| Army Group Don | |
|---|---|
| German: Heeresgruppe Don | |
| Active | 21 Nov 1942 — 12 Feb 1943 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch |  Heer (  Wehrmacht) |
| Type | Army group |
| Size | 3–5 armies |
| Engagements | Battle of Stalingrad |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Erich von Manstein |
Army Group Don (German : Heeresgruppe Don) was a short-lived army group of the German Army during World War II. It existed between November 1942 and February 1943 and was primarily concerned with the Battle of Stalingrad, which was concurrently fought.
After a large-scale Soviet counterattack, "Operation Uranus", had resulted in the encirclement of the German 6th Army, Adolf Hitler named Erich von Manstein as commander of a newly-formed "Army Group Don" on 20 November 1942. The new formation was to consist of 6th Army, 4th Panzer Army and the remnants of the Romanian 3rd and 4th Armies. [1] : 1031
Army Group Don was created from the headquarters of the Eleventh Army in the southern sector of the Eastern Front on 22 November 1942. Army Group Don only lasted until February 1943 when it was combined with Army Group B and was made into the new Army Group South. [2]
The only commander of Army Group Don during its short history was Field Marshal ( Generalfeldmarschall ) Erich von Manstein. It consisted of the Sixth Army in the Stalingrad pocket, which included the encircled elements of the 4th Panzer Army, together with the Romanian Third Army. [3]
Zhukov stated, "We now know that Manstein's plan to rescue the encircled forces at Stalingrad was to organize two shock forces - at Kotelnikovo and Tormosin." The attempt "was a total failure." [4]
| No. | Portrait | Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein (1887–1973) | 21 November 1942 | 12 February 1943 | 83 days |
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia. The battle was marked by fierce close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids, with the battle epitomizing urban warfare. It was the bloodiest battle of the Second World War, with both sides suffering enormous casualties. Today, the Battle of Stalingrad is often regarded as the turning point in the European theatre of war, as it forced the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht to withdraw considerable military forces from other areas in occupied Europe to replace German losses on the Eastern Front, ending with the rout of the six field armies of Army Group B, including the destruction of Nazi Germany's 6th Army and an entire corps of its 4th Panzer Army. The Soviet victory energized the Red Army and shifted the balance of power in the favour of the Soviets.
Operation Uranus was the codename of the Soviet Red Army's 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis forces in the vicinity of Stalingrad: the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romanian armies, and portions of the German Fourth Panzer Army. The Red Army carried out the operation at roughly the midpoint of the five-month long Battle of Stalingrad, aiming to destroy German forces in and around Stalingrad. Planning for Operation Uranus had commenced in September 1942, and developed simultaneously with plans to envelop and destroy German Army Group Center and German forces in the Caucasus.
The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Army Group South of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February and 15 March 1943. Known to the German side as the Donets Campaign, and in the Soviet Union as the Donbas and Kharkov operations, the German counterstrike led to the recapture of the cities of Kharkov and Belgorod.
Maximilian Maria Joseph Karl Gabriel Lamoral Reichsfreiherr von und zu Weichs an der Glon was a German Generalfeldmarschall in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Operation Winter Storm, a German offensive in December 1942 during World War II, involved the German 4th Panzer Army failing to break the Soviet encirclement of the German 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad.
Army Group A was the name of three distinct army groups of the Heer, the ground forces of the Wehrmacht, during World War II.
Operation Little Saturn was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942.
The 1st Panzer Army was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation of the Wehrmacht during World War II.
The 29th Infantry Division was a unit of the German army created in the fall of 1936. It was based on the old Reichswehr 15th Infantry Regiment and drew its initial recruits from Thuringia. It was upgraded to 29th Motorized Infantry Division in the fall of 1937. The division was also known as the Falke-Division.
The 4th Panzer Army, operating as Panzer Group 4 from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, was a German panzer formation during World War II. As a key armoured component of the Wehrmacht, the army took part in the crucial battles of the German-Soviet war of 1941–45, including Operation Barbarossa, the Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk, and the 1943 Battle of Kiev.
Army Group B was the name of four distinct German army group commands that saw action during World War II.
The Raid on Tatsinskaya was a Soviet armoured raid deep into the German rear conducted by 24th Tank Corps under the command of Major General Vasily Mikhaylovich Badanov in late December 1942. It took place during Operation Little Saturn, on the heels of the successful encirclement of the Wehrmacht's 6th Army in the Battle of Stalingrad. The raid was designed to force the Germans to divert forces attempting to relieve the 6th Army. The Soviet force captured its objective, the Luftwaffe's airlift hub at the Tatsinskaya Airfield. The Soviet forces destroyed over 72 aircraft on the ground, but was left cut off and without supplies. Despite the loss of most of the tank corps during the ensuing breakout, the raid was a great operational victory.
The 11th Army was a World War II field army.
The German Seventeenth Army was a field army of Nazi Germany during World War II.
The 19th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army, the Wehrmacht, during World War II. It was created from the 19th Infantry Division.
The 88th Infantry Division was a major fighting formation of the German Army (Wehrmacht). It was created in December 1939, and first saw combat in the Battle of France, and was then posted to security duties. From December 1941, the division was shifted to the southern sector of the Eastern Front, where it fought until February 1944 when it was encircled near Cherkassy and virtually destroyed.
The 9th Flak Division was a Flak division of the German Luftwaffe in World War II which saw action on the Eastern Front. It is most notable for its role in the Battle of Stalingrad. Another formation with the same name was deployed to the Eastern Front and saw combat in the Kuban bridgehead.
The XXIX Army Corps was an infantry corps of the German Army during World War II, active from 1940 to 1945.
The LIX Army Corps, initially known as the Higher Command for Special Deployment LIX was an army corps of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The formation was active between 1940 and 1945.
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