Operation Solstice
Encyclopedia
Operation Solstice also known as Unternehmen Husarenritt or the "Stargard tank battle", was one of the last German
armoured
offensive operations on the Eastern Front
in World War II
.
It was originally planned as a major offensive but was executed as a limited attack. Though it was repulsed by the Red Army
, it led to a decision by the Soviet High Command
to postpone the planned attack on Berlin.
advance on Berlin
early in 1945. Starting January 12, 1945 the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive
had ripped open a gap hundreds of kilometers long in German defensive lines, and the Soviets had subsequently pushed from the Vistula River to the Oder River. As the Soviet advance to the west reached its farthest point, its apex narrowed, leaving long northern and southern flanks into which retreating German formations had moved and along which the Germans were attempting to reestablish a cohesive defensive line.
General Heinz Guderian
had originally planned to execute a major offensive against the 1st Belorussian Front
, cutting off the leading elements of Georgy Zhukov
's forces east of the Oder
. The Soviet forces were to be attacked from Stargard
(Pomerania) in the north as well as from Glogau (Silesia
) and Guben
(Brandenburg
) in the south. In order to carry out these plans, he requested that the Courland Pocket
be evacuated to make available the divisions trapped there, removed troops from Italy
and Norway, and involved Sepp Dietrich
's 6th Panzer Army which had been intended for counter-attacks in Hungary
. In a meeting with Guderian Hitler
insisted that Courland be held and that the army continue with its planned attacks in Hungary; the meeting rapidly degenerated into a heated and farcical argument.
After agreeing on a more limited counter-offensive, Hitler and Guderian then proceeded to have an even more heated argument when Guderian insisted that Walther Wenck
direct the offensive rather than Heinrich Himmler
(the commander of Army Group Vistula
). Hitler despite "almost screaming", according to Guderian's account, gave in on this point.
, against the spearheads of the 1st Belorussian Front. The German forces would first attack along a fifty-kilometre front around Stargard south-eastwards towards Arnswalde
where a small garrison had been encircled with their ultimate objective being the relief of Küstrin
.
The Wehrmacht
originally codenamed the operation Husarenritt, but the SS insisted on the name Sonnenwende.
stretches from north to south for some fifteen kilometers (nine miles). Both lakes were in the attack sector of the XXXIX Panzer Corps. Most settlements were villages or small towns. The predominantly open nature of the country favored mechanized warfare but also offered good fields of fire for defending anti-tank weapons and commanding views for artillery observers. As the weather permitted, the open country would have favored long-range weapons such as the German 8.8 cm KwK 43 and the Soviet 100mm BS-3 field gun, with the Germans holding an edge because of the superior quality of their optical sights.
; Soviet sources claim that operations by the 1st Ukrainian and Belorussian Fronts during the Vistula-Oder Offensive alone resulted in the deaths of 150,000 German troops.In Deutsche militärische Verluste im Zweiten Weltkrieg, author Rüdiger Overmans estimates overall German military deaths in January 1945 were 451,742 (p. 239) and believes up to 2/3 of these losses (some 300,000) occurred in combat on the eastern front (p. 265). While the Germans were able to make good some of the losses through measures such as the mass mobilization of Volkssturm
, the German forces in the east had clearly suffered both significant quantitative and qualitative losses as a result of the two Soviet major offensives in January 1945.
s were impressively large formations, the Soviet forces had also suffered serious losses in the Vistula-Oder Offensive. At the beginning of February 1945, the strength of rifle divisions in the 1st BRF averaged around 4,000 troops and those of the 2nd BRF between 3,000 - 4,000. Soviet army strength was further weakened by the need to besiege encircled groups of German soldiers (Festungen - German: "fortress") in Elbing, Poznan, Deutsch-Krone, and Schneidemühl. Armored strength was also weakened by the recent offensive operations; the 2nd BRF fielded only 297 well-worn tanks early in February 1945. During the period January 12 - February 3, 1945, the 1st BRF suffered 77,342 casualties (7.5% of its assigned strength) while during the East Prussian Offensive of January 13 - February 10, 1945, the 2nd BRF took 159,490 casualties (18% of assigned strength). In the same periods, the 1st Belorussian and Ukrainian Fronts lost 1,267 armored fighting vehicles while the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts lost a staggering 3,525. Gun and mortar losses for the two groups of fronts were 374 and 1,644, respectively. To compound their difficulties, the Soviets faced supply difficulties as well as increased German air activity, resulting in increased unit requests for anti-aircraft weapons.
Not all of the German units, which had to be reinforced across the bridges at Stettin were ready on the planned start date of February 15. Nevertheless a part of the central corps, the SS Division Nordland, attacked towards Arnswalde
that day. Initially the offensive was successful; the opposing forces of 61st Army were taken by surprise and the German spearhead reached the besieged outpost of Arnswalde and relieved its garrison.
A general attack opened the following day. The central corridor to Arnswalde was widened by the III SS Panzer Corps, pushing part of the Soviet front eight to twelve kilometers back. However, the attack by the XXXIX Panzer Corps was unable to reach the Plöne Lake due to resistance by the Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Army, stalling some 70 kilometers from Küstrin after pushing the Russians out of Sallenthin
and Muscherin
, reoccupying some land on the eastern shore of Lake Madü, and recapturing Pyritz
. Gruppe Munzel pushed some four kilometers to Liebenow
, while the III SS Panzer Corps advanced about a kilometer to Reetz
. Numbers of Soviet tanks and antitank guns were destroyed by German Tiger II
heavy tanks, but the German heavy tanks also took losses. In general, German progress was hindered because of strong Soviet resistance and a thaw that created muddy conditions in which the heavy German tanks performed poorly. Soviet T-34s
, on the other hand, with up to twenty-five percent lower ground pressure, had excellent mobility even in those conditions.
On February 17, General Wenck, commander of the offensive, was seriously injured in a car accident. While being driven back from a briefing in Berlin
, he took the over driving from his driver (who had been on duty for 48 hours) and then himself fell asleep at the wheel. He was replaced by Hans Krebs
, but command initiative had already been lost. Later that day, Zhukov threw the 3rd Shock Army, which had redeployed from the area of Jastrow
, into a counter-attack and the German offensive stalled.
Army Group Vistula
halted Sonnenwende on February 18. On February 19, Zhukov initiated a counter-offensive aimed at the capture of Stettin using the 61st and the 2nd Guards Tank Armies as well as the 7th Guards Cavalry Corps. However it stalled in the heavy street fighting during the re-capture of Arnswalde. There was no immediate German withdrawal, but the German command decided on February 21 to withdraw the headquarters of the XXXIX Panzer Corps as well as the Führer-Grenadier, Führer-Begleit, Holstein, and 10th SS Panzer Divisions westward behind Army Group Center, practically ensuring that eastern Pomerania would fall to the Soviets. Zhukov's committment of the 70th Army into an attack on February 23 spurred a retreat with the German forces losing or abandoning many tanks. On February 24, Marshal Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front renewed the offensive into Pomerania, opening a 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) wide gap in German lines west of Graudenz
and moving almost fifty kilometers (30 miles) forward, further reducing the cohesion of German defenses.
that the northern flank of the Soviet advance on Berlin was vulnerable, and therefore postponed the latter by some two months while Pomerania
was cleared in the East Pomeranian Offensive
.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
armoured
Armoured warfare
Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war....
offensive operations on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
It was originally planned as a major offensive but was executed as a limited attack. Though it was repulsed by the Red Army
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...
, it led to a decision by the Soviet High Command
Stavka
Stavka was the term used to refer to a command element of the armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history of Imperial Russia as administrative staff and General Headquarters during late 19th Century Imperial Russian armed forces and those of the Soviet Union...
to postpone the planned attack on Berlin.
Planning
The operation took place in response to the SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
advance on Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
early in 1945. Starting January 12, 1945 the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive
Vistula-Oder Offensive
The Vistula–Oder Offensive was a successful Red Army operation on the Eastern Front in the European Theatre of World War II; it took place between 12 January and 2 February 1945...
had ripped open a gap hundreds of kilometers long in German defensive lines, and the Soviets had subsequently pushed from the Vistula River to the Oder River. As the Soviet advance to the west reached its farthest point, its apex narrowed, leaving long northern and southern flanks into which retreating German formations had moved and along which the Germans were attempting to reestablish a cohesive defensive line.
General Heinz Guderian
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...
had originally planned to execute a major offensive against the 1st Belorussian Front
1st Belorussian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II...
, cutting off the leading elements of Georgy Zhukov
Georgy Zhukov
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
's forces east of the Oder
Oder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
. The Soviet forces were to be attacked from Stargard
Stargard Szczecinski
Stargard Szczeciński is a city in northwestern Poland, with a population of 71,017 . Situated on the Ina River it is the capital of Stargard County and since 1999 has been in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship; prior to that it was in the Szczecin Voivodeship...
(Pomerania) in the north as well as from Glogau (Silesia
Province of Silesia
The Province of Silesia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1919.-Geography:The territory comprised the bulk of the former Bohemian crown land of Silesia and the County of Kladsko, which King Frederick the Great had conquered from the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy in the 18th...
) and Guben
Guben
Guben is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße district, Guben has a population of 20,049...
(Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
) in the south. In order to carry out these plans, he requested that the Courland Pocket
Courland Pocket
The Courland Pocket referred to the Red Army's blockade or encirclement of Axis forces on the Courland peninsula during the closing months of World War II...
be evacuated to make available the divisions trapped there, removed troops from Italy
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
and Norway, and involved Sepp Dietrich
Sepp Dietrich
Josef "Sepp" Dietrich was a German SS General. He was one of Nazi Germany's most decorated soldiers and commanded formations up to Army level during World War II. Prior to 1929 he was Adolf Hitler's chauffeur and bodyguard but received rapid promotion after his participation in the murder of...
's 6th Panzer Army which had been intended for counter-attacks in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. In a meeting with Guderian Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
insisted that Courland be held and that the army continue with its planned attacks in Hungary; the meeting rapidly degenerated into a heated and farcical argument.
After agreeing on a more limited counter-offensive, Hitler and Guderian then proceeded to have an even more heated argument when Guderian insisted that Walther Wenck
Walther Wenck
-Captive, prisoner, and death:Wenck was captured and put in a prisoner of war camp. He was released in 1947. In 1982, Wenck died in a car accident in Bad Rothenfelde.-See also:* Battle of Berlin - 1945* Battle of Halbe - 1945* Hans Krebs, Chief of Staff...
direct the offensive rather than Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
(the commander of Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24, 1945. It was put together from elements of Army Group A , Army Group Centre , and a variety of new or ad-hoc formations...
). Hitler despite "almost screaming", according to Guderian's account, gave in on this point.
Operational goals
In its final form, Operation Solstice consisted of a more limited counter-attack than had been originally planned by the three corps of the Eleventh SS Panzer Army, which was being assembled in PomeraniaPomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
, against the spearheads of the 1st Belorussian Front. The German forces would first attack along a fifty-kilometre front around Stargard south-eastwards towards Arnswalde
Choszczno
Choszczno is a town in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. The town is located in a marshy district between the river Stobnica and Klukom lake , southwest of Stargard Szczeciński and on the main railway line between Szczecin and Poznań...
where a small garrison had been encircled with their ultimate objective being the relief of Küstrin
Küstrin
Before 1945 Küstrin was a town in the former Prussian province of Brandenburg in Germany, situated on both sides of the Oder river...
.
The Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
originally codenamed the operation Husarenritt, but the SS insisted on the name Sonnenwende.
Russian intelligence
Zhukov had been made aware of a buildup of German forces opposing his 61st and 2nd Guards Tank Armies, but did not have information as to the exact timing and nature of the attack. The Stavka of the Supreme Main Command had noted with concern that while the Germans had moved thirteen divisions between the main Soviet forces and Berlin, thirty-three divisions had concentrated in Pomerania, lending credence to the possibility of a German strike from Pomerania into the exposed northern flank of the 1st Belorussian Front.Terrain
The area of Pomerania in which the battle was fought is flat to very slightly rolling farmland dotted by woodlands and lakes, and cut by streams. Lake Plöne is a large lake about five kilometers (three miles) long, but Lake MadüMiedwie
Miedwie is a lake in Pomeranian Lakeland, West Pomeranian Voivodship, Poland. It is 35 km² large, 16.2 km long and 3.2 km wide. Its maximum depth is 43.8 m....
stretches from north to south for some fifteen kilometers (nine miles). Both lakes were in the attack sector of the XXXIX Panzer Corps. Most settlements were villages or small towns. The predominantly open nature of the country favored mechanized warfare but also offered good fields of fire for defending anti-tank weapons and commanding views for artillery observers. As the weather permitted, the open country would have favored long-range weapons such as the German 8.8 cm KwK 43 and the Soviet 100mm BS-3 field gun, with the Germans holding an edge because of the superior quality of their optical sights.
Wehrmacht
Over 1,200 tanks were allocated to the offensive, but no trains were available to transport them. In addition, due to serious shortages, only three days' ammunition and fuel were immediately available. German forces had also suffered heavy losses during the January combat in East Prussia and Poland. German sources admitted to 198,000 dead and missing for the first two months of 1945 in the region between the Baltic Sea and the Carpathian MountainsCarpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
; Soviet sources claim that operations by the 1st Ukrainian and Belorussian Fronts during the Vistula-Oder Offensive alone resulted in the deaths of 150,000 German troops.In Deutsche militärische Verluste im Zweiten Weltkrieg, author Rüdiger Overmans estimates overall German military deaths in January 1945 were 451,742 (p. 239) and believes up to 2/3 of these losses (some 300,000) occurred in combat on the eastern front (p. 265). While the Germans were able to make good some of the losses through measures such as the mass mobilization of Volkssturm
Volkssturm
The Volkssturm was a German national militia of the last months of World War II. It was founded on Adolf Hitler's orders on October 18, 1944 and conscripted males between the ages of 16 to 60 years who were not already serving in some military unit as part of a German Home Guard.-Origins and...
, the German forces in the east had clearly suffered both significant quantitative and qualitative losses as a result of the two Soviet major offensives in January 1945.
| Army | Corps | Division | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11th SS Panzer Army Gen F. Steiner Felix Steiner Felix Martin Julius Steiner was a German Reichswehr and Waffen-SS officer who served in both World War I and World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords... |
XXXIX Panzer Lt Gen K. Decker Karl Decker Karl Gustav Adolf Decker was a German general in the infantry, serving during World War II. Trapped in the Ruhr Pocket, Decker committed suicide on 21 April 1945. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords... On German right |
"Holstein" Pz Div |
29 Panzer IV Panzer IV The Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz... at formation; 17 further Panzer IV sent to unit 9 - 11 Feb 1945 |
| 10th SS Pz Div |
38 Panzer IV, 53 Panther tank Panther tank Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as... s on 8 Feb 1945 |
||
| 4th SS PzG Div 4th SS Polizei Division The SS Polizei Division was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II.The division was formed in 1939 as part of the Ordnungspolizei... |
|||
| 28th SS Inf Div |
20 Hetzer Hetzer The Jagdpanzer 38 , later known as Hetzer , was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38 chassis. The project was inspired by the Romanian "Mareşal" tank destroyer.The name Hetzer was at the time not commonly used for this vehicle... at start of Feb 1945 |
||
| III SS Panzer III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps The III SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps (III. (germanische) SS-Panzerkorps) was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The... Lt Gen M. Unrein Martin Unrein Generalleutnant Martin Unrein was a general officer of the German Army during the Second World War.-Early career:... In German center |
11th SS PzG Div 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland The 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, also known as Kampfverband Waräger, Germanische-Freiwilligen-Division, SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 11 or 11. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland, was a Waffen SS, Panzergrenadier division recruited from foreign volunteers... |
Elements of 503rd SS Heavy Tank Battalion attached: 12 Tiger II Tiger II Tiger II is the common name of a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B,Panzerkampfwagen – abbr: Pz. or Pz.Kfw. Ausführung – abbr: Ausf. .The full titles Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf... on 27 Jan 1945 |
|
| 23rd SS PzG Div |
20 Hetzer on/about 10 Feb 1945 | ||
| 27th SS Inf Div |
10 Hetzer at start of Feb 1945 | ||
| Führer-Begleit PzG Div Führer Begleit Brigade The Führerbegleitbrigade was a German armoured brigade and later armoured division , in World War II... |
15 Panzer IV, 23 Jagdpanzer IV Jagdpanzer IV The Jagdpanzer IV, Sd.Kfz. 162, was a tank destroyer based on the Panzer IV chassis built in three main variants. As one of the casemate-style turretless Jagdpanzer designs, it was developed against the wishes of Heinz Guderian, the inspector general of the Panzertruppen, as a replacement for the... /70(A) on 2 Feb 1945; 30 Panthers sent to unit 8 - 10 Feb 1945 |
||
| Korpsgruppe Munzel Maj Gen O. Munzel Oskar Munzel Oskar Munzel was a highly decorated Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a General der Kampftruppen in the Bundeswehr who commanded several divisions. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross... On German left |
Führer-Grenadier PzG Div Führer Grenadier Brigade The Führer Grenadier Brigade was an élite German Heer combat unit which saw action during World War II. The Führer Grenadier Brigade is sometimes mistakenly perceived as being a part of the Waffen-SS, whereas it was actually a Heer unit and technically assigned to the Großdeutschland Division... |
5 Panzer IV, 18 Panther, 13 Jagdpanzer IV/70 on 27 Jan 1945; 10 Jagdpanther Jagdpanther The Jagdpanther was a tank destroyer built by Nazi Germany during World War II based on the chassis of the Panther tank. It entered service late in the war and saw service on the Eastern and Western fronts... and 16 Panther sent to unit 15 - 17 Feb 1945 |
|
| 163rd Inf Div |
At least 9,000 men still en route to Pomerania from Norway via Denmark on 15 Feb 1945 | ||
| 281st Inf Div 281st Infantry Division (Germany) The German 281st Infantry Division, was formed in January 1945 in Courland by conversion of the 281st Security Division The German 281st Infantry Division, (281. Infanterie-Division) was formed in January 1945 in Courland by conversion of the 281st Security Division The German 281st Infantry... |
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| 104th Antitank Brig |
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Red Army
While the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Front2nd Belorussian Front
The 2nd Belorussian Front was a military formation of Army group size of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
s were impressively large formations, the Soviet forces had also suffered serious losses in the Vistula-Oder Offensive. At the beginning of February 1945, the strength of rifle divisions in the 1st BRF averaged around 4,000 troops and those of the 2nd BRF between 3,000 - 4,000. Soviet army strength was further weakened by the need to besiege encircled groups of German soldiers (Festungen - German: "fortress") in Elbing, Poznan, Deutsch-Krone, and Schneidemühl. Armored strength was also weakened by the recent offensive operations; the 2nd BRF fielded only 297 well-worn tanks early in February 1945. During the period January 12 - February 3, 1945, the 1st BRF suffered 77,342 casualties (7.5% of its assigned strength) while during the East Prussian Offensive of January 13 - February 10, 1945, the 2nd BRF took 159,490 casualties (18% of assigned strength). In the same periods, the 1st Belorussian and Ukrainian Fronts lost 1,267 armored fighting vehicles while the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts lost a staggering 3,525. Gun and mortar losses for the two groups of fronts were 374 and 1,644, respectively. To compound their difficulties, the Soviets faced supply difficulties as well as increased German air activity, resulting in increased unit requests for anti-aircraft weapons.
| Front | Army | Subordinate unit |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Belorussian Front 1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II... (-) Marshal G. Zhukov Georgy Zhukov Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation... |
2nd Guards Tank ColGen S. Bogdanov On Soviet left |
9th Gds Tank Corps |
|
| 12th Gds Tank Corps |
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| 1st Mech Corps |
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| 61st LtGen P. Belov On Soviet right |
9th Gds Rifle Corps |
||
| 80th Rifle Corps |
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| 89th Rifle Corps |
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| 6th Art Div |
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| 533rd Antitank Regt |
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| 47th 47th Army The 47th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was an army-level command active from 1941 to 1946.The 47th Army was formed in late July 1941 in the Transcaucasian Military District as part of the Soviet Union's border defenses with Iran... Lt Gen F. Perhorovich Moving west from the area of Deutsch-Krone |
77th Rifle Corps |
||
| 125th Rifle Corps |
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| 129th Rifle Corps |
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| 22nd Art Div |
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| 4th Gds Antitank Brig |
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| 163rd Antitank Regt |
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| 3rd Shock Maj Gen M. Simonyak Reinforcement; moving from area of Jastrow Jastrowie Jastrowie is a town in Poland of over 9,000 inhabitants in Zlotow County, Greater Poland Voivodship. It has 8,900 inhabitants and lies on the edge of the Gwda River valley. The town is located on the Oska stream.-History:... |
12th Guards Rifle Corps |
||
| 7th Rifle Corps |
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| 79th Rifle Corps |
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| 163rd Gds Antitank Regt |
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| 1st Guards Tank Col Gen M. Katukov Mikhail Katukov Marshal of the Armored Troops Mikhail Efimovich Katukov served as a commander of armored troops in the Red Army during and following World War II. He is viewed as one of the most talented Soviet armor commanders.-Pre-War:... Reinforcement; moving from area of Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants... |
8th Gds Mech Corps |
||
| 11th Gds Tank Corps |
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| 41st Gds Antitank Brig |
|||
The offensive
Choszczno
Choszczno is a town in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. The town is located in a marshy district between the river Stobnica and Klukom lake , southwest of Stargard Szczeciński and on the main railway line between Szczecin and Poznań...
that day. Initially the offensive was successful; the opposing forces of 61st Army were taken by surprise and the German spearhead reached the besieged outpost of Arnswalde and relieved its garrison.
A general attack opened the following day. The central corridor to Arnswalde was widened by the III SS Panzer Corps, pushing part of the Soviet front eight to twelve kilometers back. However, the attack by the XXXIX Panzer Corps was unable to reach the Plöne Lake due to resistance by the Soviet 2nd Guards Tank Army, stalling some 70 kilometers from Küstrin after pushing the Russians out of Sallenthin
Żalęcino
Żalęcino is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Dolice, within Stargard County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It lies approximately south of Stargard Szczeciński and south-east of the regional capital Szczecin.Before 1945 the area was part of Germany...
and Muscherin
Moskorzyn
Moskorzyn may refer to the following places in Poland:*Moskorzyn, Lower Silesian Voivodeship *Moskorzyn, West Pomeranian Voivodeship...
, reoccupying some land on the eastern shore of Lake Madü, and recapturing Pyritz
Pyrzyce
Pyrzyce , is a town in Pomerania, north-western Poland, with 13,331 inhabitants Capital of the Pyrzyce County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship , previously in Szczecin Voivodeship .-History:...
. Gruppe Munzel pushed some four kilometers to Liebenow
Lubieniów
Lubieniów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Recz, within Choszczno County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Recz, north-east of Choszczno, and east of the regional capital Szczecin.Before 1945 the area was part of...
, while the III SS Panzer Corps advanced about a kilometer to Reetz
Recz
Recz is a town in Choszczno County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 3,001 as of 2004.-External links:*...
. Numbers of Soviet tanks and antitank guns were destroyed by German Tiger II
Tiger II
Tiger II is the common name of a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B,Panzerkampfwagen – abbr: Pz. or Pz.Kfw. Ausführung – abbr: Ausf. .The full titles Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf...
heavy tanks, but the German heavy tanks also took losses. In general, German progress was hindered because of strong Soviet resistance and a thaw that created muddy conditions in which the heavy German tanks performed poorly. Soviet T-34s
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
, on the other hand, with up to twenty-five percent lower ground pressure, had excellent mobility even in those conditions.
On February 17, General Wenck, commander of the offensive, was seriously injured in a car accident. While being driven back from a briefing in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, he took the over driving from his driver (who had been on duty for 48 hours) and then himself fell asleep at the wheel. He was replaced by Hans Krebs
Hans Krebs (general)
Hans Krebs was a German Army general of infantry who served during World War II.-Early life:Krebs was born in Helmstedt. He volunteered for service in the Imperial German Army in 1914, was promoted to lieutenant in 1915, and to first lieutenant in 1925...
, but command initiative had already been lost. Later that day, Zhukov threw the 3rd Shock Army, which had redeployed from the area of Jastrow
Jastrowie
Jastrowie is a town in Poland of over 9,000 inhabitants in Zlotow County, Greater Poland Voivodship. It has 8,900 inhabitants and lies on the edge of the Gwda River valley. The town is located on the Oska stream.-History:...
, into a counter-attack and the German offensive stalled.
Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24, 1945. It was put together from elements of Army Group A , Army Group Centre , and a variety of new or ad-hoc formations...
halted Sonnenwende on February 18. On February 19, Zhukov initiated a counter-offensive aimed at the capture of Stettin using the 61st and the 2nd Guards Tank Armies as well as the 7th Guards Cavalry Corps. However it stalled in the heavy street fighting during the re-capture of Arnswalde. There was no immediate German withdrawal, but the German command decided on February 21 to withdraw the headquarters of the XXXIX Panzer Corps as well as the Führer-Grenadier, Führer-Begleit, Holstein, and 10th SS Panzer Divisions westward behind Army Group Center, practically ensuring that eastern Pomerania would fall to the Soviets. Zhukov's committment of the 70th Army into an attack on February 23 spurred a retreat with the German forces losing or abandoning many tanks. On February 24, Marshal Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front renewed the offensive into Pomerania, opening a 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) wide gap in German lines west of Graudenz
Grudziadz
Grudziądz is a city in northern Poland on the Vistula River, with 96 042 inhabitants . Situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship , the city was previously in the Toruń Voivodeship .- History :-Early history:...
and moving almost fifty kilometers (30 miles) forward, further reducing the cohesion of German defenses.
Outcome
Despite the initial gains the operation was, in tactical terms, a complete failure. German forces failed to penetrate towards Küstrin and suffered major losses of heavy equipment in the subsequent retreat. However, the operation convinced Zhukov and Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
that the northern flank of the Soviet advance on Berlin was vulnerable, and therefore postponed the latter by some two months while Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
was cleared in the East Pomeranian Offensive
East Pomeranian Offensive
The East Pomeranian Strategic Offensive operation was an offensive by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front...
.
Further reading
External links
- Satellite imagery view of the battle area
- http://yoyosims.pl/Obrazki/FS2004/VFRPoland/VFRPoland_Pyrzyce.jpgAerial photo of the region around PyritzPyrzycePyrzyce , is a town in Pomerania, north-western Poland, with 13,331 inhabitants Capital of the Pyrzyce County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship , previously in Szczecin Voivodeship .-History:...
]
