Operation Fischreiher
Encyclopedia
Operation Fischreiher (German for Heron
) was an extension to Operation Blue
II during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II. General Friedrich Paulus
' 6th Army, and part of the 4th Panzer Army under General Hermann Hoth
, was to advance across the Don river towards the city of Stalingrad on the Western bend of the Volga river.
The original operational plans had called for a defensive line on the Don river by Army Group B
, while Army Group A
under General List was to advance south towards the oil fields in the Caucasus. The diversion of Operation Fischreiher became an offensive in its own right, to the detriment of the drive south by Army Group A. The forces under General Paulus were very modest for the task assigned to them, especially since the Soviets were determined not to lose Stalingrad by forming the Stalingrad front
on July 12, 1942.
The 6th Army came up against the first defensive lines on August 17, and were thereafter locked in vicious street fighting without quarter for the next months until they reached their offensive limit on November 18. After this date, the 6th Army and the 4th Panzer Army were on the defensive after their lines of communication with Army Group B were cut by a sudden Soviet pincer movement from General Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin
's South-West front and General Andrey Yeryomenko's Stalingrad front, whose forces met in the German rear on between Kalach
and Sovetskiy on November 23, 1942.
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
) was an extension to Operation Blue
Operation Blue
Case Blue , later renamed Operation Braunschweig, was the German Armed Forces name for its plan for a 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and November 1942....
II during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II. General Friedrich Paulus
Friedrich Paulus
Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus was an officer in the German military from 1910 to 1945. He attained the rank of Generalfeldmarschall during World War II, and is best known for having commanded the Sixth Army's assault on Stalingrad during Operation Blue in 1942...
' 6th Army, and part of the 4th Panzer Army under General Hermann Hoth
Hermann Hoth
Hermann "Papa" Hoth was an officer in the German military from 1903 to 1945. He attained the rank of Generaloberst during World War II. He fought in France, but is most noted for his later exploits as a panzer commander on the Eastern Front...
, was to advance across the Don river towards the city of Stalingrad on the Western bend of the Volga river.
The original operational plans had called for a defensive line on the Don river by Army Group B
Army Group B
Army Group B was the name of three different German Army Groups that saw action during World War II.-Battle for France:The first was involved in the Western Campaign in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands which was to be aimed to conquer the Maas bridges after the German airborne actions in Rotterdam...
, while Army Group A
Army Group A
Army Group A was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.-Western Front, 1940:During the German invasion of the Low Countries and France Army Group A was under the command of General Gerd von Rundstedt, and was responsible for the break-out through the Ardennes...
under General List was to advance south towards the oil fields in the Caucasus. The diversion of Operation Fischreiher became an offensive in its own right, to the detriment of the drive south by Army Group A. The forces under General Paulus were very modest for the task assigned to them, especially since the Soviets were determined not to lose Stalingrad by forming the Stalingrad front
Stalingrad Front
The Stalingrad Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the city of Stalingrad on the Volga River....
on July 12, 1942.
The 6th Army came up against the first defensive lines on August 17, and were thereafter locked in vicious street fighting without quarter for the next months until they reached their offensive limit on November 18. After this date, the 6th Army and the 4th Panzer Army were on the defensive after their lines of communication with Army Group B were cut by a sudden Soviet pincer movement from General Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin
Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin
Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin was a Soviet military commander during World War II.-Before World War II:Vatutin was born in Chepuhino village near Valuiky in Voronezh Governorate , into a Russian peasant family. Commissioned in 1920 to the Red Army, he fought against the Ukrainian peasant partisans...
's South-West front and General Andrey Yeryomenko's Stalingrad front, whose forces met in the German rear on between Kalach
Kalach
Kalach may refer to:*Kalach , a traditional Slavic bread*Kalach , name of several inhabited localities in Russia...
and Sovetskiy on November 23, 1942.