The liberation of Minsk in 1944 was a major military operation during World War II, conducted by the Soviet Red Army against German forces. Minsk, the capital of Belarus, had been under German occupation since 1941. The Soviet offensive to liberate the city was part of Operation Bagration, a large-scale strategic offensive conducted by the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front in Belarus.
Operation Bagration began on June 22, 1944, and quickly resulted in the encirclement and destruction of several German armies. Minsk was surrounded by Soviet forces on June 27, 1944, and after intense fighting, the city fell to the Soviets on July 3, 1944. The liberation of Minsk was a significant turning point in the war on the Eastern Front, marking a major defeat for Nazi Germany and paving the way for the Red Army's advance westward.
