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Glad to see I still have readers 
Shortly before the update I took the time to replace a lot of the bad quality pics with better ones. Some are now a lot better if you like pictures it might be worth looking through the early parts of my AAR again.
Shortly before the update I took the time to replace a lot of the bad quality pics with better ones. Some are now a lot better if you like pictures it might be worth looking through the early parts of my AAR again.
Part III of III – Over the Sereth!
In the early morning hours of the 2nd of July OKW finally gave the permission “to act as the situation demands” to Heeresgruppe Süd. Of course Hitler was behind this order and General Köstring in the HQ new this all too well. The “situation” demanded an attack from his army, a mighty strike that would shatter the russian front and recover the initiative for the Wehrmacht on the southern front.
General Köstring (commander of Heeresgruppe Süd) at the map table
The morning had come with dew and in these early hours it was still a little cool outside the battered house on the outskirts of Stryj, where the HQ resided. Looking to the south-west the General could see the Carpatian Mountains in the distance, shown upon with the early morning sunrays. A certain calm had settled in although he knew it would not last for long. He took a deep sip from his coffee mug and nearly burned his tongue. Damn! The steaming fluid was hot and he had nearly forgotten about it. He turned and took the steps to the front door of the house then stepped inside. Major Hassfeld looked at his Superior and adressed him.
“General, we received a call from Dietrichs 8. Panzerkorps. OKW has decided to place his Panzerkorps directly under the command of the Heeresgruppe.”
Köstring raised a brow.
“I thought the armored reserves would join 1. Panzergruppe immediately upon arrival. If they give us a whole Panzerkorps then the Führer must want a victory on the front badly. Well, I am not complaining. Tell General Dietrich to move to the staging area. His tanks will be needed!”
The Major nodded.
Bending over the table Köstring had time to think. With the 8. PzKorps whole new possibilities opened up. It would be possible to - “ He was interrupted abruptly by a shout of his communication officer. “They have - what?!?”
Hassfeld looked over to the General. “The Romanians have started to cross the Sereth to attack Iasi full six hours early! What now?”
A careful analysis of the situation later showed that the attack of the 1st Romania Corps (which consisted solely of the 1st Mountain Division and some supporting units) was no attempt at heroism. It was simply a misunderstanding. The Romanians had of course been involved in the plannings of the attack across the Sereth river south-west of Iasi but the officers of the 1st Corps had left the meeting early. Fieldmarshal Antonescu from the Romanian Army HQ had been on his way to inspect his troops and the 1st Corps was under his direct command. There was nothing General Jacob of the 11. Armee could say to persuade them to stay. It was agreed, however, that just the time of the attack had to be sent and everything would go just fine.
Unfortunately, due to a decoding error, the attack time received by the 1st Corps was not 1200 hours but 0800 hours. The whole planning had been spoiled.
Attack preparations were now cut short. Mere two hours later, the attack of the Romanian front across the Sereth river was on it's way to reach Iasi.
The 8. Panzerkorps on the move
In total 7 german and 11 romanian divisions attacked and crossed the Sereth at twelve different places. Only the early 1st Corps was involved in hard fighting as their early attack had caused the Soviets to counterattack the moment they had crossed the river. General Lacatusu's Corps fought tirelessly, however, and by noon had established a bridgehead from where it proceeded to Iasi.
The two russian Rifle Divisions along with the 16th Tank Division and General Terekhins Tank Corps were pushed back and thrown out of Iasi in a three-day struggle.
Continuous reinforcements (Lt. General Student's XVIII. Gebirgskorps and the Slovak Combat Group joined the fighting during the 3rd of July) continued to push into the area and with the defeat of the last Russian counterattack of General Bagramins 47th Tank Division (which was mauled badly by Dietrichs 8. Panzerkorps) Iasi finally fell at 1400 hours on the 5th of July.
Ahead was the Pruth river. Again.
In the early morning hours of the 2nd of July OKW finally gave the permission “to act as the situation demands” to Heeresgruppe Süd. Of course Hitler was behind this order and General Köstring in the HQ new this all too well. The “situation” demanded an attack from his army, a mighty strike that would shatter the russian front and recover the initiative for the Wehrmacht on the southern front.
General Köstring (commander of Heeresgruppe Süd) at the map table
The morning had come with dew and in these early hours it was still a little cool outside the battered house on the outskirts of Stryj, where the HQ resided. Looking to the south-west the General could see the Carpatian Mountains in the distance, shown upon with the early morning sunrays. A certain calm had settled in although he knew it would not last for long. He took a deep sip from his coffee mug and nearly burned his tongue. Damn! The steaming fluid was hot and he had nearly forgotten about it. He turned and took the steps to the front door of the house then stepped inside. Major Hassfeld looked at his Superior and adressed him.
“General, we received a call from Dietrichs 8. Panzerkorps. OKW has decided to place his Panzerkorps directly under the command of the Heeresgruppe.”
Köstring raised a brow.
“I thought the armored reserves would join 1. Panzergruppe immediately upon arrival. If they give us a whole Panzerkorps then the Führer must want a victory on the front badly. Well, I am not complaining. Tell General Dietrich to move to the staging area. His tanks will be needed!”
The Major nodded.
Bending over the table Köstring had time to think. With the 8. PzKorps whole new possibilities opened up. It would be possible to - “ He was interrupted abruptly by a shout of his communication officer. “They have - what?!?”
Hassfeld looked over to the General. “The Romanians have started to cross the Sereth to attack Iasi full six hours early! What now?”
A careful analysis of the situation later showed that the attack of the 1st Romania Corps (which consisted solely of the 1st Mountain Division and some supporting units) was no attempt at heroism. It was simply a misunderstanding. The Romanians had of course been involved in the plannings of the attack across the Sereth river south-west of Iasi but the officers of the 1st Corps had left the meeting early. Fieldmarshal Antonescu from the Romanian Army HQ had been on his way to inspect his troops and the 1st Corps was under his direct command. There was nothing General Jacob of the 11. Armee could say to persuade them to stay. It was agreed, however, that just the time of the attack had to be sent and everything would go just fine.
Unfortunately, due to a decoding error, the attack time received by the 1st Corps was not 1200 hours but 0800 hours. The whole planning had been spoiled.
Attack preparations were now cut short. Mere two hours later, the attack of the Romanian front across the Sereth river was on it's way to reach Iasi.
The 8. Panzerkorps on the move
In total 7 german and 11 romanian divisions attacked and crossed the Sereth at twelve different places. Only the early 1st Corps was involved in hard fighting as their early attack had caused the Soviets to counterattack the moment they had crossed the river. General Lacatusu's Corps fought tirelessly, however, and by noon had established a bridgehead from where it proceeded to Iasi.
The two russian Rifle Divisions along with the 16th Tank Division and General Terekhins Tank Corps were pushed back and thrown out of Iasi in a three-day struggle.
Continuous reinforcements (Lt. General Student's XVIII. Gebirgskorps and the Slovak Combat Group joined the fighting during the 3rd of July) continued to push into the area and with the defeat of the last Russian counterattack of General Bagramins 47th Tank Division (which was mauled badly by Dietrichs 8. Panzerkorps) Iasi finally fell at 1400 hours on the 5th of July.
Ahead was the Pruth river. Again.
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Oob
This is the OOB for the initial attack across the Sereth river, 2nd of July, 1941.
As you can see, my romanian allies are pretty depleted. In the attacking force only the 11. Armee still has some attack strength left.
Not included are the 8. PzKorps, the Slovakians and the XVIII. GebKorps which were thrown into combat a little later.
This is the OOB for the initial attack across the Sereth river, 2nd of July, 1941.
As you can see, my romanian allies are pretty depleted. In the attacking force only the 11. Armee still has some attack strength left.
Not included are the 8. PzKorps, the Slovakians and the XVIII. GebKorps which were thrown into combat a little later.
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Yes indeed in Romania things look quite nicely - I hope I can exploit it with some tanks and other reinforcements currently being sent there.
Storm over Lithuania
Emblem of the 126. Infantriedivision, rearguard of the 1. Armee
The night when in Romania the Heeresgruppe Süd prepared to attack, General Strauss's 1. Armee finally reached the lines of the III. Armeekorps holding positions at the town of Telšiai, just north of Memel where they were greeted by the soldiers of the 7. Flieger-Division. The men of the 126. Infantriedivision were the rearguard. Six times had the Russians assaulted the retreat and six times the brave soldiers of Infantrie Regiment 422 from lower Saxony had fought them back to relieve the pressure on their retreating comrades. It had just started raining, a downpour as if the sky itself covered the 1st Army. Everything the men wore stuck to their bodies, only the helmets provided a little cover from the rain. The streets were impassable before long and the speed of the retreat slowed down to a crawl on the flooded muddy streets.As the Regiment moved into their new defensive positions they turned and stared into the darkness, expecting the russian counterattack to follow on their heels. But this time they were lucky – Ivan did not attack this night.
The raging weather brought all attacks and all movements in Lithuania down to Königsberg to a halt. For nearly 24 hours the war was on hold.
Not far south of the tired men of the 126th Infantriedivision General Paulus had used the bad weather to order his II. Armeekorps to dig in at the heights near Sulwaki which had been just taken. His caution proved fruitful to his soldiers. At 1700 hours on the 4th of July, the Russians attacked the strategically important heights with a fresh Corps and three Rifle Divisions but could not break up the defensive positions.
General Paulus had secured the important hills for the Heeresgruppe Nord - for now.
Emblem of the 126. Infantriedivision, rearguard of the 1. Armee
The night when in Romania the Heeresgruppe Süd prepared to attack, General Strauss's 1. Armee finally reached the lines of the III. Armeekorps holding positions at the town of Telšiai, just north of Memel where they were greeted by the soldiers of the 7. Flieger-Division. The men of the 126. Infantriedivision were the rearguard. Six times had the Russians assaulted the retreat and six times the brave soldiers of Infantrie Regiment 422 from lower Saxony had fought them back to relieve the pressure on their retreating comrades. It had just started raining, a downpour as if the sky itself covered the 1st Army. Everything the men wore stuck to their bodies, only the helmets provided a little cover from the rain. The streets were impassable before long and the speed of the retreat slowed down to a crawl on the flooded muddy streets.As the Regiment moved into their new defensive positions they turned and stared into the darkness, expecting the russian counterattack to follow on their heels. But this time they were lucky – Ivan did not attack this night.
The raging weather brought all attacks and all movements in Lithuania down to Königsberg to a halt. For nearly 24 hours the war was on hold.
Not far south of the tired men of the 126th Infantriedivision General Paulus had used the bad weather to order his II. Armeekorps to dig in at the heights near Sulwaki which had been just taken. His caution proved fruitful to his soldiers. At 1700 hours on the 4th of July, the Russians attacked the strategically important heights with a fresh Corps and three Rifle Divisions but could not break up the defensive positions.
General Paulus had secured the important hills for the Heeresgruppe Nord - for now.
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Well, AG North has a break for now--between the weather and having reconquered Suwalki, you may be able to salvage your position and straighten out your line and all that, and recover for a new attack.
The Battle of Slonim (5th of July, 1941)
The attack of the Belorussian Front
Just minutes to Midnight on the Ostfront. The german forces in Slonim do not know it yet, but they are in for a very hot awakening. Fieldmarshal von Leeb of the 3. Panzergruppe (3. PG) could not sleep. The whole eastern campaign had been a disaster so far – Heeresgruppe Nord and Süd had failed their objectives thoroughly and and no-one knew when they would be able to pick up the attack again. Only Heeresgruppe Mitte and the 3. Panzergruppe had reached their aim – Slonim. They had crossed the swamps in Bielsk and advanced, the Panzers pushing everything aside on their way. Once in Slonim, they had waited. Without the 4. Panzergruppe storming Grodno from the North their advance was useless – or even dangerous. As soon as it became clear that the 4. PG would not be able to reach Grodno, FM von Leeb had immediately contacted OKW and requested a withdrawal. He had just asked himself a little question: “Where would I attack now, were I Stalin? So far, OKW had just given out hold-orders. “You are to remain there and prepare for the upcoming attack from the 4. PG towards Grodno. Your forward position will be needed to support their spearhead.”
How totally wrong the assumption was showed a STAVKA report of Fieldmarshal Voroshilov's staff of the Belorussian Front from this time. A full and detailed analysis of the situation comes to the following conclusion:
...The foremost fascist positions must be eradicated quickly before they can recover along the northern front and start yet another attack towards Grodno. The salient is to be removed with maximum force.
Fieldmarshal Voroshilov did just that. At midnight an artillery bombardment started that lasted for three full hours and covered the entire front. Then 31 Soviet Divisions attacked the bulge around Slonim from four directions.
North of Slonim the 3. Panzergruppe defended against 16 Divisions. They held a front that stretched dangerously and broke several times during the day but Manstein's 6. PzKorps functioned as a firebrigade behind the line and was able to regulate this. It was incredible what the men of the 12th and 19th Panzerdivision did that day and wherever they appeared along the front they were greeted enthusiastically by their comrades.
To the east of Slonim the 3. Armee had taken defensive positions. General Behlendorff was a nervous man and tended to overreactions. More then once he called in support from his left neighbour, the 7th PzKorps, but that support could not come: the 7th was fighting hard itself and pinned down in fierce close-combat! At 1600 hours (only 16 hours into the battle), the 3. Armee began to retreat under the sheer weight of the russian onslaught. As the first elements began to flee, FM Voroshilov threw his reserves into the breach, three fresh Rifle Divisions. In the moment of greatest danger General Behlendorff called support from the 5. Armee, since the 7th PzKorps did not answer his requests.
Infantry of the 5. Armee fighting in Slonim
The 5. Armee had had very little problems holding it's front south of Slonim. Only 9 Soviet divisions attacked the 6 divisions of General Geyr von Schweppenburg. They held their line decently. As the 3. Armee requested help, they sent two divisions: the 12. ID and the 122. ID. As these moved into position to build a new line it happened: russian bombers ruled the sky! A moment of distraction of the Luftwaffe had been sufficient – the two moving divisions were caught with their pants down. The death toll was harsh: nearly 1/3 of both divisions fell or was wounded and many horse-drawn carriages lost. The cover-less road south of Slonim had been turned into a slaughterhouse.
With the loss of these divisions, both the 3. Armee and the 5. Armee were no longer able to stop the advancing Russians. At 2000 hours, the two PzKorps of von Manstein and von Kleist were the only fighting force left. To avoid the fate of the 1. Panzergruppe down in Stanislawow, FM von Leeb ordered a full retreat into the night. It was a dangerous decision as a fieldmarshal. The following morning saw an enraged Hitler screaming and shouting in the Wolfsschanze but there was nothing he could do now.
His orders had once again not been followed.
The attack of the Belorussian Front
Just minutes to Midnight on the Ostfront. The german forces in Slonim do not know it yet, but they are in for a very hot awakening. Fieldmarshal von Leeb of the 3. Panzergruppe (3. PG) could not sleep. The whole eastern campaign had been a disaster so far – Heeresgruppe Nord and Süd had failed their objectives thoroughly and and no-one knew when they would be able to pick up the attack again. Only Heeresgruppe Mitte and the 3. Panzergruppe had reached their aim – Slonim. They had crossed the swamps in Bielsk and advanced, the Panzers pushing everything aside on their way. Once in Slonim, they had waited. Without the 4. Panzergruppe storming Grodno from the North their advance was useless – or even dangerous. As soon as it became clear that the 4. PG would not be able to reach Grodno, FM von Leeb had immediately contacted OKW and requested a withdrawal. He had just asked himself a little question: “Where would I attack now, were I Stalin? So far, OKW had just given out hold-orders. “You are to remain there and prepare for the upcoming attack from the 4. PG towards Grodno. Your forward position will be needed to support their spearhead.”
How totally wrong the assumption was showed a STAVKA report of Fieldmarshal Voroshilov's staff of the Belorussian Front from this time. A full and detailed analysis of the situation comes to the following conclusion:
...The foremost fascist positions must be eradicated quickly before they can recover along the northern front and start yet another attack towards Grodno. The salient is to be removed with maximum force.
Fieldmarshal Voroshilov did just that. At midnight an artillery bombardment started that lasted for three full hours and covered the entire front. Then 31 Soviet Divisions attacked the bulge around Slonim from four directions.
North of Slonim the 3. Panzergruppe defended against 16 Divisions. They held a front that stretched dangerously and broke several times during the day but Manstein's 6. PzKorps functioned as a firebrigade behind the line and was able to regulate this. It was incredible what the men of the 12th and 19th Panzerdivision did that day and wherever they appeared along the front they were greeted enthusiastically by their comrades.
To the east of Slonim the 3. Armee had taken defensive positions. General Behlendorff was a nervous man and tended to overreactions. More then once he called in support from his left neighbour, the 7th PzKorps, but that support could not come: the 7th was fighting hard itself and pinned down in fierce close-combat! At 1600 hours (only 16 hours into the battle), the 3. Armee began to retreat under the sheer weight of the russian onslaught. As the first elements began to flee, FM Voroshilov threw his reserves into the breach, three fresh Rifle Divisions. In the moment of greatest danger General Behlendorff called support from the 5. Armee, since the 7th PzKorps did not answer his requests.
Infantry of the 5. Armee fighting in Slonim
The 5. Armee had had very little problems holding it's front south of Slonim. Only 9 Soviet divisions attacked the 6 divisions of General Geyr von Schweppenburg. They held their line decently. As the 3. Armee requested help, they sent two divisions: the 12. ID and the 122. ID. As these moved into position to build a new line it happened: russian bombers ruled the sky! A moment of distraction of the Luftwaffe had been sufficient – the two moving divisions were caught with their pants down. The death toll was harsh: nearly 1/3 of both divisions fell or was wounded and many horse-drawn carriages lost. The cover-less road south of Slonim had been turned into a slaughterhouse.
With the loss of these divisions, both the 3. Armee and the 5. Armee were no longer able to stop the advancing Russians. At 2000 hours, the two PzKorps of von Manstein and von Kleist were the only fighting force left. To avoid the fate of the 1. Panzergruppe down in Stanislawow, FM von Leeb ordered a full retreat into the night. It was a dangerous decision as a fieldmarshal. The following morning saw an enraged Hitler screaming and shouting in the Wolfsschanze but there was nothing he could do now.
His orders had once again not been followed.
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Absolutely. But I still have some plans - the southern front is recovering... just another 2-3 days and the action will start in the south again! Let's see if Odessa can be taken!
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A Gathering in Berlin
The red marble corridor within the Neue Reichskanzlei in Berlin, in 1939
The german offensives in June and early July had been complete failures. It was a fact everyone invited to the grand strategic meeting in Berlin knew. It was quite a meeting with everybody of distinction in the Wehrmacht: FM Fedor von Bock (OKW), FM Keitel (HG Nord), FM von Brauchitsch (2. Armee), FM von Rundstedt (4. PG), FM von Kluge (HG Mitte) and von Reichenau (2. PG), FM von Leeb (3. PG), General Köstring (HG Süd) and FM von Witzleben (1. PG) were all gathered in the Neue Reichskanzlei and had taken seats in some baroque looking comfortable chairs lined up along the walls. A huge crystal candelabra hung overhead and the light breeze coming through the open windows made the small pendants jingle. A crowded table with a lot of maps of the entire Ostfront dominated the room and von Bock and Keitel were standing closest to it, discussing quietly the latest developments. Despite the splendid summer outside the mood was rather gloomy as they all waited for The Führer to arrive.
Coffee cups on a small table covered by a white tablecloth hinted at the hour: it was barely 9 o'clock on this sixth of July. Hurried steps could be heard in the corridor. The door sprang open and a lieutenant of the staff burst in. Ignoring the questioning looks of the gathered generals he hurried towards Feldmarschall von Bock, saluted and said:
“Sir, we have received news from General Halder in Lublin. The Russians are attacking. Across the Bug. With tanks.”
Von Bock looked at him. “How many?” he asked calmly.
“All of them, Sir. The general said precisely 'all of them'”.
The map shows the russian attack angles and the following german counterattack on Lutsk
With the commanding generals drinking coffee in Berlin some 500 kilometers to the east Fieldmarshal Timoshenko had chosen exactly the right moment to assault Lublin. With help from a not yet well-known spy codenamed “Werther” in the Wolfsschanze the Russian had figured out the weakest point along the front. The german defences along the Bug river east of Lublin seemed just perfect for a mighty punch into the belly of the Wehrmacht. Distracted by the battles further south and exactly in the hour where all fieldmarshals of the Ostfront where gathered in Berlin! A really well-timed attack!
General Halder commanded only four divisions dug in on the western side of the river. Just two of these, the 293th and 294th were real combat divisions, the other two being merely “Sicherungsdivisionen”, units fitted to patrol behind the front, to quell partisan uprisings and to secure the area. Halder fielded not a single artillery batallion only some 7.5cm infantryguns were his shield. Crossing the bug were 19 russian divisions, 8 Tank Divisions included. It was an armada, a mighty steel horse coming for the Wehrmacht. To make matters worse the Soviets had chosen to attack directly into the space between the german units. It would make defending even more difficult.
General Halder, however, did not panic. He knew without a counterattack all he could do was take up a position of defence and try to block the early bridgeheads access towards the precious airfields around Lublin. He called Berlin for assistance but his staff had problems reaching anyone at the important meeting. A full hour later the lieutenant delivered the news – but it was not too late.
Having all important decision-makers in one place sometimes speeds up things nicely. Even the Führer recognized the demands of the evolving situation and agreed to give Heeresgruppe Süd a free hand.
General Köstring ordered a counter-thrust of the 9th and 13th armies towards Kowel and Lutsk, a town south-east of Kowel. The 2. Panzergruppe would aid this thrust as would the majority of the available forces from Heeresgruppe Süd. Köstring did not know that he had chosen the battlefield for one of the most bloody battles of this war, yet.
The town of Lutsk was about to make an entry in the books of military history.
The red marble corridor within the Neue Reichskanzlei in Berlin, in 1939
The german offensives in June and early July had been complete failures. It was a fact everyone invited to the grand strategic meeting in Berlin knew. It was quite a meeting with everybody of distinction in the Wehrmacht: FM Fedor von Bock (OKW), FM Keitel (HG Nord), FM von Brauchitsch (2. Armee), FM von Rundstedt (4. PG), FM von Kluge (HG Mitte) and von Reichenau (2. PG), FM von Leeb (3. PG), General Köstring (HG Süd) and FM von Witzleben (1. PG) were all gathered in the Neue Reichskanzlei and had taken seats in some baroque looking comfortable chairs lined up along the walls. A huge crystal candelabra hung overhead and the light breeze coming through the open windows made the small pendants jingle. A crowded table with a lot of maps of the entire Ostfront dominated the room and von Bock and Keitel were standing closest to it, discussing quietly the latest developments. Despite the splendid summer outside the mood was rather gloomy as they all waited for The Führer to arrive.
Coffee cups on a small table covered by a white tablecloth hinted at the hour: it was barely 9 o'clock on this sixth of July. Hurried steps could be heard in the corridor. The door sprang open and a lieutenant of the staff burst in. Ignoring the questioning looks of the gathered generals he hurried towards Feldmarschall von Bock, saluted and said:
“Sir, we have received news from General Halder in Lublin. The Russians are attacking. Across the Bug. With tanks.”
Von Bock looked at him. “How many?” he asked calmly.
“All of them, Sir. The general said precisely 'all of them'”.
The map shows the russian attack angles and the following german counterattack on Lutsk
With the commanding generals drinking coffee in Berlin some 500 kilometers to the east Fieldmarshal Timoshenko had chosen exactly the right moment to assault Lublin. With help from a not yet well-known spy codenamed “Werther” in the Wolfsschanze the Russian had figured out the weakest point along the front. The german defences along the Bug river east of Lublin seemed just perfect for a mighty punch into the belly of the Wehrmacht. Distracted by the battles further south and exactly in the hour where all fieldmarshals of the Ostfront where gathered in Berlin! A really well-timed attack!
General Halder commanded only four divisions dug in on the western side of the river. Just two of these, the 293th and 294th were real combat divisions, the other two being merely “Sicherungsdivisionen”, units fitted to patrol behind the front, to quell partisan uprisings and to secure the area. Halder fielded not a single artillery batallion only some 7.5cm infantryguns were his shield. Crossing the bug were 19 russian divisions, 8 Tank Divisions included. It was an armada, a mighty steel horse coming for the Wehrmacht. To make matters worse the Soviets had chosen to attack directly into the space between the german units. It would make defending even more difficult.
General Halder, however, did not panic. He knew without a counterattack all he could do was take up a position of defence and try to block the early bridgeheads access towards the precious airfields around Lublin. He called Berlin for assistance but his staff had problems reaching anyone at the important meeting. A full hour later the lieutenant delivered the news – but it was not too late.
Having all important decision-makers in one place sometimes speeds up things nicely. Even the Führer recognized the demands of the evolving situation and agreed to give Heeresgruppe Süd a free hand.
General Köstring ordered a counter-thrust of the 9th and 13th armies towards Kowel and Lutsk, a town south-east of Kowel. The 2. Panzergruppe would aid this thrust as would the majority of the available forces from Heeresgruppe Süd. Köstring did not know that he had chosen the battlefield for one of the most bloody battles of this war, yet.
The town of Lutsk was about to make an entry in the books of military history.
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Next up is the street-fighting madness of Lutsk. I will not rip it apart instead tell the whole story en bloc. The really important things that happen while Heeresgruppe Süd fights to relieve Lublin will be mentioned later. I hope you are not confused if I go back and forth a few days after having written down the events concerning Lutsk.
Y'know I was really really TRYING to get a break, recover from the ORG-losses and plan for a new attack (hence the meeting in Berlin
) but they will not let me! Wait, I'll show em!
Lutsk (6th of July until 14th of July)
A map of Lutsk with the attacks of 71th ID and IR 'Grossdeutschland'
The offensive on Kowel and Lutsk was one of the biggest military operations up until this point in Operation Barbarossa. All in all the Germans used 35 divisions for their counterattack and they smashed into Trufanovs defending positions. The latter were not very strong occupied since the majority of the russian forces was attacking Lublin. As General Trufanov realized the scale of the attack he immediately cancelled the crossing of the bug, withdrew the already established bridgehead opposing the H.Kdo. XXXV and threw everything he had south towards Kowel and Lutsk. He was utterly surprised and even forgot to notify Timoshenkos headquarter which should prove fatal to the russian offensive and led to a full stop of the attack towards Lublin only four hours later. Timoshenko burst with anger upon this move but he could do nothing as the freed german divisions removed his last bridgehead from west of the bug. Halder had saved Lublin with only four divisions which earned him a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Lutsk was a town with nearly 40,000 inhabitants in 1939. The Styr river that divided the town offered an excellent protection for troops occupying either side of it. There also was a beautiful cathedral standing in the centre of town.
The logo of the 71. Infantriedivision who fought in Lutsk
This was the stage for some of the fiercest house-to-house combat in this part of the front. It was the 71. Infantriedivision from Hildesheim which had been given the task of taking the centre of Lutsk. Generalmajor Alexander von Hartmann commanded this already battle-proved unit which was a part of the 10. Armee under von Stülpnagel. An excerpt from a diary of a soldier from Infantrie-Regiment 191 of the 71st reveals the violent fighting.
Soldiers from the 71. ID involved in house-to-house fighting in Lutsk
It should get worse. Again and again the russian generals throw their units to the fore just to be badly mauled. Most notably are General Sandalovs Armored Corps, who lost nearly 75% of it's strength in the fighting (they actually fought twice for the easternmost part of Lutsk) and Moskalenkos 32nd Tank Division. The idea of having tanks in the streets was not so smart – the dozens of destroyed BT-5 tanks on the roads proved it. Russian resistance continued during the next days.
The 71st ID finally managed to crawl across the river and establish a forward bridgehead in the night of the 10th. After that it was merely a question of days. The last and desperate counterattacks from the 50th Rifle Division, for example or Tolbukhins 195th and 200th Rifle Divisions were repelled under heavy losses on the russian side. The Infantrieregiment “Grossdeutschland” earned a mentioning in the Wochenschau in these fightings as they exceeded in bravery.
Some resistance pockets continued to fight well into the 14th of July but at 1600 hours that day Lutsk was under complete control by the Wehrmacht.
It had been done in time – the new german attack was to commence on the 15th. As many soldiers of the 9th and 13th army fell into sleep from exhaustion in their newly reached positions the next days would put even more strain on them. Would it be too much?
A map of Lutsk with the attacks of 71th ID and IR 'Grossdeutschland'
The offensive on Kowel and Lutsk was one of the biggest military operations up until this point in Operation Barbarossa. All in all the Germans used 35 divisions for their counterattack and they smashed into Trufanovs defending positions. The latter were not very strong occupied since the majority of the russian forces was attacking Lublin. As General Trufanov realized the scale of the attack he immediately cancelled the crossing of the bug, withdrew the already established bridgehead opposing the H.Kdo. XXXV and threw everything he had south towards Kowel and Lutsk. He was utterly surprised and even forgot to notify Timoshenkos headquarter which should prove fatal to the russian offensive and led to a full stop of the attack towards Lublin only four hours later. Timoshenko burst with anger upon this move but he could do nothing as the freed german divisions removed his last bridgehead from west of the bug. Halder had saved Lublin with only four divisions which earned him a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Lutsk was a town with nearly 40,000 inhabitants in 1939. The Styr river that divided the town offered an excellent protection for troops occupying either side of it. There also was a beautiful cathedral standing in the centre of town.
The logo of the 71. Infantriedivision who fought in Lutsk
This was the stage for some of the fiercest house-to-house combat in this part of the front. It was the 71. Infantriedivision from Hildesheim which had been given the task of taking the centre of Lutsk. Generalmajor Alexander von Hartmann commanded this already battle-proved unit which was a part of the 10. Armee under von Stülpnagel. An excerpt from a diary of a soldier from Infantrie-Regiment 191 of the 71st reveals the violent fighting.
Soldiers from the 71. ID involved in house-to-house fighting in Lutsk
It should get worse. Again and again the russian generals throw their units to the fore just to be badly mauled. Most notably are General Sandalovs Armored Corps, who lost nearly 75% of it's strength in the fighting (they actually fought twice for the easternmost part of Lutsk) and Moskalenkos 32nd Tank Division. The idea of having tanks in the streets was not so smart – the dozens of destroyed BT-5 tanks on the roads proved it. Russian resistance continued during the next days.
The 71st ID finally managed to crawl across the river and establish a forward bridgehead in the night of the 10th. After that it was merely a question of days. The last and desperate counterattacks from the 50th Rifle Division, for example or Tolbukhins 195th and 200th Rifle Divisions were repelled under heavy losses on the russian side. The Infantrieregiment “Grossdeutschland” earned a mentioning in the Wochenschau in these fightings as they exceeded in bravery.
Some resistance pockets continued to fight well into the 14th of July but at 1600 hours that day Lutsk was under complete control by the Wehrmacht.
It had been done in time – the new german attack was to commence on the 15th. As many soldiers of the 9th and 13th army fell into sleep from exhaustion in their newly reached positions the next days would put even more strain on them. Would it be too much?
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Success in the center at last! Hopefully this victory will stabilize the frontline somewhat.
That success was badly needed for the new attacks that are to start at the 15th of July. I already wasted three precious weeks on the Ostfront it is time to advance again, don't you think?
Important developments on all fronts until the 14th of July
The finnish war flag
The following map gives an overview of the Ostfront on the eve of Operation Phoenix, that is on July 14th, 1600 hours.
The Führerhauptquartier welcomes any advice on how to proceed...
The finnish war flag
- 8th of July – The finnish front is close to a breakdown. The red army has managed to push into Helsinki and the Finns have retreated to Turku. The german High Command is busy making plans to evacuate finnish troops to the Reich.
- 9th of July – Victory in the defensive battle of Iasi. The Russians had launched an attack across the Pruth river to retake the newly occupied positions of the 11. Armee and the Romanians. They were repelled after only 7 hours of fighting, however, and took heavy losses. Especially General Students XVIII. Gebirgskorps consisting of the 5th and 6th Gebirgsdivision fought valiantly.
- 9th of July to 10th of July – Lt. General Paulus is beaten back from the strategically important hills at Sulwaki as Fieldmarshal Voroshilov storms the area with nearly 20 divisions. Even the newly created 14th PzKorps of the 4. Panzergruppe (former X. Armeekorps (Mot) under von Salmuth) was not able to stop the Russians. Now Torun is in danger again.
- 10th of July – South African Troops land in Crete. After only meager resistance, the administrative forces of the Wehrmacht that had remained on the island capitulated.
- 12th of July – The dramatic evacuation of finnish Troops has begun. The Kriegsmarine with the Schleswig-Holstein and the Prinz Eugen escorted the first transports of finnish soldiers to Memel where they will have the chance to fight the Russians again.
- 13th of July – Von Weich's 15. Armee beats back Voroshilov's attack at Torun under heavy losses. The 15. Armee had just reached Torun in time. Thanks to this army and heavy attacks from the Luftwaffe, the attack-plans for the 15th can be carried out as planned. The alley leading from Sulwaki towards Pisz (a town app. Half-way towards Torun) had been bombed so heavily it earned the nickname “Alley of Death” from the german soldiers.
- 14th of July – The plans for “Operation Phoenix”, the second attempt to crush the “Russian House” were issued to all required commanders. The attack will commence at 0300 hours on the 15th.
The following map gives an overview of the Ostfront on the eve of Operation Phoenix, that is on July 14th, 1600 hours.
The Führerhauptquartier welcomes any advice on how to proceed...
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