Operation Zvezda

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Operation Zvezda; Thrusts of the participating Soviet armies between February 10 and 14, 1943

Operation Zvezda ( Russian Звезда , translated Operation Stern ) was an offensive operation by the Red Army during World War II on the Eastern Front , which began on February 2, 1943. The offensive was part of the Voronezh-Kharkiv operation carried out by the Voronezh Front under the command of Filipp Golikov . The 40th Army , 69th Army and 3rd Panzer Army were involved in the operation .

Planning

After the completion of Operation Ostrogoshsk-Rossosh , the troops of the Voronezh Front began preparations for the offensive to Kharkov. The aim was to pursue the retreat of the German Army Group B (15 infantry and tank divisions of the 2nd Army and Cramer Group , later Army Division Lanz) to the west and to liberate the Kharkov industrial area.

On January 23, Stalin approved the plan of attack submitted by Stavka for the Voronezh Front; Operation Zvezda was to begin on January 28. After the elimination of the German Rossosher group, the Soviet troops reached the Novy Oskol - Valujki - Pokrovskoye line on January 25th . After the completion of the Voronezh-Kastornoye operation , the right wing of the Voronezh Front (the 60th and 40th Armies ) had to be ready to take part in the offensive from January 30th. The troops of 38th and 60th Armies were supposed to shield the northern flank of the operation by attacking Kursk . The main strike was to be carried out over the Oskol section in the direction of Belgorod and Kharkov, according to expectations the attack formations should have reached the north-western outskirts of Kharkov on the 9th and 10th day of the attack. The independently operating 18th Rifle Corps under Major General PM Sykow was supposed to advance via Wolokonowka to Volchansk and support the main thrust on Kharkov. The mobile group of the right wing of the Voronezh Front, the 4th Panzer Corps under General AG Kravchenko, was to advance with three tank and three ski brigades from the Stary Oskol area via Bobrovo-Dvorskoye to Belgorod and then towards the northwest and western outskirts of Swing in Kharkov.

The depth of the advance for Operation Zvezda was set at 210 to 240 km, with the troops reaching the line from Rakitnoye, Graivoron , Bogoduchow , Lyubotin and Merefa . For the first phase it was planned to penetrate the German defense along the Stary Oskol-Walujki railway line with the 40th Army and to reach the Belgorod, Volchansk, Pechenegi line to the Seversky Donets . For the second phase it was planned to deploy the 3rd Panzer Army from the south, the 40th Army and the 69th Army brought in from the Stawka Reserve from the northeast and north to conquer Kharkov. The 3rd Panzer Army under Colonel-General Pawel Rybalko included the 12th and 15th Panzer Corps as well as several rifle divisions with a total of 57,600 men, 1,223 artillery pieces and 588 mortars, plus 223 tanks. The army was instructed to go on the offensive from the Kosinki and Kupjansk area and, in cooperation with the right neighbor (independent 18th Rifle Corps and 40th Army), to take control of Kharkov on the 5th and 6th day of the attack at the latest.

Pavel Rybalko, commander of the Soviet 3rd Panzer Army

The main strike of the 3rd Panzer Army was to be carried out on the left flank in the direction of Chugeev with control of the accesses to Lyubotin and Valka. In the first squadron of Rybalko's armored forces there were four rifle divisions (48th, 62nd Guards, 160th and 111th and 37th Rifle Brigade). The second squadron included the 12th and 15th Panzer Corps, the 6th Guards Cavalry Corps and the 179th and 201st Tank Brigades. The commandant's reserve also included the 184th Rifle Division and the 1245th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment. On the southern flank, the 6th Guards Cavalry Corps under Major General SW Sokolov had to cover the advance by advances in the direction of Urazowo, Dwurechnaja, Shevchenko, Andreevka, Alexsejewskoje and Bespalowka. The 111th Rifle Division was entrusted with the task of going on the offensive from the Tscherwona Valley in the direction of Smorodkowka, Arkadjewka, reaching the Gusinka - Smorodkowka line by the end of the first day of operation and communicating with the 350th Rifle Division of the 6th on the left 3rd Army (Major General FM Charitonov ) and at the same time to cover the 3rd Panzer Army from German counter-attacks from the south and southwest. The 6th Guards Cavalry Corps was to set up a spacious enclosure from the south in order to connect with the 40th Army, block the German withdrawal routes and prevent the approach of the enemy reserves. The rifle divisions assigned to General Rybalko's army were supposed to precede, but could not be assembled until January 29-31. General Rybalko then turned to his Commander-in-Chief to postpone the start of the offensive to February 2nd, a request granted by General Golikov.

The Red Army had around 346,000 soldiers in Operation Zvezda, and the German defense in the Kharkov area had around 90,000 soldiers at the beginning of the fighting. The arrival of new troops enabled the German high command to close the gap between Army Group B ( von Weichs ) and Army Group Don ( von Manstein ) created by the Voronezh-Kastornoje and Ostrogosch-Rossosch operations. The Lanz Corps Division was set up between Belgorod and Lisichansk at the end of January in order to initially cover the flanks of the army groups with two divisions. The defense of the Lanz Corps Department had the task of holding out until the II SS Corps arrived in the Kharkov area. In order to close the front gap north of Kharkov, the 168th Infantry Division was transferred to Army Group B, and the Greater Germany Division northeast of Kharkov and the 298th Infantry Division took positions in the southeast of the city as far as Kupyansk . The II. SS Corps brought up from France with the three divisions - "Leibstandarte", "Reich" and "Totenkopf" was led by General Paul Hausser and was supposed to start counter-attacks in the Kharkov area. The 320th Infantry Division under Major General Postel also arrived there from the west.

Wehrmacht

Lanz Army Department , General of the Mountain Troops Hubert Lanz

II. SS Corps , SS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser

Red Army

40th Army , Lieutenant General Kirill Semjonowitsch Moskalenko

4th Panzer Corps, Major General Andrei Grigoryevich Kravchenko

  • 21st Guards Tank Brigade, Colonel Kuzma Ivanovich Ovscharenko
  • 6th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade, Colonel Alexander Michailowitsch Schekal
  • 192nd Panzer Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Pyotr F. Shevchenko
  • 116th Tank Brigade, Colonel Vadim Gavrilowitsch Romanov
  • 8th Artillery Division, Colonel Pyotr Mikhailovich Roschanovich
  • 2nd light artillery brigade,
  • 12th and 28th Howitzer Artillery Brigade
  • 15th Guards Mortar Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Pyotr Ivanovich Frantschenko
  • 107th Rifle Division, Major General Pyotr Maximovich Beschko
  • 100th Rifle Division, Major General Franz Josifowitsch Perchorowitsch

18th Rifle Corps, Major General Pyotr Maxsimowitsch Sykow

  • 183rd Rifle Division, Colonel Alexander Stepanowitsch Kostitzyn
  • 340th Rifle Division, Major General Sarkis Sogomonowitsch Martirosjan
  • 309th Rifle Division, Major General Mikhail Ivanovich Menshikov
  • 25th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Pavel Mendeljewitsch Schafarenko
  • 305th Rifle Division, Colonel Alexander Fyodorowitsch Wasiljew

69th Army , Lieutenant General Mikhail Ilyich Kazakov

  • 180th Rifle Division, Colonel Isaak Jakowlewitsch Maloschizki
  • 303rd Rifle Division, Major General Ivan Ivanovich Ladjigin
  • 161st Rifle Division, Major General Pyotr Vakulowitsch Tertyschni
  • 270th Rifle Division, Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Dmitrievich Polyatkov
  • 173rd Rifle Division, Lieutenant General Vasily Alexandrowitsch Mishulin

48th Rifle Corps, Major General Zinovy ​​Sakharovich Rogosnij

  • 375th Rifle Division, Colonel Pyotr D. Govorunenko
  • 89th Rifle Division, Colonel Mikhail Petrovich Seryugin

35th Rifle Corps, Lieutenant General Sergei G. Goryachev

  • 93rd Rifle Division, Major General Vladimir Tichomirov
  • 94th Guards Rifle Division, Colonel Iwan G. Ruski
  • 96th Tank Brigade, Colonel Andrei Mikhailovich Popov

3rd Panzer Army , General Pavel Rybalko

  • 21st Rifle Division, Major General Vasily Petrovich Kotelnikow
  • 48th Guards Rifle Division, Major General Nikolai Matveyevich Makovchuk
  • 62nd Guards Rifle Division, Major General Georgi Mikhailovich Saitzew

49th Rifle Corps, Major General Yuri Nikititsch Terentjew

  • 111th Rifle Division, Colonel Stepan Pavlovich Chotejew
  • 160th Rifle Division, Colonel Ernest Schanowitsch Sedulin
  • 184th Rifle Division, Colonel Samuil Trofimowitsch Koida
  • 37th Rifle Brigade, Colonel Boris Vladimirovich Gushchin

15th Panzer Corps, Major General Vasili Alexejewitsch Koptzow (killed on March 3)

  • 88th Panzer Brigade, Colonel Ivan Ivanovich Sergeyev
  • 113th Tank Brigade, Colonel Andrei Georgievich Swiridov
  • 195th Tank Brigade, Colonel Semen Vasilyevich Levi
  • 52nd Motorized Rifle Brigade, Colonel Alexandr Alexejewitsch Golowachev
  • 179th Tank Brigade Colonel Filipp Nikitowitsch Rudkin

12th Panzer Corps, Major General Mitrofan Ivanovich Zsinkovich

  • 30th Panzer Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Lyudwig Ivanovich Kurist
  • 97th Tank Brigade, Colonel Ivan Timofeevich Potapov
  • 106th Panzer Brigade, Colonel Ivan Ivanovich Krasnyich
  • 13th Motorized Rifle Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Lavrentjewitsch Michailow
  • 253rd Rifle Brigade, Colonel Alexander Petrovich Krutichin

6th Guards Cavalry Corps, Lieutenant General Sergei Vladimirovich Sokolov

  • 8th Guards Cavalry Division, Major General Dmitri N. Pavlov
  • 13th Guards Cavalry Division, Colonel Nikolai Vladimirovich Gorin
  • 201st separate tank brigade

course

On the morning of February 2, the troops of the 3rd Panzer Army on the Voronezh Front and the 6th Army on the Southwest Front went on the offensive. Air support for the troops was provided by the 2nd Air Army under Major General KN Smirnow . The 69th Army under Lieutenant General MI Kazakov, drawn from the 18th Rifle Corps, was supposed to support the main thrust on Kharkov. The 40th Army of Lieutenant General KS Moskalenko deployed on the right on the Voronezh Front did not attack in Operation Zvezda until 9 a.m. in the direction of Belgorod on February 3. It consisted of six rifle divisions (25th Guards, 183rd, 309th, 107th, 340th and 305th), the 129th rifle brigade, three ski brigades, the 4th tank corps and several artillery divisions. In addition, the 303rd and 100th Rifle Divisions were sent by the 60th Army to reinforce the 40th Army. In the first season the 309th, 340th, 305th and 100th operated on the first day of the attack, followed by the 183rd rifle division and a tank division in the second season. On the right flank, the 100th and 305th Rifle Divisions managed to break through quickly towards Korotscha . Lieutenant General KS Moskalenko ordered the 340th Rifle Division (Major General SS Martirosjan) to circumvent the city in the north and the 100th Rifle Division (Major General FI Perkhorovich) in the south. As a result of this threat, the German garrison withdrew in the direction of Schebekino and Volchansk, and on February 7, Korotscha fell into the hands of the 305th Rifle Division.

On February 3, Kupyansk was lost in the central section , the Soviet 12th and 15th Panzer Corps of the 3rd Panzer Army tore open the German defense to a width of 35 kilometers between Volchansk and Isjum and crossed the Donets section. On February 4, the 3rd Panzer Army reached the Donets near Chugujew , but was unable to advance across the frozen river due to the resistance of the SS "Leibstandarte" division. On February 5th the situation on the right wing of the 3rd Panzer Army became dangerous: parts of the division "Das Reich" launched a counterattack in the direction of Olchowatka and Velikje Burluk, where the 48th Guards Rifle Division was defending. To counter this attack, General Rybalko led the 184th Rifle Division into battle with the support of the 179th Tank Brigade and the 1245th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment. For four days there was stubborn fighting with German units on the right side of the army. Only the 6th Guards Cavalry Corps managed to reach Nowy Wodolag, which was on the left flank of the enemy Kharkov group.

In connection with the successful advance of the flanking groups of the Voronezh Front against the Kharkov defense, the division "Das Reich" threatened to be encircled. On February 9, the "Reich" division ended its attacks and began to retreat to Kharkov on the western bank of the Seversky-Donets. Under favorable conditions, the 3rd Panzer Army liberated Pechenega, Chuguev and gained further space in the direction of Kharkov. However, it was not possible for Rybalko's troops to take the city of Kharkov by surprise, as the German troops in the Rogan region (20 km southwest of Kharkov) put up stubborn resistance.

On February 9, the 40th and 69th Armies liberated Belgorod in battle with the German Corps Lanz (Division Großdeutschland, 26th, parts 88th and 168th Infantry Divisions) and formed a bridgehead over the Donets. Troops of the Soviet 40th Army occupied Belgorod, at the same time the 69th Army moved into Volchansk. To the south of it the 6th Guards Cavalry Corps had bypassed the enemy via Andejewka and was advancing towards Merefa . The advance of the 40th Army was faster than on the southern section, forcing the 168th Infantry Division and the Greater Germany Division to retreat on February 10, followed by four rifle divisions and the 5th Guards Panzer Corps (formerly 4th Panzer Corps under General Sokolow) advanced on Kharkov from the north. The enemy showed little resistance in the attack zone of the 40th Army, the 116th tank brigade under Colonel VG Romanov (separate tank regiments 59th, 60th and 61st) advanced from the north to Kharkov. At the same time, the 5th Guards Panzer Corps, which intervened in the fighting after the Kastornoje pocket had been cleared, went on the offensive. On February 13, they liberated Dergachi and Olschany and took Kharkov from the north-west. With the success of tank formations, the rifle divisions of the 40th Army approached on the northern and northwestern outskirts of Kharkov.

Hitler called on General Lanz to hold Kharkov under all circumstances, the loss of which would have damaged Germany's reputation after the defeat at Stalingrad. On February 13th, the 340th Rifle Division under Major General SS Martirosjan had reached the inner line of defense of Kharkov with tank support. She continued to advance the following day and enter the northwestern suburbs. The 340th Rifle Division approached the city from the northwest with the Rifle Regiment 1140 (Major DD Boiko) and was preparing to invade Kharkov. The guerrilla leader AG Dreguljas and three girls from Kharkov - Natascha Scheretina, Lyuba Alexschina and Nina Sidenko helped. They explored the positions of the German armed forces and indicated a safe path for Boiko through a forest area. It was not until the evening of February 14 that units of the 3rd Panzer Army managed to reach the inner defense line of Kharkov. At that time, units of the 69th Army were approaching the northeastern edge of the city. On February 14th, the 12th and 15th Panzer Corps as well as the 160th Rifle Divisions and the 48th Guards Rifle Divisions of the 3rd Panzer Army managed to advance into the eastern suburbs of the city. The fighting spread to the northeastern suburbs of Kharkov. On the same day the 183rd Rifle Division reached Sokolniki on the northern outskirts of the city and advanced towards the city center by evening. The main forces of the 40th Army, consisting of the 6th Guards Panzer Corps, the 305th Rifle Division and the 6th Motorized Guards Rifle Brigade, bypassed the city and occupied the main arterial route of the German defenders to the west at Ljubotin. The 5th Guards Panzer Corps (Major General Kravtchenko), the 340th, 25th Guards, 183rd, 309th, and 100th Rifle Divisions of Generals SS Martirosyan, PM Shafarenko, AS Kostitzyn, MI Menshikov and FI Perkhorovich penetrated from several sides into town. At the same time, forces of the 3rd Panzer Army advanced on Osnovo from the south and threatened the German forces fighting in Kharkov, consisting of the Großdeutschland division (in the western part of the city) and the 2nd SS division "Das Reich" (in the north) Panzergrenadierregiment of the 1st SS Division "Leibstandarte" (in the western part) and the 320th Infantry Division (in the southeast) to include.

On the morning of February 15, troops of the Soviet 40th, 69th and 3rd tank armies launched the attack on Kharkov. The city was held by the 2nd SS Panzer Corps, which had around 200 tanks. At 5 p.m., the troops of the 40th Army cleared the southwest, west and northwest parts of the city. The command of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps saw the pointlessness of the resistance, feared the encirclement and began to retreat to the southwest. At noon on February 16, Kharkov was completely cleared from the enemy. After the liberation of Kharkov, the 3rd Panzer and 69th Armies were given the task of advancing to Poltava and the remaining frontline forces further west. At this point in time the 3rd Panzer Army still consisted of 49,663 men, 110 tanks, 1,044 mortars of various calibres, 318 cannons and 189 anti-tank guns, after heavy losses. In the battle for Kharkov alone Rybalko's army lost 11,500 men, 66 artillery pieces, 40 anti-tank guns and 45 tanks.

consequences

On the day of the loss of Kharkov, the city of Graivoron was liberated by the 107th Rifle Division of the Soviet 40th Army. On the morning of February 17, the 15th Panzer Corps went on the offensive and captured Pesochin by the end of the day. On the morning of February 18, Ljubotin was reached and got into persistent fighting with the Grenadier Division Greater Germany . The 12th Panzer Corps occupied Besljudowka and took Merefa around noon on February 18, together with the 111th Rifle Division (Colonel IG Siberow) .

As the offensive continued, the 12th Panzer Corps encountered fierce German resistance on the Mia and had to turn to the west. On February 20, the Soviet troops bypassed Ljubotin from the south and south-west. At that time the 160th Rifle Division had captured Stary Merchik. In pursuit, the 15th Panzer Corps captured Ljubotin at dawn on February 22nd and at the end of the day, together with the 12th Panzer Corps, liberated Ogultzi. The 48th Guards and 111th Rifle Divisions were bound in the battle for Stary Vodolaga, the 6th Guards Cavalry Corps was able to occupy Rjabuhine in conjunction with the 184th Rifle Division.

On February 19, General Field Marshal von Manstein ordered the 4th Panzer Army to launch a counterattack to stop the advance of Soviet troops through Pavlograd ; on February 22, Pavlograd was occupied. The task of defending the roads to the Dnieper from the north through Krasnograd or Dnepropetrovsk or through Poltava or Kremenchug was assigned to the Kempf Army Detachment . On February 19, the II SS Panzer Corps and the XXXXXVIII drawn up by the 4th Panzer Army started. Panzer Corps launched a counter-offensive against the forces of the right wing of the southwest front and reached the line Krasnograd , Novomoskovsk , Zaporozhye , Vasilevka, the Soviet troops were forced to move back to the east. In order to support the south-western front in repelling the German counter-attack, the Stawka decided to launch new attacks by the 3rd Panzer Army. While the 3rd Panzer Army was fighting south of Kharkov, the units of the 40th Army liberated Trostyanets on February 21 and Akhtyrka and Oposchnja on February 23 . On the morning of February 23, General Rybalko, who had been reinforced by the 5th Guards Panzer Corps (former 4th Panzer Corps under General Kravchenko), launched a new offensive in a westerly direction. The 3rd Panzer Army could not fulfill this task, however, as the German troops had already brought fresh reserves through Walka. The 12th Panzer Corps, which had overcome the stubborn resistance of the enemy, captured Walki on February 25, together with the 25th Guards Rifle Division and part of the armed forces of the 303rd Rifle Division of the 69th Army. On February 27, a tank corps of the 3rd Panzer Army reached Varvarovka, where it met stubborn resistance and was stopped.

According to Stawka Directive No. 30059 of February 28, the 3rd Panzer Army and General Sokolov's mobile group were assigned to the Southwest Front. The front commander was ordered to use General Sokolov's army and mobile group to stop the advancing enemy with a flank attack. On the southern wing, the 6th Guards Cavalry Corps was reinforced on February 24th with the 184th, 219th and 350th Rifle Divisions and the 201st Independent Tank Brigade. The 15th Panzer Corps entered Kegichewka with 19 tanks and the 12th Panzer Corps appeared on February 28 with 20 tanks. The commander of the Voronezh Front was instructed to reinforce the left wing of the front. Units of General MM Popov's tank group had to stop 20 km from the city of Zaporozhye because of a lack of fuel. German troops occupied Losovaya on February 25 and Panjutino on February 27 .

On March 4, the German troops launched the decisive counterattack on Kharkov from the south in the Third Battle of Kharkov (1943) . Street battles began on March 12th, and on March 14th the city and the Soviet 3rd Panzer Army were completely surrounded. On March 14th, Major General JJ Below , who headed the defense of the city as Rybalko's deputy , decided to break out in a south-easterly direction between Smiyov and Chugayev . Finally the German 4th Panzer Army succeeded in retaking Kharkov.

literature

  • Vladimir O. Daines (Владимир Оттович Дайнес): Дмитриев-Севская наступательная операция from Советские танковые армии в бою (Soviet tank armies in battle) Moscow 2010 ISBN 978-5-699-41329-4
  • David M. Glantz: From the Don to the Dnepr: Soviet Offensive Operations, December 1942-August 1943 . Frank Cass, London 1991, ISBN 0-7146-4064-6 , pp. 151-214 .
  • Eberhard Schwarz: The stabilization of the Eastern Front after Stalingrad : Manstein's counterstrike between Donets and Dnieper in spring 1943, Cologne 1985.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David M. Glantz: From the Don to the Dnepr: Soviet Offensive Operations, December 1942-August 1943 . Frank Cass, London 1991, ISBN 0-7146-4064-6 , pp. 151 .