Battle of Bautzen (1945)

Battle of Bautzen (1945)
Part of World War II
Memorial in Bautzen to Polish and Soviet soldiers and civilians fallen near the town of Wuischke.
Date 21–30 April 1945 Location Bautzen, Germany and surrounding rural areas Result German victory
Belligerents
Nazi Germany	Soviet Union  Poland
Commanders and leaders
Ferdinand Schörner Wilhelm Schmalz Hermann von Oppeln-Bronikowski	Ivan Konev Ivan Petrov Vladimir Kostylev Karol Świerczewski
Units involved
4th Panzer Army (elements) and 17th Army (elements)	Polish Second Army Soviet 52nd Army (elements) Soviet 5th Guards Army
Strength
50,000 300 tanks 600 artillery pieces 497 AFV's	Polish Army: 90,000 500 tanks Soviet Army: at least 20,000
Casualties and losses
1,598 killed.	Poland: 4,902 killed 2,798 missing 10,532 wounded 250 tanks Soviet Union: unknown

The Battle of Bautzen (or Battle of Budziszyn, April 1945) was one of the last battles of the Eastern Front during 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 Polish Second Army and elements of the Soviet 52nd Army and 5th Guards Army on one side and elements of German Army Group Center in the form of the remnants of the 4th Panzer and 17th armies on the other.

The battle took place during Ivan Konev's 1st Ukrainian Front's push toward Berlin, which was 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. Major combat began on 21 April 1945 and continued until 26 April although isolated engagements continued to take place until 30 April. The Polish Second Army under Karol Świerczewski suffered heavy losses, but, with the aid of Soviet reinforcements, prevented the German forces from breaking through to their rear. According to one historian, the Battle of Bautzen was one of the Polish Army's bloodiest battles.

After the battle both sides claimed victory and modern views as to who won the battle remain contradictory. Because the war was almost over and the battle had no strategic impact on the ongoing Battle of Berlin, German historiography has focused more on its tactical aspects. The German operation successfully recaptured Bautzen and its surroundings, which were held until the end of the war. Polish historiography during the People's Republic of Poland portrayed the battle as difficult, but victorious. After the fall of communism, Polish historians became much more critical of Świerczewski's command, blaming the near destruction of the Polish force on his incompetence and desire to capture Dresden. The battle's outcome is now generally seen in Poland as a very costly victory for the Soviets and their Polish allies.

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