| Operation "Seydlitz" | |||||||
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| Part of the Eastern Front of World War II | |||||||
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 Soviet Union |  Germany | ||||||
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Operation Seydlitz was of an auxiliary nature and was aimed at liberating the zone of the German 9th Army from the penetration of the Soviet 39th Army of Lieutenant General Ivan Maslennikov and the 11th Cavalry Corps of Colonel S. Sokolov.
The successes achieved by the Wehrmacht in the south of the Eastern Front near Kharkov and in the north near Lyuban in encircling large Soviet forces allowed Adolf Hitler to begin planning active operations in the zone of Army Group Center. As stated in the war log of the German High Command of the Armed Forces on June 24, 1942, Hitler in the conversation “refers to the likelihood that the Russian resistance forces are very weakened. In this case, you need to think about one offensive (operation) in the (sector of) Army Group Center. To do this, first of all, a concentrated attack on Kaluga will be considered with the goal of subsequently destroying a number of enemy formations and achieving a reduction (line) of the front by winter. A day later, June 25, the general idea takes on more specific goals and outlines: “the advantage of the operation of Army Group Center (at Sukhinichi) is that winter positions and starting positions for later operations on Moscow are reached in advance” [1]
On July 2, the Soviet 39th Army included the 21st Guards Rifle Division, 252nd, 256th, 357th, 373rd and 381st Rifle Divisions. The total number of units and formations of the 39th Army without rear services reached 36,000 men. The 11th Cavalry Corps included the 18th, 24th, 36th and 82nd Cavalry Divisions. The destabilizing factor was that the commanders of two Soviet different armies were responsible for the communications of Maslennikov’s and Sokolov’s troops—the northern and southern “walls” of the corridor were defended by the 22nd and 41st armies of the Kalinin Front, respectively. In Operation Seydlitz, the command of Army Group Center involved 10 infantry, four tank divisions (1st, 2nd, 5th and 20th), one motorized infantry division (14th Infantry Division) and a cavalry brigade von der Meden. [2]
The German offensive began on July 2 at 03:00 Berlin time after a short artillery preparation and an air strike by Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers. From the north, from the area Olenino, the XXIII Army Corps of General Schubert was advancing in two groups. In the 22nd Army, the blow fell on the weakest 380th Rifle Division, which at the beginning of the battle numbered 5,725 personnel and only seven heavy machine guns and three antitank guns. From the Bely area, the Ezebek group, consisting of the 2nd Panzer Division and the 246th Infantry Division, began an offensive to the east. In the future, they were supposed to turn north, towards the XXIII Corps. Opposed to two German divisions was the 17th Guards Rifle Division of the 41st Army. It numbered 7,559 men with 82 heavy machine guns, but had only 19 antitank guns and 47 antitank rifles. According to the Soviet command, the breakthrough of the defense was the result of subjective rather than objective reasons. [3]
The log of combat operations of the Soviet 41st Army stated: “The 48th Guards Regiment, 17th Guards Rifle Division, as a result of a long stay on the defensive, dulling of vigilance, the will to fight and win, did not show due persistence in battle, and by the end of the first day surrendered the line of Defense by Germans, which he had been preparing for 3-4 months.” [4]
Here, Soviet troops quickly moved to actively counter the German offensive: already in the evening of the first day of the operation, a counterattack followed with the participation of the 21st Tank Brigade, 135th Rifle Division and 24th Rifle Division on the flank of the German 2nd Panzer Division. The repulsion of the counterattack by the advancing German group continued throughout the day on July 3. The German cavalry of von der Meden played an important role in the success of Operation Seydlitz. Moving through the forests, the cavalry brigade on July 3 reached the rear of the units of the 256th Rifle Division defending on the highway. The front in this direction was broken through, and the collapse of the 22nd Army's defense led to catastrophic consequences. According to the version set out in the combat log of the 41st Army, “37 enemy tanks with machine gunners broke through the front of the 22nd Army from the Shizderovo area, unexpectedly attacked the headquarters of the 135th Rifle Division in Yegorye and spread to the west, attacked from the rear parts of the 262nd Rifle Division and partly the 17th Guards Rifle Division.” [5]
The final success of the German offensive was achieved, according to Soviet data, on Monday, July 6, 1942, when the 1st and 2nd German tank divisions met near the village of Pushkari on the Bely-Olenino highway. All units and formations of the 39th Army and the 11th Cavalry Corps were surrounded, as well as formations of the 41st (17th Guards Rifle Division, 135th Rifle Division, 21st Tank Brigade) and 22nd (355th Rifle Division, units of the 380th and 185th Rifle Division) Armies. Almost simultaneously, the Soviet group was cut in two, into northern and southern “cauldrons”. The impossibility of effective air supply due to the weakness of Soviet transport aviation contributed to the rapid disorganization of the encircled troops. [6]
During July 7–9, 1942, units of the 41st Army broke out of the encirclement. About 1,000 men came out of the 135th Rifle Division, and from the 17th Guards Rifle Division - 1,759 men. During the same period, individuals and units of the 24th and 46th Rifle Divisions, 357th, 355th and 262nd Rifle Divisions emerged. The cavalrymen of the 24th cavalry division managed to achieve success due to military cunning: in addition to the main breakthrough, two false sectors were prepared and supported by fire. The division's 1,282 men and 730 horses escaped encirclement on the night of July 9. The cavalrymen also claimed to withdraw up to 1,000 men from other divisions and 350 people from among the wounded of the 17th Guards Rifle Division. In German sources, July 12, 1942 is considered the official end date of Operation Seydlitz, but organized resistance and attempts to break through the Soviet troops did not stop. By July 17, a group of about 1,500 men had gathered in the northern “cauldron” under the leadership of the commander of the 18th Rifle Division, Major General P. S. Ivanov, and approximately 8,000 men remained in the southern “cauldron” under the command of the headquarters of the 39th Army. Wounded in the leg on July 12, the commander of the 39th Army, Lieutenant General I. I. Maslennikov, on the orders of the front commander, flew out of the “cauldron” on a U-2 plane on the night of July 19, while the deputy commander, Lieutenant General I. A. Bogdanov remained with the troops. [7]
The last major attempt to release the 39th Army was made on the evening of July 21, when units of the 185th Rifle Division of the 22nd Army attacked the encircled group. By 23:00, 3,500 men had left the encirclement at the division's site. During the battles to secure a corridor for the troops to exit, General Bogdanov was wounded and was taken by plane to the hospital, where he died on July 24. In total, based on the results of the breakthrough the combat log of the Kalinin Front headquarters indicated: “During the night of July 22, about 7,000 men came out.” This moment can be considered the day the struggle of the 39th Army and the 11th Cavalry Corps ended. [8]
| KIA | WIA | MIA | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22nd Army | 1,433 | 3,279 | 3,905 | 8,617 |
| 39th Army | 582 | 269 | 22,749 | 23,600 |
| 41st Army | 2,000 | 4,156 | 6,347 | 12,503 |
| 11th Cavalry Corps | 371 | 316 | 14,071 | 14,758 |
In total, Soviet casualties amounted to almost 60,000 men. German casualties were 15 times less: 810 KIA, 84 MIA, 3,087 WIA. 3,981 in total. [10]
The successful completion of Operation Seydlitz for the Germans significantly shortened the front line, freeing up troops that could be used for subsequent operations against Soviet Western Front.
The 3rd Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II.
The 39th Guards Motor Rifle Division of the Soviet Ground Forces was a mechanised infantry division active from 1965 to 1992. It was originally formed as the 39th Guards Rifle Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. It was formed during the German-Soviet War as part of the 62nd Army and assigned to the defense of Stalingrad, officially arriving at the theater in August 1942. In September the division fought through German forces which were attempting to encircle the city, and was assigned to defend the 'Volga Corridor,' the last supply line remaining for Soviet units in the city.
The 11th Cavalry Corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a cavalry corps active during the Second World War.
The 39th Army was a Field Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II and of the Soviet Army during the Cold War.
The 17th Guards Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II. It was created on March 17, 1942, from the first formation of the 119th Rifle Division, in recognition of that division's stalwart defense against German Army Group Center in the Battle of Moscow, and in the subsequent strategic offensive that threw the German forces back from the capital. It became the 123rd Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1957 and converted into the 129th Guards Machine-Gun Artillery Division in 1989. In 2001, it was converted to the 17th Guards Motor Rifle Division and became the 70th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade in 2009. The brigade was reorganized as the 114th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the reformed 127th Motor Rifle Division in 2018. The regiment is currently based in Ussuriysk.
The 1st Guards Tank Division was a tank division of the Soviet Army from 1945 to 1947, stationed in Neuruppin. It was formed in the spring of 1942 as the 26th Tank Corps. The corps fought in Operation Uranus and became the 1st Guards Tank Corps, being redesignated as a reward for its actions in December 1942. It fought in Operation Gallop, the Third Battle of Kharkov, Operation Kutuzov, Operation Bagration, the East Prussian Offensive, the East Pomeranian Offensive and the Berlin Offensive. During the East Prussian Offensive, the division captured Mława, Działdowo and Płońsk and was awarded the Order of Lenin for its actions. The division had been awarded the honorific "Don" for its actions in Operation Gallop. It also was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov 2nd class.
The 415th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the autumn of 1941 in the Far Eastern Front. It was considered to be a "sister" division to the 413th, and was one of the divisions of Siberians sent west to help defend Moscow during the winter of 1941-42. It spent much of the next year in the same general area, west of the capital, taking part in the mostly futile battles against the German-held salient at Rzhev during late 1942. Following the evacuation of the salient in March, 1943 the 415th was assigned to the 61st Army, where it remained for most of the rest of the war. It took part in the summer offensives through western Russia and into eastern Belarus during the fall and winter, earning a battle honor in January, 1944. During the later stages of the next summer offensive, Operation Bagration, it distinguished itself in the liberation of Pinsk and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Following this it was redeployed northward, still in 61st Army, and took part in the offensives through the Baltic states. In the spring of 1945 the division also earned the Order of Suvorov, 2nd Degree, for its part in the capture of several towns in northeastern Germany. The 415th had a distinguished career as a combat unit, ending its combat path near Berlin, but was disbanded in the summer of 1945.
The 243rd Rifle Division was the first of a group of 10 regular rifle divisions formed from cadres of NKVD border and internal troops as standard Red Army rifle divisions, very shortly after the German invasion, in the Moscow Military District. It was largely based on what would become the shtat of July 29, 1941, with several variations. It served as part of 29th Army in the heavy fighting around Smolensk in July and August, then later in the counteroffensive operations around Kalinin, where it helped to clear the first Soviet territory to be permanently liberated. It then saw extensive service in the severe fighting around Rzhev, before being moved south in the winter of 1942-43. During Operation Gallop in February, as part of 3rd Guards Army, it participated in the action that liberated the city of Voroshilovgrad, before attacking into the Donbas during the following summer. In February of 1944 the division was recognized for its role in the liberation of Nikopol, receiving that place name as an honorific, and then was decorated with the Order of the Red Banner after helping to free Odesa. In May it was trapped by German counterattacks in a deep bend on the east bank of the Dniestr River north of Grigoriopol while serving with 5th Shock Army and suffered heavy losses in breaking out to friendly territory. After recovering from this debacle the 243rd advanced into Romania and Hungary, mostly under either 53rd or 7th Guards Armies, and during early 1945 fought through Czechoslovakia; two of its regiments were decorated for their roles in the liberation of Brno just weeks before the German surrender. Along with the rest of 53rd Army it was railed across Siberia to take part in the Soviet offensive against the Japanese forces in Manchuria in August. While the division saw little, if any, actual combat in the far east, it received a second honorific for the sheer accomplishment of advancing through the mountainous terrain. Within months of the Japanese surrender the 243rd was disbanded.
The 346th Rifle Division began forming in late August, 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, in the Volga Military District. It was assigned to the 61st Army while both it and its Army continued to form up before moving to the front lines in December to take part in the winter counteroffensive south of Moscow. In September, 1942, it became part of the 5th Tank Army, and joined the offensive that encircled German Sixth Army at Stalingrad during Operation Uranus. During 1943 and early 1944 it continued to serve in the southern part of the front, taking part in the liberation of Crimea, before being transferred to the Baltic States region, serving in Latvia and Lithuania until February, 1945, when it was once again reassigned, this time to be part of the follow-on forces in the conquest of eastern Germany. The division ended the war with a distinguished service record, but was disbanded shortly after the German surrender.
The 2nd Training Motorized Rifle Division named after Alp Arslan is a division of the Turkmen Ground Forces. Its headquarters is at Tejen in the Ahal Region. It traces its history to the 357th Rifle Division formed in August 1941 in Sarapul in the then Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as a standard Red Army rifle division. It notably served on the front lines of the 1st Baltic Front during the Second World War. Particularly, it helped lead the 3rd Shock Army in the battle and siege of Velikiye Luki. By late October 1945, the division had been transferred to the Turkmen SSR, where it was re-designated four times as Soviet Army unit. It remained in Turkmenistan even after the events of 1991 and serves as one of four units in its armed forces.
The 21st Guards Rifle Division was an elite infantry division of the Red Army during World War II. It was formed from the 361st Rifle Division on March 17, 1942, in recognition of that division's successes in the attempt to encircle the German 9th Army in the Rzhev area during the Soviet winter counteroffensive of 1941–42. After being partially encircled itself in the spring of 1942, the division was withdrawn for rebuilding, and then played a major role in the Battle of Velikiye Luki in 1942–43. It distinguished itself in the battle for Nevel in October, 1943, for which it was awarded a battle honor. The division went on to complete a combat path through northwestern Russia and into the Baltic States, ending its war containing the German forces trapped in the Courland Peninsula.
The 373rd Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Urals Military District. It was moved to the front northwest of Moscow while still trying to complete its training and went straight into action in mid-December during the winter counteroffensive. Until May 1943, it was involved in the bloody fighting around the Rzhev salient. After a period in reserve for rebuilding, the division's combat path shifted southward when it was assigned to 52nd Army, where it remained for the duration of the war. It won a battle honor in eastern Ukraine, then fought across the Dniepr River late that year, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its successes. Following this it advanced through western Ukraine in the spring of 1944, then into Romania in the summer, where it played a major role in the second encirclement and destruction of the German 6th Army. After again moving to the reserves the division shifted northwards with its Army to join 1st Ukrainian Front, fighting through Poland, eastern Germany and into Czechoslovakia. By then the 373rd had compiled an enviable record, and went on to serve briefly into the postwar era.
The 381st Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August, 1941 in the Urals Military District. It first served in the bitter fighting around the Rzhev salient, deep in the German rear in the 39th Army and came close to being completely destroyed in July, 1942. The division's survivors were moved north well away from the front for a major rebuilding. It returned to the front in October, joining the 3rd Shock Army for the battle and siege of Velikiye Luki. The division remained in this general area in western Russia until March, 1944, when it was moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and then to 21st Army north of Leningrad in April. It served in the offensive that drove Finland out of the war from June to September, winning a battle honor and the Order of the Red Banner in the process, before being transferred back to the Soviet-German front in October. As part of the 2nd Shock Army of 2nd Belorussian Front the 381st advanced across Poland and Pomerania during the winter of 1945, then joined its Front's advance across the Oder River into north-central Germany in late April, ending the war on the Baltic coast. In the summer of that year the division was disbanded.
The 9th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in November, 1941, based on the 1st formation of the 78th Rifle Division and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was first assigned to the 16th Army just before the start of the winter counteroffensive west of Moscow before being very briefly reassigned to the 33rd Army and then to the 43rd Army during the fighting around Rzhev. In May, 1942 it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its services, one of the first rifle divisions to be so recognized. After partially rebuilding it was railed south to Southwestern Front to help meet the German summer offensive. It gave very creditable service in the 38th Army as an infantry division facing armored divisions but suffered significant losses before it was returned to the Moscow Military District in September. In November it was assigned to Kalinin Front and played an important role in the liberation of Velikiye Luki during the winter, primarily in helping to block several attempts to relieve the besieged city. It remained in that Front for most of the rest of the war, for the most part in both the 5th and 2nd Guards Rifle Corps, before moving with the latter to 6th Guards Army, where it remained for the duration, fighting through the Baltic states during the summer and autumn offensives of 1944. In March, 1945 it joined the Courland Group of Forces of Leningrad Front on the Baltic coast containing the German forces encircled in northwest Latvia. Following the German surrender it was disbanded later in 1945.
The 41st Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in August 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 10th Airborne Corps, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was the last of a series of ten Guards rifle divisions formed from airborne corps during the spring and summer of 1942. It was briefly assigned to the 1st Guards Army in Stalingrad Front, then to the 24th Army in Don Front, and suffered heavy casualties north of Stalingrad before being withdrawn to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for a substantial rebuilding. Returning to 1st Guards Army in Southwestern Front in November it took part in Operation Little Saturn as part of 4th Guards Rifle Corps and then advanced into the Donbas where it was caught up in the German counteroffensive in the spring of 1943. During the summer and fall the division fought its way through eastern Ukraine as part of the 6th, and later the 57th Army under several corps commands. It would remain in the southern part of the front for the duration of the war. By February 1944 it was in the 7th Guards Army and took part in the battle for the Korsun Pocket, winning its first battle honor in the process. Shortly after it was transferred to the 4th Guards Army, where it would remain for the duration, still moving through several corps headquarters. The 41st Guards saw limited service in the first Jassy-Kishinev offensive in the spring, but considerably more in August's second offensive and several of its subunits received battle honors or decorations. The division itself won a second honorific during the offensive into Hungary in January 1945 and was later decorated for its role in the capture of Budapest. After the fall of Vienna in April it did garrison duty in the city for a short time before being directed west into lower Austria where it linked up with U.S. forces in the last days of the war. In October, while still in Austria, it was converted to the 18th Guards Mechanized Division.
The 69th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 120th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War.
Iosif Ivanovich Popov was a Soviet Army major general who held corps command during World War II.
The 246th Rifle Division was the third of a group of 10 regular rifle divisions formed from cadres of NKVD border and internal troops as standard Red Army rifle divisions, very shortly after the German invasion, in the Moscow Military District. It was largely based on what would become the shtat of July 29, 1941, with several variations. It was initially assigned to 31st Army, but was soon reassigned to 29th Army; this redeployment took some time and not long after arriving at the front the division was in full retreat. It served in the battles around Kalinin, partly in the rear of the German forces that took the city. During the winter counteroffensive west of Moscow it advanced west of Rzhev as part of Kalinin Front but became encircled with most of its Army and was forced to break out in late February, 1942 at the cost of heavy casualties. In the Rzhev-Sychyovka offensive that began at the end of July it took part in the liberation of Zubtsov in August but was stymied at the gates of Rzhev along with the rest of Western Front's forces. Early in the new year the 246th was transferred to the south and took part in the winter battles in the Kursk region as part of the 65th Army of Central Front, remaining there into and through the German summer offensive although it saw very little action. During the Soviet summer offensive the division advanced through northeastern Ukraine and into Belarus, taking part in the battles along the Dniepr and Sozh River in the vicinity of Gomel. In early December the 1st Ukrainian Front was struggling to hold its strategic bridgehead west of Kyiv and the 246th was transferred to this Front, where it remained until the last weeks of the war. In February 1944 it joined 60th Army, remaining under this command into the postwar. During the Proskurov–Chernovtsy Offensive in March it received a battle honor, which turned out to be its only divisional distinction. The division took part in the summer offensive that liberated Lviv and two of its regiments were given honors for their parts in this fighting. As the war advanced into Poland and Silesia in early 1945 the 246th was involved in heavy fighting for the latter region, especially the battle for Ratibor in late March. In the final weeks, 60th Army was transferred to 4th Ukrainian Front and the division was near Prague when the fighting ended. It was disbanded in July.
The 185th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army just as the Second World War was beginning, in the Oryol Military District, based on the pre-September 13, 1939 shtat. As a standard rifle division it took part in the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in June 1940. In early 1941 it was selected for conversion to a motorized infantry division, but in fact it had received little in the way of vehicles by the start of the German invasion and so was a rifle division in all but name. It was sent to join Northwestern Front in the Baltic states with its 21st Mechanized Corps, and was soon assigned to 27th Army. Under these commands the division retreated through July and August as the German 16th Army advanced behind in the general direction of Novgorod. On August 25 it was officially reorganized as a regular rifle division.