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Battle of Velikiye Luki

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	Topics Battle of Velikiye Luki Topic Home The Battle of Velikiye Luki took place between the WehrmachtWehrmacht Wehrmacht was the name of the armed forces of Nazi-Germany from 1935 to 1945.... and the Red ArmyRed Army The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, , the armed forces first organiz... forces, and occurred in and around the Russian city of Velikiye LukiVelikiye Luki Velikiye Luki, also transliterated as Velikie Luki, is a city on the meandering Lovat River in Russia, in Pskov Oblast... during the winter of 1942-1943. It is particularly notable as an example of the failure of German tactics in relieving an encirclementEncirclement Encirclement is a military term for the situation when a force or target is isolated and surrounded by enemy forces.... , similar to those employed at the Battle of StalingradFacts About Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in World War II and is considered the bloodiest battle in human history, with m... . It should not be confused with the larger Velikiye Luki offensive operation (within the scope of the Rzhev-Vyazma strategic offensive operation) of which it was a part. Background When Operation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa Summary Operation Barbarossa was the codename for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that commenced on... had played out, and the front line in the northern sector of the Eastern Front had stabilized in the spring of 1942, the Germans were left in control of the town of Velikiye Luki, which provided them with a bridgeheadBridgehead A bridgehead is literally a military fortification that protects the end of a bridge that is closest to the enemy.... over the Lovat RiverLovat River Lovat River is a river in Belarus and Russia.... . A major north-south rail trunk ran parallel to the river's west bank, behind the German lines. Marshy terrain leading to Lake PeipusLake Peipus Lake Peipus is a large lake, on the border between Estonia and Russia in Northern Europe.... began just north of the city, making attack difficult for either side there. The city itself was therefore a natural point for a Soviet counterattack, to reduce the German bridgehead and establish a bridgehead of their own on the opposite side, denying the Germans use of the rail trunk. In view of its strategic significance, the Germans fortified the city heavily over the course of 1942. The battle A major Soviet offensive to retake the city did indeed develop in mid-November 1942. The diversion of German forces for the Battles of RzhevBattles of Rzhev Rzhev Battles is a general term for a series of World War II offensives launched during January 8, 1942—March 22, 194... had left Velikiye Luki relatively weakly defended by the 83rd Infantry Division83rd Infantry Division (Germany) The 83rd Infantry Division, , was a German military unit that fought in several notable actions during World War II.... , with the lines to the south held by the 3rd Mountain DivisionGerman 3rd Mountain Division The German 3rd Mountain Division was raised from the Austrian 5th and 7th Divisions.... . The city itself, however, was provided with extensive prepared defenses and garrisoned by a full regiment of the 83rd Division, Infantry Regiment 277, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Eduard FreiherrFreiherr Freiherr, a German word, is a title of nobility of lower peerage rank in the former Holy Roman Empire, its various succe... von Saß, who had only assumed command a matter of days before the offensive. Along with artillery, engineer and support units (including Artillery Regiment 183 and Pioneer Battalion 183) the garrison totalled around 7000 troops. Encirclement The Soviet attack, spearheaded by four Guards divisions, commenced on November 24. Despite heavy losses, they successfully encircled the city by the 27th, trapping the garrison; by the next day they threatened to cut off other elements of the corps south of the city. Army Group CentreArmy Group Centre Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941 when Army Group B was renamed Army Group Centre.... 's commander asked the OKHOberkommando des Heeres The Oberkommando des Heeres was Germany's Army High Command from 1936 to 1945.... for permission to conduct a breakout operation while the situation was still relatively fluid, pulling the German lines back by around ten miles (16 km); this would have both screened the vital rail link and left the resulting Soviet salientFacts About Salient Salient may refer to:* Salients, re-entrants and pockets... exposed to counter-attack. The request was dismissed by Hitler, who (pointing to an earlier success in a similar situation at KholmKholm Kholm is a town in the southern part of Novgorod Oblast, Russia, the administrative center of Kholmsky District.... ) demanded that the encircled formations stand fast while other units attacked from the west. The relief force Von Saß and the garrison were ordered to hold the city at all costs, while a relief force was hurriedly assembled. The remainder of the 83rd Infantry and 3rd Mountain Divisions, encircled south of Velikiye Luki, fought their way west to meet the relieving troops. Due to Army Group Centre's commitments at Rzhev, the only resources immediately available to man the lines opposite Velikiye Luki were those already in the area, which were organised as Gruppe Woehler under an improvised staff headquartered in a peasant hut. Later, other divisions were made available, including the understrength 8th Panzer Division, the 20th Motorized Infantry Division, and the weak 6th Luftwaffe Field Division, although there was a corresponding build-up of Soviet strength. Throughout December, the garrison — which maintained radio contact with the relief force — held out against repeated Soviet attempts to break through their lines. The Soviet forces, attacking strongly entrenched troops in severe winter weather, suffered extremely high casualties (along with allegedly high rates of desertion from many of the EstoniaEstonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe.... n units involved) while conditions in the city steadily deteriorated despite airdrops of supplies, ammunition and equipment. In the meantime, Soviet attempts to take their main objective, the rail lines at NovosokolnikiNovosokolniki Novosokolniki is a town in the southern part of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Maly Udray River some 287 km south... , had been frustrated by the counter-attacks of the relief force: an attempt by the Germans to reach Velikiye Luki in late December, however, ran into stubborn Soviet defence and halted. Final relief attempts Operation Totila, the next attempt to break through to Velikiye Luki, was launched on January 4. The two German spearheads advanced to within five miles (8 km) of the city, but stalled due to pressure on their flanks. Soviet attempts to reduce the defence and liberate the city continued. On January 5, a Soviet attack from the north split Velikiye Luki in two, a small German force — along with several hundred wounded — becoming isolated in the citadelCitadel Summary A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes with a castle in its middle.... in the west of the city, while von Saß and the bulk of the garrison retained a sector centred around the station in the east. It now seemed unlikely that any breakthrough operation would succeed, though after repeated representations to the LuftwaffeLuftwaffe The Deutsche Luftwaffe or Luftwaffe is the commonly used term for the German air force.... , a battalion of paratroopers was finally released to assist the operations. On January 10, a surprise thrust by German infantry supported by tank destroyers succeeded in breaking through to the citadel and joining the fragment of the garrison trapped there: von Saß's force in the easterly pocket, however, by now lacked the resources to attack westwards to link up with them. The German plan called for the paratroop battalion to advance to the citadel on the night of the 14 January and assist a breakout by the troops there and any walking wounded. The paratroopers failed to reach the citadel after losing their way in the featureless and snow-covered landscape, but the force in the citadel broke out on their own under cover of darkness; around 150 men eventually reached German lines. Radio contact with the eastern side of Velikiye Luki ceased on 15 January: at 04:40 Saß stated that "a breakout appears out of the question; because almost 2000 wounded would fall into Russian hands...help must immediately come from the outside". Along with 3-4000 of his men, he was taken into Soviet captivity when his forces surrendered on 16 January. Von Saß and seven other officers (including von Rappard, the previous commander of Infantry Regiment 277, who was taken as a POW in 1945) are stated to have been executed in the main square of Velikiye Luki in January 1946, after a tribunal convicted them of war crimesWar crimes of the Wehrmacht War crimes of the Wehrmacht are those crimes made by German armed forces during World War II.... against POWs and civilians in and around the city. The battle is sometimes called "The Little Stalingrad of the North" due to its similarities with the larger and better-known Battle of StalingradBattle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in World War II and is considered the bloodiest battle in human history, with m... that raged simultaneously in the southern sector of the front. (However, a number of other battles in World War II and afterward have also been dubbed a "Little Stalingrad".) Orders of battle While it is somewhat difficult to separate the actions of various Red Army and Wehrmacht units within the flurry of movements involved in the larger scope of the Soviet operations, for the most part these below are derived from Glantz and Isayev. German Army Group Center KampfgruppeKampfgruppe The Kampfgruppe was a combat formation used by the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War.... "Chevallerie" from Wehrmacht's Velikiye Luki garrison Kampfgruppe "Wöhler"Otto Wöhler Otto W?hler was a German general of infantry, serving during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leave... 83rd Infantry Division Kampfgruppe "Meyer" (South-West of Velikiye Luki) Three infantry battalions, two batteries of StuGIII assault guns, two artillery and one rocket launcher batteries Infantry Regiment 277 (Lieutenant-Colonel von Saß) (garrison) 3rd Ski Battalion (attached) 336th Security Battalion (garrison) Battery of 210 mm NebelwerferNebelwerfer The Nebelwerfer was a German towed rocket artillery piece, developed in the 1930s and used in World War II.... (rocket launcher) mortars Operation "TotilaTotila Totila, born in Treviso, was king of the Ostrogoths, chosen after the death of his uncle Ildibad, having engineered the assa... " Relief forces II/11th Panzer division (Wehrmacht) (3 Pz.II, 2 PzKW IIIFacts About Panzer III The Panzerkampfwagen III, more commonly referred to as the Panzer III, was a tank developed in the 1930s by Germany an... "short", 28 Pz.III "long", 3 PzKW IVPanzer IV The Panzerkampfwagen IV, more commonly referred to as the Panzer IV, was a tank developed by Germany and used extensiv... "long" and one command tank) Two battalions/331st Infantry Division 8th Panzer Division (14 PzKW 38tPanzer 38(t) The Panzer 38 was a Czechoslovakian tank used by Germany during World War II..... , and one command tank) 20th Motorized Infantry Division 197th Assault Gun Battalion (Wehrmacht) Infantry Regiment 358/205th Infantry DivisionFacts About 205th Infantry Division (Germany) The 205th Infantry Division was a German division during the Second World War.... 3rd Gebirgsjäger Division (at Novoskol'niki to the rear of 83rd Infantry Division's positions) 291st Infantry Division Most of Army Group Center was engaged in resisting the second Soviet Rzhev-Sychevka offensiveSecond Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive The Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive was a strategic offensive launched by Soviet forces against German forces during World W... throughout this period. Almost half of the 83rd Infantry Division was assigned to the Velikiye Luki garrison. The 3rd Mountain Division was at little more than half strength, since its 139th Regiment had been left in Lapland when the division withdrew from northern Finland. The 138th Mountain Regiment was the unknown unit of 3rd Mountain shown in Maps 2 and 3. 20th Motorized was from Army Group Center's reserve. Soviet Kalinin FrontFacts About Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War.... engaged in the Second Rzhev-Sychevka OffensiveSecond Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive The Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive was a strategic offensive launched by Soviet forces against German forces during World W... to the south of Velikiye Luki. 3rd Shock Army (Soviet Union)3rd Shock Army (Soviet Union) The 3rd Shock Army was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War.... (General Lieutenant Galitsky) 8th Estonian Rifle Corps(General Major Pern) 7th Estonian Rifle Division7th Rifle Division (Soviet Union) Overview The 7th Rifle Division was a infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army, formed five separate times from 1918 to 1955.... (Colonel Vassil') 249th Estonian Rifle Division (Colonel Lombak) 5th Guards Rifle Corps (General Colonel Beloborodov) 357th Rifle Division (Colonel Kronik) 257th Rifle Division (Colonel Dyakonov) 2nd Mechanised Corps(General Colonel Korchagin) 47th Motor-rifle brigade (Colonel Dremov) 13th independent Guards breakthrough tank regiment (Sub-colonel Galkin) equipped with KV-1 tanks 34th independent tank regiment (Sub-colonel Bogdanov) equipped with T-34T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958.... tanks 38th independent tank regiment (Sub-colonel Zheleznov, after 30.12.42 Sub-colonel Khubayev) equipped with T-34T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958.... tanks Long Range AviationLong Range Aviation Long Range Aviation was the branch of the Soviet Air Force tasked with long-range bombardment of strategic targets with nuc... 3rd Long-range aviation division (Colonel Yukhanov) 17th Long-range aviation division (General Major of Aviation Loginov) 222nd Long-range aviation division (Colonel Titov) See also Eastern Front (WWII)