Mogilev Offensive Operation
Encyclopedia
The Mogilev Offensive was part of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the Red Army
in the summer of 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration. Its goals were to capture the city of Mogilev
, and to pin down and trap the bulk of the German Fourth Army
. The offensive fulfilled both objectives.
, with four high-quality divisions. This reflected the strategic importance of the road through Mogilev, which provided the main route through the marshes in the region. However, as with the other German armies involved in Operation Bagration, the Fourth Army was unprepared for a major offensive, as the Oberkommando des Heeres
expected that the main Soviet offensive would be against Army Group North Ukraine
.
Shortly before the attack began, a battalion commander in the 12th Infantry Division raised concerns about a possible attack with General Martinek, who was on a tour of inspection. Martinek agreed but in response cited the proverb
"Whom God would destroy, he first strikes blind": the concerns were not passed on.
The city of Mogilev
had been designated a Fester Platz, or fortified area, under the command of Generalmajor Gottfried von Erdmannsdorff
.
East of Mogilev itself , General Robert Martinek
's XXXIX Panzer Corps (made up of the 31st
, 12th, 337th
and 110th
Infantry Divisions), attempted to hold its lines in the face of a ferocious assault by Grishin's 49th Army during which the latter suffered heavy casualties. The Fourth Army
commander, von Tippelskirch, requested that Martinek be allowed to withdraw to the 'Tiger' line late on 23 June; this was refused, although the reserve Panzergrenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle was ordered forward to take up positions on the Dnieper river
in preparation to cover a possible withdrawal by the frontline divisions. The southernmost German corps, General Vincenz Müller
's XIIth, (with the 18th Panzergrenadier Division, 57th
and 267th
Infantry Divisions), also began to pull back to the second defensive line.
The 49th army forced the Dnieper crossings on the evening of 27 June; two divisions (the 290th and the 369th), fought their way into the town during the night, while mobile units of the 23rd Guards Tank Brigade enveloped the garrison from the northwest.
Mogilev
, along with its town commander, Generalmajor von Erdmannsdorff, (later executed by the Soviets for war crimes
) and most of the 12th Infantry Division who had been instructed to defend the town to the last man, fell into Soviet hands on 28 June. During the day both the German XII Corps and XXXIX Panzer Corps (whose commander, Martinek, was killed that evening in an air attack), began falling back towards the Berezina crossings. As the roads were clogged with fleeing civilians and military units, and were alsö under heavy air attack, progress was slow.
was present as an interpreter officer during the offensive and mentions some of his experiences in To Be Preserved Forever (Хранить вечно).
Heinz-Georg Lemm
, later a senior officer in the post-war German military, led one of the few units of the 12th Infantry Division to escape the encirclement of Mogilev.
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in the summer of 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration. Its goals were to capture the city of Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, and to pin down and trap the bulk of the German Fourth Army
German Fourth Army
The 4th Army was a field army of Imperial Germany during World War I and of the Wehrmacht during World War II-World War I:At the outset of war, the Fourth Army, with the Fifth Army, formed the center of the German armies on the Western Front, moving through Luxembourg and Belgium in support of the...
. The offensive fulfilled both objectives.
Operational goals
The Mogilev Offensive had two main goals within the context of Operation Bagration:- The capture of the city of Mogilev, an important transport hub.
- To pin down the bulk of the German Fourth Army's forces while the parallel Vitebsk-OrshaVitebsk-Orsha Offensive OperationThe Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive was part of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the Red Army in summer 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration.-Operational goals:The immediate goals of the Soviet offensive were as follows:...
and BobruyskBobruysk Offensive OperationThe Bobruysk Offensive was part of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the Red Army in summer 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration.-Operational goals:...
Offensives, to the north and south respectively, set up a major encirclementEncirclementEncirclement is a military term for the situation when a force or target is isolated and surrounded by enemy forces. The German term for this is Kesselschlacht ; a comparable English term might be "in the bag"....
. The Fourth Army, unable to disengage, would be bypassed and trapped.
German intelligence
The XXXIX Panzer Corps before Mogilev was one of the strongest corps in Army Group CentreArmy Group Centre
Army Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...
, with four high-quality divisions. This reflected the strategic importance of the road through Mogilev, which provided the main route through the marshes in the region. However, as with the other German armies involved in Operation Bagration, the Fourth Army was unprepared for a major offensive, as the Oberkommando des Heeres
Oberkommando des Heeres
The Oberkommando des Heeres was Nazi Germany's High Command of the Army from 1936 to 1945. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht commanded OKH only in theory...
expected that the main Soviet offensive would be against Army Group North Ukraine
Army Group North Ukraine
The Army Group North Ukraine was a major ground force formation of the German armed forces.It was created on the 1 April 1944 by renaming Army Group South on trial basis, in the course of the separation of troops under command of General Field Marshal Erich von Manstein and General Field Marshal...
.
Shortly before the attack began, a battalion commander in the 12th Infantry Division raised concerns about a possible attack with General Martinek, who was on a tour of inspection. Martinek agreed but in response cited the proverb
Proverb
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...
"Whom God would destroy, he first strikes blind": the concerns were not passed on.
Wehrmacht
- Southern flank of Fourth Army (General Kurt von TippelskirchKurt von TippelskirchKurt Oskar Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm von Tippelskirch was a general in the German Army during World War II.-Personal life:Kurt von Tippelskirch was born on 9 October 1891 in Berlin...
)- XXXIX Panzer Corps (General Robert MartinekRobert MartinekRobert Martinek was an artillery officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I, the Austrian Bundesheer and, during World War II, in the Wehrmacht Heer, who came to be regarded as one of the most skilled artillerymen of his generation.-Military service:Martinek was born on 2 February...
) - XII Corps (General Vincenz MüllerVincenz MüllerVincenz Müller was a German military officer and general who served in the Imperial German army, the Wehrmacht Heer, and after the war in the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic, where he was also a politician.-Early career:Müller was born in the Kingdom of Bavaria into a...
) - Reserve: Panzergrenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle
- XXXIX Panzer Corps (General Robert Martinek
The city of Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
had been designated a Fester Platz, or fortified area, under the command of Generalmajor Gottfried von Erdmannsdorff
Gottfried von Erdmannsdorff
Heinrich Otto Gottfried von Erdmannsdorff was a highly decorated Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military...
.
Red Army
- 2nd Belorussian Front2nd Belorussian FrontThe 2nd Belorussian Front was a military formation of Army group size of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
(Colonel-General Gyorgy Zakharov)- 33rd Army33rd Army (Soviet Union)The Red Army's 33rd Army was a Soviet field army during the Second World War. It was disbanded by being redesignated HQ Smolensk Military District in 1945.-Initial Operations:...
(Lieutenant-General Vasily Kryuchenkin) - 49th Army (Lieutenant-General Ivan Grishin)
- 50th Army (Lieutenant-General Ivan Boldin)
- 4th Air Army
- 33rd Army
The offensive
As with the other offensives in the first phase of Operation Bagration, the Mogilev Offensive opened with an intense artillery barrage against the German defensive lines on the morning of 23 June.East of Mogilev itself , General Robert Martinek
Robert Martinek
Robert Martinek was an artillery officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I, the Austrian Bundesheer and, during World War II, in the Wehrmacht Heer, who came to be regarded as one of the most skilled artillerymen of his generation.-Military service:Martinek was born on 2 February...
's XXXIX Panzer Corps (made up of the 31st
31st Infantry Division (Germany)
The German 31st Infantry Division, formed in October 1936, was made up of recruits from the Brunswick region of north-central Germany. The division’s emblem was a standing lion. The 31st Division saw combat in Poland in 1939, and then heavy fighting in Belgium and France in 1940...
, 12th, 337th
337th Infantry Division (Germany)
The 337th Infantry Division was a German division in World War II. It was formed on 16 November 1940 in Kempten. The division was destroyed on the Eastern front in July 1944 and formed the stab of Divisionsgruppe 337 on 7 August 1944 which later was the basis of the 337...
and 110th
German 110th Infantry Division
The 110th Infantry division was formed in April 1940 in Lüneburg, Germany under the 11. Armee and was commanded by Generalleutnant Ernst Seifert. Until June 1941 and the commencement of Operation Barbarossa on the 22nd day of that month, it was stationed in Poland...
Infantry Divisions), attempted to hold its lines in the face of a ferocious assault by Grishin's 49th Army during which the latter suffered heavy casualties. The Fourth Army
German Fourth Army
The 4th Army was a field army of Imperial Germany during World War I and of the Wehrmacht during World War II-World War I:At the outset of war, the Fourth Army, with the Fifth Army, formed the center of the German armies on the Western Front, moving through Luxembourg and Belgium in support of the...
commander, von Tippelskirch, requested that Martinek be allowed to withdraw to the 'Tiger' line late on 23 June; this was refused, although the reserve Panzergrenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle was ordered forward to take up positions on the Dnieper river
Dnieper River
The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations...
in preparation to cover a possible withdrawal by the frontline divisions. The southernmost German corps, General Vincenz Müller
Vincenz Müller
Vincenz Müller was a German military officer and general who served in the Imperial German army, the Wehrmacht Heer, and after the war in the National People's Army of the German Democratic Republic, where he was also a politician.-Early career:Müller was born in the Kingdom of Bavaria into a...
's XIIth, (with the 18th Panzergrenadier Division, 57th
57th Infantry Division (Germany)
The 57th Infantry Division was a German division in World War II. It was formed on 26 August 1939 in Landshut.-History:...
and 267th
267th Infantry Division (Germany)
The 267th Infantry Division was a German division in World War II. It was formed on 26 August 1939 in Hanover.-Commanding officers:* General der Panzertruppen Ernst Feßmann, 1 September 1939 – 1 June 1941...
Infantry Divisions), also began to pull back to the second defensive line.
The 49th army forced the Dnieper crossings on the evening of 27 June; two divisions (the 290th and the 369th), fought their way into the town during the night, while mobile units of the 23rd Guards Tank Brigade enveloped the garrison from the northwest.
Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, along with its town commander, Generalmajor von Erdmannsdorff, (later executed by the Soviets for war crimes
War crimes of the Wehrmacht
War crimes of the Wehrmacht were those carried out by the German armed forces during World War II. While the principal perpetrators of the Holocaust amongst German armed forces were the Nazi German 'political' armies , the regular armed forces represented by the Wehrmacht committed war crimes of...
) and most of the 12th Infantry Division who had been instructed to defend the town to the last man, fell into Soviet hands on 28 June. During the day both the German XII Corps and XXXIX Panzer Corps (whose commander, Martinek, was killed that evening in an air attack), began falling back towards the Berezina crossings. As the roads were clogged with fleeing civilians and military units, and were alsö under heavy air attack, progress was slow.
Consequences
The Mogilev Offensive fulfilled all its immediate objectives; not only was the city itself taken, but the Fourth Army was successfully prevented from disengaging in time to escape encirclement in the Minsk Offensive, which commenced immediately afterwards.Accounts, further reading
Soviet author Lev KopelevLev Kopelev
Lev Zalmanovich Kopelev was a Soviet author and a dissident.- Biography :...
was present as an interpreter officer during the offensive and mentions some of his experiences in To Be Preserved Forever (Хранить вечно).
Heinz-Georg Lemm
Heinz-Georg Lemm
Heinz-Georg Lemm was a German soldier who fought in the 12th Infantry Division during World War II and later served in the Bundeswehr, the post-war West German armed forces. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
, later a senior officer in the post-war German military, led one of the few units of the 12th Infantry Division to escape the encirclement of Mogilev.