In Soviet and Belarusian historiography, the Vitebsk or Surazh gate (Віцебскія вароты or Суражскія вароты) was the name given to the corridor connecting Soviet and German-occupied territories during World War II. The 40 km area between Velizh and Usvyaty was a point of contact between the German Army Groups North and Centre. The gate, created by the Soviet 4th Shock Army Toropets–Kholm Offensive during the winter of 1941–42, existed from 10 February to 28 September 1942.
next day, meeting the force striking from the south and closing the Vitsyebskgate. The occupiers burned several other villages in a punitive expedition...
development of the Soviet partisan movement came with the opening of the Vitsyebskgate,[full citation needed] a corridor connecting Soviet-controlled and German-occupied...
development of the Soviet partisan movement came with the opening of the Vitsyebskgate in February 1942. The partisan units were included in the overall Soviet...
Reichskommissariat Ostland Ukrainian-German collaboration during World War II Vitsyebskgate Timeline of Jewish history in Belarus Come and See Per Anders Rudling...
near Smolensk in the winter of 1942, a 40-kilometer-wide breach – the "Vitsyebskgate" – was opened between the German lines, enabling direct contact between...
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