Battle for Tula

Battle for Tula

Part of: German-Soviet War ( Second World War )

Soviet defenders in Tula

date	October 24, 1941 to December 5, 1941
place	near Tula , Soviet Union
output	Soviet victory

Parties to the conflict
German Empire	Soviet Union
Commander
Heinz Guderian Maximilian von Weichs	Arkady Yermakov Ivan Boldin
Troop strength
Army Group Center	Western front

The Battle of Tula (Russian: Тульская оборонительная операция ) from October 24 to December 5, 1941 was an attack operation by the German Wehrmacht and part of the Battle of Moscow during World War II . It took place on the eastern front on the right wing of Army Group Center . After 45 days of loss-making fighting on both sides with considerable damage in the city of Tula , the Red Army succeeded in repelling the German troops in a counter-offensive at the beginning of December thanks to well-organized arms and supplies.

prehistory

The German 2nd Panzer Army under Colonel General Guderian opened the attack on Moscow at the beginning of October as part of the Taifun operation and, together with the 2nd Army under Colonel General von Weichs, carried out the battle near Bryansk . While the army corps of the German 2nd Army fought down the trapped mass of the Soviet 3rd, 13th and 50th Army , the XXIV Army Corps (motorized) took up the advance to Orel . The 18th and 17th Panzer Division under Lieutenant-General von Arnim was on 5 and 6 October Karachev and Bryansk occupy the 3rd Panzer Division succeeded in taking Belew , but the 4th Armored Division was in the tank battle at Mtsensk by Counter-attacks by the Soviet 4th Tank Brigade under Colonel Katukov temporarily stopped. The commander of the encircled Soviet Bryansk Front , General Jerjomenko , was missing and has since been replaced by General MP Petrov . On October 8th, Yeryomenko reappeared and coordinated the 3rd and 13th Armies himself. The 50th Army had meanwhile been separated from the rest of the Brjansk Front by another German advance and was largely enclosed. Parts of the army managed to break out by October 17th; General Petrov was considered missing, so General AN Yermakov was entrusted with the command of the Soviet 50th Army encircled in the area north of Bryansk.

Soviet defense

Tula is located about 190 kilometers south of Moscow, on both banks of the Upa River , a right tributary of the Oka . On October 22nd, the Tula City Defense Committee was formed and Commissioner VG Guryev was appointed chairman. Fortifications such as anti-tank trenches and wire barriers were built in the southern apron of the city, and all residents who were able to work were called in for the work. In addition, from October 26th, the Tula Workers' Regiment was set up under Captain AP Gorschkow, which occupied the defense line. The parts of the 50th Army (remnants of 8 rifle, 1 cavalry and 1 tank divisions) that had broken out over the Resseta near Chwastowitschi withdrew to Tula via Belew without a leader. The Yefremov remnants of the Soviet 13th Army (General Gerassimenko ), the remnants of which had fought their way back from the encirclement over the Oka on October 22nd, took the "Operative Group Ermakow" into their formation and occupied the line between Fatesch and Lgov . Major General AN Yermakov had already taken command of the 50th Army and was supposed to defend Tula.

On October 27, the 50th Army moved into the trenches dug on the southern outskirts of the city, in addition the Tula Workers Regiment under Captain Gorshkov, the 156th NKVD Regiment under Major SF Zubkow and a militia battalion under Major MI Swiridow were used. The 732nd Flak Regiment under Major MT Bondarenko protected the city against enemy air attacks. On October 29th these positions were reinforced by the 447 Artillery Regiment under Colonel AA Mawrin. At the end of October, the left wing of the Western Front (Army General Zhukov ) and the Bryansk Front (front command dissolved on November 10) with the 49th Army and the newly organized 3rd, 13th and 50th Armies held the front line Belyov - Mtsensk - Fatesh - Lgov .

German deployment

On October 22nd, General Guderian commissioned Kampfgruppe Eberbach (Panzer Reg. 6 and 18, Artillery Reg. 75, Rifle Reg. 3 and Infantry Regiment "Greater Germany" of the 4th Panzer Division (Major General von Langermann )), to advance in the rear of the Soviet defense north of Mtsensk . The XXIV Army Corps (motorized) and the 3rd Panzer Division (Major General Breith ) formed a 6 km deep bridgehead on the eastern bank of the Suscha north of Mzensk . The XXXXVII. Army corps (motorized) with the motorized 29th Infantry Division stood behind in the Karachev area . On October 23, the advance of the German LIII. Army Corps occupied the area 20 km northeast of Bolchow and advanced towards Tepolje. The 95th Infantry Division of the Higher Kdo. XXXV occupied the city of Fatesch , while on the extreme southern wing the XXXXVIII. Army Corps (mot.) (Kempf) with the 9th Panzer Division was advancing on Kursk .

From the middle of October the 2nd Panzer Army made no progress, and the units of the 2nd Army were also frozen. An orderly supply was no longer possible. This state of affairs, so noted the headquarters of the 2nd Army on October 18, would continue as long as the supply was not rebuilt. Also the northern following the XIII. Army Corps foregoing 4th Army (Field Marshal von Kluge ) is not made further progress since it was beset by constant Soviet counterattacks. It suspended its right wing action on October 16. On October 25, the 3rd Panzer Division advanced into the area 12 km northeast of Chern and re-established contact with the 4th Panzer Division advancing on the Mtsensk Strait . The LIII. Army Corps caught up with the Oka sector on October 26th . On October 28th the Tula area was reached.

For the attack, the right wing of Army Group Center was reorganized by order of Commander-in-Chief von Bock : The 2nd Army was relocated to the right wing of the 2nd Panzer Army after the Battle of Brjansk was over. Guderian had to give Colonel General von Weichs the Higher Command XXXIV. and XXXV., as well as the XXXXVIII. Surrender Army Corps (motorized) . The 1st Cavalry Division , which had previously covered the extreme left wing , was recalled to East Prussia to be converted there. As a replacement, the 2nd Panzer Army now commanded two army corps from the previous front of the 2nd Army.

• XXXXIII. Army Corps (General Heinrici ) with the 31st and 131st Inf Div. on the approach via Bolchow to the Oka section near Alexin .
• XXIV Army Corps (mot.) (General Geyr von Schweppenburg ) with the 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions , the motorized 10th Inf. and Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland advancing on Tula
• LIII. Army Corps (General Weißenberger ) with the 112th and 167th Infantry Divisions reached the Dansko area.
• XXXXVII. Motorized Army Corps ( General Lemelsen ) with the 17th and 18th Panzer Divisions , the motorized 25th and 29th Inf. Div in the meeting between Orel and Mzensk
• 296th Infantry Division (Lieutenant General Stemmermann ), initially bound in the Trubchevsk area .

Advance on Tula

Guderian at the command post of an advanced tank regiment

Rasputitsa

Since October 27, increased Soviet troop transports from the east have been observed in the Tula area. The German LIII. Army Corps was advanced against the Jepifan- Stalinogorsk line to secure the right flank of the 2nd Panzer Army . The condition of the Orel-Tula road was catastrophic due to the mud period ( Rasputiza ) that had lasted for weeks , the 3rd Panzer Division and the Eberbach group , which had arrived in the Yasnaja Poljana area before Tula, had to be supplied from the air. Because a frontal attack on the positions in front of Tula seemed too costly, General Geyr was allowed to bypass the city eastwards in the direction of Dedilowo.

On October 29th the German 3rd Panzer Division stood 5 km from Tula, the XXXXIII. Army corps reached the section between Odojewo and west of Titowa. The 18th Panzer Division of the XXXXVII. Motorized Army Corps replaces the last parts of the XXIV Motorized Army Corps in the Orel area, while the LIII. Army corps advanced between Arona and St. Gremjatschka. On the southern section of the 2nd Army, the XXXXXVIII. Army Corps with the 95th Infantry Division and the 9th Panzer Division (General Hubicki) in the area 12 and 18 km northeast of Kursk.

On October 30th General AN Yermakov took over the direct command of the troops defending the city of Tula from the south, with Major General WS Popov acting as its chief. In the morning, after strong artillery preparation, the German troops began attacking the city, parts of the village of Rogozhinsky were taken. In the evening of the day the Chief of Staff of the Bryansk Front, Lieutenant Colonel LM Sandalov, arrived in Tula. The XXIV Army Corps (motorized) carried out the first attacks on the city and reached Dedilowo. On October 31, these attacks were repulsed by the 154th (General JS Fokanow) and 217th Rifle Divisions (General KP Trubnikow ) and other parts of the 50th Army. In Tula, the 32nd Panzer Brigade (Colonel II Juschuk) and the 34th Guard Division also arrived as reinforcements. The violent attacks by German troops continued until the situation on the Soviet side stabilized somewhat in mid-November.

From November 2nd, the south-eastern approaches to Tula were defended by the 413rd Rifle Division (Major General Tereschkow). The repair of the Mtsensk - Tula railway line became more important, despite the best efforts made, progress was slow on the German side. As the vanguard of the LIII. Army Corps reached Teploje, they encountered a strong enemy. It was a force group with 2 cavalry and 5 rifle divisions as well as a tank brigade, which advanced along the Jefremow-Tula road with the intention of knocking the units of the XXIV Panzer Corps that were fixed in front of Tula in the flanks and backs. The troops of XXXXIII. Army corps reached the area east of Kurakowa - Voskressenskoje - south of Boguchovo on November 5th. The German 112th Infantry Division (LIII. AK) gained about 6 km of space to the east. For reinforcement, the 17th Panzer Division assembled near Mtsensk was subordinated to the XXIV Army Corps (motorized) and directed via Plawskoje to Tula.

On November 8th, 9th and 10th there were stronger counter-attacks by the defenders of Tula, which were able to improve their positions. The German 18th Panzer Division parried, however, by advancing from the area 5 km southeast of Rajewo to the north in the rear of the attacker. The left wing of the XXXXIII. Army corps advanced into the area 7 km south of Alexin and reached the area northeast of Pewschino to 10 km northeast of Dugna. The Germans outside Tula were driven out of the village of Rogozhinsky and the brickworks there by Soviet counter-attacks. The already weakened XXIV Army Corps (motorized) had to go into defense as a result.

Choppy fights

On November 10, the Bryansk Front was disbanded, and the 50th Army became part of the Western Front as the left neighbor of the 50th Army . The direct defense of Tula was entrusted to Major General JS Fokanov. On November 12th, the German LIII. Army Corps on the Rajewo-Tepolje-Marjino-Tsarewo-Mostowaja line, the subordinate 112th Infantry Division (General Mieth ) built another bridgehead over the Upa. The 18th Panzer Division advanced into the area east of Tschern, its advance division took the suburb of Nikolskoye.

On November 11th, the sick commander-in-chief of the 2nd Army, Colonel General von Weichs, was replaced by General of the Armored Troops Schmidt . On November 18, the capture of Jepifan by troops of XXXXVII succeeded. Motorized Army Corps and from Dedilowo by units of the XXIV Motorized Army Corps. On the evening of the same day, German troops broke through the Soviet lines with air support and developed their offensive towards Stalinogorsk and Wenew. Despite heavy losses from anti-tank positions, the tanks reached the breakthrough on Stalinogorsk on November 22nd, and the threat to Moscow from the southeast became dangerous. On the same day, by order of the commanding officer of the Western Front, General Yermakov , who was in charge of the Tula area, was released, arrested on December 19 and brought before a court martial.

On November 23, took 10th Infantry Division (mot.) Mikhailov , the 29th Infantry Division (General Fremerey ) crossed the Don-section and won over Jepifan northward over 40 km ground. The 18th Panzer Division advanced through the village of Skopin to Gorlowo, while the 296th Infantry Division that followed unsuccessfully attacked Tula.

On November 24, the German 17th Panzer Division (Colonel Rudolf Eduard Licht) encompassed Tula from the east and pushed the defenders there back in a northerly direction towards Wenew. However, it was possible by counter-attacks from the room Kaschira to stop the German forces between Tula and Wenew, the front of the 2nd Panzer Army was now km extended to 200 or greater. Parts of the German 17th Panzer Division managed to break into the southern edge of the city on November 25, where they were stopped by a battalion of anti-aircraft artillery under Major AP Smirnov of the 173rd Rifle Division. On the decision of the War Council, the 2nd Cavalry Corps and the 112th Panzer Division (Colonel Getman) were immediately brought up from the Serpukhov area and concentrated in the Kaschira area.

On November 25, the advanced combat group of the 17th Panzer Division approached Kaschira. To the right of this, the 134th Infantry Division took Liwny. On November 26th, the 167th Infantry Division (General Schönhärl) and the motorized 29th Infantry Division succeeded in encircling the Siberian 239th Rifle Division at Iwanozero east of the Don , which, however, passed through the thin lines of the 29th Infantry Division (motorized) was able to break out again and escape to the east.

On November 26th, the LIII. Army Corps the Don, crossed the river at Ivanozero with the 167th Infantry Division and attacked the Siberians standing there northeast of the place mentioned at Donskoye (Lipetsk) . The German division took 42 artillery pieces and a number of vehicles and took 4,000 prisoners. From the east, the 29th Motorized Infantry Division comprised the bulk of the Siberian 239th Rifle Division, which was able to break out to the east. From November 27, counterattacks followed by the 173rd Rifle Division and 112th Armored Division, together with the 9th Armored Brigade (Colonel IF Kiritchenko) and supported by aircraft from the air and air defense zone of Moscow, the 17th Armored Division was thrown back by November 30th. The right wing of the German 4th Army ( XIII Army Corps ) attempted a relief attack in the direction of Serpukhov, Lopasnya and Podolsk, which was supposed to encircle and destroy the Soviet troops north and west of Serpukhov. On November 27th, the XXXXIII. Army Corps from the Alexin area. The right wing of the 50th Army (now under General IW Boldin) led a counterattack north of Tula, which was able to stop the German XXIV Army Corps (motorized) in the Kostrow area, 25 km north of Tula.

Right wing of the Soviet Western Front

49th Army (Lieutenant General IG Sacharkin )

• 220th Rifle Division
• 248th Rifle Division
• 238th Rifle Division (Colonel GP Korotkow)
• 194th Mountain Infantry Division
• 340th Rifle Divisions
• 415th Rifle Division

2nd Cavalry Corps (from November 25th 1st Guard Cavalry Corps) (Major General Below )

• 41st Cavalry Division (General PM Davydov)
• 31st Cavalry Division (Colonel JN Piwnjev)
• 112th Panzer Division (Colonel AL Getman )
• 33rd Panzer Brigade

50th Army (Major General AN Yermakov , from November 22: Lieutenant General IW Boldin )

• 413rd Rifle Division (Major General AD Tereschkow)
• 154th Rifle Division (Major General JS Fokanow)
• 217th Rifle Division (Colonel KP Trubnikow)
• 258th Rifle Division (Colonel MA Siyazov)
• 260th Rifle Division (Colonel VD Khochlow)
• 279th Rifle Division (Colonel PG Scheludko)
• 290th Rifle Division (Colonel NW Ryakin)
• 299th Rifle Division (Colonel IF Serjogin)
• 108th Panzer Division (Colonel SA Ivanov with 3 KW-1 , 7 T-34 and 23 light tanks)
• 11th Tank Brigade (Colonel PM Arman)
• 32nd Panzer Brigade (Colonel II Juschuk with 5 KW-1, 7 T-34 and 22 T-60 )
• 69th NKVD Brigade (Colonel AK Melnikow)
• 156th NKVD Regiment (Major SF Zubkow)

3rd Army (Major General JG Kreiser )

• 173rd Rifle Division (Colonel AW Bogdanow)
• 129th Rifle Division (Colonel AV Gladkow)
• 239th Rifle Division (Colonel GO Martirosjan)
• 283rd Rifle Division
• 132nd Rifle Division
• 447th Reserve Artillery Regiment (Colonel AA Mavrin)
• 702nd anti-tank regiment (7 times 37 millimeter guns)
• 9th Tank Brigade (Lieutenant Colonel IF Kiritschenko with 7 KV-1, 20 T-34 and 28 T-40)
• 84th Marine Rifle Brigade (Colonel VA Moljew)
• 55th Cavalry Division
• 52nd Cavalry Division

13th Army (Major General AM Gorodnyansky )

• 127th Rifle Division (later 2nd Guard Division)
• 160th Rifle Division
• 143rd Rifle Division
• 148th Rifle Division, Colonel Filip M. Cherokmanov
• 132nd Rifle Division, Colonel Andrei Avksentyevich Mishchenko
• 141st Panzer Brigade
• 150th Panzer Brigade

5th Cavalry Corps (from December 25th: 3rd Guard Cavalry Corps), General WD Kryuchenkin

• 14th Cavalry Division
• 21st Cavalry Division
• 32nd Cavalry Division
• 121st Rifle Division

Last German attack on Tula

At the beginning of December the fighting took place at temperatures as low as −30 degrees, the eastern flank of the 2nd Panzer Army, the XXXXVII. Army Corps (motorized) (10th Motorized Infantry Division and 18th Panzer Division) had to cover a front about 180 km wide. The 2nd Army following south also had to hold an overstretched section of the front with 6 infantry divisions and could not free any forces for the offensive in the front arc of Tula. On December 1st the German 4th Army began new attacks, further south the 2nd Panzer Army renewed its offensive north of Tula on December 2nd, the aim was still to surround and cut off the city. The XXIV Army Corps (motorized) broke into the opposing defense: The 299th Rifle Division was pushed back by the 4th Panzer Division near Rudnewo, the 3rd Panzer Division won the battle against the 413rd Rifle Division Place Torzhovo. South of Tula, the infantry regiment "Gr.D." won the place Dubki in battle with the 159th Rifle Division. In the south with the 2nd Army, the XXXIV. Army Corps (General Metz) launched an attack against the Soviet 13th Army by attacking the 134th Infantry Division (Generalleutnant Cochenhausen) on both sides of Liwny and the 45th Infantry Division (General Schlieper ) over the Sosna section on Jelez . The XXXXVIII. Army Corps (motorized) tried to advance on Tim . On December 3, the 4th Panzer Division reached the village of Kostrowo and was stopped by the Soviet 108th Panzer Brigade. While the 25th Infantry Division (motorized) deployed at Wenew could not break the resistance of the 239th Rifle Division. The troops of the Soviet 50th Army in the north-east of Tula had to give up the Rewjakino station, which connected the railway line from Tula to Moscow. The northern corridor of Tula was narrowed to about 15 kilometers. The endangered section was held firmly by the 999 rifle regiment of the 258th rifle division and a tank company. The Soviet 290th and 217th Rifle Divisions prevented a connection between Kampfgruppe Eberbach (4th Panzer Division) and the 131st Infantry Division (Lieutenant General Meyer-Bürdorf ) of XXXXIII attacking from the northwest . Army Corps.

On December 5th, the front of the 2nd Panzer Army, which had been extended to 350 km, was forced into defense. After exhausting their offensive skills, units of the 2nd Panzer Army began to retreat from the dangerous ridge northeast of Tula to the Tula-Uslowaja railway line. Soviet air strikes gave an indication that a counter-attack was imminent and that Soviet reinforcements were deflecting it. In the area of ​​Ryazan and in the northwest, 30 locomotives with troop transports were detected by the German aerial reconnaissance, at the same time another 400 trucks and 5 locomotives were scouted near Dankow. On December 4th and 5th, counterattacks followed by the Soviet 112th Panzer Division (Colonel Andrei L. Getman), which drove the German troops out of the village of Kostrowo and cleared the Rewjakino train station. General Guderian recognized the great threats to his flanks and the weakness of his forces and gave the order to retreat.

Soviet counteroffensive and consequences

A final attack on Tula was made on the night of December 7th by forces of the 296th Infantry Division from the western Upa arch. The attack against the western outskirts of Maslowo against the hamlet “Mjasnovo” was repulsed with heavy losses for the 521 infantry regiment. The commanding general of the unsuccessful LIII. Army Corps, General of the Infantry Weisenberger had already been replaced by General Fischer von Weikersthal on November 28th . As early as the end of November, the Soviet pressure on the northern flank of the 2nd Panzer Army at Kaschira and Michailow, where the Stawka began to establish a new 10th Army , which then took the lead in the subsequent counter-offensive.

10th Army under General Filipp Golikow

• 322nd, 323rd, 324th, 326th, 330th Rifle Division
• 57th and 75th Cavalry Divisions

On December 8th, the troops of the Soviet 10th and 50th Army went over to the counter-offensive. The 1st Guards Cavalry Corps (previously known as the 2nd Cavalry Corps until November 26th) under General Pawel A. Below broke through the thin German lines. The city of Jelez, which was only occupied by the 134th Infantry Division on December 5th, was recaptured on December 9th by the 148th Rifle Division (Colonel Filip M. Cherokmanov) of the 13th Army. The German attempt to use Tula as a springboard for the attack on the southern apron of Moscow had failed. On December 16, Hitler rejected deposition movements and formulated new guidelines for the conduct of the war in a Führer directive of December 18, forcing the troops to remain "fanatically" in their positions. Colonel-General Guderian had to give up command of the 2nd Panzer Army a week later. From Christmas 1941, Colonel General Rudolf Schmidt led the 2nd Panzer Army and the 2nd Army in personal union until January 15, 1942, when Colonel General von Weichs' feedback shared command again.

literature

• Percy Ernst Schramm (Ed.): War Diary of the High Command of the Wehrmacht , Volume I: 1940/41 edited by Hans-Adolf Jacobsen , Bernard & Graefe Verlag für Wehrwesen, Frankfurt am Main, 1965.
• General Swiss Military Magazine Volume 115 (1949) Issue 10, pp. 746–752.
• ID Klimov: The heroic defense of Tula . (Operation of the troops of the 50th Army, October – December 1941) Moscow 1961. (Russian)
• AW Isajew: Typhoon - In Moscow towards Yauza, Moscow 2005. - ISBN 5-699-12899-9 .
• AN Lepjochin: The battle for Tula . - Tula 2012.

Web links

• В. И. Боть: Defense of Tula (Russian)