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The '''Mogilev Offensive''' ({{lang-ru|Могилевская наступательная операция}}) was part of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the [[Red Army]] in summer [[1944]], commonly known as [[Operation Bagration]].
The '''Mogilev Offensive''' ({{lang-ru|Могилевская наступательная операция}}) was part of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the [[Red Army]] in summer 1944, commonly known as [[Operation Bagration]].


==Role in the conflict==
==Role in the conflict==
Line 50: Line 50:


==The offensive==
==The offensive==
As with the other offensives in the first phase of [[Operation Bagration]], the Mogilev Offensive opened with a intense artillery barrage against the German defensive lines on the morning of [[23 June]].
As with the other offensives in the first phase of [[Operation Bagration]], the Mogilev Offensive opened with a intense artillery barrage against the German defensive lines on the morning of 23 June.


East of Mogilev itself , General [[Robert Martinek]]'s [[XXXIX Panzer Corps (Germany)|XXXIX Panzer Corps]] (made up of the [[31st Infantry Division (Germany)|31st]], [[12th Infantry Division (Germany)|12th]], [[337th Infantry Division (Germany)|337th]] and [[German 110th Infantry Division|110th]] Infantry Divisions) attempted to hold its lines in the face of a ferocious assault by Grishin's [[49th Army (Soviet Union)|49th Army]] during which the latter suffered heavy casualties.<ref name=dunn163>Dunn, p.163</ref> The [[German Fourth Army|Fourth Army]] commander, von Tippelskirch, requested that Martinek be allowed to withdraw to the 'Tiger' line late on 23 June; this was refused, though the reserve ''[[Panzer Corps Feldherrnhalle (Germany)|Panzergrenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle]]'' was ordered forward to take up positions on the [[Dnepr]] in preparation to cover a possible withdrawal by the frontline divisions.<ref name=dunn167>Dunn, p.167</ref> The southernmost German corps, General [[Vincenz Müller]]'s [[XII Corps (Germany)|XII Corps]] (with the [[18th Panzergrenadier Division]], [[57th Infantry Division (Germany)|57th]] and [[267th Infantry Division (Germany)|267th]] Infantry Divisions) also began to pull back to the second defensive line.
East of Mogilev itself , General [[Robert Martinek]]'s [[XXXIX Panzer Corps (Germany)|XXXIX Panzer Corps]] (made up of the [[31st Infantry Division (Germany)|31st]], [[12th Infantry Division (Germany)|12th]], [[337th Infantry Division (Germany)|337th]] and [[German 110th Infantry Division|110th]] Infantry Divisions) attempted to hold its lines in the face of a ferocious assault by Grishin's [[49th Army (Soviet Union)|49th Army]] during which the latter suffered heavy casualties.<ref name=dunn163>Dunn, p.163</ref> The [[German Fourth Army|Fourth Army]] commander, von Tippelskirch, requested that Martinek be allowed to withdraw to the 'Tiger' line late on 23 June; this was refused, though the reserve ''[[Panzer Corps Feldherrnhalle (Germany)|Panzergrenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle]]'' was ordered forward to take up positions on the [[Dnepr]] in preparation to cover a possible withdrawal by the frontline divisions.<ref name=dunn167>Dunn, p.167</ref> The southernmost German corps, General [[Vincenz Müller]]'s [[XII Corps (Germany)|XII Corps]] (with the [[18th Panzergrenadier Division]], [[57th Infantry Division (Germany)|57th]] and [[267th Infantry Division (Germany)|267th]] Infantry Divisions) also began to pull back to the second defensive line.


The 49th army forced the Dnepr crossings on the evening of [[27 June]]; two divisions (the 290th and 369th Rifle Divisions) fought their way into the town during the night, while mobile units of the 23rd Guards Tank Brigade enveloped the garrison from the northwest.<ref name=glantzp95>Glantz, ''Belorussia 1944'', pp. 95-6</ref>
The 49th army forced the Dnepr crossings on the evening of 27 June; two divisions (the 290th and 369th Rifle Divisions) fought their way into the town during the night, while mobile units of the 23rd Guards Tank Brigade enveloped the garrison from the northwest.<ref name=glantzp95>Glantz, ''Belorussia 1944'', pp. 95-6</ref>


[[Mogilev]], along with its town commander Major-General von Erdmannsdorf (later executed by the Soviets for [[War crimes of the Wehrmacht|war crimes]]) and most of the 12th Infantry Division who had been instructed to defend the town to the last man, fell into Soviet hands on [[28 June]]. During the day both the German XII Corps and XXXIX Panzer Corps (whose commander, Martinek, was killed that evening in an air attack) began falling back towards the [[Berezina]] crossings. As the roads were clogged with fleeing civilians and military units, and were under heavy air attack, progress was slow.
[[Mogilev]], along with its town commander Major-General von Erdmannsdorf (later executed by the Soviets for [[War crimes of the Wehrmacht|war crimes]]) and most of the 12th Infantry Division who had been instructed to defend the town to the last man, fell into Soviet hands on 28 June. During the day both the German XII Corps and XXXIX Panzer Corps (whose commander, Martinek, was killed that evening in an air attack) began falling back towards the [[Berezina]] crossings. As the roads were clogged with fleeing civilians and military units, and were under heavy air attack, progress was slow.


==Consequences==
==Consequences==

Revision as of 18:42, 27 December 2009

Mogilev Offensive
Part of Operation Bagration
DateJune 23, 1944 – June 28, 1944
Location
Belorussian SSR
Result Soviet Victory
Belligerents
Nazi Germany Soviet Union Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Kurt von Tippelskirch
(Fourth Army)		 Soviet Union Georgiy Zakharov
(2nd Belorussian Front)
Strength
? ?
Casualties and losses
33,000 killed, 3,250 POW (Sovet est)[1] ?

The Mogilev Offensive (Template:Lang-ru) was part of the Belorussian Strategic Offensive of the Red Army in summer 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration.

Role in the conflict

Main article: Operation Bagration

Planning

Operational goals

The Mogilev Offensive had two main goals within the context of Operation Bagration:

  • The capture of the city of Mogilev, an important transport hub.
  • To pin down the bulk of the German Fourth Army's forces while the parallel Vitebsk-Orsha and Bobruysk Offensives, to the north and south respectively, set up a major encirclement. Fourth Army, unable to disengage, would be bypassed and trapped.

German intelligence

The XXXIX Panzer Corps before Mogilev was one of the strongest corps in Army Group Centre, with four high-quality divisions. This reflected the strategic importance of the road through Mogilev, which provided the main route through the marshes in the region. However, as with the other German armies involved in Operation Bagration, Fourth Army was unprepared for a major offensive, as the Oberkommando des Heeres expected that the main Soviet offensive would be against Army Group North Ukraine.

Shortly before the attack began, a battalion commander in the 12th Infantry Division raised concerns about a possible attack with General Martinek, who was on a tour of inspection. Martinek agreed but in response cited the proverb "Whom God would destroy, he first strikes blind": the concerns were not passed on.[2]

Deployments

Wehrmacht

The city of Mogilev had been designated a Fester Platz, or fortified area, under the command of Major-General Gottfried von Erdmannsdorf.

Red Army

The offensive

As with the other offensives in the first phase of Operation Bagration, the Mogilev Offensive opened with a intense artillery barrage against the German defensive lines on the morning of 23 June.

East of Mogilev itself , General Robert Martinek's XXXIX Panzer Corps (made up of the 31st, 12th, 337th and 110th Infantry Divisions) attempted to hold its lines in the face of a ferocious assault by Grishin's 49th Army during which the latter suffered heavy casualties.[3] The Fourth Army commander, von Tippelskirch, requested that Martinek be allowed to withdraw to the 'Tiger' line late on 23 June; this was refused, though the reserve Panzergrenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle was ordered forward to take up positions on the Dnepr in preparation to cover a possible withdrawal by the frontline divisions.[4] The southernmost German corps, General Vincenz Müller's XII Corps (with the 18th Panzergrenadier Division, 57th and 267th Infantry Divisions) also began to pull back to the second defensive line.

The 49th army forced the Dnepr crossings on the evening of 27 June; two divisions (the 290th and 369th Rifle Divisions) fought their way into the town during the night, while mobile units of the 23rd Guards Tank Brigade enveloped the garrison from the northwest.[5]

Mogilev, along with its town commander Major-General von Erdmannsdorf (later executed by the Soviets for war crimes) and most of the 12th Infantry Division who had been instructed to defend the town to the last man, fell into Soviet hands on 28 June. During the day both the German XII Corps and XXXIX Panzer Corps (whose commander, Martinek, was killed that evening in an air attack) began falling back towards the Berezina crossings. As the roads were clogged with fleeing civilians and military units, and were under heavy air attack, progress was slow.

Consequences

The Mogilev Offensive fulfilled all its immediate objectives; not only was the city itself taken, but the Fourth Army was successfully prevented from disengaging in time to escape encirclement in the Minsk Offensive, which commenced immediately afterwards.

Accounts, further reading

Soviet author Lev Kopelev was present as an interpreter officer during the offensive and mentions some of his experiences in To Be Preserved Forever (Хранить вечно).

Heinz-Georg Lemm, later a senior officer in the post-war German military, led one of the few units of 12th ID to escape the encirclement of Mogilev.

References

  • Dunn, W. Soviet Blitzkrieg: The Battle for White Russia, 1944, Lynne Riener, 2000, ISBN 978-1555878801
  • Glantz, D.M. Belorussia 1944—The Soviet General Staff Study
  • Glantz, D.M. and House, J.M. When Titans Clashed, University of Kansas Press, ISBN 978-0700608997

Footnotes

  1. ^ Glantz, Belorussia 1944, p.97
  2. ^ Glantz, When Titans Clashed, p.219
  3. ^ Dunn, p.163
  4. ^ Dunn, p.167
  5. ^ Glantz, Belorussia 1944, pp. 95-6

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