West of Tirgu-Frumos: combat routine of the 7th Guards Army in Romania (June-August 1944)

The relevance of the research topic is determined by the need to resist the increasing attempts to falsify the history of the Great Patriotic War. The liberation of Europe by the Red Army from fascism began in March 1944 in Romania. By mid-June, active hostilities gave way to positional defense, which continued at the beginning of the Iasi-Kishinev operation. This period is almost not covered in the research literature, meanwhile, it was at this time that Soviet troops, in the course of small and local, but frequent and successful clashes, exhausted the enemy and lowered their morale, which played a role in the future. The purpose of the study is to establish the content and determine the nature of the combat operations of the 7th Guards. armies of the 2nd Ukrainian Front in the period June 6 – August 19, 1944. Objectives: to identify the main parameters characterizing the defense of the enemy and the 7th Guards army, compare the progress and results of combat operations of Romanian and Soviet units. Methodology. The research was based on the principles of objectivity, historicism and consistency. The author used a complex of general scientific and special historical methods in his work: analytical, critical, problem-chronological, retrospective. Results. It was established that the enemy’s defense in the area west of the city of Tirgu-Frumos relied on a powerful fortified area. Romanian troops during this period behaved passively, their rare reconnaissance actions usually did not achieve success and were defeated. At the same time, troops of the 7th Guards. The armies not only actively strengthened their defenses, but also conducted effective reconnaissance, inflicting significant damage on the enemy. Conclusions. A study of documentary archival materials shows that the results of combat operations of units of the 7th Guards should not be underestimated. army during the period of positional defense from June to August 1944. Soviet troops exhausted the enemy, causing him significant material and moral damage, which reduced the combat effectiveness of the Romanian units in anticipation of the decisive offensive of the Red Army.