Forgotten Battles

Osoblaha March 19–22, 1945: the first liberated town in the Czech Lands

The area was defended by the 18th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Horst Wessel. 90% of the buildings in the town were destroyed or damaged in the battle. After taking control of Osoblaha, the Red Army failed to break deeper into the Bruntál and Jeseník regions.

Lanžhot April 6-11, 1945: the first liberated village in the Protectorate

The Germans drained the Vranov Dam and flooded the surrounding area. Heavy equipment was unable to drive through the waterlogged terrain, so the attack was led by Soviet cavalry. Over 200 Red Army soldiers and 2,000 horses were killed in the battle. The poet Mikhail Vershinin, influenced by his impressions of the battlefield, wrote a poem called The Band of Soldiers.

Bolatice April 16, 1945: the first battle of the Ostrava Offensive on Czechoslovak territory

To counter the attack of the Soviet and Czechoslovak troops, the Germans concentrated 40% of the tank forces from the area of Silesia and North Moravia. Czechoslovak tank troops at the hamlet of Albertovec attacked under fire through difficult terrain over a tank earthwork, losing 16 men and 10 tanks. The Soviets twice captured and again lost the settlement of Borová. Over 600 Red Army soldiers died in the Bolatica area.

Cheb April 25–26, 1945: The largest U.S. Army combat operation on the Czechoslovak territory

The commander of the defence, Major Geisler, refused the calls of the town authorities to surrender and prevent the destruction of Cheb.

Parts of the German 33rd Infantry Regiment and SS units, supplemented by members of the Hitlerjugend and Volkssturm, joined the fighting with the American 97th Infantry Division. The Americans lost 71 men. On the German side, 200 people died, including Commander Geisler.