Battle of the Luga

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The Battle of Luga ( Russian : Лужский оборонительный рубеж) lasted from July 10 to August 24, 1941 and took place on the northern section of the Eastern Front . The defensive battles on the Soviet side were a fruitless attempt to stop the German advance on Leningrad . On June 27, Soviet fortification work began on the Luga section, and on July 6, the Luga Group was formed to defend this barrier line. The one and a half month fighting on the Luga Line slowed the advance of the German Army Group North towards Leningrad. The Soviet attack in the Solzy area , the defense of Tallinn and the Battle of Smolensk hampered the German advance over the Luga sector. Further Soviet counter-attacks at Staraya Russa and defense in the fortified area of Krasnogwardeisk (Gatchina) diverted considerable parts of Army Group North. From August 8th to 13th, the Luga line was bypassed by the German troops on both flanks, in the area of Novgorod and Kingisepp (Jamburg), and slowly rolled up. Many defenders of the Luga defense died during the fighting and the subsequent retreat. By August 24, around 43,000 Soviet soldiers who were still defending the Luga Line were surrounded, but continued to fight during the Leningrad blockade until mid-September. In the second half of September, the struggling remnants of the Luga Operational Group reached the Volkhov River .

Major military operations during the German-Soviet War

1941: Białystok-Minsk  - Dubno-Lutsk-Rivne  - Smolensk  - Uman  - Kiev  - Odessa  - Leningrad blockade  - Vyazma-Bryansk  - Kharkov  - Rostov  - Moscow  - Tula
1942: Rzhev  - Kharkiv  - Company Blue  - companies Braunschweig  - company Edelweiss  - Stalingrad  - Operation Mars
1943: Voronezh-Kharkov  - Operation Iskra  - North Caucasus  - Kharkov  - Citadel Company  - Oryol  - Donets-Mius  - Donbass  - Belgorod-Kharkov  - Smolensk  - Dnepr
1944: Dnepr-Carpathians  - Leningrad-Novgorod  - Crimea  - Vyborg-Petrozavodsk  - Operation Bagration  - Lviv-Sandomierz  - Jassy-Kishinew  - Belgrade  - Petsamo-Kirkenes  - Baltic States  - Carpathians  - Hungary
1945: Courland  - Vistula-Oder  - East Prussia  - West Carpathians  - Lower Silesia  - East Pomerania  - Lake Balaton  - Upper Silesia  - Vienna  - Oder  -  Berlin  - Prague

prehistory

Marshal Kliment Voroshilov

After Operation Barbarossa , the German attack on the Soviet Union , which started on June 22, 1941 , Army Group North advanced quickly into the Baltic States after the tank battle near Raseinen ( Raseiniai ) . The border battles of the Soviet 8th and 11th armies against the German troops had a negative outcome for the Red Army until June 26th. The Stawka had to consider the need to defend Leningrad soon. The staff of the Northern Front was formed from the Leningrad Military District under Lieutenant General M. M. Popov and its chief of staff, Major General DN Nikischew , whose deputy commander was Major General K. P. Pyadyshev . The north-western front was established on the same day on the basis of the Baltic Special Military District; Colonel-General F. I. Kuznezow was initially appointed as commander from July 8, Marshal Voroshilov , nominally General Sobennikov , and General PS Klenov acted as chief of staff .

Since June 29, the creation of several militia divisions was in progress, in a short time around 160,000 citizens in Leningrad have enlisted in the People's Militia. Little by little, about 5 divisions, 16 separate machine-gun artillery battalions and 7 partisan regiments were formed. Large parts of the militia were also affiliated with the regularly recruited formations. In order to ensure the complex organization, a separate administration for the drafting of the people's militia was created under the member of the Military Council of the Leningrad Military District, Major General AI Subbotin . As early as the second half of July, two divisions of the national militia were ready to defend the Luga Line. Additional units were created to protect the southern apron of Leningrad, which soon formed the basis for two new armies (42nd and 55th armies). On the basis of the 10th Mechanized Corps, the commandos of the Slutsk and Kolpino groups were initially created, from which later (on September 2) the 55th Army under Major General IG Lasarev emerged .

Building the Leningrad Defense

Expansion of the Luga defense line

On July 4, General GK Zhukov , Chief of the General Staff, sent the military council of the Northern Front the order to defend Leningrad. The guideline envisaged taking a defensive line between Narva, Luga and Staraya Russa and expanding it to a depth of 10 to 15 km. From the end of June, three divisions of the national people's militia were recruited in Leningrad and used to occupy the Luga Line. At the beginning of July, construction of the fortified area of Krasnogwardeisk began . For this purpose, up to 500,000 men were mobilized from the population of Leningrad and the surrounding area. On July 5, the Naval Group for Naval Defense of Leningrad was formed under Rear Admiral FI Tschelpanow, the flotillas of Onega , Ilmen - and Ladoga Lakes as well as several brigades of marine infantry were set up and additional coastal batteries were installed. On July 6, General Pyadyshev was appointed commander of the new line of defense along the Luga, and the Northern Front Military Council decided to transfer the 237th Rifle Division from Petrozavodsk and two divisions of the 10th Mechanized Corps from Karelia to reinforce the Luga sector. The Stawka guideline No. 260 of July 7th ordered that the commander of the northern front had to immediately transfer the 70th and 177th rifle divisions to the commander of the northwest front. The transfer from the Karelian Isthmus towards Luga began with the 10th Mechanized Corps (excluding the 198th Motorized Division) and the 237th and 70th Rifle Divisions. This was risky because of the simultaneous Finnish offensive on the Karelian Isthmus , as it could weaken the defenses on the isthmus too.

When the German breakthrough appeared south of Lake Peipus , the troops of the new line of defense were combined on July 6 to form the Luga Group under General KP Pyadyshev's command. The Leningrad Infantry School (2,000 men), the Kingisepp militia and the Leningrad Rifle and MG Infantry School (1,900 men) were soon concentrated in the area east of the city of Narva . A separate mountain rifle brigade (5800 men), which was recruited in Leningrad, was intended to secure the Luga Line. The established line of defense extended almost 250 kilometers from the Gulf of Finland along the Luga, Mshaga and Schelon rivers to Lake Ilmen . It ran on the west coast of Narva Bay along the Luga to Kingisepp, on to Porechje, Sabsk and Tolmachewo. In front of the city of Luga, lakes and marshlands were included in the positions, the branches of which again extended to the Luga River southeast of the city. The line continued via Peredolskaja to Schimsk and to Lake Ilmen. In addition to the important base of Luga, another defensive position was planned east and northeast of Tolmachewo, where the roads from Leningrad to Pskov, Porchow and Novgorod crossed. The first line consisted of two defensive positions: the first with a length of 28 km, from the village of Rakovno to Vikhelobok on the right bank of the Luga River, then along the right bank of the Udrajka River to the village of Radoli. The second section, 20 km long, ran from Kolodno to Zaklinje along the Chernaya River. The last defensive position reached from Murawai Ploskowo on the right bank of the Oredesch rivers, across Lake Hvoyllo and Lake Antonovo to Lake Pristanska, along the Ravana River to Fedorowka, then along the Tigoda to Kirishi .

  • The Luga group consisted of 4 rifle divisions: 70th, 111th, 177th and 191st rifle divisions as well as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd divisions of the national militia and the 41st rifle corps with the 90th, 235th and 118th rifle divisions .

The artillery group consisted of parts of the Luga defense under Colonel GF Odintzow. The aircraft of the Northern Front under Major General AA Novikov took over the air defense . The remnants of the units of the 41st Rifle Corps were collected, given new uniforms and weapons, and sent to reinforce the forces of the Luga group. The 111th Rifle Division occupied the defensive line on the right flank and the 235th Rifle Division on the left flank of the 177th Rifle Division.

Defense lines in front of Leningrad

By July 9, the Soviet group Luga was able to occupy the eastern and central defensive sections from the city of Luga to Lake Ilmen. The area on the lower reaches of the Luga, into which the German troops had not yet advanced, was initially unoccupied. The 106th Engineer Battalion and the 42nd Pontoon Battalion installed anti-tank minefields secured the threatened apron. The expansion of the fortification of the Luga line was still being worked on intensively; the fortification work was far from complete. Tens of thousands of Leningraders and the local population took part in the work. The 191st Rifle Division was entrusted with the security between Narva and Kingisepp, the 70th, 111th and 177th Rifle Divisions were advanced into the combat area and the People's Militia divisions were still in the training phase.

In mid-July, the troops on the north-western front could no longer stop the enemy in Lithuania and withdrew to the north-western regions of Russia. The foreseeable defense of the Leningrad area was withdrawn from the command of the Northwest Front for the unsuccessful leadership in the Baltic States. Due to the lack of competence and resources on the Northwestern Front, the Stawka ordered that the armed forces of the Northern Front also had to take over the defense of Leningrad, although they also had to repel the Finnish offensive on the Karelian Isthmus . After the 8th Army was assigned, the border to the northwest front along the Pskov - Novgorod line was established, as was the defense of the territory of the Estonian SSR against the German XXXXII. Army Corps was still left to the forces of the Northwest Front.

Structure of Army Group North

The Commander in Chief of Army Group North, Field Marshal Wilhelm von Leeb (standing on the right) with the Commander of the 18th Army, Colonel General Küchler (center) in October 1941
Georg-Hans Reinhardt and Walter Krüger
Brandenberger (left) with Erich von Manstein
Colonel-General Hoepner at the briefing with GFM von Leeb

18th Army ( Küchler )

XXXXII. Army Corps (in Estonia)

XXVI. Army Corps (Wodrig)

I. Army Corps ( Both )

XXXVIII. Army Corps (Chappuis)

Panzer Group 4 ( Hoepner )

XXXXI. Army Corps ( Reinhardt )

LVI. Army Corps ( Manstein )

16th Army ( Bush )

L. Army Corps

XXVIII. Army Corps (Viktorin)

X Army Corps (Hansen)

II Army Corps (von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt)

course

German Panzer Group 4 offensive from July 10th

After the occupation of Pskov , the German armored and motorized units of Panzer Group 4 did not wait for the infantry divisions of the 16th and 18th Armies to move up, but continued the offensive on their own. On July 10, the German attack began with the aim of breaking through the Luga front in the direction of Leningrad and establishing contact with the Finnish troops in Karelia . The LVI. Motorized Corps was to advance on the right wing with the 8th Panzer Division from the Opochka area against the Porchow – Novgorod line. The XXXXI attacked the left wing . motorized corps with the 1st and 6th Panzer Divisions north of Pskow with air support, the units of the 118th Rifle Division and forced them to retreat via Gdow towards Luga. A day later, the Germans reached the Pljussa river near the place of the same name and began a fight with the front cover forces of the Luga task force . The German divisions approaching the apron of the Luga Line encountered stubborn resistance, and important positions changed hands several times. The troops of the 90th and 111th Rifle Divisions withdrew to the apron of the Luga defense line and slowed the German advance until July 12th. The Soviet units defended themselves on a broad front, between them there were front gaps of 20-25 km, which were not yet secured by troops. Some key areas like Kingisepp turned out to be completely vacant. The 191st Rifle Division and the 1st Militia Division, the 1st separate Mountain Rifle Brigade and the cadets of the Rotbanner Kirov Infantry and Machine Gun School were able to complete the occupation of the Luga Line and together with the 177th Rifle Division (Colonel AF Maschoshin ), which then on the right could close a gap in the front north of Luga. The Soviet 24th Panzer Division remained in reserve and the 2nd Militia Division also moved into the front. The first attempt by the German 1st and 6th Panzer and infantry divisions to penetrate the city of Luga were refused. Important settlements and resistance centers changed hands several times.

On July 12, the German Panzer Group 4 met units of the Einsatzgruppe Luga on the Pljussa . On July 13, the High Command of the Northwestern Front decided to reorganize the troops on the southwestern apron of Leningrad. The 8th Army and the 41st Rifle Corps of the 11th Army were transferred to the northern front and were given the task of preventing the enemy from breaking through to Leningrad. This decision already reflected the actual state of the situation, as the 41st Rifle Corps was already engaged in fighting in the threatened sections. On the same day the Germans managed to break into the Soviet defense, the following morning a counterattack by the 177th Rifle Division supported by strong artillery fire, supported by the 24th Panzer Division, was able to recapture the lost positions on the Pljussa sector. The artillery group of Colonel GF Odintzow played an important role in the defense against German tank attacks.

On July 14th, the Stawka Guideline No. 329 ordered that the 1st Armored Division, located in the Kandalaksha region , should be transferred immediately to Leningrad. All divisions that operated near Tallinn, Luga and Novgorod were to immediately receive 3 to 5 KW tanks to increase their combat strength. In addition, the 21st and 24th Panzer Divisions of the 10th Mechanized Corps were directed from the Karelian Isthmus to Luga. The militia and tank units were the first troops on the Luga Line. Then the divisions withdrawn from the northern front arrived on the Luga Line. These were initially the 237th Rifle Division of the 7th Army and the 70th, 177th and 191st Rifle Divisions from the reserve of the Northern Front. The defense of the Luga sector was now ensured by the 90th, 111th, 118th, 128th and 235th Rifle Divisions. The commanding Soviet 42nd Army (Major General VI Tscherbakow) was formed on July 15 under the directive following instructions from the Supreme Command. The basis for the army command in this case was the command of the 50th Rifle Corps withdrawn from Karelia. The 10th Mechanized Corps was still operating without the 24th Panzer Division, which on July 10th had 118 tanks. Only on July 13th appeared with three KW 1 tanks, the first parts of the 24th Panzer Division from Karelia. Six rifle divisions and one armored division (from the 10th Mechanized Corps) began a counterattack on July 14 against the LVI on Novgorod. mechanized corps. From mid-July, tank units of the 1st and 10th Panzer Corps supported the operations of the Luga Group .

On July 14, the German 6th Panzer Division took Poreschje on the Luga, at the same time the 1st Panzer Division reached Sabsk and built a bridgehead on the northern bank near the village of Ivanovo. The following day the advance of XXXVIII secured. Army Corps with the 36th Motorized and 58th Infantry Divisions in the Gdow area, the western flank of Panzer Group 4. On the same day the commander of the northwest front KJ Voroshilov together with the commander of the northern front, Lieutenant General MM Popov arrived in the area of ​​Kingisepp, where Units of the 2nd Militia Division tried to smash the German bridgehead on the Luga River. The German troops were stuck on the Luga Line until mid-July, which enabled the Soviet leadership to build additional fortifications.

From July 16-21, Soviet tank units were also deployed in the Kingisepp area. The tanks were thrown into battle, but attacked the enemy head-on without the support of infantry and artillery, but suffered heavy losses. The fighting on the Luga Line was particularly fierce on July 17 and 19, with the 11th and 125th Rifle Divisions able to isolate the bridgehead on the Luga for 15 hours. The removal of the German bridgehead was not achieved.

Battle of Solzy

To the advance of the German LVI. To stop the motorized corps under General von Manstein in the area southwest of Schimsk, the High Command of the Northwest Front ordered a counterattack at Solzy in Directive No. 12 of July 13th . The plan of the commander of the 11th Army, Major General VI Morosow , envisaged attacking the German advance wedges in the flank and rear, surrounding the opposing troops, dividing them and finally destroying them. On July 15, the 8th Panzer Division was able to form a bridgehead over the Mschaga section near Solzy, with the 3rd motorized infantry division covering the left wing. The Battle of Solzy began on July 14th, when three rifle divisions attacked from the northern front, which was transferred to the 11th Army , the LVI. Corps from the north. At the same time units of the 183rd Rifle Division of the 27th Army attacked the Sitnja River from the south . Air support was provided by four aviation divisions on the northwest and northern fronts. The German 8th Panzer Division was repulsed in four days of fighting, although General Brandenberger managed to free his troops from the encirclement. It took a whole month for the division to be fully operational again.

The counter-attack of the 11th Army on the Northwest Front temporarily eliminated the danger of a German breakthrough against Novgorod. The Soviet troops suffered heavy losses again, went over to the defense on July 19 and withdrew to the prepared positions on the Luga Line by July 27. Marshal Kliment Voroshilov threw fresh connections into the battle and thus deprived himself of the only reserve ready to fight. The German command, fearing further counterattacks by the Soviet troops, ordered the attack on Leningrad to be resumed on July 19 only after the infantry corps of the 18th Army had approached the Luga sector. With the counterattack at Solzy, the Red Army threw the German troops back more than 40 km to the west in front of Shimsk and for the time being removed the threat to Novgorod. It was not until July 25 that the Germans resumed their attacks in the Serebryanka area. The battle for Serebryanka lasted 5 days, the railway junction changed hands several times in hand-to-hand battles. The Soviet troops were thrown back 9 km and suffered heavy losses.

New Stawka directives

In order to improve command of the armed forces of Einsatzgruppe Luga, the Stawka reorganized the command area. As a result of the German successes, General Pyadyshev was relieved of his command of the Luga group and arrested on July 23. Lieutenant General Popow was directly subordinate to the previous front armies (8th and 55th Army), the three independent sections Kingisepp, Luga and East. The Kingisepp group under Major General VW Semaschko had the task of stopping the German troops from Gdow to Narva and the German troops moving to Leningrad via Kingisepp. The forces of the Luga group (under Major General AN Astanin from July 23 ) blocked all roads that led from the southwest to Leningrad. The previous section "East" was organized as the Novgorod Group under the command of Major General FN Starikov . The 90th, 118th and 191st Rifle Divisions, the 2nd and 4th People's Militia Divisions, the Leningrad Infantry School, the 1st Panzer Division and parts of the coastal defense of the Baltic Fleet belonged to the Kingisepp group. The Luga Defense Group comprised the 111th, 177th and 235th Rifle Divisions and the 24th Panzer Division. The 70th, 237th, 128th Rifle Divisions and the 21st Armored Division and the 1st Mountain Rifle Brigade entered the eastern defense sector of Major General FN Starikov. The 111th and 177th rifle divisions occupied the central Luga 22 km long defense sector, which initially had two enemy divisions in front of them. Even the difficult terrain for the Germans could not compensate for the weakness of the Soviet troops. On July 23, the Luga group was reinforced with troops, and from July 29, the Kingisepp and Luga sectors were directly subordinated to the headquarters of the Northern Front. At the direction of Headquarters, two groups were named " Operational Groups " on the same day . On July 31, the former East Sector was renamed the Novgorod Group . By order of the General Staff on August 4, the Novgorod Group was transformed into the 48th Army , whose command was taken by Lieutenant General SD Akimov. The Soviet 24th Armored Division, arriving from Karelia, was deployed with other armored units in the direction of Luga to repel the advancing enemy.

Further German approach

On July 24th, the German XXVI. Army Corps with the 93rd and 291st Infantry Divisions the northern coast of Lake Peipus and closed off the remains of the Soviet 8th Army in the Dorpat area. Colonel Rodin's Soviet tank brigade and the 483rd motorized regiment struck a deep wedge in the open flank of the enemy. The attempt to surround the enemy in the Velikoye Selo area has been completed. On July 29th, German units occupied the villages of Wolosowitschi and Nikolskoje and advanced along the road to Luga. The delay in the advance caused increasing concern among German commanders. On July 30th General Reinhardt wrote angrily in his diary: “Hesitation again. It's just awful. The chance we have is already being missed and the situation is getting more difficult every day. No matter how long the wait takes, it can't be forever. "

Mutual forces

Red Army

Task Force Kingisepp under VV Semaschko

  • 90th, 118th and 191st rifle divisions, 2nd and 4th militia divisions, 1st armored division and parts of the coastal defense of the Baltic fleet

Task Force Luga under AN Astanin

  • 111th, 177th, and 235th Rifle Divisions, 24th Armored Division

East area under FN Starikow

  • 70th, 237th and 128th Rifle Divisions, 21st Armored Division, 1st Mountain Brigade

Wehrmacht

In the Army Group North, three task forces were also formed for the impending attack on the Luga Line:

  • Schimsk Group : I. Army Corps (11th, 21st Infantry Division and part of the 126th Infantry Division) and XXVIII. Army Corps (121st, 122nd Infantry Division, Motorized SS Division “Totenkopf” and 96th Infantry Division in reserve).
  • Group Luga : LVI. Army Corps (3rd Motorized Division, 269th Infantry Division and SS "Police" Division)
  • Group north : XXXXI. Army Corps (1st, 6th and 8th Panzer Divisions, 36th Motorized Division, 1st Infantry Division), XXXVIII. Army Corps (58th Infantry Division).

Accordingly, the Shimsk group should break through in the direction of Novgorod-Chudovo and surround Leningrad from the east, as well as cut off all connecting lines between the city and the rest of the country. The Luga group was to take Luga and then attack Leningrad from the south. Finally, the northern group was supposed to attack Leningrad from Koporje, advancing from the west and along the coast. On August 7th, the highest number of troops in the Novgorod area was reached on the German side. Here, on a front of 50 km, 5.3 infantry divisions and one motorized division were in action, which resulted in a troop density of less than 10 km per division.

Wing fighting of the 16th Army

Battle of Novgorod August 10-19

With the capture of Novgorod, the German 16th Army wanted to control the Leningrad – Moscow railway line. When the weather deteriorated on the evening of August 7th and the planned air support was therefore not possible, Colonel General Busch postponed the attack on Novgorod. After all, the weather did not allow the Air Force to be deployed until August 10th. At 4.30 a.m., the German offensive began, the German 1st Army Corps (General of the Infantry Kuno-Hans von Both) attacked Novgorod directly with the 11th and 21st Infantry Divisions. The width of the attack over the Mshaga section was set at 16 km, the 659th and 666th assault gun detachments and the 8th Air Corps under General Richthofen were called in for support. The first two positions of the Soviet troops were breached.

On August 12th, the 126th and 96th Infantry Divisions also joined the offensive, and Schimsk was attacked and taken. The minefields on the main line of defense of the Soviet 48th Army were cleared by the pioneers of the German 11th and 21st Divisions, and 8.8 cm anti-aircraft guns were used to destroy the fortified shelters. The following day the breakthrough against the 128th Rifle Division was complete, further south the parallel attack of the German Xth Army Corps reached the Lowat sector. On August 14, the 21st Infantry Division advanced on the Novgorod – Luga motorway, the 11th Infantry Division approached the railway line from the same direction. This threatened the rear lines of communication of the Soviet troops behind the Luga line. The German attack on August 15 initially failed, the Soviet resistance was broken by attacks by dive bombers, which set Novgorod on fire in many places. In the evening the 21st Infantry Division was able to penetrate the city, as well as the 424th Regiment of the 126th Infantry Division. On the morning of August 16, the city was in German hands, the other regiments of the 21st Infantry Division launched the attack on Chudowo.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, Marshal BM Shaposhnikov , had given orders to defend the city of Novgorod to the last man. The newly formed 305th and 311st Rifle Divisions were made available to the Northwest Front as reinforcements. The newly formed 291st Rifle Division was used to occupy the Volkhov Line, the other two rifle divisions were used to directly support the 48th Army in the fighting around Novgorod.

The battle for the eastern part of Novgorod lasted until August 19th. On the Soviet side, the remnants of Colonel ID Chernyachovy's 28th Panzer Division and the 1st Mountain Rifle Brigade proved their worth. German troops had to fend off Soviet counter-attacks, which were led with strong tank support, with the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the 21st Infantry Division being completely cut off on August 18. However, strong air support ultimately ensured the Germans success in the battles for Novgorod.

During the battle for Novgorod, the left wing of the German 1st Army Corps advanced to Chudovo. The 11th Infantry Division now secured the right flank of the corps on the Volkhov section and the combat group of the 21st Infantry Division captured Chudovo on August 20 and interrupted the railway line there. The next day, several Soviet counterattacks were repulsed by units of the 1st Army Corps. The targets set for the 16th Army had been achieved.

Battle for Staraya Russa

On July 27, 1941, Field Marshal von Leeb wrote in his diary: "The enemy at the front of the 16th Army has been defeated. The remains are leaving the marshland south of Lake Ilmen to the east."

On August 2nd and 3rd, the German Xth Army Corps with the 30th Infantry Division launched the attack on Staraya Russa and was stopped by Soviet troops 15 km from the target. The strongest reserve available to the command of the north-western front in the south was the newly formed 34th Army (Major General Kusma M. Kachanow), which essentially consisted of the 257th, 259th, 262nd Rifle Divisions and the 25th Army and 54th Cavalry Division. On August 6, according to Stawka Guideline 733, the 34th Army was transferred to the Northwest Front and relocated to the Staraya Russa area and began a powerful counter-offensive against the German Xth Army Corps. The counterattack of the 34th Army was supported by the left wing of the 48th Army (Lieutenant General Akimov) in the direction of Utorgosh. The following situation arose in the headquarters of the 16th Army on August 14th: the XAK, which formed the right wing of the 16th Army in the south of Lake Ilmen, was attacked by far superior forces (Soviet 34th Army with 8 rifle divisions and cavalry units). The Soviet front line already crossed the Staraya Russa railway line. To counter this crisis, on August 14th, Field Marshal von Leeb ordered the motorized SS division “Totenkopf” in the Porchow area to counterattack over the Dno. As a result of this crisis, the SS division was tied to Staraya Russa for a long time and was unable to take part in the offensive against Leningrad as planned. The actions of the SS division “Totenkopf” in the area 10 kilometers east of the Dno were followed on August 19 by the general counterattack by the 3rd motorized division of the LVI, which was regrouped to the south. AK (mot.) In the Dolschino area. With the support of the VIII Air Corps under General von Richthofen , the German attack reached the Bystryi Bereg – Klopzy line and on the following day formed a bridgehead over the Polist section southwest of Staraya Russa near Schilowa Gora - Vsgljody . At the same time, the X Army Corps was able to seal off an enemy front intrusion at Tulebtlja. On August 22nd, German troops reached the Lowat River, southeast of Staraya Russa. The acute danger in the Xth Army Corps was thus eliminated.

Battle of the Luga

The LVI started on August 8th. Army Corps (motorized) with the 3rd Motorized, 269th Infantry and the SS Police Division the attack on the city of Luga, while the right wing with the SS Division "Das Reich" secured against Lake Ilmen. The 177th Rifle Division (Colonel AF Maschoschin) was able to repel the German attack in cooperation with the 24th Panzer Division and with the support of the artillery. At the same time the XXXXI began. Army Corps (motorized) in the Kingisepp area Attacks over the Luga sector: On August 9, the 1st Panzer Division managed to find a weak spot in the Soviet defense, to break into the depths and in front of the front of the 6th Panzer Division into the neighboring bridgehead to get to the rear of the Soviet units. The attack of the German LVI. Army Corps (3rd Motorized Division, 269th Infantry Division and the SS Police Division) across from Luga remained too weak, so that the Soviet leadership should not have the opportunity to withdraw troops for the neighboring areas.

In view of the insufficient success of the first offensive, General Reinhardt managed to reinforce his strike group with the 8th Panzer Division. The opposing Soviet command also assembled additional reserves: since August 9, the first units of the 1st Guards Militia Division, assembled in Krasnoye Selo, had reached the threatened sector. The 1st Panzer Division under Major General VI Baranow, which had come from Central Finland, took up defense two days later, it had 58 operational tanks, 4 of which were of the T-28 type and 7 of the KW-1 , and the large unit soon received 12 new KW-1s from the Leningrad Kirov factory as replenishment. The improvement of the weather conditions ensured the LVI. Corps (motorized) in the offensive of August 10, the full deployment of the German Air Force. The LVI. Corps advanced on both sides of the main road that led through Luga to Leningrad. The commander of the SS Police Division, General Mülverstedt , was killed in these fighting; the German troops were again unable to break through the defense of the Luga group (Major General AN Astanin).

Despite the first defensive successes, the Soviet armed forces on the Luga remained very tense. The development of the events on August 10 and on the night of August 11 led to a severe deterioration in the situation, and the Soviet counter-attack ordered by General Popov could not be carried out. At XXXXI. Army Corps (motorized), the 8th Panzer Division was introduced into the fighting over the bridgehead at Sabsk, the 1st Panzer Division broke out of the Sabsk bridgehead and helped the broken 6th Panzer Division break out through its flank thrust to Opolje. After the German breakthrough, the 1st and 6th Panzer Divisions formed the outer front of the encirclement at Luga, while the 1st Infantry and 36th Motorized Divisions - the inner front against the cut off Soviet units. On the right wing, units of the Soviet Kingisepp section had to retreat further. The concentration of the 281st Rifle Division (11,000 men) took place during the night on the Kingisepp – Leningrad motorway, they held positions north of it, with the front facing southwest. The defense line of the Soviet 1st Panzer Division stretched along the road from Kotlow to Moloskowitszy, where the 1st Guard Militia Division was deployed, which tried in vain to stop the main attack by the German 1st and 8th Panzer Divisions. The Battle of Moloskowitzy brought heavy losses to the Soviet tanks: 52 tanks were lost, including 6 KW-1, 4 T-28, 32 BT-7, 6 T-50 and 4 T-26. The remnants of the division were forced to withdraw to Krasnogwardeisk. On August 16, the German troops crossed the Oredesch River , the divisions of the XXXXI. Motorized Army Corps reached the Krasnogwardeisk – Kingisepp road. The 1st Panzer Division occupied the Volosovo railway station, 40 km southwest of Krasnogwardeisk, with almost no resistance. The Soviet group Semashko went back to Krasnogwardeisk. The German 1st Infantry Division captured Kingisepp, while the 291st Infantry Division penetrated Narva from the west and at the same time the 58th Infantry Division from the south. The withdrawal of the Soviet 8th Army took place at the Koporje Bay on Ropscha. Meanwhile, German tanks began to bypass the city of Luga on country and forest roads and reached the Luga River in the area 20-25 km southeast of Kingisepp. In the Kingisepp area, the German troops awaited forests and swamps in which the 18th Army had to fight for several long years. Under the threat of being cut off from Leningrad, the German XXXVIII. Enemy Army Corps to push 8th Army troops onto the Koporskoye Plateau on August 18.

The German troops remaining in Luga had already been placed under the command of the L. Army Corps under General Lindemann on August 15, which had been entrusted with the capture of Luga. The parts of the Soviet 8th Army displaced from Estonia had withdrawn through Narva. The 291st Infantry Division of the XXVI. Army Corps began the attack on Narva on August 16, while the 58th Infantry Division (XXXVIII Army Corps) advanced on the city from the south. The city was in German hands the next day, and on August 20 the 18th Army crossed the former border.

On the morning of August 19, the newly arriving 291st Rifle Division began unloading in the Leningrad area. It was founded in the Moscow military district and reached Krasnogwardeisk (Gatchina) at a critical time. It numbered about 10,700 men, 54 artillery pieces, 78 mortars, 108 machine guns. From August 19th to 21st the XXXXI. Corps (motorized) on the Pedelin-Isterzow line in combat with the 2nd Militia Division. The 1st and 6th Panzer Divisions and the 36th Motorized Division penetrated into the area southwest of Krasnogwardeisk by August 21 and went into defense there.

The arrival and intervention of the German XXVIII. Army Corps of the 16th Army finally shook the left flank of General Astanin's Luga group. The SS Police Division had also been relocated 74 kilometers north to the east bank of the Luga and began the attack on the city of Luga from the south-east on August 23. On August 22, General Astanin received the belated order to withdraw his units along the railway to Krasnogwardeisk. The SS Police Division stormed Luga on August 24th. The Soviet 70th, 90th, 111th, 177th and 235th rifle divisions, the 1st and 3rd militia divisions, and the 24th armored division were in the "Luga pocket". The encirclement was in the north from XXXXI., Frontally through the L. and in the east from XXVIII. Army Corps completed. The fighting in the Luga pocket continued until mid-September 1941. The formations breaking out to the east on Pogostje and Kirishi were commanded by General AN Astanin, Colonel AF Maschoshin, Colonel AG Rodin, SW Roginski (commander of the 111th Rifle Division) and GF Odintzow.

consequences

Forty-five days passed from July 10th, when the offensive towards Luga began, to August 24th, when German troops took Luga. In the period from June 29 to August 27, 1941, 488,703 people were evacuated from Leningrad. In addition, during this period the population of the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Karelian-Finnish SSRs were evacuated to Leningrad - 147,500 people. Until July 10, before the approach to the defensive line of Luga, the average daily advance of the Germans was about 26 kilometers per day; then it fell to 5 kilometers and in August to 2.2 kilometers per day. Holding up and delaying the German advance made it possible for the Soviet leadership to take important measures in relation to the defense of Leningrad, including the formation and training of new military units. The 272nd, 281st Rifle Divisions and 25th Cavalry Divisions had been newly formed for the beginning blockade of Leningrad.

The OKW relocated the XXXIX to strengthen the Army Group. Motorized Army Corps from the central sector of the Eastern Front to Leningrad. It was to circumvent the city extensively to the east and later carried out the operation in the direction of Tikhvin . On September 8, the German attack on Leningrad began. The XXXXI led the main thrust. Army Corps (mot.) In cooperation with the XXXVIII. Army corps that was deployed from the west across the Dudenhofer Heights to the north. In the south from the area Gatchina and in the east from the area Mga the L. and XXVIII. Army corps used to attack the southern belt of fortifications. The Soviet defenses began to crumble, Krasnoye Selo was lost on September 12th and Krasnogwardeisk on September 13th. The remnants of General Baranov's armored division withdrew further and occupied new positions on the heights of Pulkovo, the last line of defense on the southwestern apron of Leningrad. Georgi Zhukov, who had just arrived in Leningrad to replace Marshal Voroshilov, ordered immediate counterattacks to push the German troops back. Major General Kuzma M. Kakhanov, commander of the Soviet 34th Army, was subsequently held responsible for the loss of Staraya Russa and sentenced to death on September 27 and shot on September 29.

literature

  • Алексей Валерьевич Исаев: Иной 1941 - От границы до Ленинграда 1 , Moscow 2012, ISBN 978-5-699-57663-0
  • Nikolai G. Kislizyn / Wassili J. Subakow: Leningrad does not surrender , Progress Verlag Moscow 1984, pp. 24-30 and 53-64

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