Case Blue
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Case Blue (German: Fall Blau) was the German codename used by the German Armed Forces (Wehrmacht) for its 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia that lasted between 28 June and 19 August 1942.[1]
The offensive was so named because German military plans were "cases", or solutions to problems. The operation was a continuation of Unternehmen Barbarossa (Operation Barbarossa) and, in this case, Army Group South (Heeresgruppen Sud) of the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) was sub-divided into Army Groups A and B (Heeresgruppen A and B). The German offensive faced two problems: the continued resistance of the Red Army which now occupied a defensive position west of the Volga river (a significant logistic waterway), and the demand by German dictator Adolf Hitler for securing the Caucasus oil fields.
The operation plan was challenging for the German army groups in that they were required to achieve two goals, in poorly developed area of operations thousands of kilometers from Germany and facing five Soviet Fronts (similar to a German army group). These fronts, from north to south, were: Voronezh, Southwestern, Don, Stalingrad and Transcaucasian. The Baku oil fields had to be reached by crossing the Caucasus mountains.
Initially the German offensive met with spectacular gains. However, the Red Army defeated the German Army at Stalingrad following operations Uranus and Saturn. This defeat forced the Axis to retreat from the Caucasus for fear of being trapped themselves. Only Voronezh remained tentatively occupied by Axis troops.
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[edit] Background
The operation's original name was Operation Siegfried, after the mythical Teutonic hero. However, Adolf Hitler, recalling the last grandiosely-named offensive operation in Russia, Barbarossa, and its results which had fallen short of German expectations, settled on the more modest name of "Blue".[citation needed]
Factors that led to the creation of Case Blue were:
- The expected success of the Sixth Army and other advanced units across much of Southern Russia (Ukraine).
- Control of Odessa and Kiev as auxiliary points for naval and air support units.
- Optimal weather and terrain conditions for the panzer and motorized units in the Kuban steppe southwest of Volga.
- Necessity to capture crude oil fields near the Soviet city of Baku (the capital of Azerbaijan in 1991), to supply German war effort.
- Capture the other industrialized areas of Soviet Union in Europe, comprehensively defeating USSR along with other projected successes, and completing original Operation Barbarossa goals.
[edit] The plan
The offensive was to be conducted across the the southern Russian Kuban steppe. The Army Group units participating in the offensive were:
- Army Group A, under Wilhelm von List (Caucasus campaign)
- Army Group B, under Maximilian von Weichs (Volga campaign)
The German plan was a three-pronged attack in Southern Russia.
- Fourth Panzer Army, commanded by Hermann Hoth (transferred from Army Group North) and Second Army, supported by Second Hungarian Army, would attack from Kursk to Voronezh and continue the advance to anchor the northern flank of the offensive towards the Volga River.
- Sixth Army, commanded by Friedrich Paulus, would attack from Kharkov and moving in parallel with German Fourth Panzer Army was to reach the Volga at Stalingrad.
- First Panzer Army would strike south towards the lower Don River, with Seventeenth Army on the western flank and the Fourth Romanian Army on the eastern flank.
As before, these movements were expected to result in a series of great encirclements of Soviet troops.
Stavka was unable to find out the direction of the main German offensive of 1942 they were expecting. Stalin was convinced the primary German strategic goal in 1942 would be Moscow, and over 50% of all Red Army troops were deployed in that region. Only 10% of Soviet troops were deployed in southern Russia.[citation needed]
[edit] The offensive
On 28 June 1942, the German offensive began. Everywhere the Soviet troops withdrew as the Wehrmacht forces advanced. By 5 July, forward elements of Fourth Panzer Army had reached the Don near Voronezh, and become embroiled in the battle to capture the city. The Red Army, by tying down Fourth Panzer Army, gained vital time to reinforce their defenses. As Wehrmacht pincers attempted to complete their encirclements, they found only stragglers and rear guards, which only served to convince Hitler the Red Army was down to the last of its reserves. However, the Red Army for the first time in the war were not fighting to hold untenable positions, but withdrawing in good order.
[edit] Early setbacks
Angered by the delays and believing the Soviet center had fallen apart, Hitler made a series of changes to the plan:
- reorganized Army Group South into two smaller Army Groups, A and B;
- tasked Army Group A with advancing to the Caucasus and capturing the oil fields;
- tasked Army Group B was with the offensive towards Volga and Stalingrad.
The success of the initial advance of Sixth Army was such Hitler now ordered Fourth Panzer Army south to assist First Panzer Army in forcing a crossing of the lower Don river. This sudden redeployment of an entire Army caused massive logistical problems, as the road network in this part of USSR was not well developed by German standards. The resulting traffic jams caused delays to both Army Group A and B's progress. It also removed vital tank support from Sixth Army, slowing its advance and giving the Red Army further time to consolidate their positions.
[edit] Success in Kuban
Army Group A captured Rostov on 23 July 1942. However, fighting a skillful rearguard action which embroiled the Germans in heavy urban fighting to take the city, the Red Army again evaded an encirclement. With the Don crossing secured and Sixth Army's advance flagging, Hitler sent the Fourth Panzer Army back to the Volga line.
In late July, Sixth Army resumed its offensive and by 10 August 1942 had largely cleared the Red Army from the west bank of the Don. However, Soviet resistance continued in some areas further delaying Army Group B's eastward offensive.
In contrast, Army Group A, after crossing the Don on 25 July, fanned out on a broad front. The German 17th Army (with elements of Eleventh Army) maneuvered west towards the Black Sea's eastern coast, while First Panzer Army attacked southeast, sweeping through Kuban largely abandoned by the Red Army. On the 9 August First Panzer Army reached the foothills of the Caucausus range, having advanced more than 300 miles in less then two weeks.
[edit] Approach to Stalingrad
Sixth Army crossed the river Don on 21 August, allowing Army Group B to establish a defensive line on the bend of the Don river using the Hungarian, Italian, and Romanian armies, and within 60 km of Stalingrad. With the city within reach of forward air bases, Luftwaffe bombers attacked the city killing over 40,000 people and turning much of the city into rubble. The ground attack on Stalingrad was two-pronged, with Sixth Army advancing from the north (Frolovo) while Fourth Panzer Army advanced from the south (Kotel'nikovo). Between these armies and in the area from River Don to River Volga, a salient had been created. Two Soviet Armies (62nd and 64th, each roughly equal to a German corps) were in the salient and on 29 August, Fourth Panzer Army conducted a major offensive through the southern base of the salient towards Stalingrad. The 6th Army was ordered to do the same, but a strong Soviet counterattack held up its advance for three vital days enabling the Soviet forces in the salient to escape encirclement and fall back towards Stalingrad once again.
[edit] Zhukov arrives
By this time, Georgy Zhukov had assumed command of the Stalingrad defence as Stavka representative with authority to coordinate planning of all three Fronts in the area, and in early September, he mounted a series of offensives which further delayed Sixth Army's attempt to seize Stalingrad.
Meanwhile Soviet forces continued to be sent south to bolster the city's defenses and to stage on the east side of the Volga in preparation for a counter-offensive. By mid-September, Sixth Army, after neutralizing the limited local Soviet counterattacks, once again resumed the offensive towards the city. On the 13 September the Germans reached Stalingrad's southern suburbs, beginning the epic Battle of Stalingrad that would end with the first German Army to ever surrender.
[edit] Outcome
Hitler's plan for the strategic operation was overly ambitious, and was further complicated by his own interference in the execution as well as underestimation of the Red Army and its commanders. Although the surrender of Sixth Army was a serious blow to German moral in general and Hitler regarded it as a personal blow, the subsequent Soviet counteroffensives, Uranus and Saturn, only caused the Wehrmacht to retreat from the advance towards the Caucasus.
[edit] Popular culture
Case Blue has been the setting of several movies, novels, and other media.
[edit] Films
- Cross of Iron is a 1977 film directed by Sam Peckinpah and tells the story a squad of hard-pressed German soldiers after the fall of Stalingrad in 1943.
- The 1990 documentary Mein Krieg ("My War") [1] was created from 8mm footage taken by German infantry troops on the eastern front.
- The 1993 film Stalingrad depicts the battle through the eyes of German officer Hans von Witzland and his battalion.
[edit] Board games
- Case Blue was released by Multi-Man Publishing (MMP) in late 2007, and covers the entire campaign from October 1941 until May 1943.
- Enemy at the Gates was released by The Gamers in 1994, and covers the Soviet Uranus counteroffensive and Manstein's "Backhand Blow".
- Streets of Stalingrad, 3rd Edition was released by L2 Design Group in 2003, and covers the battle for the actual city, beginning Sept. 13 and ending Nov. 18, 1942, just prior to the encirclement of 6th Army. The game depicts the battle at company level at a map scale of 300m per hex on a 3'x6' map.
[edit] Notes
- ^ pp.58-59. Woods, Wiest, Barbier
[edit] References
- George M. Nipe Jr. (2000). Last Victory in Russia: The SS-Panzerkorps and Manstein's Kharkov Counteroffensive—February–March 1943. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 0-76431-186-7.
- Erich von Manstein (2004). Lost Victories: The War Memoirs of Hitler's Most Brilliant General. Zenith Press. ISBN 0-76032-054-3.
- David M. Glantz (1998). When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0-70060-899-0.
- Timothy Woods, Andrew A. Wiest, M. K. Barbier, Strategy and Tactics Infantry Warfare, Zenith Imprint, 2002 ISBN 0760314012
[edit] External links
- Case Blue wargame published by Multi-Man Publishing
- Enemy at the Gates wargame
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