Operation monkey cage

This article was registered for improvement due to deficiencies in the quality assurance of the military portal . This is done to bring the quality to an acceptable level. Please help improve this article! Articles that are not significantly improved can be deleted if necessary. Please help to correct the deficiencies in the content of this article and participate in the discussion .

Operation Affenkäfig was an action against Soviet partisans by the 12th Panzer Division near Newel . The action took place between November 11th and 14th, 1942.

execution

From November 11 to 14, 1942, the 12th Panzer Division carried out an operation against partisans who were active in large numbers in the Newel area on the orders of the 11th Army High Command (AOK 11) . Under the name of the monkey cage , the division formed a cauldron around the area of operation and narrowed it until it was completely dissolved. The AOK had demanded the strictest crackdown. Due to the lack of experience in fighting insurgency, the division achieved little.

consequences

The division's closing report contains the following report:

Own losses: Favor: 4 from the teams; wounded: 2 officers, 23 NCOs and men
Partisans killed: 132; Women and children as relatives: 61; Deported civilian prisoners (aged 16-50): 87; destroyed villages: 56; partially destroyed villages: 5
Prey:
- Livestock: 590 cattle, 510 sheep, 37 pigs, 123 horses
- Other food: 8 tons of grain, 25 tons of potatoes, 0.5 tons of field peas
- Weapons (destroyed in bulk): 3 guns with 5 rounds of ammunition, 2 anti-aircraft guns , 2 anti-tank guns with 60 rounds of ammunition, 32 rifles , 4 grenade launchers with 100 rounds of ammunition, 12 mines , 3 heavy machine guns , 1 light machine gun , 6 boxes of explosive ammunition

For this company, several members of the division were sentenced to terms of up to 25 years in Russian camp imprisonment in 1945 .

literature

Gerd Niepold: 12th PD: The history of the 12th Panzer Division - 2nd Infantry Division (motorized) 1921–45. Gerd Niepold, self-published, Koblenz 1988.

Individual evidence

^ " Ia , Diary 3, Russia. Was journal partaining to the of the division on the northern front in the Lyuban area and to its transfer in Nov 1942 to the Roslavl area on the central front via Velikiye Luki, Nevel, and Gorodok. Also, data concerning Operation “Affenkäfig” (the destruction of partisan units in the Velikiye Luki area). The division was subordinate to AOK 18, I., XXVIII., L., XXVI., And XXX. AK, AOK 11, LIX. AK, H.Gr. Middle, AOK 9, XXXII. Pz.K., and the XXIII. AK at various times during this period. Apr 1 - Dec 31,1942 "
^ The history of the 12th Panzer Division - 2nd Infantry Division (motorized) 1921-45 - Gerd Niepold, self-published, Koblenz 1988, p. 57.

[1] " Ia , Diary 3, Russia. Was journal partaining to the of the division on the northern front in the Lyuban area and to its transfer in Nov 1942 to the Roslavl area on the central front via Velikiye Luki, Nevel, and Gorodok. Also, data concerning Operation “Affenkäfig” (the destruction of partisan units in the Velikiye Luki area). The division was subordinate to AOK 18, I., XXVIII., L., XXVI., And XXX. AK, AOK 11, LIX. AK, H.Gr. Middle, AOK 9, XXXII. Pz.K., and the XXIII. AK at various times during this period. Apr 1 - Dec 31,1942 "

[2] The history of the 12th Panzer Division - 2nd Infantry Division (motorized) 1921-45 - Gerd Niepold, self-published, Koblenz 1988, p. 57.