located in the forested region around Lohsa. The Germans continued their push toward Königswartha and Hoyerswerda. Polish retreat Eventually, Świerczewski halted his force's advance on Dresden, and ordered it to pull back and secure the breach. On 22 April he ordered the 1st Armored Corps to retreat from Dresden and support the centre. The 8th Infantry Division was also recalled; however, the 9th remained near Dresden. For a while Świerczewski was out of communication with his superiors, including Marshal Konev. Konev also sent his chief of staff, General Ivan Yefimovich Petrov, and his chief of operations, General Vladimir Ivanovich Kostylev, to look at the situation. Petrov managed to re-establish communications, and left Kostylev in charge. Świerczewski was briefly relieved of his command for incompetence. To stabilize the situation, Konev ordered eight divisions from the Ukrainian Front to reinforce the Polish positions. The Soviet 14th and 95th Guards Rifle Divisions, as well as the 4th Guards Tank Corps, were ordered to attack toward Kamenz, Königswartha and Sdier to stop the Germans from advancing further north. The 2nd Air Army was also assigned to this theater. Meanwhile, the German advance to the southeast of Bautzen was successful. The Soviet 294th Rifle Division was encircled at Weißenberg by the Brandenburg Division. In its subsequent breakout on 24 April, large parts of it were destroyed. At the same time at Bautzen the 20th Panzer Division was able to make contact with the trapped units in the town from the south. Bronikowski then lost no time and immediately ordered a German attack into Bautzen. Coordinating with the trapped troops, he was able to break into the town. A hastily assembled Polish counterattack was not successful and most of Bautzen was then recaptured by German forces after several days of bloody house-to-house combat. Several remaining pockets of resistance in the town were cleared during the next days. Outside the town the German advance stalled, as their troops were running low on fuel. The recapture of Bautzen was one of the last German tactical victories on the Eastern Front. By 25 April, Polish units were able to stabilize a defense on the line Kamenz–Kuckau–north Bautzen–Spree–Spreewiese–Heideanger. On that day, Hitler congratulated Schörner on his "victory". The Polish 7th and 10th infantry divisions were ordered to advance toward Sdier-Heideanger. The 7th and 10th Polish infantry divisions slowly advanced, with the 10th reaching north of Spreefurt. With the Soviet units