The Martin garrison went over to the insurgents and the Turiec became uprising territory. German forces fought their way through the Strečno gorge from 31 August; the Tatra Division broke into Vrútky on 5 September, and there were another two weeks of fighting between Vrútky and Martin before the insurgents pulled out of the basin on 21 September 1944. As a reprisal for the shooting of the Otto group, the Germans executed 48 people at Bukoviny above Martin on 3 October 1944. The town was taken back early on the morning of 11 April 1945 by troops of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps together with the Romanian army; they came from two directions at almost the same moment, and which of them entered first is argued about to this day.Martinská posádka prešla na stranu povstalcov a Turiec sa stal povstaleckým územím. Nemecké vojská sa od 31. augusta prebíjali Strečnianskou tiesňavou, 5. septembra vpadla divízia Tatra do Vrútok a potom sa medzi Vrútkami a Martinom bojovalo ešte dva týždne, kým povstalci 21. septembra 1944 kotlinu neopustili. Za odvetu za postrieľanie Ottovej skupiny popravili Nemci 3. októbra 1944 na Bukovinách nad Martinom 48 ľudí. Mesto oslobodili včasne ráno 11. apríla 1945 jednotky 1. československého armádneho zboru spolu s rumunskou armádou; prišli z dvoch strán takmer súčasne a o tom, ktorá z nich vstúpila do mesta prvá, sa vedú spory dodnes.
