The battle for the Caucasus, which lasted 442 days (from July 25, 1942 to October 9, 1943) and took place simultaneously with the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, played a large role in creating and completing a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War. Its defensive stage covers the period from July 25 to December 31, 1942. The Wehrmacht, during fierce battles and suffering heavy losses, managed to reach the foothills of the Main Caucasian Range and the Terek River. However, in general, the German plan "Edelweiss" was not implemented. German troops were unable to break into the Transcaucasus and the Middle East, which should have led to Turkey's entry into the war on the side of Germany.
The plans of the German command
On June 28, 1942, the 4th Panzer Army of the Wehrmacht under the command of Hermann Goth broke through the Soviet front between Kursk and Kharkov and continued the offensive towards the Don. On July 3, Voronezh was partially captured by German troops, and the troops of S.K. Timoshenko, who defended the Rostov direction, were engulfed from the north. The 4th Panzer Army advanced rapidly southward between the Donets and the Don. On July 23, Rostov-on-Don was captured by the Germans. As a result, the path to the North Caucasus was opened.
In the strategic plans of the German military-political leadership, the capture of the Caucasus, where about 90% of Soviet oil was produced before the start of the war, was given a large place. Adolf Hitler understood the limitations of the resource, energy base of the Third Reich and at a meeting in Poltava in June 1942 he said: “If we fail to seize the oil of Maykop and Grozny, then we will have to stop the war!” In addition, Hitler took into account the importance of the Kuban and the Caucasus as a source of food (grain), and the presence of strategic raw materials here. In particular, the Tyrnyauz deposit of tungsten-molybdenum ore was located here. The idea of the German command on the Soviet-German front in the summer of 1942 provided for the main blow in the Caucasian direction with a simultaneous attack on Stalingrad, an important transport hub and a major center of the military industry. Some researchers believe that this was Hitler's strategic miscalculation, since the division of limited military forces and resources led to the dispersal of the Wehrmacht, and ultimately to defeat in the Stalingrad and Caucasus directions.
On July 23, 1942, Hitler approved the plan for Operation Edelweiss (German: Operation Edelweiß). It provided for the encirclement and destruction of Soviet troops south and southeast of Rostov-on-Don, the capture of the North Caucasus. In the future, one group of troops was to advance around the Main Caucasian Range from the west and capture Novorossiysk and Tuapse, and the second - to advance from the east in order to capture the oil-producing regions of Grozny and Baku. Simultaneously with this detour maneuver, the German command planned to break through the Main Caucasian Range in its central part in order to reach Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Sukhumi. With the breakthrough of the Wehrmacht to the South Caucasus, the tasks of destroying the bases of the Black Sea Fleet, establishing complete dominance in the Black Sea, establishing direct communication with the Turkish armed forces and involving Turkey in the war on the side of the Reich were solved, prerequisites were created for the invasion of the region of the Near and Middle East. In addition, the German command expected that a number of peoples of the Caucasus and the Cossacks would support them, which would solve the problem with auxiliary troops. In part, these expectations will come true.
A column of German StuG III assault guns on the march to the Caucasus.
To solve such large-scale tasks, the German command concentrated a significant strike force in the Caucasian direction. For the offensive on the Caucasus, Army Group A was detached from Army Group South under the command of Field Marshal Wilhelm List (on September 10, 1942, Hitler took command, and from November 22, 1942, Colonel General Ewald von Kleist ). It consisted of: 1st Panzer Army - Commander Colonel General Ewald von Kleist (until November 21, 1942, then Colonel General Eberhard von Mackensen), 4th Panzer Army - Colonel General G. Goth (first attacked Caucasian direction, then it was transferred to the group "B" - to the Stalingrad direction), the 17th field army - Colonel General Richard Ruoff, the 3rd Romanian army - Lieutenant General Pyotr Dumitrescu (in September 1942, the army was transferred to the Stalingrad direction). Initially, Manstein's 11th Army, which, after the completion of the siege of Sevastopol, was located in the Crimea, was supposed to take part in the attack on the Caucasus, but part of it was transferred to Leningrad, and part of it was divided between Army Group Center and Army Group South. The troops of Army Group "A" were supported by units of the 4th Air Army of Wolfram von Richthofen (about 1 thousand aircraft in total). In total, by July 25, 1942, the shock group had about 170 thousand soldiers and officers, 15 thousand oil workers, 1130 tanks (from July 31 - 700 tanks), over 4.5 thousand guns and mortars.
The German troops had a high combat capability, had a high morale, which was strengthened by recent high-profile victories. Many formations of the Wehrmacht participated in the defeat of the Red Army units near Kharkov, southwest of Voronezh, in the June battles, when they advanced to the lower reaches of the Don, they immediately entrenched themselves on its left bank. In Berlin, they were sure of victory, before the battle they even founded oil companies (“Ost-Öl” and “Karpaten-Öl”), which received the exclusive right to exploit oil fields in the Caucasus for 99 years. A large number of pipes were prepared (which later went to the USSR).
Wilhelm List.
Soviet troops
The German troops were opposed by the troops of the South (Rodion Malinovsky) and part of the forces of the North Caucasian Fronts (Semyon Budyonny). The Southern Front included the 9th Army - Commander Major General F.A. Parkhomenko, the 12th Army - Major General A.A. Grechko, the 18th Army - Lieutenant General F.V. Kamkov, the 24th Army - Major General D.T. Kozlov, 37th Army - Major General P.M. Kozlov, 51st Army - Major General N.I. Trufanov (July 28, it was transferred to the Stalingrad Front) and 56- I am the army - Major General A. I. Ryzhov. Aviation support was provided by the 4th Air Army of Major General Aviation K. A. Vershinin (since September, Major General Aviation N. F. Naumenko). At first glance, the composition of the front was impressive, but almost all of these armies, except for the 51st, suffered heavy losses in previous battles and were bled dry. The southern front numbered about 112 thousand people, a significant lag behind the Germans was in technology - 120 tanks, more than 2.2 thousand guns and mortars, 130 aircraft. Thus, the front, which received the main blow of the enemy, was inferior to the enemy in manpower by 1.5 times, in aircraft by almost 8 times, in tanks - by more than 9 times, guns and mortars - by 2 times. To this should be added the absence of a stable command and control system, which was disrupted during their rapid retreat to the Don. On July 28, 1942, the YuF was abolished, its troops entered the North Caucasian Front.
The Red Army faced a very difficult task: to stop the enemy's offensive, wear him out in defensive battles and prepare the conditions for a transition to a counteroffensive. On July 10-11, 1942, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (SVGK) ordered the Southern and North Caucasian fronts to organize a defensive line along the Don River. However, this order was difficult to fulfill, because the troops of the Southern Front at that time were engaged in heavy battles with the German troops rushing forward in the Rostov direction. The command of the Law Firm had neither time nor significant reserves in order to prepare defensive positions on the left bank of the Don. Command and control of troops in the Caucasian direction by this moment could not be restored. In addition, the SVGK at that time paid closer attention to the Stalingrad direction, the Germans rushed to the Volga. Under strong pressure from the enemy, the armies of the YuF by July 25 retreated to the southern bank of the river. Don in a strip 330 km long, from Verkhnekurmoyarskaya to the mouth of the river. They were drained of blood, lost a lot of heavy weapons, some armies had no connection with the front headquarters.
At the same time, it should be noted that there were other troops in the region that also took part in the battle for the Caucasus. The troops of the North Caucasian Front under the command of Marshal Budyonny at that time defended the coasts of the Azov and Black Seas to Lazarevskaya. The SCF included: the 47th Army - under the command of Major General G.P. Kotov, the 1st Rifle and 17th Cavalry Corps. Air support was provided by the 5th Air Army of Aviation Colonel General S. K. Goryunov. Parts of the Transcaucasian Front under the command of Ivan Tyulenev defended the Black Sea coast from Lazarevskaya to Batumi, the Soviet-Turkish border and provided communications for the Soviet group in Iran. In addition, parts of the Polar Front were located in the Makhachkala region and covered the coast of the Caspian Sea (44th Army). By the beginning of the battle for the Caucasus, the Transcaucasian Front included the 44th Army - Lieutenant General V. A. Khomenko, the 45th Army - Lieutenant General F. N. Remezov, the 46th Army - V. F. Sergatskov (since August K. N. Leselidze) and the 15th Cavalry Corps. The front was reinforced by 14 aviation regiments. At the beginning of August 1942, the 9th, 24th (disbanded on August 28) and 37th Army were transferred to the ZF, and the 58th Army was formed at the end of August. In early September, several more armies were transferred - the 12th, 18th, 56th. It should be noted that Tyulenev, having received an appointment as commander of the Polar Front in February 1942, did a great job of creating defensive lines in case of an invasion from Turkey. He insisted on the construction of defensive lines in the region of the Terek and Grozny rivers, and the defense of the Main Caucasian Range was strengthened in advance. The events of the battle for the Caucasus showed the correctness of the decision of the commander.
The Black Sea Fleet under the command of Philip Oktyabrsky, after the loss of Sevastopol and Kerch, was based in the ports of the Caucasian coast, although they ended up in the zone of operations of the German Air Force. The fleet had the task of interacting with the ground forces in protecting coastal areas, providing maritime transportation, and also attacking enemy sea lanes.
Ivan Vladimirovich Tyulenev.
Significance of the Caucasus for the USSR
The Caucasus at that time was of great importance for the country, was an inexhaustible source of industrial and military-strategic raw materials, an important food base of the Union. During the years of the Soviet pre-war five-year plans, the industry of the Transcaucasian republics grew significantly, and a powerful industry was created here through the efforts of the people. Hundreds of new enterprises of heavy and light industry were built here. So, only in the Baku region for the period from 1934 to 1940. 235 new wells were drilled, and in total, 1726 new wells were launched in the region by 1940 (about 73.5% of all wells that were commissioned in the USSR during this period of time). The Baku oil-bearing region played a huge role. It gave up to 70% of the all-Union oil products. It is clear that only the loss of the Baku region could have a sharply negative impact on the industry of the USSR, its defense capability. Much attention was paid to the development of oil production in Checheno-Ingushetia and the Kuban.
Along with the oil industry, natural gas production developed rapidly. The gas industry of Azerbaijan provided the country in 1940 with about 2.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas, that is, about 65% of the total gas production of the USSR. The electric power base developed rapidly; before the Great War, new power plants of all-Union and local significance were built in the Caucasus. In Georgia, manganese ore was developed, which is of great economic and military-strategic importance. Thus, in 1940, the Chiatura mines produced 1,448.7 thousand tons of manganese ore, or about 56.5% of the total production of manganese ore in the USSR.
The Caucasus and Kuban were of great importance as one of the food bases of the USSR. The region was one of the richest in the state in the production of wheat, corn, sunflower and sugar beets. The South Caucasus produced cotton, sugar beet, tobacco, grapes, tea, citrus and essential oil crops. Due to the availability of rich fodder, animal husbandry was developed. On the basis of agricultural products in the prewar years, the food and light industries were developed. Cotton, silk, weaving, woolen, leather and shoe enterprises, canneries for processing fruits, vegetables, meat and fish products, wineries and tobacco factories, etc. were built.
The region was of great importance in terms of communications and foreign trade. A large flow of goods passed through the Caucasus region and its ports on the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. In particular, 55% of all exports and 50% of imports of the Soviet Union went through the southern, including the Caucasian, ports. Communications of the Black and Caspian Seas connected Russia with Persia and Turkey, and through the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea straits with the ways of the World Ocean. It should be noted that during the war, communications that went through the Persian Gulf, Iran and the Caspian took second place in the field of transportation, equipment, ammunition, food and strategic raw materials from the United States and territories subordinate to the British Empire. The significance of the Caucasus lies in its unique geographical position: the Caucasus is located in an important strategic area of the planet, through which trade and strategic routes run, connecting the countries of Europe, Asia, the Near and Middle East into a single knot. We should not forget the mobilization potential of the region's human resources.
Soviet mounted reconnaissance in the Caucasus mountains.
North Caucasian strategic defensive operation
On July 23, 1942, the Germans occupied Rostov-on-Don and launched an attack on the Kuban. The forces of the 1st and 4th tank armies dealt a powerful blow to the left flank of the Southern Front, where the defense was held by the 51st and 37th armies. The Soviet troops suffered heavy losses and retreated. The Germans in the defense zone of the 18th Army broke through to Bataysk. In the defense zone of the 12th Army, things were initially not so good and the Wehrmacht was unable to force the Don on the first day. On July 26, the 18th and 37th Soviet armies, having received reinforcements, tried to launch a counterattack, but to no avail. As a result, from the very first days of the battle, the situation in the defense zone of the entire Southern Front deteriorated sharply, there was a threat of German troops entering the Salsk region, cutting the Southern Front into two parts and leaving the enemy in the rear of the Soviet grouping, which continued to defend south of Rostov. The Soviet command tried to withdraw the troops of the left flank to the line of the southern bank of the Kagalnik River and the Manych Canal. However, under the conditions of the overwhelming superiority of the enemy in tank forces, aviation and artillery, units of the LF were unable to withdraw in an organized manner to the positions indicated by them. The retreat turned into a flight. The German troops, no longer encountering serious resistance, continued the offensive.
Under these critical conditions, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command took measures to correct the situation. On July 28, the Southern Front, in order to combine efforts and improve command and control, was disbanded. His armies were transferred to the North Caucasian fronts under the command of Marshal Budyonny (in fact, two fronts were united). The Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla were subordinate to the front command. The SCF received the task of stopping the advance of the German troops and restoring the position of the front along the left bank of the Don River. But such a task was actually impossible, since the enemy had a strategic initiative and conducted a well-organized offensive with superior forces and means. It is also necessary to take into account the factor that it was necessary to organize the command and control troops on a strip with a length of over 1 thousand km, and this in the conditions of the collapse of the front and the successful offensive of the enemy troops. Therefore, the Headquarters allocated two operational groups as part of the SCF: 1) the Don group led by Rodion Malinovsky (it included the 37th army, the 12th army and the 4th air army), it was supposed to cover the Stavropol direction; 2) Primorsky group under the command of Colonel General Yakov Cherevichenko (18th Army, 56th Army, 47th Army, 1st Rifle, 17th Cavalry Corps and 5th Air Army, Azov military flotilla), one was supposed to defend the Krasnodar direction. In addition, the 9th and 24th armies were taken to the region of Nalchik and Grozny, the 51st was transferred to the Stalingrad Front. The troops of the ZF front received the task of occupying and preparing for defense the approaches to the Caucasus Range from the north. The Military Council of the Transcaucasian Front prepared a combat plan, which was approved by the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on August 4, 1942. Its essence was to stop the advance of German troops at the turn of the Terek and the passes of the Main Caucasian Range. Parts of the 44th Army from the region of Makhachkala, Baku were transferred to defensive positions on the Terek, Sulak and Samur rivers. It was supposed to protect Grozny, cover the Georgian Military and Ossetian Military Highways. At the same time, other parts of the Polar Front were transferred from the Soviet-Turkish border and from the Black Sea coast to the border of the Terek and Urukh. Simultaneously with the transfer of parts of the Polar Front to fight the German troops, the Headquarters replenished the forces of the front from the reserve. So, from August 6 to September, the ZF received 2 guards rifle corps and 11 separate rifle brigades.
At the same time, the German command transferred the 4th Panzer Army to the Stalingrad direction as part of Army Group B. Perhaps they thought that the Soviet front in the Caucasus had collapsed and the remaining troops would be enough to solve the assigned tasks.
The fighting in the Caucasus in late July - early August took on an exceptionally fierce, dynamic character. The Germans still had numerical superiority and, having a strategic initiative, developed the offensive in the direction of Stavropol, Maykop and Tuapse. On August 2, 1942, the Germans continued their offensive in the Salsk direction and on August 5 they captured Voroshilovsk (Stavropol). In the Krasnodar direction, the Wehrmacht could not immediately break through the defenses of the 18th and 56th armies, the Soviet troops tried to counterattack, but soon retreated across the Kuban River. On August 6, the 17th German Army launched a new offensive in the Krasnodar direction. On August 10, the Azov Flotilla had to be evacuated from the Azov coast, and Krasnodar fell on August 12.
The German command decided to take advantage of the moment and block the Soviet troops south of the Kuban. Part of the strike force that captured Stavropol was sent to the west. On August 6, units of the 1st German Panzer Army captured Armavir, on August 10 - Maikop and continued to move towards Tuapse. In the direction of Tuapse, a part of the 17th Army also began to advance from Krasnodar. Only by August 15-17 did the Red Army units manage to stop the enemy offensive and prevent the Wehrmacht from breaking through to Tuapse. As a result, during the first stage of the offensive (July 25 - August 19), the German command was able to partially fulfill the assigned tasks: the Red Army suffered a serious defeat in the Caucasian direction (although there were no large "boilers"), most of the Kuban was captured, part of the Northern Caucasus. Soviet troops were able to stop the enemy only at Tuapse. At the same time, the Soviet command did a lot of preparatory work to reorganize the troops, create new defensive lines, transfer the troops of the Polar Front and the Stavka reserve, which ultimately led to the failure of the German offensive and victory in the battle for the Caucasus.
German soldiers in the Caucasus.
The Headquarters, in order to restore the combat capability of the Soviet troops and ensure the defense of the Caucasus in the northern direction, on August 8 united the 44th and 9th armies into the Northern Group of the Polar Front. Lieutenant General Ivan Maslennikov was appointed its commander. On August 11, the 37th Army was included in the Northern Group. In addition, the Headquarters paid great attention to organizing the defense of Novorossiysk and Tuapse. The measures taken already from mid-August 1942 began to have a positive effect on the situation at the front, resistance to the enemy increased sharply.
To be continued….
Defense of the Caucasus (Battle for the Caucasus) is a major defensive and offensive operation of the Soviet troops in the second period of the Great Patriotic War in the Caucasus and Transcaucasia.
- From July 25 to December 31, 1942, an offensive was carried out by the Germans, who managed to capture part of the territories;
- From December 31 to October 9, 1943, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive, recaptured territories and forced the German troops to retreat.
By the early autumn of 1942, German troops were able to conquer most of the Kuban and the North Caucasus, but after the defeat at Stalingrad they were forced to retreat again, as they suffered serious losses and feared that the Soviet troops would surround them. In 1943, the Soviet army planned an operation, as a result of which the German troops were to be surrounded in the territory of the Kuban and defeated, but the operation failed - the Germans were evacuated to the Crimea.
Background and alignment of forces
By June 1942, the Soviet army was in a weakened state after the failure near Kharkov. The German command, seeing that the Soviet troops could not offer worthy resistance, decided to launch an offensive in the Caucasus, taking advantage of the situation. After a series of battles, German troops were able to conquer several cities, including Rostov-on-Don, which opened the way for Hitler to the Caucasus.
The Caucasus, like Ukraine, was a very important strategic point that German troops sought to capture as early as possible. The Caucasus and Kuban contained large stocks of Soviet oil, grain and other crops, which could provide serious support for the German army for further fighting on the territory of the USSR. In addition, Hitler hoped that by going to the sea he would be able to turn to Turkey for help. Moreover, the German command also counted on the help of the inhabitants themselves, as they were aware that part of the local population did not accept Soviet power.
After the fall of Rostov-on-Don, the connection of the Soviet command with the Caucasus could only be carried out by sea or by rail, passing through Stalingrad. That is why Stalingrad became an important point that the Germans needed to capture. Despite the fact that Hitler threw huge forces into the fight at Stalingrad, he was never able to take the city. The Germans lost the Battle of Stalingrad. They suffered significant losses and, largely due to this, they later failed to conquer the Caucasus.
The course of the defense of the Caucasus
The battle took place in two stages. During the first stage of the German army, it was not without difficulty that they managed to take a number of cities: Stavropol, Armavir, Maikop, Krasnodar, Elista, Mozdok and part of Novorossiysk. In September 1942, the German army approached the Malgobek area, where it was stopped by Soviet troops.
The first stage of the battle for the Caucasus took place from July to December 1942. The German army was able to approach the foothills of the Caucasus Range and the Terek River, but this victory was not easy - Hitler's troops suffered enormous losses. The original plan to capture Transcaucasia was never completed, despite the fact that the Germans were still leading this operation - the Soviet troops were able to stop the German offensive in time and force the army to stop fighting, since most of the army was simply destroyed. Turkey also let down, which did not dare to enter the war and come to the aid of Hitler.
The German offensive failed largely due to the victory of the Soviet troops at Stalingrad. Hitler, who had too high hopes for the capture of this city, simply did not foresee the possibility that the Soviet army could defend Stalingrad and, therefore, one of the routes to the Caucasus.
As a result of numerous losses, by the beginning of 1943, the German army was several times inferior in number to the Soviet one.
The second stage of the battle for the Caucasus can be considered a counter-offensive of the Soviet troops, which became extremely successful for the Soviet Union. The territories previously captured by the Germans were recaptured, North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, the Rostov Region, the Stavropol Territory and other regions were completely liberated. The oil fields and grain fields were again returned to the control of the Soviet Union, which gave a tremendous advantage in the war.
Despite the fact that the Soviet army was able to achieve serious successes, it cannot be considered that the victory clearly belongs to the Soviet Union, since the main goal that Stalin set for his army - to capture and destroy the Germans in the Kuban - was never achieved. The German army fled to the Crimea, however, despite this, the Caucasus again returned under the command of the USSR.
The meaning and results of the battle for the Caucasus
The successes of the Soviet Union in the battle for the Caucasus can be considered one of the most important parts of the general counteroffensive of the USSR in the second period of the war. At this time, the Soviet army not only began to win back its territories and return captive people, but also greatly increased its combat power and could fight on equal terms with the German army. The return of such an important strategic point as the Caucasus to the jurisdiction of the USSR can be considered as one of the greatest victories of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War.
Unfortunately, the battle for the Caucasus also had negative consequences. Part of the population was accused of assisting the enemy and many of the locals were later exiled to Siberia.
The victorious march of the Soviet Union in the Second World War began with the victory at Stalingrad and the battle in the Caucasus.
Battle for the Caucasus (July 25, 1942 - October 9, 1943) - the battle of the armed forces of Nazi Germany, Romania and Slovakia against the USSR for control of the North Caucasus. The battle is divided into two stages: the offensive of the German troops (July 25 - December 31, 1942) and the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops (January 1 - October 9, 1943).
Calculation of anti-tank rifle PTRS-41 and machine gunner on the bank of the river.
Soviet paratroopers are loaded into a TB-3 bomber on the North Caucasian front.
Four mountain rangers of the Wehrmacht on the march through the mountains of the Caucasus.
Soviet soldiers knock out the Germans from the western part of the Crimean village.
Soviet soldiers during the battle in the village of Krymskaya.
Romanian artillerymen insert a mine into the barrel of a 120-mm mortar of the 1942 model in the Caucasus.
German signalmen adjusting the radio, Kuban, p. Red October, April 1943
Residents of liberated Krasnodar at the crossroads of Krasnaya and Sverdlov streets.
A soldier of the Romanian mountain units with a captured Soviet banner in a field in the Caucasus.
Battery gunners P.S. Tarakanov fire direct fire at the enemy from a 45-mm anti-tank gun.
Soldiers of the 2nd Romanian Mountain Division near a ZB-53 machine gun in a position on Nalchik Street.
Fires in the port of Batumi after a German air raid.
German mountain rangers in the Caucasus.
Soviet tanker on a captured German tank Pz.Kpfw. IV in Ordzhonikidze.
German soldiers in the Caucasus are on the mountainside.
Near Maikop and Krasnodar. German soldiers are approaching the oil storage, set on fire by the retreating units of the Red Army.
A German anti-aircraft battery is firing in the Kuban region.
A group of German prisoners of war near the Khaznidon River.
Soviet mounted reconnaissance in the Caucasus mountains.
Soviet infantrymen are conducting a defensive battle in the foothills of the Caucasus.
Mortar guards fire in the Ordzhonikidze area.
The battle in the village of Gizel, the district of Vladikavkaz (at that time - Ordzhonikidze), where the German offensive in the North Caucasus was stopped. November 7, 1942
Warriors-alpinists under the command of Lieutenant A.S. Efremov climb the glacier to defend the mountain pass. Northern Caucasus, 1942
LaGG-3 No. 915 "For Soviet Georgia".
Soviet infantrymen on the defensive in the North Caucasus.
Solemn rally on the occasion of awarding the 2nd Guards Rifle (future Taman) Division with the Order of the Red Banner for the liberation of the North Caucasus and Kuban.
Commander of the 2nd Guards Rifle Division V.F. Zakharov.
Soviet troops enter the liberated Krasnodar.
"Blue Line" - the line of German fortifications on the Taman Peninsula. The presence of a 400,000-strong military group and a shortened front line allowed the Germans to create a very dense defense here. The fighting here continued from February to September 1943, until finally the German troops were evacuated to the Crimea. For the liberation of the Taman Peninsula, the 2nd Guards Rifle Division on October 9, 1943 received the honorary title "Taman".
To break the Blue Line.
Calculation of a 37-mm anti-aircraft gun, North Caucasus.
Killed German soldiers at the site of the fighting along the Blue Line breakthrough ("The Blue Line" has been taken!).
The commander of the women's aviation regiment E.D. Bershanskaya sets a combat mission for her pilots.
Fighter pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union Yakov Antonov, taken prisoner by the Germans.
August 25, 1942 Antonov, performing the task of covering the attack on the German airfield near Mozdok, was shot down. According to Soviet documents, he died. In fact, shot down by the commander of the 77th German fighter squadron (JG 77), Major Gordon Gollob, Antonov jumped out with a parachute, landed successfully and was taken prisoner. According to some reports, he was transferred to a prisoner of war camp near Mozdok, according to others, he escaped from captivity. Nothing is known about his further fate.
A column of German StuG III assault guns on the march to the Caucasus.
Soviet intelligence officers overcome the water barrier. Krasnodar region.
A group of Il-2 attack aircraft of the 7th GShAP in the air.
Guard Captain V.B. Emelianenko in the cockpit of his Il-2 attack aircraft at the airfield in the village of Timashevskaya.
Residents of the village of Krymskaya meet Soviet soldiers-liberators.
Soviet mountain shooter V.M. Kolomensky.
Hero of the Soviet Union, Major Yakov Ivanovich Antonov from the 25th IAP in German captivity, surrounded by German pilots, who are listening with interest to their colleague.
Group photo of pilots and aircraft technicians of the 859th BBAP near the A-20 Boston aircraft.
Armored train of the Azov flotilla "For the Motherland".
German armored personnel carriers in the Kuban steppe.
The grave of Major General of the Wehrmacht Albert Buk, who was killed near Novorossiysk.
German 75 mm Geb.G.36 mountain gun in the Caucasus.
German mountain shooters at rest.
Transportation of ammunition by German mountain units in the Caucasus.
Observation post of mountain rangers in the mountains in the Caucasus.
Briefing of Soviet paratroopers before loading into the TB-3 bomber.
The squadron commander of the Soviet bombers A-20 "Boston" sets a combat mission for the flight crew.
Platoon of Lieutenant Seregin before the attack, Tuapse region.
German soldiers watch burning oil fields in the Maykop area.
German tanks and motorcycles against the backdrop of Mount Beshtau in the Caucasus.
Soviet fighters, supported by T-34 tanks, are fighting for the village of Krymskaya.
Tanks KV-1S6 of the guards separate tank regiment of a breakthrough in the attack. North Caucasian front.
KV-1S tanks of the 6th Separate Breakthrough Tank Regiment before the march. North Caucasian front.
Commander of the 52nd Red Banner Tank Brigade Major V.I. Filippov.
German machine-gun point at the Chmakhara pass. Western Caucasus.
The Red Army soldiers capture a German Pz.Kpfw tank knocked out on the battlefield near Mozdok. IV.
Soviet soldiers-liberators pass through the streets of the village of Krymskaya.
Soviet armor-piercers in position near Zheleznovodsk.
Captain I. Rudnev's scouts are sent on a mission. North Caucasus.
Politruk I.I. Petrov conducts propaganda work on German positions with the help of a primitive tin pipe.
Soviet infantry in the battle for the village of Krymskaya.
A German tanker watches a burning oil storage near Maykop.
The collapse of the blitzkrieg in the autumn and winter of 1941 was not the final defeat of Germany, just like the defeats of the summer and autumn of 1941, the loss of almost half of the European part of the country did not lead to the final defeat of the Soviet Union. However, in the plans for 1942, the opponents continued to underestimate each other: the Soviet troops were to “chase the enemy along the entire front”, and the Wehrmacht during the offensive on the southern wing of the front (there were no forces for the offensive along the entire front) was to capture the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, reach Iran and the Turkish border, and most importantly, seize the oil fields in Grozny and Baku. Hitler and his generals quite correctly believed that without oil it was still possible to wage a blitzkrieg, but a long war could not be won without it.
The German offensive into the Caucasus in the summer of 1942 was part of the Barbarossa plan, which failed in 1941. How this grandiose adventure plan was carried out is the subject of this book. The author practically does not consider the issues of strategy. They paid little attention only to the disclosure of the general situation. The main place is given to the description of the actions of formations, units and subunits on the basis of the surviving logs of military operations and the memories of eyewitnesses. The author's intention was to show the battle for the Caucasus as it was seen by soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht, who reached the Volga, stopped 20 kilometers from Grozny, on the outskirts of Ordzhonikidze and climbed Elbrus, crossed the Main Caucasian Range, but never reached the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea and the oil of Grozny and Baku. The adventurous plan could not succeed. And in January 1943, the grouping that had penetrated deeply into the southeast had to hastily retreat. How the withdrawal was organized, why the Red Army failed to encircle the German Army Group "A" in the Caucasus, and then for a long time failed to dislodge its remnants from the Taman Peninsula, the reader will learn from this book.
It was written in the 1960s, so some of the author's judgments about the Soviet Union and the Red Army are not indisputable or simply erroneous. However, it is of undoubted interest to everyone interested in military history, as it shows the Battle for the Caucasus "from the other side", allows it to be explored as a two-way process.
In the process of translation, the translator tried to preserve the nuances in the terminology: in the Soviet historical literature, one term is used to designate formations and units of the Wehrmacht equipped with armored personnel carriers and cars, while in the Wehrmacht there were several special terms for their designation, and each the term corresponded to its own organization and armament. Therefore, some names of formations and units, in violation of tradition, are translated as “motorized infantry”, while others are translated as infantry (motorized), motorized, motorcycle, scooter, etc. By the way, the author also speaks about inconsistencies with terminology in his afterword.
S. LIPATOV
IN THE CAMPAIGN IN THE CAUCASUS IN 1942-1943 TOOK PART:
ASSOCIATIONS DEPARTMENTS:
Army Group A
Directorate of the 1st Panzer Army
Directorate of the 4th Panzer Army (partially)
Directorate of the 17th Army
BODY CONTROLS:
5th Army Corps
52nd Army Corps
44th Jaeger Corps
49th Mountain Rifle Corps
3rd Panzer Corps
40th Panzer Corps
57th Panzer Corps
Förster Corps Headquarters (for the 57th TC)
CONNECTIONS:
3rd Panzer Division
13th Panzer Division
23rd Panzer Division
16th Infantry Division (Motorized)
5th SS Panzer Division "Viking"
Felmi Corps
9th Infantry Division
46th Infantry Division
50th Infantry Division
73rd Infantry Division
79th Infantry Division
98th Infantry Division
111th Infantry Division
125th Infantry Division
198th Infantry Division
298th Infantry Division
370th Infantry Division
153rd Field Training Division
97th Jaeger Division
101st Jaeger Division
1st Mountain Division
4th Mountain Division
Parts (not complete)
1st Heavy Rocket Mortar Regiment
52nd and 54th Regiments of Rocket Mortars
4th Security Regiment Cossack Regiment of Jungshulz
190th, 191st, 203rd, 210th and 249th assault gun brigades
731, 732, 617 divisions of heavy military artillery
ALLIES:
5th, 6th and 9th Cavalry Divisions as part of the Romanian Cavalry Corps
2nd and 3rd Romanian mountain divisions
10th and 19th Romanian Infantry Divisions
Slovak Motorized Division
4th Air Fleet
8th Aviation Corps,
1st Aviation Corps
4th Aviation Corps,
5th Air Field Division
15th anti-aircraft artillery division
9th anti-aircraft artillery division
NAVY:
Headquarters of the Admiral of the Black Sea
Naval commandant of the Caucasus (commandants of harbors, commanders of convoys, naval artillery)
Forces of the fleet of the Admiral of the Black Sea
30th Submarine Flotilla
1st and 11th Torpedo Boat Flotillas
3rd and 30th Minesweeper Flotillas
30th and 31st Escort Flotillas
3rd Artillery Barge Flotilla
1st and 23rd anti-submarine flotillas
1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th landing flotillas in cooperation with the commander of the Kerch Strait:
Senior engineering chief of the Kerch crossing (770th airborne regiment)
Commandant Tamani
The Caucasus is an area of 500,000 sq. km (the area of Germany before the unification was 240,000 sq. km), located between the Black and Caspian Seas. It is subdivided into a mountain range - the Caucasus, the North Caucasus and the South Caucasus - Transcaucasia.
Most of the North Caucasus, in accordance with the administrative division, is part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
Transcaucasia covers three Soviet socialist republics - Azerbaijan with the capital Baku, Armenia with the capital Yerevan and Georgia with the capital Tiflis, officially Tbilisi.
Geographically, the Caucasus belongs to Asia. Its border runs along the Manych River, and in the south - along the Turkish-Iranian border.
The North Caucasus is in Europe. Its western part is crossed by the Kuban River, which has a length of 907 km. She gave the name to the fertile Kuban region. In the Kuban, in several places, there are hydrotechnical irrigation facilities; it flows into the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. In its widely branched delta there are numerous lagoons and swamps - the so-called floodplains. The Kuban has numerous tributaries. The most important city in the Kuban is Krasnodar.
The eastern part of the North Caucasus is crossed by the Kuma and Terek rivers, both of which flow into the Caspian Sea. The larger one is the 590-kilometer Terek with numerous tributaries.
The Manych depression and the Kalmyk steppe, located in the eastern part of the North Caucasus, have a dry steppe climate. Streams and rivers dry up here in the summer or stop their flow. Many of them flow into salt lakes or end in salt marshes. There is no drinking water here. Most deep wells often produce undrinkable water. The population here is very rare.
The Caucasus Mountains are 1100 km long and 100 to 200 km wide. They cross the Caucasus across. The Caucasus is a folded mountain of the Tertiary period and is very similar to the Alps. Its highest peaks are Elbrus (5633 m) and Kazbek (5043 m).
F.P. Usypenko. Battle of Mozdok in 1943. 1950 Studio of military artists named after M.B. Grekov
Since ancient times, the Caucasus has connected Europe and the Middle East with each other, and has been a necessary springboard for successful campaigns of European and Eastern conquerors. In recent times, the strategic importance of the Caucasus region has increased even more due to the discovery of huge deposits of mineral raw materials, which is a key component of the industrial era, including oil. The possible capture of the Caucasus by the Nazi troops would put the USSR in extremely difficult conditions for waging war, depriving the country at the most difficult time of the bulk of oil, gas, manganese ore, molybdenum, tungsten, as well as the largest food and resort bases. And, on the contrary, as the “blitzkrieg” strategy collapsed, the problem of supplying the German motorized army with fuel took on increasingly acute forms, and already in the spring of 1942, according to Hitler, began to threaten with disaster.
The battle for the Caucasus, as one of the most important battles of the Great Patriotic War, is devoted to extensive research and memoirs. It is distinguished by a high level of military-historical analysis of the events that took place, and a wide involvement of archival material.
The battle for the Caucasus unfolded in an extremely difficult situation. In the spring of 1942, Hitler set his troops the task of depriving the USSR of the main economic bases in the south of the country and, most importantly, to seize Caucasian oil, without which the German military machine was doomed to defeat. As a result, the main enemy forces were concentrated on the southern sector of the Soviet-German front.
A rally dedicated to the performance of the 115th Kabardino-Balkarian National Cavalry Division to the front. Nalchik, April 12, 1942
In July, the Germans and their allies with their main forces reached the lower reaches of the Don, from where, in accordance with Hitler's directive No. armies "B"). The enemy's Caucasian grouping numbered 167,000 soldiers and officers, 1,130 tanks, 4,540 guns and mortars, and up to 1,000 aircraft.
German tank formations in the foothills of the Caucasus. 1942
The troops of the North Caucasian and Southern fronts, defending the Don borders, were few and exhausted by previous battles. After the blows of the enemy in late July - early August, they split up and randomly retreated. In heavy battles near Novorossiysk and in the Tuapse direction in August-September 1942, units of the North Caucasian Front (commander marshal) managed to stop the enemy and retain the Black Sea coast, but the front did not have the strength to defend all the approaches to the Transcaucasus from the north. This task was entrusted to the Transcaucasian Front (commander General of the Army), which at that time was performing the tasks of covering the state border of the USSR from the south from hostile Turkey and protecting communications in Iran, where Soviet troops were temporarily introduced under the Soviet-Iranian treaty of 1921 G.
On the eve of the decisive battle with the main forces of the German Army Group "A", the Soviet government, the headquarters of the Transcaucasian Front, Soviet and party leaders of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia in August and early September 1942 carried out a set of defensive measures that required the full mobilization of forces and resources.
First of all, the troops of the Transcaucasian Front, with the forces of the newly formed Northern Group of Forces (37th, 9th, 44th and 58th armies), equipped and occupied a completely new line of defense, over 400 km long (from the city of Nalchik to the mouth of the river . Terek at its confluence with the Caspian Sea) and in depth in some directions up to 300 km (to Derbent and Baku). The Northern Group of Forces was supposed to cover the most important Baku direction. Formations of the 46th Army were transferred to the passes of the Main Caucasian Range. At the same time, the troops of the front were not numerous, were armed with mostly obsolete materiel and did not have combat experience. Some armies (9th and 37th) were replenished after withdrawal from the Don lines, and the 58th Army was formed for the first time.
The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (VGK) and the General Staff of the Red Army had to take a big risk and weaken the rest of the defense lines of the Transcaucasian Front to the limit. During the first half of August, 6 rifle divisions, 4 rifle brigades and a significant part of the reinforcements were transferred from Transcaucasia. At the same time, the main forces of the 46th Army were deployed to the north to defend the passes and the junction with the North Caucasian Front, and only three divisions remained in the 45th Army, located on the border with Turkey. The situation on the southern border was aggravated by the fact that, due to an acute shortage of weapons, they had to be confiscated from the troops of the 45th and 46th armies. From the second half of August, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command began to provide assistance to the troops, which sent two guards rifle corps, 11 rifle brigades, tanks and other types of weapons to Transcaucasia over the next month and a half.
German mountain units in the Caucasus. 1942
The labor feat was accomplished by the population of the North Caucasus, who built defensive structures, and by the railway workers, who ensured the uninterrupted transfer of troops, the evacuation of the wounded and equipment.
In heavy battles near Mozdok, Tuapse and on the passes of the Main Caucasian Range in September-October, Soviet troops exhausted the enemy, brought down his offensive impulse and created the prerequisites for a counteroffensive. However, the enemy retained a lot of strength and repelled all the counterattacks of the troops of the Transcaucasian Front in November and December 1942.
Machine gunners cover the infantry advance near Mozdok. 1942
The operation to defend the Caucasus as a whole was typical of the first period of the war with its inherent shortcomings - poor motorization of troops, lack of armored vehicles and aircraft, inexperience of most of the command and command personnel, especially specialists (scouts, signalmen, artillerymen), etc. This often resulted in miscalculations in planning, conducting and supporting operations and battles, weak interaction between the combat arms and, ultimately, protracted battles and unjustifiably large losses. On the other hand, the command and headquarters of the front showed quite high organizational and managerial qualities. They often came to Headquarters with bold initiatives, firmly defended their point of view, and intensely searched for ways to overcome the acute shortage of people and material resources, improvising with the means that were available.
The defense of the Caucasus is also characterized by another feature of the initial period of the war, without which victory over the enemy would be unthinkable: mass heroism, self-sacrifice, the tireless work of Soviet people of all nationalities and religions. There are thousands of examples of this. So, during the fighting on the outskirts of Vladikavkaz in November 1942, the young sniper Mamatov hid not far from the positions of the enemy. At his request, our mortars drove the Nazis with fire to ambush Mamatov, who began to methodically shoot them. As a result, the invaders missed 17 people. A great merit in increasing the discipline and determination of the defenders of the Caucasus belonged to political workers, who often became indispensable assistants to commanders and replaced them in case of injury. For example, in the battles near Mozdok in October 1942, the battalion of the 404th regiment of the 176th rifle division was surrounded. The battalion commander and his political officer senior political officer Mironenko acted hand in hand, led the battalion into a bayonet attack five times. For three days the battalion was surrounded without food and ammunition, but did not flinch and went to the location of its troops without serious losses.
An amazing mass feat was accomplished by the fighters and commanders of the 392nd Infantry Division (commander Colonel). After the Germans broke through the defense of the 37th Army near Nalchik on October 25, 1942, the division found itself pressed against the mountains in complete isolation from other Soviet troops, and, it seemed, would inevitably be crushed by the enemy. However, thanks to the skillful and firm leadership, the division was able to cross the Dovguz-Orunbashi mountain pass in five days in full force, carrying weapons, equipment, 12 tons of molybdenum from a molybdenum plant left behind enemy lines, 400 bedridden wounded from evacuated army hospitals. In Transcaucasia, 30 thousand heads of cattle were also driven. Having made an unprecedented transition, the brave Georgian division survived as a combat-ready unit.
The female regiment of night bombers under the command became famous throughout the country. Behind the menacing name "night bombers" were just low-speed U-2 training vehicles. At first, the Germans derisively called them "sewing machines" and "Russian plywood." But soon they felt the brunt of the night strikes of invisible small aircraft, which, planning at extremely low altitudes, approached enemy positions, sowing panic and death among them. The combat merits of military pilots were noted 22 times in the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief; 23 pilots were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Female officers of the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment of the 325th Night Bomber Aviation Division of the 4th Air Army: Evdokia Bershanskaya (left), Maria Smirnova (standing) and Polina Gelman
The struggle did not subside even behind enemy lines. An immortal feat was accomplished by the fighters of the Gofitsky partisan detachment, on August 18, 1942, who entered into an unequal battle with the advanced units of the enemy advancing on Grozny. A small detachment died, but destroyed over 100 Nazis. No one, including children and youth, remained aloof from the fight against the enemy. They scattered leaflets, burned German cars, disabled communication lines.
The heroism of the Soviet people at the forefront and behind enemy lines weakened the enemy to the limit. Under pressure from units of the Northern Group of Forces of the Transcaucasian Front, on January 1, 1943, he began to retreat in the direction of Stavropol and Rostov. The second stage of the battle for the Caucasus began - the liberation stage. At the initial stage (January 1 - February 4, 1943), the enemy was thrown back from the foothills of the Caucasus to the lower reaches of the Kuban.
Episode of the battle for the Caucasus
The offensive proceeded swiftly: on January 3, Mozdok was liberated, on the 11th - Pyatigorsk, and already on January 21 - Stavropol. On January 24, 1943, the Northern Group of Forces of the Transcaucasian Front was transformed into the North Caucasian Front of the 2nd formation (commander - lieutenant general). On February 5, the Black Sea Group of Forces of the Transcaucasian Front was included in the North Caucasian Front. On February 12, 1943, the troops of the front liberated Krasnodar. During the pursuit of the enemy from the line of the river. Terek he suffered significant damage. Heavy losses in manpower and equipment were suffered by the German 1st Panzer and 17th armies. However, to solve the main task - to prevent the withdrawal of troops from the territory of the North Caucasus, to encircle and defeat the grouping of the Wehrmacht and its allies - the Soviet troops could not.
Subsequently, the enemy was pushed back to the Taman Peninsula, where he offered desperate resistance to the Soviet troops at a pre-prepared defensive line (“Gotenkopf” - literally “Cat’s Head”; in modern sources it is better known as the “Blue Line”). The fascist German command created a strong defense in depth here, which ran from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea, covering the Taman Peninsula from the east. Bloody battles in this direction continued until October 9, 1943, until the last German soldier was thrown into the Kerch Strait. The heroes of Malaya Zemlya covered themselves with unfading glory - a bridgehead organized on February 4, 1943 on Cape Myskhako, which included part of the city of Novorossiysk. Malaya Zemlya chained large enemy forces to itself and played a large role in the defeat of his troops in 1943. A captain of the 3rd rank distinguished himself in the battle on Malaya Zemlya. In the spring of 1943, he was entrusted with the difficult task of landing troops on Myskhako. Under fire from enemy coastal batteries, they made their way to the defenders of Malaya Zemlya with reinforcements, ammunition, and food. The division of Sipyagin's boats played a role - on September 16, Novorossiysk was liberated. For participation in this operation, Nikolai Ivanovich Sipyagin was awarded the Gold Star of the Hero.
During the offensive of the Soviet troops in the North Caucasus in 1943, the enemy suffered enormous damage: about 275 thousand soldiers and officers were destroyed, over 6 thousand were captured, 890 tanks were destroyed and knocked out, more than 2 thousand aircraft, 2127 guns, over 7 thousand vehicles, etc. During the same time, our troops captured 458 tanks, 1392 guns, 1533 mortars, over 15 thousand vehicles and other property.
Offensive operations in the Caucasus in 1943 took place in the context of a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War, to which the defenders of the Caucasus also contributed. The successes of the Red Army were explained by the sharply increased capabilities of the Soviet defense industry, the great skill and experience of Soviet commanders and fighters.
Offensive operations of the North Caucasian and Transcaucasian fronts in 1943, as a rule, are characterized by good preparation, the correct choice of the direction of the main attack, and clear leadership of the troops during the offensive.
The exploits of the defenders of the Caucasus were highly appreciated by the Soviet people and the government. On January 25, 1943, the medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus" was established, which was awarded to many participants in the battle for the Caucasus and rear workers (a total of 583,045 people). The peoples of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia always keep the memory of their great work and dear sacrifice.
Memorial Complex of Glory named after Akhmat Kadyrov in Grozny (Chechen Republic)
Alexei Bezugolny, Senior Research Fellow, Research Institute (Military History)
Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian FederationReport of the Commander of the North Caucasian Front to the General Staff of the Red Army on the battles in the area of Myskhako and Tsemes Bay.
