Commemorating the Carpatho-Dukla Operation: a pivotal and bloody WWII battle in Czech and Slovak history
This past weekend, Czechs and Slovaks remembered the Carpatho-Dukla Operation – one of the most successful resistance assaults during the Second World War from Czechs and Slovaks. The battle was among the most bloody in the Eastern Front and in the history of Slovakia, initiated by the Czechoslovak government’s appeal to Soviets for help.
The Carpatho-Dukla Operation, also known as the Battle of the Dukla Pass, began on the morning of 8 September 1944. The main forces of the 4th Ukrainian Front were deployed to the Carpatho-Uzhhorod Operation a day later. The Carpatho-Dukla Operation thus became part of the East Carpathian Operation, along with the Carpatho-Uzhhorod Operation. The assumption that the attacking troops would reach Prešov within five days soon proved too optimistic. The numerical and technical superiority of the Red Army was neutralized by the mountainous terrain and well-fortified German defensive positions.
Additionally, rain and fog severely limited Soviet air force activity. Marshal Ivan Konev, commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, quickly found "scapegoats" for the slow advance and mounting losses, among them Jan Kratochvíl, who was removed from his post. General Ludvík Svoboda replaced him on 10 September 1944.
Although Soviet troops and the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps failed to achieve their main objectives, the German command was forced to withdraw 12,500 men from eastern Slovakia, positively affecting the temporary stabilization of the rebel front. On 20 September 1944, units of the 3rd Mountain Corps of the 1st Guards Army fought their way into the area north of Medzilaborce, and the next day liberated the first Slovak village of Kalinov.
On 4 October 1944, members of the 67th Rifle Corps penetrated Slovak territory through the Dukla Pass in the 38th Army's sector. Two days later, on 6 October 1944, the advance units of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps crossed the state border. General Jaroslav Vedral-Sázavský, commander of the 1st Brigade, was killed by a mine explosion during the offensive.
After retreating from the Dukla Pass, the Germans established strong defensive positions near the village of Nižný Komárnik. In response, the command of the 38th Army shifted the main focus of the attack to the Kapišová–Svidník area.
From 21 to 27 October 1944, the "Valley of Death," between the villages of Nižná Pisaná and Kapišová, saw the heaviest fighting of the entire Carpatho-Dukla Operation. Around this time, the German troops also managed to defeat the rebel army. On 28 October 1944, under orders from Soviet High Command, the East Carpathian Operation was terminated.
The losses of the belligerents remain a subject of controversy. Casualties for the 38th Army are estimated at 13,500 killed, missing, or dead, and 48,000 wounded. The 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps suffered irreparable losses of 1,630 men, with over 4,000 others wounded. German troops had at least 20,000 dead, wounded, or missing.
