Operation Bagration
Operation Bagration (; , Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian Strategic Offensive Operation (, Belorusskaya nastupatelnaya Operatsiya "Bagration") a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern Front of World War II, just over 2 weeks after the start of Operation Overlord in the west, causing the Germans to have to fight on two major fronts at the same time. The Soviet Union destroyed 28 of 34 divisions of Army Group Centre and completely shattered the German front line. It was the biggest defeat in German military history and the fifth deadliest campaign in Europe, killing around 450,000 German and 550,000 Soviet soldiers, while 300,000 other German soldiers were cut off in the Courland Pocket.