From the Don to the Dnepr: Soviet Offensive Operations, December 1942 - August 1943

by Glantz,David M.

• ISBN13: 9780714633503
• ISBN10: 071463350X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1991-12-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

In mid-December 1942, after encircling the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad, Soviet forces in southern Russia began a series of offensive operations which continued unabated into February 1943. In these offensives the Soviet High Command attempted to smash German resistance and encircle the bulk of two German army groups. For two months the German forces struck back. In a well co-ordinated counterstroke they inflicted a major operational defeat on the Soviets and stabilized the front until the summer. The two-month period of Soviet offensive activity during the winter of 1942-1943 saw the Red Army test new operational and tactical techniques and experiment with forces and methods for conducting mobile armoured warfare. Through victory and defeat the Red Army learnt its lesson well. Out of this period, and the three month period of relative calm that followed, emerged the new Red Army, which would defeat blitzkreig at Kursk and would achieve two years of virtually uninterrupted battlefield success,culminating in their defeat of Nazi Germanu.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
List of Maps	xi
Abbreviations	xiii
Preface	xv
Introduction: The Red Army 1941-1942. Tragedy and Rebirth of an Army	1	(9)
Operation ``Little Saturn'': The Soviet Offensive on the Middle Don - December 1942	10	(72)
Strategic and Operational Context	10	(14)
Area of Operations	24	(4)
Opposing Forces	28	(3)
Army Planning	31	(10)
The Reconnaissance Phase (11-15 December)	41	(1)
The Penetration Operation (16-18 December)	42	(13)
The Exploitation Phase (19-23 December)	55	(10)
The Battle of Tatsinskaya (24-29 December)	65	(5)
German Restoration of the Front (24-30 December)	70	(3)
Conclusions	73	(9)
Operation ``Gallop'': The Donbas Operation - 29 January - 6 March 1943	82	(69)
Strategic Context	82	(1)
Operational Context	83	(3)
Opposing Forces	86	(3)
Area of Operations	89	(2)
Army Planning	91	(5)
Conduct of the Offensive (29 January-20 February)	96	(25)
The German Counteroffensive (20 February-6 March)	121	(24)
Conclusions	145	(6)
Operation ``Star'': The Khar'kov Operation-2 February-23 March 1943	151	(64)
Operational Context	151	(1)
Opposing Forces	151	(2)
Area of Operations	153	(3)
Planning	156	(4)
Conduct of the Operation: The Soviet Advance to Khar'kov (2-16 February)	160	(19)
Soviet Exploitation Toward Poltava (16-23 February)	179	(7)
Reorientation Southward: The Death Ride of 3d Tank Army (23 February-5 March)	186	(7)
Manstein's Counteroffensive (5-23 March)	193	(18)
Conclusions	211	(4)
Operation ``Polkovodets Rumyantsev'': The Belgorod-Khar'kov Operation-August 1943	215	(151)
Strategic and Operational Context	215	(4)
Opposing Forces	219	(7)
Area of Operations	226	(3)
Planning	229	(11)
The Penetration Phase: The Creation of the Tomarovka-Borisovka Pocket and the Fall of Belgorod (3-5 August)	240	(40)
Reduction of the Borisovka Pocket and Exploitation to Bogodukhov and Trostyanets (6-11 August)	280	(26)
The Advance on Khar'kov (6-11 August)	306	(6)
The Struggles at Bogodukhov (11-17 August)	312	(12)
The Advance of Khar'kov (11-18 August)	324	(6)
Thrust and Counterthrust: The Soviet Advance to the Psel River and the German Counterattack at Akhtyrka (13-23 August)	330	(21)
The Battle for Khar'kov (18-23 August)	351	(9)
Conclusions	360	(6)
Conclusions	366	(11)
Appendix 1. Order of Battle: Middle Don Operation (December 1942)	377	(5)
Appendices 2 and 3. Order of Battle: Khar'kov-Donbas Operation and Manstein's Counterattack (January-March 1943)	382	(10)
Appendix 4. Order of Battle: Belgorod-Khar'kov Operation (August 1943)	392	(8)
Notes	400	(21)
Index	421