Mga offensive
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (August 2020) ) |
Mga offensive | |||||||
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Part of the Eastern Front of World War II | |||||||
Map of the battle | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Germany | Soviet Union | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Georg von Küchler Georg Lindemann |
Kirill Meretskov Leonid Govorov Filipp Starikov Mikhail Dukhanov | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Army Group North: 18th Army |
Leningrad Front Volkhov Front 8th Army 67th Army |
The Mga offensive or Third Battle of Lake Ladoga (German: Dritte Ladoga-Schlacht) or fifth Sinyavino offensive was an unsuccessful offensive operation by Soviet troops between 22 July and 25 September 1943 to break the siege of Leningrad.
Prelude
Leningrad
The attack was to be carried out by the
). The goal of the operation was to defeat the enemy group in the area of Mga, restore control over the Kirov Railway and ensure a reliable railway connection between Leningrad and the rest of the Soviet Union.The battle
On 22 July 1943, at 6:35 a.m., after an hour and a half of artillery fire and a massive air strike, the Soviet troops went on the offensive.
The units of the first echelon of the 8th Army immediately managed to capture the first line of defense of the enemy, but the offensive did not advance any further. In late July, the Soviet command brought into battle the
On 12 August, in a renewed attack, the Soviet 8th Army took the strong enemy bridgehead east of the Nasija River near Porechye, but failed to breakthrough towards Mga, despite the introduction into battle of the last reserve of the 8th Army - the 311th Rifle Division. The German command was able to quickly strengthen the defense. For several days, Soviet troops tried to advance further, but did not achieve significant results.
The same happened in the northern direction of the front. On 22 July, at the same time as the troops of the 8th Army, units of the 67th Army went on the offensive, and partially broke the enemy's defenses, but failed to exploit the initial success. The German command strengthened its defenses with reserves, sending the 58th, 126th (from the 16th Army), and at the end of the operation the 61st Infantry Divisions and the Soviet offensive was halted. Fierce fighting lasted several weeks and both sides suffered heavy losses.
At the end of August, the fighting gradually began to subside. Despite fierce fighting, the Soviet troops failed to reach the targets set before the start of the operation, and the front line in the area of the Sinyavino Heights differed only slightly from the front line at the beginning of the Soviet offensive.
Second attack (15–25 September 1943)
On the orders of the Stavka, the front commanders Govorov and Meretskov prepared a new offensive only a few weeks after the failure of their first operations. This time the goals were much more narrowly defined and now only included taking the Sinyavino Heights.
The Leningrad Front had refreshed the
On the morning of 15 September 1943, the attack began again. On this occasion, the Red Army implemented a new artillery concept. This time the Soviet artillery did not pause in their fire when the Soviet infantry was moving forward. The attack of the 30th Guards Rifle Corps with its three divisions was more successful than a few weeks before. The German
On 18 September 1943, the Stavka therefore again approved the cessation of offensive operations. On 24 September, the fighting for the heights flared up again briefly before the front stabilized again.
Sources
- Glantz, David M. (2005). Leningrad: City Under Siege 1941–1944. Grange Books. ISBN 1840137983.
- Haupt, Werner (1997). Army Group North. The Wehrmacht in Russia 1941–1945. ISBN 0764301829.
- Krivosheev, Grigoriy (2001). "Россия и СССР в войнах XX века: Потери вооруженных сил: Статистическое исследование" [Russia and the USSR in the wars of the 20th century: Loss of armed forces: Statistical study] (in Russian). Google translation
- ISBN 0828504946.