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Nov 6, 2021 · By 28 June Panzer Group 2, led by General Heinz Guderian, and General Hermann Hoth’s Panzer Group 3 had encircled three Russian armies and captured over 320,000 men in the Bialystok-Minsk pockets. The two panzer groups then pressed ahead, linking up on the far side of Smolensk on 27 July in another double envelopment.
- The Smolensk Gate: Land Bridge to Moscow
- Conflicting Strategies in The German Camp
- Stretched Supply Lines
- Controlling The Soviet Panic
- Orsha and Mogilev Encircled
- Capturing Smolensk and Stalin’s Son
- The Counterattack at Smolensk
- A Hasty Rout
- The Germans Capture Yartsevo and Yelnya
- Clearing Yelnya
The city of Smolensk, long famous for its multitude of churches, occupied a strategically valuable “land bridge” on the way to Moscow. Known as the “Smolensk Gates” in Russia, the 45-mile wide neck of land between the headwaters of the Dvina and Dniepr Rivers was the traditional invasion route from central Europe into the heart of Russia. This road...
Both sides were racing against the clock. The Soviet command was rushing forward newly created units as soon as they were mobilized, very often practically untrained and poorly armed and equipped. Lacking reserves and having an extensive front to cover, the Soviet armies were deployed in one echelon, without any significant defenses in depth. Most ...
Planning his attack against Smolensk, Field Marshal Gunther von Kluge, in overall command of both panzer groups, intended to fracture the Soviet Western Front and annihilate the bulk of its forces in familiar cauldron battles. The northern sector of von Kluge’s area of operations was characterized by extensive marshlands, small rivers, and wooded t...
German plans were slightly delayed when on July 6 Timoshenko launched a determined attack against Panzer Group 3 from the Vitebsk area toward Lepel, utilizing the V and VII Mechanized Corps. However, the poorly coordinated Soviet attack went in with virtually no reconnaissance and ran into prepared German antitank positions. During the grinding thr...
Despite the best efforts of senior Soviet officers, during the next several days, Hoth’s divisions steadily pushed the Nineteenth Army east and encircled the right flank of the Sixteenth and Twentieth Armies north and west of Smolensk. On the same day, Guderian’s XLVII Motorized Corps, skirting the city to the south, came close to linking up with t...
The city of Smolensk is divided roughly in half by the Dniepr River, which flows east to west in this area. By nightfall on July 15, the Germans were in possession of the southern part of the city. As the bulk of the city’s defenders, mainly from the Sixteenth Army, retreated to the north side of the river, the commander of Smolensk garrison, Colon...
Hearing of the loss of Smolensk, Stalin flew into a rage, accusing Marshal Timoshenko and his staff of cowardice and defeatist spirit. The specter of the fate of Col. Gen. Pavlov was fresh in Timoshenko’s mind. Without giving them pause, on July 17 the Soviet Marshal ordered Lt. Gen. Konev and his Nineteenth Army to retake Smolensk. At the same tim...
Farther to the south, Kachalov’s task force, built around the bulk of his Twenty-Eighth Army, was almost completely surrounded on July 26 by several German formations, including the 2nd SS Division Das Reich and the Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland. In a desperate attempt to fight clear of the encirclement, Lt. Gen. Kachalov was killed. Following...
As the fighting at Smolensk raged, the Soviets were making the best use of the time bought at such a high price. Two more defensive lines were established east of Smolensk on the road to Moscow, manned by four newly created armies, the Twenty-Fourth, Twenty-Ninth, Thirtieth, and Thirty-First, plus the Twenty-Eighth and Thirty-Second Armies united i...
On August 29, following up on the successes of the Twenty-Fourth Army, Timoshenko ordered the newly arrived cavalry group of Colonel Lev M. Dovator into the gap. This two-division task force was to conduct a raid into the rear areas of German forces around Yartsevo. Leaving behind all of his artillery and support elements, Dovator launched his raid...
The first large-scale battle of the war started near Smolensk on August 16, as a result of which the sides lost around 20,000 men.
- Boris Egorov
The Smolensk operation was a Soviet victory and a stinging defeat for the Wehrmacht. Although quite modest compared to later offensive operations (not more than 200–250 km (120–160 mi) were gained in depth), the Soviet advance during this operation was important from several points of view. First, German troops were definitively driven back ...
- 7 August-2 October 1943
- Soviet victory
- Smolensk region, Soviet Union
After being intendant at Smolensk, Louis Guillaume de Puybusque was captured by Russian forces during the encounters before Krasny on 15-19 November. As part of Davout's First Corps he and his son had set out on 17 November for Krasny, but near Ieskovo were caught between three sides of Russian artillery.
Jun 19, 2018 · The appearance of the Poles and the first assault on Smolensk. The first enemy detachments appeared near the walls of Smolensk on September 16, 1609, led by their commander Lev Sapieha. After 3 days, Sigismund’s forces approached Smolensk. The number of Polish troops was constantly growing.
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A surprisingly easy capture of several hills commanding the Dubrovka region north of Bryansk, with numerous German soldiers captured in total absence of battle readiness, came to the attention of General Markian Popov, commander of the Bryansk Front from June to October 1943.
