Kettle battle near Smolensk

Kettle battle near Smolensk

Part of: Second World War

German Scouting Troop of the 4th Army in a Village near Mogilev that Burns After Artillery Fire (July 16, 1941)

date	July 10. bis 10. September 1941
place	Smolensk , Soviet Union
output	German victory
consequences	Slowdown of the German advance

Parties to the conflict
German Empire	Soviet Union
Commander
Fedor von Bock Günther von Kluge Heinz Guderian Hermann Hoth	Andrei Iwanowitsch Jerjomenko Semyon Konstantinowitsch Tymoshenko
Troop strength
Army Group Middle Panzer Group 2 Panzer Group 3 9th Army 4th Army	Western Front 16th Army 19th Army 20th Army 22nd Army with 42 Divisions and 6 Mechanized Corps
losses
115,500 dead, missing and wounded	760,000 men 486,000 dead, missing, captured 274,000 wounded 1,348 tanks

The Kesselschlacht near Smolensk from July 10th to September 10th 1941 was a battle between the German Wehrmacht and the Red Army in World War II . It is named after the city of Smolensk on the Dnieper in western Russia close to Belarus .

In addition to the great Smolensk Kesselschlacht, which ended on August 5th, the large-scale operation also includes other German attacks and several Soviet counter-attacks:

• Battle of Mogilev (July 12-26, 1941)
• Battle of Bobruisk (July 13-17, 1941)
• Rogachev-Shlobin operation (July 13-24, 1941)
• Battle of Gomel (August 12-19, 1941)
• Duchovshchina offensive (August 8 - September 8, 1941)
• Yelnya Offensive (August 30 - September 8, 1941)
• Roslavl-Novosybkov Operation (August 30 - September 12, 1941)

background

After the defeat in the Kesselschlacht near Białystok and Minsk , in which three Soviet armies on the western front had been smashed, the Red Army built a new line of defense in the area around Smolensk with a total of 42 divisions in early July 1941 . Four armies previously in reserve, the 19th to the 22nd, were supposed to prevent the Central Army Group from crossing the rivers Dnepr and Western Dvina and the "land bridge" between Vitebsk , Orsha and Smolensk. The capital Moscow was only 400 kilometers away.

March

Colonel-General Andrei Ivanovich Jerjomenko assumed command of the western front on June 29 , after the previous front-line commander, Dmitri Grigoryevich Pavlov , had been dismissed for “failure”. On July 2nd, Marshal Semyon Konstantinovich Tymoshenko took over the front, to which the five reserve armies and the still forming 16th Army were subordinated on the same day . In addition, six previously unused Mechanized Corps with a total of more than 2000 tanks were subordinated to the Western Front to replace the previous losses, and the Stawka accelerated the mobilization and provision of further reserves. Five newly formed armies were deployed in the first season on a broad front between Idriza in the north and Rechitsa in the south.

Fights for access to the Dnepr-Dvina line in early July 1941

• The 22nd Army under Lieutenant General FA Yershakov was defending on the right flank of the Western Front , while the 19th Army under Lieutenant General IS Konev was protecting on its left flank .
• The 20th Army under Lieutenant General PA Kurotschkin , located in the main German attack area, tried to stop the attacks between Vitebsk and Orsha. To the south - still on the left bank of the Dnieper to Rogachev - the 13th Army operated under Lieutenant General Remezov .
• The troops of the 21st Army under Colonel General Kuznetsov stood on the south wing of the front between Rogachev and Rechitsa. Between the 13th and 21st Armies , the remnants of the 4th Army (Colonel Sandalow ), pursued by German troops from the Minsk pocket, withdrew.

In the second season of the front - the 16th Army (32nd and 44th Rifle Corps) was concentrated under Lieutenant General Mikhail F. Lukin to protect Smolensk . To support these armies, several mechanical corps were released from the reserve:

• 5th Mechanized Corps (13th and 17th Panzer Divisions and 109th Motorized Rifle Division) under Major General Alexsenko
• 7th Mechanized Corps (14th and 18th Panzer Divisions and 1st Motorized Rifle Division) under Major General Vinogradov
• 20th Mechanized Corps (26th and 38th Panzer Divisions and 210th Motorized Rifle Division) under Major General ND Wedenejew
• 23rd Mechanized Corps (48th and 51st Panzer Divisions and 220th Motorized Rifle Division) under Major General MA Myasnikov
• 25th Mechanized Corps (50th and 55th Panzer Divisions and 219th Motorized Rifle Division) under Major General Kriwoschein
• 27th Mechanized Corps (9th and 53rd Panzer Divisions and 221st Motorized Rifle Division) under Major General Petrov

Introductory fights

On the German side, General Field Marshal Günther von Kluge's Army High Command 4 took control of the two tank groups of Army Group Center on July 3 , in order to force the crossing over the river line with them, while the infantry divisions of the 9th and 2nd Army were still clearing the Minsk Kessel were employed.

On July 5th, the 3rd Panzer Division ( XXIV Army Corps (motorized) ) had reached the Dnieper near Rogachev , the 1st Cavalry Division was on the south wing of Panzer Group 2 east of Slutsk , the 4th Panzer Division was pushing it Dnepr near Stary Bychow . The 10th Panzer Division fought a further crossing over the Berezina at Berezino and the 10th Infantry Division (motorized) reached Bobruisk . Parts of the 17th Panzer Division were brought forward to Borissow , while the 18th Panzer Division reached the Natscha section.

Advance of a German Panzer IV

On July 4, Panzer Group 3 built a bridgehead on the east bank of the Daugava west of Vitebsk . On July 3, the 19th Panzer Division of the LVII crossed. Army Corps (mot.) The western Daugava near Disna . Parts of the XXXIX. Army corps (motorized) occupied Lepel , advance detachments reached the Ula sector and Beschenkowitschi . On July 6, a counter-attack by the Soviet 17th and 18th Panzer Divisions between Lepel and Senno was intercepted by the 7th Panzer Division , which was heavily supported by the German Air Force .

According to the instructions of General Field Marshal von Bock, General Heinz Guderian's Panzer Group 2 should carry out the main thrust on Smolensk along the road from Borissow via Orscha, while General Hermann Hoth's Panzer Group 3 should advance north via Polotsk (with a side thrust on Newel ) and Vitebsk. The armored spearheads of both groups were to meet at Yarzewo , 50 kilometers northeast of Smolensk, and thus - together with the advancing infantry - close the pocket around the defenders.

Comparison of forces

Smolensk Boiler Operations

The first phase of the Battle of Smolensk July 10 to August 5, 1941

German pincer attack

On July 10th, the German 4th Army ( GFM von Kluge) and the two tank groups opened the offensive towards Smolensk. After the intended annihilation of the Soviet forces in another cauldron battle, the German armored forces were to advance to a concentric attack on Moscow.

The tank group 3 under Colonel Hermann Hoth gave the space Witebsk northeast before, the tip of the after Demidov the next attack by the wedge was XXXIX. Army corps (mot.) Formed. To the north of Smolensk, the defense of the Soviet 19th Army (Major General Konjew) was breached and the 7th and 20th Panzer Divisions south of the Disna were ordered to advance to the Jarzewo area . Strong Soviet defensive positions were cleverly evaded.

Also on July 10th, Panzer Group 2 under Colonel General Heinz Guderian presented the southern attack wedge. The XXXXVII. Army Corps (mot.) (General Lemelsen ) fought with the 18th and 17th Panzer Divisions near Kopys south of Orsha to cross the Dnieper , followed by the IX. Army Corps after. This main thrust, aimed directly at the southern apron of Smolensk, was passed on the right by XXXXVI. Army Corps (mot.) (General Vietinghoff) accompanied, which hit Jelnja in the direction of attack. On July 15, the Soviets used their new missile artillery " M-8 Katyusha " for the first time near Rudnja .

Fight in the Smolensk area

Soldiers of the Soviet 20th Army fighting on the Dnieper bank west of Dorogobusch on September 1, 1941

German soldiers in the captured Soviet garrison from Smolensk in 1941

The 10th Panzer Division from General Vietinghoff's corps had arrived between Pochinok and Jelnja, the SS division “Das Reich” had moved to Mstislavl, the Infantry Regiment Greater Germany to Rekotka. At XXXXVII. Army Corps (motorized) the 18th Panzer Division reached the Katynka section between Gusino and Katyn . The 17th Panzer Division was regrouped from its flank protection task in the area south of Smolensk in order to get into the flank of the Soviet forces between Lyady and Dubrovno. The German 29th Infantry Division (motorized) (Lieutenant General Boltenstern) penetrated Smolensk from the south, the 18th Panzer Division approached the city from the southeast. Infantry Regiments 15 and 71 wrestled with units of the Soviet 16th Army. The German troops crossed the Dnieper in house-to-house warfare and by July 19 the northern part of the city was also conquered. On July 17, the Stawka commissioned Major General Rokossowski to organize the defense in the Jarzewo area against Panzer Group 3. The 7th Panzer Division reached in the Jarzewo area as the head of Hoth on the Ustje - Kresty line and closed the northern ring of the basin that was forming in the Smolensk area.

Battle for Mogilev

On July 7th, Lieutenant General Filatov was badly wounded and died after his evacuation on July 14th in a Moscow hospital. Lieutenant General FN Remezov was appointed as the new commander of the Soviet 13th Army. On July 5th, Major General FA Bakunin took over command of the Soviet 61st Rifle Corps in Orsha, three divisions covered the Dnieper section in the Mogilev area . The German XXIV Army Corps (mot.) Advanced in conjunction with the VII Army Corps of the 4th Army against the Dnieper section in the Mogilew area. The German XXXXVI started on July 12th. Motorized Army Corps from the eastern Dnieper bridgehead made the advance towards Gorki to the Pronja sector. On July 14, the advance detachment of the German 3rd Panzer Division bypassed Mogilev and took Tschaussy without resistance. On July 13, the Soviet 21st Army (General Kuznetsov) began to build a strong western Dnieper bridgehead near Shlobin . The 63rd Rifle Corps (General Leonidas G. Petrowski) carried out a dangerous attack against the southern flank of Panzer Group 2 in the Rogachev-Shlobin operation .

On July 17, the attack of the German VII Army Corps (General der Artillerie Fahrmbacher ) on Mogilew began. The 78th Infantry Division crossed the eastern bank of the Dnieper in the Borkolabowo area on July 20 and attacked the Soviet defense in the rear. Meanwhile, an offensive by the 21st Army (Colonel General Kuznetsov) began in the Bychow area with the aim of reaching the besieged troops in the Mogilev area. Generalfeldmarschall von Kluge was forced to join the VII Army Corps and parts of the XII. Use Army Corps . Mogilev was tightly gripped from the south, east, and northeast until July 23. The Soviet 13th Army with the 61st Rifle Corps and the 20th Mechanized Corps were completely cut off. While the German 78th Infantry Division held its own against attacking enemy groups on the east bank of the Dnieper, the intervention of the 15th Infantry Division , which was to attack along the Knjaschizy - Mogilev road, was awaited. The 23rd Infantry Division opened the attack from the southwest and the 7th Infantry Division from the northwest. After two days of fighting, Major General FA Bakunin ordered the garrison to break out to the east, which only the 20th Mechanized Corps (Major General ND Wedenejew) managed to do. Because of the abandonment of Mogilev, the previous commander of the 13th Army, Lieutenant General FN Remezow was replaced on July 26 by Major General KD Golubew .

Soviet counter-offensives

To protect the threatened capital Moscow, on July 18, on Stalin's orders, in addition to the already beleaguered "Reserve Front", the Army Group "Moscow Front" was formed under Lieutenant General Artemjew , which included four other armies - the 31st, 32nd, 33rd and 34th. - were assumed. These reserve troops were immediately used to expand the first Moscow protective position; 16 rifle divisions were concentrated near Moshaisk.

On July 21st, the Stawka set up five new Einsatzgruppen to support the Western Front to stop the German attack wedges. Concentrated counter-attacks were to be carried out in the direction of Smolensk. The direct command of the Einsatzgruppen was transferred to Lieutenant General Yeremenko , who had been in command of the Western Front again since July 19 .

• Einsatzgruppe Maslennikow (252nd, 256th and 243rd Rifle Divisions) was to attack in the direction of Velish .
• Operational group Chomenko (242nd, 251st and 250th rifle divisions and 50th and 53rd cavalry divisions) and group of Lieutenant General Kalinin (53rd rifle corps with 89th, 91st, 166th rifle divisions) - from the northeast.
• Task force of KK Rokossowski (2 rifle and 1 tank division) - from the east and against Jarzewo.
• Operative Group Kachalov (149th, 145th and 104th rifle Panzerdivision) - from the southeast of Roslavl forth.

From the operational group Katschalow the 28th Army was formed, which led the defense on the Desna . From the group Maslennikov was 29 Army , from the group Khomenko the 30th Army formed the group Kalinin was basis for the formation of the 24th Army . The second formation of the 16th Army was formed from the Einsatzgruppe Rokossowski . On the southern flank of the western front, the 21st Army (under General WF Gerasimenko from July 15 ) was tasked with preparing a counterattack at Bobruisk , while the 13th Army was forcing on the Sosh section at Propoisk .

End of the cauldron battle

Location between Vitebsk and Smolensk, mid-July 1941, the wrongly designated 4th Panzer Army is Panzer Group 2

The arrival of the V Army Corps (5th and 35th Infantry Divisions) and the VIII Army Corps (8th and 28th Infantry Divisions) relieved the weak basin front in the west of Smolensk. The 137th Infantry Division made contact with the 29th Motorized Infantry Division , which was still fighting in Smolensk. From July 23, the 5th Army Corps (General Ruoff ) of the 9th Army intervened in the fighting from the west and narrowed the boiler front there. Before the infantry divisions of the German IX. Army Corps (General Geyer ) had moved up, the situation of the breached armored units in the Jelnja area was still critical. The 268th Infantry Division reinforced XXXXVI, which was under Soviet counterattacks. Army corps (mot.) In the Jelnja area.

From July 24 to August 5, 1941, over 300,000 Red Army soldiers with 3,000 tanks were trapped in the Smolensk pocket; the Soviet troops made violent attempts to break out. At times they succeeded in breaking open the pocket and relocating numerous troops, but the majority of the Soviet 16th, 19th and 20th armies were taken prisoner by Germany . The now vacant German V and VIII Army Corps were relocated to the new eastern front at Duchowschtschina and Jarzewo.

Second phase of operation by the beginning of September

German offensive on Roslavl, Rogachev and Gomel

After the width of the western front had expanded to several hundred kilometers, the southern section was independently reorganized as the central front from July 24th . Colonel-General Kuznetsov (from August 7th General Yefremov ) was appointed commander-in-chief of the new front , the high command of the front was established in the Gomel area, the staff was taken over by the disbanded 4th Army, and Major General Sandalov acted as chief of staff of the front. The Central Front was initially subject to the 13th Army and the 21st Army, and from August 1st the newly established 3rd Army joined them. After the 28th Army was crushed in the Roslavl area by August 5, it was disbanded on August 10. On August 16, the new Brjansk Front was established on the northern wing of the Central Front , to which the 13th Army, the 3rd and 50th Army were also subordinated. As early as August 24th, the central front was disbanded and its troops were transferred to the Brjansk Front. The 3rd and 21st Armies were combined because of their losses. Lieutenant General Jerjomenko had received the supreme command of the Brjansk Front because of better coordination with the Western Front (now again under the leadership of Tymoshenko) .

The subordination of Panzer Group 2 under the command of the 4th Army was canceled by the OKW . The Panzer Group, now temporarily referred to as the Guderian Army Group, provided the VII Army Corps with the 7th, 23rd, 78th and 197th Infantry Divisions for the attack on Roslavl . The XXIV Motorized Army Corps , with the 7th Infantry and 10th Motorized Infantry Division, took over the protection of the deep right flank against the Soviet 21st Army, which was concentrated in the Klimovichi - Miloslawitsohi area. The German 292nd Infantry Division of the IX. Army corps encompassed the city to the west and the 137th Infantry Division secured against the Desna sector with the front to the east. As a result, Roslavl fell into the hands of the 4th Panzer Division and the VII Army Corps on August 3rd .

On August 12, the offensive of the German XII began. and XIII. Army Corps (7 infantry divisions) of the 2nd Army in the direction of Gomel , where the Soviet 21st Army (Major General WN Gordow) was defending. The attempt by the Soviet 67th Rifle Corps on August 13 to initiate a counterattack against the German 167th Infantry Division at Retschitza failed. The Soviet 117th, 187th Rifle Divisions and 219th Motorized Divisions were pushed back across the Sosch River . the commander of the 67th Rifle Corps, Major General Galitzki, was seriously wounded. As a result of the German attacks from the north and west, 5 Soviet divisions (from the 63rd Rifle Corps the 61st and 154th Rifle Divisions, from the 67th Rifle Corps the 102nd, 151st and 167th Rifle Divisions) in the east of Shlobin by the 15th. August completely surrounded and by the divisions of the German XXXXIII., XII. and LIII. Army corps blocked. Only the 154th Rifle Division (Major General SJ Fokanow) managed to escape from the encirclement by fighting for the breakout in the Gubitschi area.

Battle of Shlobin 1941

In order to bypass Gomel in a row in the east, the 1st Cavalry Division began on August 17th to cross the river Sosh at Wetka. The following day, the 266th and 277th Rifle Divisions arrived in the combat area to reinforce the newly formed Soviet Central Front. On August 19, the German 17th , 131st and 267th Infantry Divisions approached the city, and the crossing of the Sosch was completed south of Gomel. The XXIV Motorized Army Corps advancing in the Krichev area , with the 3rd Panzer Division, succeeded in capturing the Mglin transport hub (August 16) and Unetscha (August 17). Successively the occupation of Shlobin , Rogachev and Gomel succeeded, with the Panzer Group 2 and the 2nd Army 78,000 prisoners as well as 144 tanks and more than 700 guns brought in or captured.

The High Command of the Wehrmacht changed its strategic goals according to Hitler's will and according to the new location on the northern wing of Army Group South . Not Moscow, but the Ukrainian industrial areas on the Donbass should be taken first. The troops west of Moscow were to go into defense for the time being, while a new cauldron battle was to be prepared in the Kiev area to encompass the Soviet south-western front. Colonel-General Guderian was ordered to the headquarters in Rastenburg for August 23rd , contrary to his concerns, he was ordered to release his three tank corps from the fighting east of Smolensk and to turn south.

Soviet counterattacks at Duchovshchina and Jelnya

From August 8th there were new counter-attacks by the Soviet 19th and 30th armies in the Duchowschtschina area in the section of the German 9th Army. The attacked V and VIII Army Corps (Colonel General Heitz ) experienced a crisis from August 17th. A break-in at the front of the 161st Infantry Division could not be mastered until the end of August when the 87th Infantry Division called in.

As part of the large-scale Smolensk operations, Marshal Tymoshenko ordered new major offensives for the reconquest of Smolensk for September 1, after the reserve armies had been fully deployed and several large units had been re-formed. In addition to the attack in the direction of Dukhovshchina by the newly formed Soviet 16th and 20th Armies since August 18, another focus was set on the Yelnya front arc:

• 30th Army (250th, 242nd, 251st, 162nd and 134th Rifle Division and 107th Motorized Division) - attack in the Demidow area
• 19th Army (244th, 166th, 91st, 89th, 50th and 64th Rifle Divisions and 45th Cavalry Divisions)
• 16th Army (152nd, 38th and 108th Rifle, 1st and 18th Motorized Divisions)
• 20th Army (144th, 73rd, 229th, 153rd, 161st and 129th Rifle Divisions)
• 24th Army (19th, 100th, 106th, 107th, 120th, 303rd and 309th Rifle Division and 103rd Motorized Division) - flank attacks on both sides of Jelnja
• 43rd Army (53rd, 149th, 211th and 222nd Rifle Divisions) - advance towards Roslavl

The Yelnya offensive took place from August 30th to September 9th and became very important as the first successful Soviet counter-offensive of the war. The Soviet 24th Army (Lieutenant General Rakutin ) succeeded by the German IX. and XX. Army corps (General Materna ) with the front arch now occupied by the 7th , 15th , 78th , 268th and 282nd Infantry Divisions to recapture Jelnja by flanking attacks. For the first time, the Red Army units deployed were awarded the new “ Guard ” title.

consequences

This battle, like the Kessel battle near Białystok and Minsk, was a great operational success for the Wehrmacht. Once again the Red Army suffered heavy losses; Hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers could be captured, and numerous military equipment destroyed or captured. The Kesselschlacht had also caused great losses on the German side. In addition, the Red Army had managed to hold off the German advance for two months. This created a significant delay and the German Blitzkrieg conception suffered a setback. This gave the Red Army much-needed time and opportunity to prepare to defend Moscow.

In the Smolensk Operation, the Red Army had 760,000 men lost from July 10 to September 10, 1941 (including around 486,000 dead, missing and prisoners and 274,000 wounded).

During the Kesselschlacht near Smolensk, the Wehrmacht captured almost the entire archive of the local Soviet administrative authorities, including the NKVD, from 1917 to 1939. The disordered files were completely transported to the German Reich. There they fell into the hands of US troops in 1945 and were taken to the USA. It was only in America that the documents were evaluated and for the first time gave an unfiltered view of the living conditions in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s.

literature

• Collective of authors: History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. Vol. 2, German Military Publishing House, Berlin 1963.
• David M. Glantz : Barbarossa Derailed: The Battle for Smolensk 10 July – 10 September 1941.
  • Volume 1: The German Advance, The Encirclement Battle, and the First and Second Soviet Counteroffensives, July 10– August 24, 1941. Helion & Company, 2010, ISBN 978-1-906033-72-9 .
  • Volume 2: The German Offensives on the Flanks and the Third Soviet Counteroffensive, August 25 – September 10, 1941. Helion & Company, 2012, ISBN 978-1-906033-90-3 .
• Ernst Klink : Army and Navy. In: Horst Boog, Jürgen Förster, Joachim Hoffmann , Ernst Klink, Rolf-Dieter Müller , Gerd R. Ueberschär : The attack on the Soviet Union (= Military History Research Office [ed.]: The German Reich and the Second World War . Volume 4 ). 2nd Edition. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-421-06098-3 , pp. 451–651 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
• И. Б. Мощанский : У стен Смоленска, Издательский дом Вече, 2011
• А.И. Ерёменко: В начале войны. Нaука, Москва 1965. (German: AI Jerjomenko: At the beginning of the war )
• Григорий Ф. Кривошеев : Россия и СССР в войнах ХХ века. Олма-Пресс, Москва 2001. (German: GF Krivošeev: Russia and the USSR in the wars of the 20th century. ) ( Lib.ru )
• Kenneth Macksay: The Smolensk Operation, 7 July - 7 August 1941. In: David M. Glantz (Ed.): The Initial Period of War on the Eastern Front. Frank Cass Pbl., London 1993, ISBN 0-7146-3375-5 , pp. 345-397.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ David M. Glantz : Barbarossa Derailed. The Battle for Smolensk July 10-10 September 1941 . Helion & Company 2010, Volume 1.
2. ↑ Glantz: Barbarossa Derailed .
3. ↑ David M. Glantz: Barbarossa Derailed: The Battle for Smolensk 10 July-10 September 1941 . tape 1 . Helion & Company, 2010, ISBN 978-1-906033-72-9 , pp. 46-51 .
4. ↑ Sandalow led the army as chief of staff. Army commander Alexander A. Korobkow had been recalled shortly before and was sentenced to death and shot a little later. Konstantin K. Rokossowski was supposed to take over the army, but was instead appointed commander in chief of the 16th Army.
5. ↑ Horst Boog, Jürgen Förster, Joachim Hoffmann, Ernst Klink, Rolf-Dieter Müller, Gerd R. Ueberschär: The attack on the Soviet Union . Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-421-06098-3 , pp. 454 .
6. ↑ Г.Ф.Кривошеев: Россия и СССР в войнах XX века: Потери вооруженных сил. Москва, 2001. ( Смоленское сражение , accessed December 12, 2011.)
7. ↑ Merle Fainsod: Smolensk under Soviet Rule. Harvard University Press, 1958, ISBN 978-0-674-81105-8 .
8. ↑ When looking at Soviet sources, with the exception of samizdat and tamizdat literature that was published up to 1987, the activities of the Soviet censorship authorities ( Glawlit , military censorship) must be taken into account when revising various contents in line with Soviet ideology. (→ censorship in the Soviet Union )