Introduction, part 5: how the East was won (4)
On September 12 the last divisions in the Pripyat pocket surrendered or just disappeared in the vast wilderness. Over 50 divisions, the precise number remains unknown, were captured there. German forces were finally free to be redeployed to the Eastern front to replace many of the mobile formations, which were then in turn redeployed to the North, where the Russians had finally decided to go on the offensive.
Russian offensive caught Dietl, the supreme Axis commander in Finland, by surprise. His forces were fully focused on the siege of Leningrad, so they let the Finns hold the rest of the front. Soviets realized this fatal weakness and in a quick blow spearheaded by their mountaineer divisions, they managed to outmaneuver the Finns, cut off the Karelian Isthmus from the north and capture Helsinki. This was a shock, since 6 indispensable gebirgsjäger divisions were now in a very real danger of being captured by the Soviets. Hastily assembled force made of 3 light armored divisions formerly stationed in France supported by general Student’s 1st Fallshirmjäger division was transferred to Finland to relieve Dietl’s troops and Luftwaffe began to supply the trapped German forces. Hitler angrily refused Dietl’s request to be evacuated from Karelia and ordered him and his men to fight until they’re relieved or dead.
German paratroopers in Finland
However von Manstein met with admiral Raeder and persuaded him to prepare his transport ships, “just in case the relief force don’t come in time”. Although von Manstein risked his job for interfering with Führer’s orders, he needed Dietl’s troops for the next large operation he was planning by that time. After a week of desperate fighting, Dietl ordered his men to evacuate Karelia. He didn’t leave with them and his fate remains unknown. It is probable that he took his life in order to protect his men, to save them from Hitler’s wrath.
In late September, once the relief force once again captured Karelian Isthmus, von Manstein launched a new offensive east of Leningrad. The goal was to finally cut off the last supply routes to Leningrad (Russians were shipping some supplies across Lake Ladoga). Despite the forested terrain a quick breakthrough was achieved. Manstein decided to exploit it and send one mechanized corps to capture Archangels. It arrived there on October 6. Only a week later Rommel encircled and destroyed 9 soviet divisions near Voronezh. A month later, the rest of the Soviet forces in Finland followed suit. By that time most of Wehrmacht divisions had already stopped their advance and dug in to prepare for the much feared Russian winter. Fortunately, due to Hjalmar Schacht’s forethought the Germans were well-equipped with winter clothing and other necessities that allowed them to survive the winter without suffering unacceptable losses.
German watch, winter 1941/1942
The only significant “battle” that took place during the winter was the capture of Leningrad. In fact, the German high command didn’t plan on capturing the city, the attack they ordered on January 9, 1942 was only supposed to test the Russian defenses; however when the starved and desperate Russian soldiers saw the first German panzers in the outskirts of the city, they started throwing away their weapons and surrendered to the surprised Germans, who were expecting a tough, Moscow-like resistance. The “Battle of Leningrad” ended after only 3 hours of “fighting”. In fact, the only Russians shot that day were those unfortunate men killed by their political commissars when they put their hands in the air and started running to the Germans begging them for food; and the commissars themselves who were in turn shot by the men they were supposed to keep an eye on. The whole defense of Leningrad collapsed like a house of cards and the Germans captured the city almost undamaged, discounting the damage caused during the siege. It was a very unexpected but welcomed victory that helped to keep German morale high during the winter months.