The Liberation of Europe from Fascism Began with Romania: the Uman-Botoshan Offensive Operation of 1944

Abstract

The Uman-Botoshan offensive operation of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, during which Soviet troops entered the territory of Romania, marked the beginning of the liberation of Europe from fascism by the Red Army. In Soviet and Russian historiography there are three different dates for the end of the operation: April 6, April 17 and May 6, 1944. As a result of the analysis of published and unpublished sources and scientific literature, the article reconstructs the general picture of events after the entry of Soviet troops into Romanian territory. According to the author, the combat operations of the period of late March – early May 1944 were determined by the same tasks, therefore the end date of the Uman-Botoshan operation should be considered May 6, 1944. These tasks, due to a number of objective factors, were not solved, but the enemy failed to push back Soviet troops beyond the Romanian territory, which resulted in the possibility of the Red Army continuing its liberation mission in Europe.