The
Second Battle of Târgu Frumos, part of the
First Jassy-Kishinev OffensiveThe First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive, was fought between 8 April and 6 June 1944 by the Soviets and Axis powers of World War II. The offensive was actually a coordinated invasion of Romania conducted by Red Army's 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts, in accordance with Joseph Stalin's strategy to project...
, was a military engagement primarily between the
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
and
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
forces in May 1944, near
IaşiIaşi , is a city and municipality in Moldavia, in north-eastern Romania...
,
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
.
The battle resulted from a
StavkaStavka was the term used to refer to command element of armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history of Imperial Russia as administrative staff and General Headquarters during late 19th Century Imperial Russian armed forces and those of the Soviet Union...
order to the forces of the 2nd & 3rd Ukrainian Fronts to commence a coordinated invasion of Romania. It was directed towards Iaşi with a secondary objective of establishing bridgeheads across the Prut river.
The battle was only briefly described by Soviet historians.
The
Second Battle of Târgu Frumos, part of the
First Jassy-Kishinev OffensiveThe First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive, was fought between 8 April and 6 June 1944 by the Soviets and Axis powers of World War II. The offensive was actually a coordinated invasion of Romania conducted by Red Army's 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts, in accordance with Joseph Stalin's strategy to project...
, was a military engagement primarily between the
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
and
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
forces in May 1944, near
IaşiIaşi , is a city and municipality in Moldavia, in north-eastern Romania...
,
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
.
The battle resulted from a
StavkaStavka was the term used to refer to command element of armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history of Imperial Russia as administrative staff and General Headquarters during late 19th Century Imperial Russian armed forces and those of the Soviet Union...
order to the forces of the 2nd & 3rd Ukrainian Fronts to commence a coordinated invasion of Romania. It was directed towards Iaşi with a secondary objective of establishing bridgeheads across the Prut river.
The battle was only briefly described by Soviet historians. Recently, Russian historians have begun describing this as a distinct battle. For example the four volume
Great Patriotic War"(1998) prepared for the Russian Federation states:
Thus, during the Tyrgu-Frumos (Târgu-Frumos) operation, the 2nd Ukrainian Front's forces tried unsuccessfully to complete a deep penetration of the enemy's defense and reach the territory between the Prut & Seret Rivers. By order of the Stavka, they themselves went over to the defensive along existing lines on 6 May.... The several attempts by the 3rd Ukrainian Front's armies to conduct attacks from their Dnestr bridgeheads & seize new bridgeheads also led to nothing.
According to accounts by
Hasso von ManteuffelHasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel was a German soldier and liberal politician of the 20th century.He served in both world wars, and during World War II, he was a distinguished general...
, one of the two German division commanders, and Frido von Senger und Etterlin the German forces defeated a Soviet offensive by the 2nd Ukrainian Front that was expected to be a precursor of a much larger offensive in the Northern Ukraine. The battle of
Târgu FrumosTârgu Frumos is a town in Iaşi County, Moldavia, Romania. it has a population of 13,619....
has been used as a case study in officer tactical education in the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
and other armies, teaching how a mobile defense can defeat an armoured spearhead. There are however questions about the accounts by the two German officers, relating to the failure to include Romanian forces into their account.
Prelude
During April 1944 a series of offensives by the
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
, including in the Iaşi sector, was intended to deceive OKH as to the real time and place of the major offensive planned in Belorussia. The German-Romanian forces successfully defended against the local limited objective attacks throughout the month of April. The attack aiming at
Târgu FrumosTârgu Frumos is a town in Iaşi County, Moldavia, Romania. it has a population of 13,619....
was the initial attempt by the Red Army to achieve its goal of deceiving the OKH, and testing the Axis defenses in Romania while preventing movement of reserves to the Belorussian sector of the Eastern Front.
"It had been thought that May Day, the traditional workers' day of celebration, would see the opening of a new assault by the Soviet forces. But the offensive re-opened on 2 May heralding three shattering and unceasing days and nights of combat. Behind a sixty-minute drum fire at dawn, two Soviet armies moved into an attack."
The battle
The battle of Târgu Frumos was a series of engagements and smaller combats over several days during which armoured forces of the Wehrmacht LVII Panzer Corps, in particular of the Grossdeutschland Division and
24th Panzer DivisionThe 24th Panzer Division was formed in 1942 from the 1st Cavalry Division based at Konigsberg.-Service:It served under the Fourth Panzer Army in Army Group South of the Eastern Front. In late December 1942 it was encircled in the Battle of Stalingrad and destroyed...
, engaged the Red Army’s 16th Tank Corps of the
2nd Tank ArmyThe Second Tank Army was formed in January - February, 1943 on the basis of the 3rd Reserve Army of the Bryansk Front.Originally the Army comprised 11th and 16th Tank Corps, 60th, 112th and 194th Rifle Divisions, the 11th Guards Separate tank brigade, 115th Rifle Brigade, the 28th ski brigade and...
, which was also attacking from the north.
One unit's experience in the opening hours of the battle was described as such:
(1st Battalion), P(an)z(er)Gr(enadier) R(e)g(imen)t G(ross)D(eutschland) and its Romanian allies occupied a well wired-in and T-MineThe Teller mine was a German-made munition common in World War II. Equipped with a built-in carrying handle, the mine was a plate-shaped device used for anti-tank warfare....
-strewn line running to the right of 3. SS-Pz.Div. "Totenkopf's" positions. The Soviets advanced in great waves, their tanks and infantry mixed together. Moving much faster than the Germans had anticipated, they overwhelmed...(the 1st Company), wiping it out to the last man. While (the) temporary battalion commander...attempted to halt and repulse the Soviets with what was left of his battalion, the Romanians to the left of (the 2nd Company) cowered in their trenches like "herrings", as (the) company commander...later recounted. Indeed, the Romanians seemed to have reached an unofficial cease fire with the enemy. That night the LuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.Schweizer Luftwaffe is also the name of the Swiss Air...
succeeded in mounting an air strike in the enemy rear area, to no avail. The next morning the Soviets resumed their attack, preceding it with a bombardment of phosphorus shells. Over 100 enemy tanks and assault guns advanced against (the 3rd Platoon). With his Romanian artillery remaining inactive, (the 3rd Platoon of the 2nd Company) could count only on the support of three...(assault guns) and the four 15cm Nebelwerfer multiple rocket launchers of (the 10th Company, Panzer Artillery Regiment Grossdeutschland). (The 2nd Company) was soon back to the Nebelwerfer's position where it formed a 'hedgehog' defense...and a handful of...men then managed to gain the temporary safety of the railway embankment in their rear. His battalion scattered, (the 1st Battalion commander) sent (the 2nd Company commander) with four SPW's to cover the wide open left flank, completely vulnerable when the Romanians abandoned their positions. Although the enemy had not made any deep penetrations, the tension of the past two days had exhausted the Panzergrenadiers. "Suddenly...four T-34s were in among the SPWs when, as if by magic, tanks and assault guns of the SS-Division "Totenkopf" appeared. Before a single T-34 could train its gun, all had received direct hits." Immediately thereafter Oberst Hans-Ulrich RudelHans-Ulrich Rudel was a Stuka dive-bomber pilot during World War II and a member of the Nazi party. Rudel is famous for being the most highly decorated German serviceman of the war...
's Ju87 Stukas led off a counter thrust by "Totenkopf's" Panzerregiment, accompanied by...four SPWs. The Panzergrenadiers took a measure of revenge for what they had endured over the past 48 hours...before being pulled out of the line to regroup and refit.
Despite initial successes of the Soviet attack, a series of counter-attacks managed to halt the Soviet offensive. The battle reduced Soviet tank strength to a point where a continued attack into Romania was not possible. In the three days of fighting, the Wehrmacht LVII Panzer Corps (mainly Grossdeutschland and 24th Panzer Division) and L Army Corps defeated the Soviet force and claimed the destruction of over 350 Soviet tanks, ca. 100 of these claimed by 24th Panzer Division. During the battle,
Hasso von ManteuffelHasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel was a German soldier and liberal politician of the 20th century.He served in both world wars, and during World War II, he was a distinguished general...
, commander of the Grossdeutschland division, first encountered the new Soviet Stalin tank, "It was at Târgu Frumos that I first met the Stalin tanks. It was a shock to find that, although my
TigersThe Tiger I was a German heavy tank used in World War II, produced from late 1942 as an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of Operation Barbarossa, particularly the T-34 and the KV-1...
began to hit them at a range of 3,000 metres, our shells bounced off, and did not penetrate them until we had closed to half that distance. But I was able to counter the Russians' superiority by manoeuvre and mobility, in making the best use of ground cover." Manteuffel also noted that the Stalin tanks had several "disadvantages: slow, not manoeuvrable enough; as well, in my opinion their crews were not sufficiently familiar with the tank."
Historiography
Soviet sources make few references to the battle. Historian
David GlantzDavid M. Glantz is an American military historian and the editor of The Journal of Slavic Military Studies....
has found some mention of operations in Romania in April and May 1944 in divisional histories. The main source for him is the Soviet 2d Tank Army’s history, where a direct reference to the battle is found. It states that in late March 1944, the tank army was shifted into the sector of 27th Army with the mission of
- “attacking in the direction of Focuri and Podul-Iloaei. Subsequently, the army was to strike a blow toward the city of Yassy and secure it.”
In the narrative on follow-on operations by the Tank Army it is stated that it attacked together with 27th Army’s 35th Rifle Corps. It also claims that the 3rd Tank Corps reached Târgu Frumos, but was repulsed by the German counterattacks. The 16th Tank Corps identified by the German officers appears not to be mentioned in the account.
Despite German claims that the Soviet attack was a full-fledged offensive, it appears now that the battle of Târgu Frumos was a relatively small-scale operation in the context of 1944's fighting on the
Eastern FrontThe Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of war between the European Axis powers, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia and Finland , and the Soviet Union which encompassed central and eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9...
, even though a Soviet success would have put the Red Army into a much stronger position for its eventual attack into Romania.
Aftermath
At the end of the Battle of Târgu Frumos the frontline stabilised, however it was from these positions that the Soviets launched the successful Jassy–Kishinev Offensive in late August 1944.
On a political level, the battle accelerated the activities of anti-German forces in
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
, leading to negotiations between the traditional political parties and the
Romanian Communist PartyThe Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
, represented by
Lucreţiu PătrăşcanuLucreţiu Pătrăşcanu was a Romanian communist politician and leading member of the Communist Party of Romania , also noted for his activities as a lawyer, sociologist and economist. For a while, he was a professor at Bucharest University...
.
Soviet
- 2nd Ukrainian Front (Konev)
- Main Shock Group (Tirgu Frumos Axis)
- 27th Army (Trofimenko)
- 35th Guards Rifle Corps
- 3rd Guards Airborne Division
- 93rd Guards Rifle Division
- 202nd Rifle Division
- 206th Rifle Division
- 33rd Rifle Corps
- 78th Rifle Division
- 180th Rifle Division
- 337th Rifle Division
- 40th Army (Zhmachenko)
- 50th Rifle Corps
- 4th Guards Rifle Division
- 133rd Rifle Division
- 163rd Rifle Division
- 51st Rifle Corps
- 42nd Guards Rifle Division
- 74th Rifle Division
- 232nd Rifle Division
- 104th Rifle Corps
- 38th Rifle Division
- 240th Rifle Division
- 2nd Tank Army (Bogdanov)
- 3rd Tank Corps (50 Tanks)
- 50th Tank Brigade
- 51st Tank Brigade
- 103rd Tank Brigade
- 57th Motorized Rifle Brigade
- 16th Tank Corps (55 Tanks)
- 107th Tank Brigade
- 109th Tank Brigade
- 164th Tank Brigade
- 154th Motorized Rifle Brigade
- 11th Guards Tank Brigade (16 Tanks)
- 8th Guards Separate Tank Regiment
- 13th Guards Separate Tank Regiment
- Northern Shock Group (N of Iasi) Secondary Operations
- 52nd Army (Koroteev)
- 78th Rifle Corps
- 252nd Rifle Division
- 303rd Rifle Division
- 373rd Rifle Division
- 73rd Rifle Corps
- 31st Rifle Division
- 254th Rifle Division
- 294th Rifle Division
- 116th Rifle Division (Army Reserve)
- 6th Tank Army (Kravchenko)
- 5th Mechanised Corps (20-30 Tanks)
- 5th Guards Tank Corps
German
- Army Group South Ukraine
- 8th Army
- LVII Panzercorps
- Grossdeutschland Division
- 23rd Panzer Division
The 23rd Panzer Division was established on the 14th of March 1942 in France. It was built around the 101 Panzer-Brigade and two infantry regiments. The units worked with "booty tanks"....
- Battle group of 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf
- IV Armeecorps (Group Mieth)
- 46th Infantry Division (Germany)
- 24th Panzer Division
The 24th Panzer Division was formed in 1942 from the 1st Cavalry Division based at Konigsberg.-Service:It served under the Fourth Panzer Army in Army Group South of the Eastern Front. In late December 1942 it was encircled in the Battle of Stalingrad and destroyed...
(Army Reserve)
Romanian
- 4th Romanian Army (Racovita)
- I Romanian Army Corps
- 8th Infantry Division
- 6th Infantry Division
- IV Romanian Army Corps
- 7th Infantry Division
- 1st Guards Armoured Division (Commander Radu Korne
Radu Korne was a Romanian General during World War II.-Awards:* Order of Michael the Brave** 3rd Class ** 2nd Class * Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class...
)
- 18th Mountain Division
- 3rd Infantry Division
- 1st Air Corps
- 5th Bomber Group
- 8th Assault Group (flying German Hs 129
The Henschel Hs 129 was a World War II ground-attack aircraft fielded by the German Luftwaffe. Its nickname, the Panzerknacker , is a deliberate pun—in German, it also means "safe cracker"...
ground attack planes)
- 9th Fighter Group
Secondary Print
- Axworthy, Mark review of "Red Storm Over the Balkans: The Failed Soviet Invasion of Romania, Spring 1944", by David M. Glantz, Journal of Military History, October 2007, vol. 71 I(4), 1282-1283.
- Glantz, David M.
David M. Glantz is an American military historian and the editor of The Journal of Slavic Military Studies....
,Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War, Frank Cass, London, (1989) ISBN 0-7146-3347-X
- Glantz, David M.
David M. Glantz is an American military historian and the editor of The Journal of Slavic Military Studies....
, House, Jonathan When Titans Clashed (1995)
- Lucas, James Germany's Elite Panzer Force: Grossdeutschland (MacDonald And Jane's Publishers, Ltd., London, 1978 ISBN 0-354-04465-0)
- Spaeter, Helmuth History of the Panzerkorps Grossdeutschland Volume 2 (J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Winnipeg, MB, 1995 ISBN 0-92991-50-9) English translation by David Johnston.
- Ziemke, E.F. ‘Stalingrad to Berlin'
Primary Print
- Truppendienst Taschenbuch Band 16, Published by Arbeitsgemeinschaft Truppendienst Vienna 1971
- From the Dnepr to the Vistula: Soviet Offensive Operations - November 1943 - August 1944. 1985 Art of War symposium, , A transcript of Proceedings, COL. D.M Glantz ed., Center for Land Warfare, US Army War College, 29-3 May 1985
Online