Battle of the Dnieper

Battle of the Dnieper

Part of: Second World War , Eastern Front

date	August 26 to December 20, 1943
place	Soviet Union
output	Victory of the Soviet Union

Parties to the conflict
German Empire Romania Italy Croatia Hungary	Soviet Union
Commander
Erich von Manstein	Konstantin Rokossowski Ivan Konew
Troop strength
1,250,000 men 12,600 guns 2,100 tanks 2,000 aircraft	2,650,000 men 51,200 guns 2,400 tanks 2,850 aircraft
losses
about 500,000 men	1,213,000 men (of which around 283,000 were killed) 4,050 tanks and 824 guns

The Battle of the Dnepr ( Russian Битва за Днепр ) took place between units of the Wehrmacht and the Red Army in Germany's war against the Soviet Union 1941–1945 from August 26 to December 20, 1943, it formed the continuation of the Soviet summer offensive after the failure of the Citadel Company , the last major German offensive in the east. The Battle of the Dnieper was one of the rare examples of crossing a great river with strong enemy resistance. The months of operations reached their climax on November 6, 1943 with the Soviet liberation of Kiev .

Starting position

Eastern Front July 17 to December 1, 1943

After the looming defeat in the Battle of Kursk (Operation Citadel) in mid-July and the subsequent counter offensives of the Red Army , the Wehrmacht High Command planned to build a strong defense line from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea . In front of the two northern army groups, this "east wall" propagated by Hitler was supposed to run along the Narva - Pskov - Vitebsk - Gomel line to the Dnieper in the Kiev area and stop the further advance of the Soviet western front .

After Kharkov was liberated by the Red Army on August 23, 1943 , three Soviet fronts opened another offensive. The 4th Panzer Army and the 8th Army formed the north wing of Army Group South, which was attacked during the Chernigov-Poltava operation. The Army Group South under Field Marshal Erich von Manstein was supposed to stop the Soviet advance to the Dnieper. His army group numbered 1.2 million soldiers, 12,600 guns, 2,100 tanks and 2,100 aircraft. It faced five Soviet fronts ( Central Front under Rokossovsky , Voronezh Front under Watutin , Steppe Front under Konev , Southwest Front under Malinovsky , South Front under Tolbuchin ) with a total strength of 2.6 million soldiers, 51,200 artillery pieces, 2,400 tanks and 2,850 aircraft.

First phase

Operations in the Donets Basin (August 16 to September 22)

→ Main article : Donets Basin operation

A unit of the Red Army crossing a river

On August 16, the Soviet South and Southwest Fronts attacked the German 6th Army and the 1st Panzer Army . The two German armies formed the southern wing of Army Group South. When the preparations were completed, the two Soviet fronts had about 1 million soldiers, 21,000 artillery pieces and grenade launchers, and 1,257 tanks at their disposal. The first attacks against the 1st Panzer Army were not very successful. The southern front attacking a little later achieved a breakthrough in the area of ​​the 6th Army near Kuibyshevo . Through the gap at Kuibyshevo, Soviet units in the rear of the German units penetrated as far as the Sea of ​​Azov and briefly managed the German XXIX. Cut off army corps . After heavy fighting, however, the German units were able to free themselves from the pocket and withdraw. With the German units it became noticeable that several tank divisions had been withdrawn after successfully defending against the Mius offensive . This was not least due to the heavy fighting in Italy . The 6th Army had only a few operational tanks left - in contrast to the Soviet units, which were supported by 800 tanks. Even the addition of some armored units could no longer stabilize the situation of the German troops. General von Manstein approved the 6th Army to withdraw and take up new positions near Donetsk (then Stalino ). But these positions also fell within a few days. This had negative effects on the 1st Panzer Army operating further north; she had to go back now too. The Soviet units followed suit with force and pushed the Wehrmacht towards the Dnepr . Further advances by the Red Army tore a new gap between the two German armies, through which fast units later advanced further in depth. As on the other front sections of the Army Group, it became evident that the German soldiers were exhausted and that the Red Army was difficult to stop. The Red Army had lost 273,522 soldiers and 886 tanks and assault guns in these attacks .

Chernigov-Poltava operation (August 26th to September 30th)

Soldiers of the Greater Germany Division near Poltava (Sept. 1943)

The Central Front under Army General Rokossovsky attacked on August 26 at the interface with Army Group Center, while Colonel General Konev's steppe front attacked the 8th Army (formerly Kempf Army Division) further south . The German 4th Panzer Army was attacked through the Voronezh Front. The three Soviet fronts had 1,581,300 men, which were faced with about 350,000 soldiers on the German side. The latter, however, were in a strong defensive position. The Soviet 60th Army (General Tschernjachowski ) managed to break into the German defense lines south of Sevsk within the next few days. Only after the main forces of the front , the 9th Panzer Corps and the 13th Army (General Puchow ) had been transferred there under strict secrecy, was it possible to expand this penetration to 100 kilometers wide and 60 kilometers deep by August 31 to force the German 2nd Army (Colonel General Weiss ) to retreat.

In the course of this operation, the Red Army captured a number of major cities such as Sumy (September 2), Chernigov (September 21) and Poltava (September 23), reached the Dnieper and built a series of bridgeheads on its left bank. As a result of the two Soviet operations, the Wehrmacht began planning a complete retreat behind the Dnepr. The Red Army bought its victory with extremely high losses: it lost 427,952 men during the Chernigov-Poltava operation.

German retreat behind the Dnepr

On September 8, Hitler appeared at the headquarters of Field Marshal von Manstein in Zaporozhye , and Field Marshal von Kleist , the commander of Army Group A and Colonel General Ruoff were also present at the briefing . In order to obtain reserves, the abandonment of the Kuban bridgehead was finally allowed by the 17th Army . In addition, the withdrawal of the 6th Army to the panther position was approved. However, Hitler insisted on maintaining an eastern bridgehead at Nikopol and Zaporozhye in order to be able to recapture the economically important Donets basin from this position .

On September 15, Army Group South finally began the necessary retreat on the western bank of the Dnieper. Within a very short time, 15 general commands with 63 divisions and all the equipment had to be brought to the other bank of the Dnepr on just six bridges and then fanned out again on a new front, 700 kilometers wide. In addition to around 1 million soldiers, around 200,000 wounded and just as many civilians were smuggled through, plus 153,000 horses and 270,000 sheep. The 4th Panzer Army deployed on the left wing went with the VII. And XIII. Army corps returned to the left bank through Kiev under enemy pressure. The 8th Army retreated across the bridges at Cherkassy and Kremenchug , and the XXIV Panzer Corps deployed on the left crossed its units at Kanew . The bulk of the 1st Panzer Army, retreating behind the great bend of the Dnieper, managed to cross over to the western bank in time at Zaporozhe and Dnepropetrovsk . The pursuing troops on the south-western front under General Malinowski reached the Dnieper on September 22nd. Soviet vanguard already threatened Dnepropetrovsk, but were thrown back in time by a German counterattack. The crossing points for the 6th Army were assigned at Cherson and Nikopol. The German front was restored and there was a temporary stabilization on the south wing of Army Group South. In the south, the 6th Army was ordered to hold an eastern bridgehead with the IV. Army Corps at Nikopol, the XXIX. and XXXXIV. Army corps should try to maintain the so-called "Wotan" position in the area east of Melitopol to the Sea of ​​Azov.

Second phase

At the end of September there was a crisis on the north wing of Army Group South, and the main pressure of the Soviet offensive was particularly on the 4th Panzer Army under Colonel General Hoth . A critical situation also arose for the Wehrmacht when Soviet units on the south wing of Army Group Center forced the Gomel area , crossed the Desna section near Chernigov in the area of ​​the 2nd Army and advanced towards the Dnepr. Further breakthroughs in the area of ​​the 4th Panzer Army split the German front there. Counterattacks by the LVI withdrawn from the Kirov area . Panzer Corps with the 8th Panzer Division prevented the Soviet breakthrough here. In order to close the gap to the Pripyat region , the LIX. Army corps and this area was also transferred to the 4th Panzer Army for the purpose of uniform leadership. Together with the Soviet operation in Tauria (Nogai Steppe), the entire Army Group South was in danger. To facilitate the conduct of operations on the lower Dnieper, the 6th Army, however, was in the command area of Army Group A transferred.

Soviet airborne company near Bukrin

Army General Watutin , Commander in Chief of the Voronezh Front (renamed 1st Ukrainian Front on October 20) wanted to liberate Kiev right from the start and decided to build bridgeheads across the Dnieper north of Kiev and near Kanev , from which the attack should then take place. On the morning of September 22nd, the 3rd Armored Guard Army (General Rybalko ) and the 51st Armored Guard Brigade erected a first bridgehead on the other bank of the river northwest of Kanew between the villages of Grigorowka and Sarubenzy . On September 24th, the 1st, 3rd and 5th Airborne Brigades were deployed in the rear of the German 112th Infantry Division in the Dnieper bend in Bukrin . These troops numbered a total of about 8,000 men and had 24 45 mm guns, 180 50 mm or 82 mm mortars and 540 machine guns. 180 Lissunow Li-2 transport aircraft , 35 cargo gliders and 10 tow planes were available to them. But the fire of the German anti-aircraft artillery and bad weather made the company fail. Many Red Army soldiers landed directly in German positions or in the river. Only the commander of the 5th Brigade, PM Sidorschuk, succeeded in gathering landed units, establishing contact with the leadership and forming small nests of resistance on the other side of the river, which could only be reinforced by landings across the river from September 26th. This in turn was immediately contained by the onset of counter attacks by the 20th Panzer Grenadier and 19th Panzer Divisions .

Formation of the bridgehead at Lyutesch

In the second phase of the Dnepr offensive, the Red Army pursued the goal of expanding the captured bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnieper. The combat operations referred to in Soviet military history as the Strategic Offensive on the Lower Dnepr lasted from September 26 to December 20, 1943. By the end of September, the Voronezh Front had also in the area north of Kiev near Lyutesch and Chernigov against the German XIII. Army Corps of the 4th Panzer Army can form several bridgeheads through the 13th, 60th and 38th Armies . The 3rd Armored Guard Army was pulled over here from the Bukrin bridgehead by mid-October to take part in the planned attack on Kiev , where the German VII Army Corps was defending.

Battle for the Bukrin bridgehead

On September 29th, Kremenchug was liberated by troops of the 5th Guards Army (Lieutenant General Schadow) in the area of ​​the German 8th Army . A new offensive began on October 12th. The Soviet 40th Army again encountered stubborn resistance in the Bukrin bridgehead. In order to stop the breakthrough of the Soviet troops, the XXIV Panzer Corps (General Nehring ) was immediately deployed to counter attacks. The 47th Rifle Corps (Major General SP Merkulow), together with the units of the 27th Army and parts of the 3rd Guards Armored Army, were able to expand the bases to 5 to 8 kilometers and occupy the village of Chodorow. The 52nd Rifle Corps (Major General FI Perkhorovich) achieved even less success at the Shchukhin crossing point. His offensive was stopped by strong fire and counterattacks by the German troops after a small gain in terrain. The Soviet 47th Army, which attacked in the Studenetski bridgehead, failed to break the German resistance and connect with units of the 27th Army. After months of fighting, the small bridgeheads could not be united and secured until November 13th.

Fight for Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye

The expected offensive of the steppe front (renamed 2nd Ukrainian Front under Colonel General Konjew on October 20th ) against the section of the German 1st Panzer Army broke out on October 15th, the defense of XXX. Army Corps ( 46th , 257th , 387th and 304th Infantry Divisions ) collapsed. On October 25th, Dnepropetrovsk was liberated. At the beginning of November the new front of the XXX was consolidated. Army corps between Alexandrowka and the Dnepr near Augustinovka. Further Soviet attempts to liberate the ore area of Krivoy Rog , which was important for the war effort , failed because the German resistance was re-established. In the eastern Dnepr bend, the German XXXX. Panzer Corps together with the XVII. Army Corps ( 123rd , 125th and 335th Infantry Divisions ) the city of Zaporozhye opposite the Southwest Front under General Malinovsky until October 14th, then the city was liberated by the 3rd and 8th Guard Army (General Tschuikow ).

Battle on the Lower Dnieper

In the Melitopol operation , which was running at the same time on the southern section , the Soviet southern front (Army General Tolbuchin ) managed to break through the Wotan position on October 23, penetrate the Nogai steppe with the 2nd Guard Army and, together with the 51st Army, penetrate the Isthmus of Perekop ( Armyansk) cut off. As a result, the connection between the German 6th and 17th armies was lost, and strong German and Romanian forces were completely cut off on the Crimean peninsula . The Soviet 44th Army blocked the the Dnepr Line to Kherson holding XLIV. Army Corps .

Opposite the 5th Shock Army and 3rd Guard Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front , the German 6th Army stayed in the eastern Dnieper bridgehead of Nikopol until the end of January 1944 . On the eastern bank of the Dnepr, in addition to the 13th and 17th Panzer Divisions, the IV. And XXIX. Army Corps with the 3rd Mountain Division , the 5th Air Force , the 101st Jäger- and the 9th , 17th , 79th , 258th , 302nd and 335th Infantry Divisions .

Kiev offensive

Soviet troops march through the ruins on Khreshchatyk Boulevard in downtown Kiev, after the city was retaken, Nov. 1943

The subsequent Kiev Strategic Offensive (November 3-13, 1943), as a result of which the Ukrainian capital Kiev was wrested from the German 4th Panzer Army on November 6th by the 3rd Armored Guard and 38th Army, brought the Red Army heavy losses. However, the 1st Ukrainian Front under Army General Watutin subsequently succeeded in maintaining the city and considerably increasing the land gained there on the western bank of the Dnepr. A counter-attack of the XXXXVIII organized from November 13th by Field Marshal Manstein . Panzer corps from the Zhitomir area with the aim of retaking the city for the German Reich failed.

The operations to expand the Dnieper bridgeheads brought the Red Army great successes, but again very high losses. The Red Army lost 754,392 soldiers, which accounted for over half of the total Soviet losses during the fighting on the Dnieper.

Losses and consequences

By the beginning of November 1943, the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Front managed to establish themselves on the western bank of the Dnepr, 450 kilometers wide and up to 100 kilometers deep. The Red Army suffered very high losses in the fighting: 1.213 million soldiers (283,000 dead), 4,050 tanks and 824 aircraft. It attacked on the 800 km wide front and advanced 300 kilometers to the west.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ David M. Glantz, When Titans Clashed. Lawrence, University of Kansas Press 1995, p. 171.
2. ^ Christian Zentner : The Second World War, Unipart Verlag, Stuttgart 1986, p. 256.
3. ^ Christian Zentner: The Second World War, Unipart Verlag, Stuttgart 1986, p. 257.
4. ↑ David M. Glantz, When Titans Clashed. Lawrence, University of Kansas Press 1995, p. 175.
5. ↑ Numbers from GFKrivosheev; Soviet Casualities and Combat Losses in the Twentieth Century ; Greenhill Books London 1997; ISBN 1-85367-280-7 .
6. ↑ http://wwii-soldat.narod.ru/OPER/ARTICLES/023-ukraine-002.htm

literature

• GF Krivošeev (ed.), Rossija i SSSR v vojnach XX veka. Poteri vooružennych sil. Statističeskoe issledovanie . ( Memento of December 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (Russia and the USSR in the wars of the 20th century. Losses of the armed forces. Statistical study.) Olma-Press, Moscow 2001, ISBN 5-224-01515-4 , ISBN 978 -5-224-01515-3 .
• Carl Wagener : Army Group South , Podzun Verlag, Bad Nauheim 1972.
• Paul Klatt : The 3rd Mountain Division 1939-1945 . Podzun, Bad Nauheim 1958.

Web links

Commons : Battle of the Dnieper  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Dnepr crossing (Russian)
• Kiev Operation (Russian)