31 January – 11 February 1945 Eleven days with the front on top of the townJedenásť dní s frontom nad mestom

The Germans fortified the ridges above the town — Jaseňové and Javorinka — and held them hard. The first Red Army patrols appeared on the edge of Hriňová on 31 January 1945, and the Germans did not finally leave until 11 February. That is eleven days of a front line sitting on top of a town of scattered farms, in the middle of winter, with the people living in it. Downstream, Vígľaš and Zvolenská Slatina were not taken until 25 February and Zvolen not until 14 March, so this end of the valley was free for a month while the towns below it were still being fought over.Nemci opevnili hrebene nad mestom — Jaseňové a Javorinku — a držali ich tvrdo. Prvé hliadky Červenej armády sa objavili na okraji Hriňovej 31. januára 1945 a Nemci ju definitívne opustili až 11. februára. Je to jedenásť dní frontovej línie priamo nad mestom roztrúsených samôt, uprostred zimy, s ľuďmi, ktorí v ňom žili. Nižšie po prúde padli Vígľaš a Zvolenská Slatina až 25. februára a Zvolen až 14. marca, takže tento koniec doliny bol mesiac slobodný, kým sa o mestá pod ním ešte bojovalo.