Austria 1945. Vienna Offensive Operation

Which ended on April 13, 1945 with the liberation of the Austrian capital from the Nazis, was one of the finalists of the Great Patriotic War. Therefore, it is both simple enough and incredibly difficult at the same time. This is the age-old dialectic of the last decisive battles.

The relative ease - in comparison with other operations - is due to the fact that the scheme for the destruction of enemy groupings has already been worked out. In addition, by April 1945, there was no doubt about the inevitability and imminence of victory.

But this is the heaviness, mainly psychological. Is it easy to go to death when “just a little more, just a little more”, to understand that you can die on the eve of the onset of peace. And this is against the background of fatigue. This is how the participant of the battles, Colonel-General Aleksey Zheltov, describes the sensations of those days: quick end wars: both in the stern expression of the tired faces of soldiers, thirsting for rest, and in the blossoming of nature, yearning for silence, and in the victorious movement of formidable military equipment directed to the west. "

It's like that. The Vienna operation was by no means a dashing spring outing. Our total losses amounted to 168 thousand people. They had to cross the rivers, take three defensive zones, reinforced by an extensive system of trenches and passages. Army Group South resisted fiercely, although it was resistance in a paroxysm of despair.

But in terms of the degree of despair and intensity of the battles for Vienna, they could not be compared with the previous hostilities in Hungary. Judge for yourself: the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts covered the distance from Yugoslavia to Austria in seven months. In October 1944, after completing the Belgrade operation, they entered Hungarian territory. And only at the end of March they reached the border with Austria. And the direct assault on Vienna took only 10 days.

The Nazi leadership defended the bridgeheads in Hungary even to the detriment of the defense of the German lands proper and the Oder border. The Battle of Budapest and the subsequent Balaton operation were among the bloodiest. There were several reasons for this persistence, which may seem pointless.

The Wehrmacht was tasked not only with stopping the victorious Red Army, but also at any cost to keep the oil-bearing regions in western Hungary, which acquired special value after the loss of the Romanian oil fields.

But there was another circumstance due to which the battles in the two neighboring countries were so different. Here I have to turn to family memories. Mom went as a signalman all this way from Belgrade to Vienna, together with her air regiment as part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. Like most front-line soldiers, she did not really like to remember the everyday life of the war. However, she spoke a lot and willingly about the attitude of the civilian population of the countries liberated from Nazism to our military. The contrast between the hospitality of the Yugoslavs and a completely different attitude on the part of the Magyars was very striking.

This is the picture that develops from her memories. In Hungary, as they say, “every house was shooting”. Each step of advancement was given with great difficulty. Constantly had to wait for a blow in the back. And not only from enemy fighters, ideological Nazi Salashists, but even from ordinary people. So, in one of the towns, my mother's friend, a fellow soldier, was hacked to death with an ax, who, inadvertently, got out into the street in the evening. Including because of this, the battles for Budapest and other Hungarian cities were so long and hard.

There was nothing like this in Austria. Local population, of course, did not meet the Red Army with bread and salt, but also did not interfere with its advance through the territory of their country. The inhabitants have taken a purely neutral position of contemplators. As history shows, the inhabitants of Austria almost always reacted this way to foreign armies, calmly letting them into the capital and leaving the military to sort things out with the enemy.

It happened this time too. In the suburbs and in Vienna itself, only professional troops continued to resist. Sometimes - violently and desperately. But too much strength was given by the Wehrmacht in those terrible Hungarian battles. And the numerical superiority of the advancing liberators could not but affect. Superiority in everything - both in manpower and in technology. And in a fighting mood, if you take the non-material side.
On April 3, our troops reached Vienna, completely surrounded it in a few days, and on the 13th it was all over. This operation even looked elegant, in the style of the homeland of the "waltz king". It could have been faster, but the command made a decision both to save people and not to turn into ruins one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, as they had to do, for example, with Budapest.

Having preserved intact Viennese palaces, bridges and other architectural landmarks, Soviet troops in record time - by August 1945 - decorated the city with a monument to the Soldier-Liberator. The medal "For the capture of Vienna" was awarded to about 268 thousand soldiers and officers.

But that is later. In the meantime, less than a month remained until the end of the Great Patriotic War. The road to Prague and from the south to Berlin was finally cleared of enemies.

In early April, Vienna was defended by the remnants of eight tank, one infantry divisions, the personnel of the Vienna military school and up to 15 separate battalions. The backbone of the enemy garrison was the unfinished units of the 6th SS Panzer Army. It is no coincidence that the commander of this army, Colonel-General of the SS troops Sepp Dietrich, was appointed head of the defense of Vienna, who at the same time arrogantly declared: "Vienna will be saved for Germany." He failed to save not only Vienna, but also his life. On April 6, he was killed.

The fascist German command on the approaches to the city and in Vienna itself prepared numerous defensive positions in advance. Anti-tank ditches were dug along the outer contour and various obstacles and obstacles were set up in the tank-hazardous areas. The enemy blocked the streets of the city with numerous barricades and obstructions. In almost all stone and brick buildings firing points were equipped. The enemy sought to turn Vienna into an impregnable fortress.

As early as April 1, the headquarters of the Supreme Command assigned the 3rd Ukrainian Front the task of capturing the capital of Austria and reaching the Tulln, St. Pölten, Neu-Lengbach line no later than April 12-15 ...

The battles in the city went on continuously: the main forces fought during the day, and at night - units and subunits specially assigned for this purpose. In the complex maze of streets and lanes of the capital city, the actions of small rifle units, individual tank crews and gun crews, often fighting in isolation from each other, acquired particular importance.

By April 10, the enemy garrison was squeezed from three sides. In this situation, the fascist German command took all measures to hold the only bridge over the Danube that remained in its hands and to bring the remnants of its broken units to the northern bank of the river ...

Having summarized the experience of hostilities in the previous days, the Military Council of the Front came to the conclusion that in order to accelerate the defeat of the enemy grouping, it is necessary to conduct a decisive assault, organizing a clear interaction of all forces and means participating in it.

In accordance with this conclusion, an operational directive was developed and on 12 April handed over to the troops of the 4th, 9th Guards and 6th Guards Tank Armies, in which special attention was paid to the simultaneous assault. To quickly complete it, the troops were ordered to rush into the attack after the signal - a salvo of "Katyushas". Tank subunits, despite the fire of individual pockets of resistance, had to break through to the Danube as soon as possible. The military council of the front demanded from the army commanders: "To mobilize the troops for a decisive strike by all means at your disposal and to explain that only swift action will ensure the rapid completion of the task." A well-organized and prepared assault on the fortified city was carried out in a short time. By the middle of the day on April 13, the enemy garrison was almost completely destroyed ... On the evening of April 13, for the liberation of Vienna, the capital of our Motherland, Moscow, saluted the troops of the 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian fronts with twenty-four salvoes from three hundred and twenty-four guns.

Before the fireworks, a Moscow radio announcer read out a message from the Soviet Information Bureau, which said: “The Nazis intended to turn Vienna into a heap of ruins. They wanted to subject the inhabitants of the city to a prolonged siege and protracted street fighting. With skillful and decisive actions, our troops thwarted the criminal plans of the German command. Within a few days, the capital of Austria, Vienna, was liberated from the German fascist invaders. "

YOU WILL BE FEEDED AND YOU WILL GO HOME

It was, I think, on the second day of the storming of Vienna. I was at the command post of Major General NI Biryukov's 20th Guards Rifle Corps when the scouts brought in a puny, blond-haired boy in his clay-stained uniform.

He would have to chase the ball in the yard, but he was handed a machine gun, - the corps commander sighed. Suddenly he hardened: - Did you shoot for sure?

Not at all, comrade general, - reported the scout. - Didn't have time or really didn't want to, but didn't use the weapon, we checked his machine gun.

When the interpreter came and the interrogation began, the prisoner said that all the children from the senior grades of the gymnasium were first sent by the Nazis to the construction of defensive facilities, and then they gave out machine guns, faust cartridges and threw them against the Russians ... The youngster said that he was an Austrian and hated the Germans. They are rapists and robbers. And all the time he asked what would happen to him now. He said that their commander had warned that the Russians were shooting everyone.

Translate to the prisoner, - I said to the translator, - that the Red Army is not at war with children. We are convinced that he will never again take up arms to fight against the Red Army. But if he does, let him blame himself ...

The boy was overjoyed. He fell to his knees, began to swear that he would never forget how kind the Soviet general and officers were to him. Telling him to get up, I said:

Is your mom worried about you? Now you will be fed and you will go home. Take only with you the appeal of the Red Army command to the Austrians. Read it yourself, give it to your friends and acquaintances. Let them know the truth about the Red Army too.

The young man promised to do everything as the Soviet general ordered ...

This is the appeal:

“Citizens of the city of Vienna!

The Red Army, crushing the German fascist troops, approached Vienna.

The Red Army entered Austria not for the purpose of seizing Austrian territory, but solely for the purpose of routing the enemy Nazi troops and the liberation of Austria from German dependence.

The hour of liberation of the capital of Austria - Vienna from German domination has come, but the retreating German fascist troops want to turn Vienna into a battlefield, as they did in Budapest. This threatens Vienna and its inhabitants with the same destruction and horror of war that the Germans inflicted on Budapest and its population.

For the sake of preserving the capital of Austria, its historical monuments of culture and art, I suggest:

1. The entire population who cares about Vienna cannot be evacuated from the city, because with the cleansing of Vienna from the Germans, you will be spared the horrors of war, and those who are evacuated will be driven to death by the Germans.

2. Prevent the Germans from mining Vienna, blowing up its bridges and turning houses into fortifications.

3. To organize the struggle against the Germans and protection from its destruction by the Nazis.

4. Everyone actively interferes with the export by the Germans from Vienna industrial equipment, goods, food and do not allow the people of Vienna to be robbed.

Citizens of Vienna!

Help the Red Army in the liberation of the capital of Austria - Vienna, invest your share in the liberation of Austria from the German fascist yoke! "

NEW TECHNIQUES OF STORM TEAMS

In the labyrinth of streets, courtyards and lanes of an unfamiliar city, our assault groups in the course of the battle mastered new tactics. In particular, since every now and then it was necessary to break through walls and fences, each warrior, in addition to standard weapons, carried a crowbar, a pickaxe or an ax.

The assault group, led by the company Komsomol organizer, the Red Army soldier Vovk, approached a large five-story building. While the Red Army soldier Ananiev was firing at the windows with a machine gun, Vovk and other soldiers burst into the entrances. Close combat began in the rooms and corridors. Three hours later, the building was cleared of the enemy. In the captured ammunition depot, Vovk found faust cartridges. After a few hours, he managed to burn down two Tiger-type tanks with them. Right there, on the streets of Vienna, Vovk was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

In one of the houses, on the second floor, an enemy machine gunner sat down. The crew of the anti-tank rifle could not get it in any way. Then the fighters Tarasyuk and Abdulov, passing the courtyards, climbed onto the roof of this house. Abdulov assigned to chimney a long rope, Tarasov went down it to the window, from which a machine gun fired, threw an anti-tank grenade inside, and it was all over.

Officer Kotlikov's unit moved along the street, from house to house. The enemy was entrenched on both sides, three-layer machine-gun and mortar fire did not allow our guards to drag a heavy machine gun across the street. Then Kotlikov tied a wire to a machine gun, divided his soldiers into two groups. Now they were advancing simultaneously on both sides of the street, dragging the machine gun as needed by the wire from one group to another.

Initiative and independence in the actions of small units is one of the decisive conditions for success in battles for a large city. That is why we moved so quickly into the interior of Vienna.

Chapter sixteen.

LIBERATION OF VIENNA

In 1943, Allied aircraft began bombing Vienna. As a result, by August 1944, according to the historian Jean de Cara, "Vienna was no longer Vienna."

On March 12, 1945, Vienna was again subjected to barbaric bombardment. In total, during the 52 air attacks of the allied forces, about nine thousand people were killed. Thousands of buildings were damaged or destroyed, tens of thousands of Viennese apartments became uninhabitable, the streets of the city were literally littered with the rubble of what until recently constituted the unique look of Vienna. In general, we can say that during the Anglo-American bombing and then street fighting, the city suffered tremendous damage, but at the same time the historical ensemble of the Old City was amazingly preserved.

Street fighting for the liberation of Vienna. April 1945

In the period from March 16 to April 15, 1945, after the Vienna offensive operation was carried out by the forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Marshal R.Ya. Malinovsky and the 3rd Ukrainian Front of Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin, Vienna was liberated from fascist troops.

On the German side, the Soviet forces were opposed by Army Group South, led by Generals Otto Wöhler and then Lothar von Rendulich.

Hitler had no intention of surrendering Austria and Vienna without a fight. The 6th SS Panzer Army and a number of other units were transferred here. Fortifications were hastily built. Barricades were set up on the streets and squares of Vienna, and firing points were set up in houses. Bridges across the Danube and canals were mined.

Colonel-General von Rendulich, who replaced Otgo Wöhler, was considered a specialist in defense. Not without propaganda tricks. In particular, rumors were deliberately spread that Soviet army will destroy all Austrians who were members of the National Socialist Party, which allegedly has already begun the forcible evacuation of the population from the eastern regions of the country to Siberia.

In addition, the fascist command appealed to the inhabitants of Vienna with an appeal to fight "to the last resort."

On April 5, 1945, units of the 3rd Ukrainian Front were already fighting on the approaches to Vienna. The next day, street fighting broke out on the outskirts of the city. After that, the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front were also involved in the operation, which were supposed to bypass the Austrian capital from the north.

As for the mined bridges across the Danube, a group of Russian intelligence officers managed to recapture one of them from the Germans. Here is what A.A. Chkheidze, who was at that time a scout of the Danube Flotilla, who traveled from Odessa to Vienna:

“On April 5, 1945, Soviet warships with a landing party departed from the berths of Bratislava and headed up the Danube. Fighting for the liberation of Austria began [...]

I remember it was a warm spring day. From the Danube embankment, I carefully examined the bridges - Vienna and Imperial through binoculars. Heavy farms first swam in the water. Danube water rolled over them. Hitler's generals turned Vienna into a powerful center of resistance. The enemy blocked the streets of the city with numerous barricades and created blockages. Firing points were set up in many stone buildings. Vienna was the last bastion on the outskirts of the southern regions of Germany.

Of the five Viennese bridges, four were blown up, and only the fifth - the Imperial one - was mined, but not yet blown up. The fascist German command did everything possible to keep the entire right-bank part of Vienna in their hands. The attempts of our troops to seize the bridge, made on April 9 and 10, were repulsed by the enemy. "

It is surprising, but exactly 140 years earlier, Napoleonic General Marbeau had already noted the importance of bridges across Vienna. In his famous Memoirs, this man wrote:

“The city of Vienna is located on the right bank of the Danube, a huge river, the small arm of which runs through this city, and the large arm is about half a league away. Danube forms here a large number of small islands, united together by a whole series wooden bridges ending with one large bridge crossing a wide arm of the river. The bridge overlooks the left bank of the river at a place called Spitz. The road to Moravia from Vienna runs through this long chain of bridges. When the Austrians left the crossing, they had one very nasty habit of keeping the bridges until the very last moment. They did this in order to be able to return and attack the enemy, who almost always did not give them time for this, but attacked himself, capturing not only manpower, but also the bridges themselves, which were not burned by carelessness. This is exactly what the French did during the Italian campaign of 1796 on the numerous crossings between Lodi and Arcole. However, these lessons were in vain for the Austrians. After they left Vienna, which was practically not equipped for defense, they withdrew to the opposite bank of the Danube, without destroying any of all the bridges that were thrown across this wide river. They limited themselves to stocking up on various flammable materials in front of the large bridge in order to light it up as soon as the French arrived.

But the Germans in 1945 weren't Austrians. early XIX century. Of the five Vienna bridges, they have already blown up four, and the fifth has been carefully mined, being ready to blow it up at any moment.

According to A.A. Chkheidze, commander of the river ship brigade A.F. Arzhavkin proposed to seize the bridge, simultaneously landing on the right and left banks of the Danube near the approaches to the bridge. This plan was approved by the commander of the flotilla.

“An airborne detachment and a cover detachment were formed under the command of Senior Lieutenant S.I. Klopovsky. It included five armored boats. The artillery support ship detachment consisted of eight mortar boats. It was commanded by Senior Lieutenant G.I. Bobkov. A reinforced rifle company from the 80th Guards Rifle Division under the command of Senior Lieutenant E.A. Pilosyan.

Our armored boats were stationed near the place where I was on duty and monitored the enemy. Finally, a company of submachine gunners appeared. There were more than a hundred of them. The paratroopers brought with them a 45-millimeter cannon and four heavy machine guns.

Before landing, the naval officer explained to the submachine gunners how best to proceed during the passage on the boat. The entire company plunged into two armored boats.

At exactly 11 o'clock, five armored boats departed from the right bank and headed for the Imperial Bridge. They safely passed the destroyed Vienna Bridge and found themselves in the enemy's disposition.

The appearance of Soviet ships in the center of the city during the day was a surprise for the Nazis. Taking advantage of this, Senior Lieutenant Klopovsky set up a smoke screen. And he himself opened fire from guns and machine guns at enemy batteries located on both sides of the Danube. The enemy responded with heavy fire. Especially accurately the shells of the enemy battery installed on the elevator exploded.

Our aviation immediately raided the fascists. Ships in battle, firing, approached the Imperial Bridge. While three boats, maneuvering, destroyed enemy firing points on the shore, two other boats with a landing party separated. The armored boat under the command of senior lieutenant A.P. Sinyavsky headed to the left bank, and the armored boat under the command of senior lieutenant A.P. Tretyachenko - to the right bank. Klopovsky's boat covered them with a smoke screen.

I clearly saw how our paratroopers quickly disembarked from the boats, how they swiftly drove the submachine gunners guarding the Imperial Bridge. Soon he was in our hands, and the wires leading to the explosives were cut by the miners. "

Naturally, as soon as the paratroopers captured the Imperial Bridge, the Germans immediately began violent attacks, since they perfectly understood what the loss of this only bridge threatened them with (the troops on the right bank would immediately be cut off from the main forces). The defense of the bridge was led by Senior Lieutenant E.A. Pilosyan. On the night of April 12-13, the Germans made fierce attacks on the bridge, and although the guards held on very steadfastly, the forces were unequal ...

It is not known how it would have ended, but on the morning of April 13, Soviet troops broke through the German defenses in the area of ​​the Vienna Bridge. Following the paratroopers, the soldiers of the 80th Guards Division rushed into the breakthrough. Help arrived in time, the bridge was saved, and on the same day Vienna was completely liberated.

And here is what General S.M. Shtemenko:

“One of these days, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, when reporting on the situation, said, as he often did, without directly addressing anyone:

And where is the very Social Democrat Karl Renner, who was a student of Kautsky, now? He worked for many years in the leadership of the Austrian Social Democracy and, it seems, was the head of the last Austrian parliament? ..

No one answered: such a question was never expected.

It is impossible to neglect the influential forces holding anti-fascist positions, - continued Stalin. - Probably, the Hitlerite dictatorship taught something to the Social Democrats ...

And then we got the assignment to inquire about the fate of Renner and, if he is alive, to find out his place of residence. We sent the corresponding order by telephone to the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

We knew little about the internal situation in Austria [...] There was no information about Renner either.

But on April 4, a report came from the Military Council of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, where it was reported that Karl Renner himself had appeared at the headquarters of the 103rd Guards Rifle Division. Later I was told that it was like this. A tall, gray-haired man in a black suit was ushered into the room where the staff officers worked and identified himself in German. At first, no one paid much attention to him. Then, however, one of the political workers figured out who he was dealing with and quickly reported to his superiors.

Renner turned out to be a sociable person. He willingly told the officers about his duty. life path... Since 1894, Renner was a member of the Social Democratic Party, in 1918-1920. was Chancellor of the Austrian Republic, and in 1931-1933. - Chairman of the Austrian Parliament. After the Anschluss, Renner retired to Lower Austria, withdrawing from official political activities.

Our officers asked Karl Renner how he thought to live on. He said that he was already old, but was ready to "conscience and deed" to promote the establishment of a democratic regime in Austria. “Now both the communists and the social democrats have the same task - the destruction of fascism,” Renner said. Perfectly understanding the situation in Austria, the shrewd politician, who was in his eighth decade, correctly assessed his importance as the last pre-Hitler head of the country's parliament. He offered his assistance in the formation of the provisional government of Austria for wartime and warned in advance: "I am expelling the Nazis from parliament."

The conversation went on for quite a long time. It was important for us to know the mood of the Viennese, since intelligence reported on extensive preparations for battles in the Austrian capital. Obviously, the Nazi leaders were preparing the city for the fate of Budapest. We also received very vague information about resistance allegedly taking place somewhere in the depths of the Vienna garrison.

Renner believed that nine-tenths of Vienna's population was opposed to the Nazis, but the fascist repression and Anglo-American bombing scared the Viennese: they feel depressed and unable to take action. The Social Democrats, for their part, did not take any organized measures to mobilize the population to fight against the Nazis.

The message about the meeting with Karl Renner was received in Moscow on the evening of April 4. A.I. and I Antonov realized that some decisions would be made on this matter. As a rule, if everything was going well at the fronts, I.V. Stalin, members of the Politburo, State Defense Committee and the government, who usually gathered for meetings in his office in the Kremlin, did not ask any special questions. But this time, during a report on the situation on the 3rd Ukrainian Front, I.V. Stalin, slyly squinting, stopped and looked at the General Staff for a long time. Having made sure that we understand his thoughts and mood in connection with the telegram about Renner, he again began to walk along the carpet with a satisfied expression on his face. Then, after talking with members of the Politburo, he dictated to us a telegram from Headquarters to the Military Council of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

The telegram said: 1) to trust Karl Renner; 2) inform him that in order to restore a democratic regime in Austria, the command of the Soviet troops will support him; 3) explain to Renner that Soviet troops entered Austria not to seize its territory, but to drive out the fascist invaders. The telegram was signed by I.V. Stalin and A.I. Antonov. I immediately took it to the control room for transfer to F.I. Tolbukhin ".

After that, as General S.M. Shtemenko, it was decided that Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin will appeal to the population of Vienna with an appeal to resist the Nazis and prevent them from destroying the city, and also on behalf of the Soviet government will convey a statement about the future of Austria.

This statement said:

« Soviet government does not pursue the aim of acquiring any part of Austrian territory or changing social order Austria. The Soviet government shares the point of view of the Moscow Allied Declaration on Austrian Independence. It will implement this declaration. It will contribute to the elimination of the regime of the German fascist occupiers and the restoration of democratic orders and institutions in Austria. "

“The Red Army entered Austria not for the purpose of seizing Austrian territory, but solely for the purpose of routing the enemy German fascist troops and liberating Austria from German dependence. The Red Army is fighting the German occupiers, and not the population of Austria, who can calmly engage in their peaceful labor. The rumors spread by the Nazis that the Red Army is destroying all members of the National Socialist Party are a lie. The National Socialist Party will be disbanded, but the rank-and-file members of the National Socialist Party will not be moved if they show loyalty to the Soviet troops. "

At this time, Soviet troops had already broken into the southwestern and then southeastern part of Vienna and started stubborn battles there. The most crucial moment in the history of the liberation of the Austrian capital has come.

These explanations gave a result, and the inhabitants of Vienna, despite all the calls of the German command, not only did not offer resistance to the Soviet troops, but also took part in the fight against the Nazi occupiers.

Wehrmacht General Kurt von Tippelskirch writes about this:

"Vienna, like other cities, also became the scene of heavy street battles, but the behavior of the population, as well as of individual units participating in the battles for the city, was more aimed at a quick end to the battles than at resistance."

Everything that happened was immediately reported to Hitler's headquarters. The answer from Berlin was not long in coming.

"To suppress the rebels in Vienna with the most brutal methods."

At the beginning of April 1945, General von Bunau was entrusted with the responsibility of managing the situation in Vienna, but already on April 7, he was removed, transferring his powers to the commander of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps. Fascist terror was raging in the city, aimed at suppressing the Resistance movement.

By April 10, German troops in Vienna were jammed on three sides. Three days later, the armed resistance of the Nazis was broken, and Vienna was liberated.

The results of the operation were: the defeat of eleven tank divisions of the Wehrmacht, 130,000 captured soldiers and officers, over 1,300 destroyed tanks and self-propelled guns. Soviet troops reached the southern borders of Germany, marking the already predetermined collapse of the Third Reich.

Soviet soldiers and residents of Austria in liberated Vienna. April 1945

Major General I.N. Moshlyak, who commanded the 62nd Guards Rifle Division, recalls:

“Vienna was jubilant. Its inhabitants poured into the streets. On the walls of the houses were pasted sheets with the text of the appeal of the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front Marshal Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin [...] Crowds of Vienna residents stood in front of the sheets pasted on the walls, animatedly discussing the text of the appeal. The townspeople waving their hands affably to the columns of our soldiers passing through the streets, many raised a clenched fist - "Rot front!" For the inhabitants of Vienna, the war is over, the cannons have ceased to rattle, machine guns are scribbled, and the faust cartridges are no longer exploding. Our sapper units began building crossings across the Danube (all but one bridges were blown up by the Nazis), repairing tram and railway tracks. "

And here is the story of the former intelligence officer of the Danube Flotilla A.A. Chkheidze:

“The streets and squares of the Austrian capital were crowded with people. Residents treated the Soviet soldiers warmly. We liked the architecture of Vienna and its friendly elegant people. There are many architectural monuments here. I especially remember the majestic Cathedral of St. Stephen.

Austrians are very musical people. Therefore from open window the sound of a violin or accordion was often heard.

We also visited the grave of Strauss. The Danube sailors laid a wreath to the talented composer. They stood at his grave for a long time, recalling what they had read about Strauss's life, and especially the episodes of his life, known to us from the movie “The Big Waltz”.

We also got acquainted with another “attraction” of Vienna. There was a large concentration camp near the capital. At that time, the name Mauthausen did not tell us anything yet. But the Austrians told how many Soviet prisoners of war died here. Particularly shocked by the news that in February 1945, feeling an imminent retribution for their crimes, the Nazis took a group of prisoners out into the cold in only underwear and began to water them with fire hoses. Among the prisoners of war was Lieutenant General Karbyshev, who, together with his comrades, accepted a terrible death. "

Karl Renner, in a note sent to the governments of the USSR, USA and Great Britain at the end of April 1945, said:

“Thanks to the victorious advance of the Red Army, which liberated the capital Vienna and a significant part of Austria from the armies of the German Empire, it became possible to regain our full political independence, and, relying on the decisions of the Crimean Conference, as well as the Moscow Conference of 1943, representatives of various political parties of the country decided to restore Austrian Republic as an independent, independent and democratic state. "

General SM. Shtemenko says that Karl Renner wrote a letter to I.V. Stalin. Here is its content:

“During its offensive, the Red Army found me and my family in my residence Glognitz (near Wiener-Neustadt), where I, together with my party comrades, filled with confidence, awaited her arrival. The local command treated me with deep respect, immediately took me under their protection and gave me again complete freedom of action, which I had to give up with pain in my soul during the fascism of Dollfuss and Hitler. For all this, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Austrian working class, I sincerely most humbly thank the Red Army and you, its glorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief. "

The subsequent part of Karl Renner's letter dated April 15, 1945, consisted of various kinds of requests. In particular, he wrote:

“The Hitler regime has doomed us here to absolute helplessness. Helpless we will stand at the gates of the great powers when the transformation of Europe takes place. Already today I ask for your benevolent attention to Austria at the council of the greats and, since tragic circumstances permit, I ask you to take us under your mighty protection. We are currently threatened by famine and an epidemic; we are threatened by the loss of territory in negotiations with our neighbors. In our rocky Alps, we already have very little arable land, it only provides us with a meager daily food. If we lose another part of our territory, we will not be able to live. "

I.V. Stalin replied to Karl Renner:

“Thank you, dear comrade, for your message of April 15th. You can rest assured that your concern for the independence, integrity and well-being of Austria is also my concern. "

As a result, the Provisional Government of Austria was created at the end of April. Karl Renner was at the head of the government.

Under the terms of the Potsdam Conference (July 16 - August 2, 1945) Austria and Vienna were divided into four sectors of occupation: Soviet, American, English and French. The city center was set aside for a joint four-sided occupation.

Colonel G.M. Savenok, who worked for several years in the Soviet military commandant's office in Vienna in the post-war period, recalls how cruelly Vienna was disfigured:

“Before the war, there were about 100,000 residential buildings in Vienna. By April 13, 3,500 houses were completely destroyed, and 17,000 buildings required major repairs. In short, a fifth of the housing stock of the Austrian capital was out of order. 35,000 people were left homeless, including those Viennese who returned from concentration camps and prisons.

Before the war, there were 35,000 cars in Vienna. By April 13, by some miracle, 11 trucks and 40 cars survived.

The fire brigade of the Austrian capital consisted of 3,760 firefighters and 420 vehicles. There are 18 firefighters and 2 cars left. There was no one and nothing to put out the fires.

There was no gas in Vienna. And not only because the gas factories were out of order. The network of gas pipes with a total length of 2000 kilometers was broken in 1407 places.

The electricity supply was almost completely cut off: the power plants were destroyed, and electrical cable within the city received 15,000 damage.

Vienna was left without water: 2 of the 21 reservoirs survived, the city water supply network was broken in 1447 places.

Of the dozens of bridges and viaducts, only two bridges managed to be saved by Soviet troops: one across the Danube, the other across the Danube Canal. The rest of the warped skeletons stuck out of the water.

Many streets in Vienna became impassable, with 4,457 shell craters yawning on them.

However, the worst thing is that Vienna was left without food.

Central and regional warehouses were burned, destroyed, devastated by the retreating fascists. Only a few stocks of flour remained. It was enough only for a few random, far from regular distributions, and even then at the rate of no more than a kilogram of bread per person per week. Vienna was on the verge of real hunger. "

The first post-war elections were held in Vienna on November 25, 1945, and Karl Renner (1870-1950) became the first president of the Second Austrian Republic.

This man was born on December 14, 1870 in the German part of Moravia into a peasant family. He studied law in Vienna, earned a living by private lessons, and served as a government librarian. In 1894, he became one of the leaders of the Austrian Social Democratic Party, although he never held orthodox Marxist views. Rather, he was a supporter of the right wing of social democracy, an ideologue of the so-called Austro-Marxism.

Karl Renner, President of the Second Austrian Republic

Karl Renner died in Vienna on December 31, 1950. He was buried in the Central Cemetery, which was opened in 1874. There, in the center, in front of the church, there is a round platform buried in the ground, where the presidents of the Second (post-war) republic are buried.

After Karl Renner died, Austria chose Theodor Kerner (1873-1957), a retired general of the Austrian army, who was appointed temporary burgomaster of Vienna by the Soviet occupation forces in Austria on April 17, 1945. In fact, he was the first president of the country elected by direct vote. According to the memoirs of Colonel G.M. Savenoka, he was "a seventy-year old man of rare honesty and modesty."