{{sfn|Hall|p=239}} According to Glantz, the purported offensive was a coordinated invasion of [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]] conducted by [[Red Army]]'s [[2nd Ukrainian Front|2nd]] and [[3rd Ukrainian Front]]s, in accordance with [[Joseph Stalin]]'s strategy of projecting Soviet military power and political influence into the [[Balkans]].{{sfn|Glantz|p=XIII}} However, according to the German [[Military History Research Office (Germany)|Military History Research Office]], a threatened Soviet offensive in northern Moldavia "failed to materialize" in the first part of April, and the military engagements during the rest of the month were used by the Axis forces to straighten the frontline; furthermore, on  6 May, the main command of the Soviet military (''[[Stavka]]'') issued orders to take no further offensive actions in this sector of the front.{{sfn|Military History Research Office|2007|pp=481-482}}
Glantz claims that the plans of the ''Stavka'' envisioned the two Soviet fronts would cut off vital Axis defensive lines in northern Romania, facilitating a subsequent advance by the Red Army into the entire Balkan region.{{sfn|Glantz|p=374}} Glantz considers the Soviet attack commenced with the [[First Battle of Târgu Frumos]] and the [[Battle of Podu Iloaiei]], and culminated with the [[Second Battle of Târgu Frumos]]. Soviet forces failed to overcome German defenses in the region and the offensive operation ultimately failed,{{sfn|Glantz|p=375}} mainly due to the poor combat performance of Soviet troops and the effectiveness of German defensive preparations. Conversely, according to the German Military History Research Office, the battles at Târgu Frumos were part of the Soviet offensive that had begun in March, and the Germans and Romanians profited from the bad weather conditions to obtain a defensive success.{{sfn|Military History Research Office|2007|p=481}}
Glantz claims this operation is part of a series of battles almost completely ignored by Soviet archival records and historiography:{{sfn|Glantz|p=371}} "During the almost 60 years since the end of World War II, Soviet and Russian military historians and theorists have carefully erased from the historical record any mention of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts' first Iasi–Kishinev offensive, during which the Red Army's two fronts attempted to invade Romania in April and May 1944. As is the case with so many other military operations the Red Army conducted during the war, they have done this deliberately, in the process relegating this offensive to a lengthy list of "forgotten battles" of the Soviet–German War."{{sfn|Glantz|p=371}}
==Planning==
On 5 March 1944, [[Marshal]] [[Ivan Konev]]—commander of the [[2nd Ukrainian Front]]—commenced the [[Uman–Botoșani offensive]] operation in [[Ukraine]]. This operation succeeded in separating [[Army Group South]]'s [[1st Panzer Army|1st ''Panzer-Armee'']] from [[8th Army (Wehrmacht)|8th Army]] by 17 March.{{sfn|Crofoot|p=151}} By early April Soviet units approached the Romanian border.{{sfn|Glantz|p=7}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J24359, Rumänien, Kolonne von Panzer V (Panther).2.jpg|thumb|left|Vehicles and [[Panther tank]]s of the [[Panzer-Grenadier-Division Großdeutschland|''Grossdeutschland'']] division in [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]]&nbsp;– April 1944]]
Glantz claims that starting with early April 1944, ''Stavka'' ordered the 2nd and [[3rd Ukrainian Front]]s to mount a major offensive with strategic implications in Romania.{{sfn|Glantz|p=18}} In Glantz's view, ''Stavka''{{'}}s strategic intentions were to break German and Romanian strategic defenses in northern Romania, capture the key cities of [[Iași]] and [[Chișinău]], and afterward project forces deep into Romanian territory, if possible as deep as [[Ploiești]] and [[Bucharest]].{{sfn|Glantz|p=19}} By 5 April, Konev's front had crossed the upper reaches of [[Dniester]] and [[Prut]] rivers, captured [[Khotyn|Hotin]] and [[Dorohoi]], and approached the [[Târgu Frumos]] and [[Botoșani]] regions—{{convert|30|-|60|mi|km|abbr=on}} northwest of Iași—facing only light Romanian resistance.{{sfn|Glantz|p=29}} On 8 April, Konev ordered the 27th and [[40th Army (Soviet Union)|40th]] Armies to conduct a coordinated offensive southward along the Târgu Frumos axis, in close cooperation with Semyon Bogdanov's [[2nd Guards Tank Army|2nd Tank Army]].{{sfn|Glantz|p=52}} While Konev's shock group was advancing toward Târgu Frumos, [[Konstantin Koroteev]]'s 52nd Army and elements of Andrei Gravchenko's [[6th Guards Tank Army|6th Tank Army]]—{{sfn|Armstrong|p=450}} which were operating north of Iași—were conducting operations alongside the Iași axis in order to support Konev's main effort.{{sfn|Glantz|p=52}}
As Konev's armies prepared to launch their offensive toward Târgu Frumos, [[Otto Wöhler]]'s German 8th Army was involved in the heavy fighting taking place in and around the village of [[Popricani]], {{convert|9|mi|km|abbr=on}} north of Iași, where two Soviet corps were fighting with armored ''[[Kampfgruppe]]n'',{{sfn|Glantz|p=56}} distracting the Germans' attentions and forces away from the critical Târgu Frumos sector.{{sfn|Glantz|p=59}} Exploiting the 52nd Army diversionary operations in the Iași region, the three armies of Konev's shock group began advancing southward early in the morning of 8 April.{{sfn|Glantz|p=60}} The advance was quite slow due to mud-clogged roads during the ''[[rasputitsa]]'' (the twice yearly period of water-logged ground), as well as crossing to the west bank of the Prut River northwest of Iași.{{sfn|Glantz|p=60}}
According to Glantz, Konev's armies' initial mission was to reach the Târgu Frumos, [[Pașcani]], and [[Târgu Neamț]] regions&nbsp;—{{convert|30|-|60|mi|km|abbr=on}} west of Iași—and capture the three towns from their Romanian defenders by surprise.{{sfn|Glantz|p=60}} While three divisions of 51st Rifle Corps were supposedly ordered to press southward toward Pașcani, another two rifle divisions were protecting their advance in the region north and northwest of Târgu Neamț.{{sfn|Glantz|p=60}} Further to the east, seven rifle divisions assigned to 35th Guards and 33rd Rifle Corps of 27th Army would advance southeastward along the Prut starting on 7 April, forcing the Romanian 8th Infantry Division to retreat toward [[Hârlău]], {{convert|17|mi|km|abbr=on}} north of Târgu Frumos.{{sfn|Glantz|p=61}} Meanwhile, another two divisions of 33rd Rifle Corps joined by two corps of the 2nd Tank Army would press the Romanian 7th Infantry Division back toward Târgu Frumos.{{sfn|Glantz|p=61}}
{{further|First Battle of Târgu Frumos}}
== See also ==
* [[Second Jassy–Kishinev offensive]]
== Notes ==
{{reflist|20em}}
== References ==
* {{cite book
| last = Armstrong
| first = Richard N.
| year = 1994
| title = Red Army Tank Commanders
| publisher = Schiffer Publishing
| location = [[Atglen, Pennsylvania]]
| isbn = 978-0-88740-581-5
| oclc = 30860164
| ref = {{sfnRef|Armstrong}}
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Crofoot
| first = Craig
| year = 2004
| title = Armies of the Bear
| publisher = Tiger Lily Publications
| location = [[Takoma Park, Maryland|Takoma Park]]
| isbn = 978-0-9720296-3-6
| oclc = 229362686
| ref = {{sfnRef|Crofoot}}
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Glantz
| first = David M.
| author-link = David Glantz
| year = 2007
| title = Red Storm Over the Balkans: The Failed Soviet Invasion of Romania
| publisher = [[University Press of Kansas]]
| isbn = 978-0-7006-1465-3
| ref = {{sfnRef|Glantz}}
}}
* {{cite book |title=Germany and the Second World War |date=2007 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=New York |isbn=9780198723462|editor=[[Military History Research Office (Germany)|Military History Research Office]]|volume=VIII. The Eastern Front 1943–1944: The War in the East and on the Neighbouring Fronts}}
*{{Cite book|title=War in the Balkans: an encyclopedic history from the fall of the Ottoman Empire to the breakup of Yugoslavia|last=Hall|first= Richard C. |isbn=978-1-61069-031-7|year=2014|publisher=[[ABC-Clio]]|location=Santa Barbara, California|oclc=893439664|ref = {{sfnRef|Hall}}}}
{{coord missing|Germany}}
{{Subject bar
| portal2=Romania
| portal3=Soviet Union
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jassy-Kishinev, First Offensive}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1944]]
[[Category:1944 in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic]]
[[Category:1944 in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Battles and operations of the Soviet–German War]]
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Romania]]
[[Category:Military operations of World War II involving Germany]]
[[Category:Military history of Romania during World War II]]
[[Category:Romania–Soviet Union relations]]
[[Category:History of Iași]]
[[Category:History of Chișinău]]
[[Category:Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina]]
[[Category:1944 in Romania]]
[[Category:April 1944 events]]
[[Category:May 1944 events]]
[[Category:June 1944 events]]