Battle of the Dukla Pass, also known as the Dukla / Carpatho-Dukla / Rzeszów-Dukla / Dukla-Prešov Offensive or Operation was the scene of bitterly contested battle for the Dukla Pass (borderland between Poland and Slovakia) on the Eastern Front of World War II between Nazi Germany and Soviet Union in September-October 1944.
German resistance was much harder then expected. The battle which began on September 8 would not see the Soviet forces on the other side of the pass until 6 October, and German forces would stop their heavy resistance in the region only around October 10. Five days to Presov turned into fifty days to Svidnik alone with over 200,000 casualties on both sides. Presov that was to be reached in six days remained beyond the Czechoslovaks' grasp for four months. The battle would be counted among the most bloody in the entire Eastern Front and in the history of Slovakia; one of the valleys in the pass near villages of Kapisova, Chyrowa, Iwla and Głojsce would become known as the Valley of Death.