Roslavl–Novozybkov offensive

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Roslavl–Novozybkov offensive
Part of the
Eastern Front of World War II, Battle of Smolensk
Date30 August–12 September 1941
Location
Bryansk and Sumy Oblasts, Soviet Union
Result German victory
Belligerents
 Soviet Union  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Units involved
Bryansk Front:
Strength
  • 261,696 men
  • 259 tanks[1]
 Unknown
Casualties and losses
Official figures:
  • 50,972 killed, captured or missing
  • 28,603 wounded or sick

Unofficial figures including replacements:

  • around 100,000 casualties
  • more than 140 tanks[1]
  • 8,261 men
  • no more than 50 tanks permanently destroyed[2]

Including 2nd Army:

  • around 20,000 casualties[2]

The Roslavl–Novozybkov offensive (

Eastern Front of World War II between 30 August and 12 September 1941, part of the Battle of Smolensk
in Soviet historiography.

The offensive was an attempt by

Operation Typhoon, which began three weeks later. The German troops continued their advance southwards, resulting in the Kiev encirclement battle
.

Prelude

29 August

On 28 August, the 2nd Panzer Group continued to advance southward, crossing the

Seym River, 20 kilometers north of Bakhmach, and engaging elements of the 40th Army's 293rd Rifle Division in the Korop area and the 21st Army's 67th Rifle Corps along the Seym. At the same time, the 3rd Panzer Division reached Glukhov's western approaches, 50 kilometers southeast of the Desna at Novgorod-Seversky, where it ran into 40th Army's main body, including the 10th Tank Division and the 5th Antitank Brigade.[3]

Behind the 10th Motorized and 3rd Panzer, the

XXXXVII Motorized Corps were echeloned to the rear at Novgorod-Seversky and west of Trubchevsk. The 4th Panzer was fighting 13th Army's 52nd Cavalry Division in the Novgorod-Seversky area and the army's main forces west of Trubchevsk. Farther to the rear, the 18th Panzer Division of the XXXXVII Corps was quickly moving southward from Roslavl while mopping up stragglers from the 13th Army in 2nd Panzer Group's rear west of the Desna.[3]

To the west of the 2nd Panzer Group, infantry divisions of

Chernigov, while eliminating the 21st Army remnants surrounded in a large salient pocket northeast of Chernigov and north of the Desna. The 21st Army and old 3rd Army were part of the Bryansk Front.[4]

Opposing forces

XXIV Motorized Corps, commanded by Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg, had a daily operational strength of roughly 320 tanks (including 128 Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks, with the rest being Panzer I, Panzer II, and command tanks) which was well below half of its strength at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa.[5] Kuzma Podlas' 40th Army, which became part of the Southwestern Front on 26 August, was responsible for defending the front's right flank and maintaining contact with the Bryansk Front on its right. It included the 135th Rifle Division, the 293rd Rifle Division, 10th Tank Division, 2nd Airborne Corps, and the 5th Anti-Tank Brigade.[6]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Glantz 2011, p. 498.
  2. ^ a b Glantz 2011, p. 499.
  3. ^ a b Glantz 2011, p. 364.
  4. ^ Glantz 2011, p. 367.
  5. ^ Glantz 2011, pp. 364–365.
  6. ^ Glantz 2011, pp. 366–367.

Bibliography

  • Glantz, David M. (2011). Barbarossa Derailed: The Battle for Smolensk 10 July–10 September 1941. Vol. 2: The German Advance on the Flanks and the Third Soviet Counteroffensive, 25 August–10 September 1941. Solihull: Helion.
    ISBN 9781906033903
    .
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