Operation Blue
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| Eastern Front |
|---|
| Barbarossa – Baltic Sea – Finland – Leningrad and Baltics – Crimea and Caucasus – Moscow – 1st Rzhev-Vyazma – 2nd Kharkov – Stalingrad – Velikiye Luki – 2nd Rzhev-Sychevka – Kursk – 2nd Smolensk – Dnieper – 2nd Kiev – Korsun – Hube's Pocket – Belorussia – Lvov-Sandomierz – Balkans – Hungary – Vistula-Oder – Königsberg – Berlin – Prague |
| Operation Blue to 3rd Kharkov |
|---|
| Blue – Voronezh – Edelweiss – Stalingrad – Uranus – Winter Storm – Saturn – Tatsinskaya Raid – 3rd Kharkov |
Operation Blue (German: Fall Blau) was the German Wehrmacht's codename for the 1942 summer offensive. It led to the Battle of Voronezh, Battle of Stalingrad, and the Battle of the Caucasus. It was originally intended to be called Operation Siegfried, after a legendery 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.
The Red Army defeated the Wehrmacht at Stalingrad by conducting Operation Uranus and Operation Saturn.
[edit] Operation Blau
Army Group South was selected for a sprint forward through the southern Russian steppes into the Caucasus to capture vital Soviet oil fields. The summer offensive was code-named Fall Blau ("Case Blue"). It was to include the 6th and 17th Armies and the 4th and 1st Panzer Armies. In 1941, Army Group South had conquered Ukraine, and was positioned at the area of the planned offensive.
[edit] General situation before the German Offensive
On June 22, 1941, German troops advanced across the Russian border and buffer zones, commencing Operation Barbarossa. Barbarossa's objective was to take control of several key Russian areas, the main including the Ukraine, Caucasus area, Russian and free Baltic states, and the Moscow metropolitan area. By September 9, 1941, German troops had eliminated resistance in Kiev, taken a firm hold of the Ukraine (well over 60% of ethnic Ukraine population), secured several Balkan states, and advanced to within 300 km. of Moscow and 100 km. of Leningrad and Kharkov.
Strong communications, sufficient initial supply of basic resources (fuel, clothing, food), technological superiority and organized air superiority led to a powerful German surge during the initial months following June 1941. Factors that led to the formation of Operation Blau were:
1. The success of the Sixth Army and other advanced brigades across much of Southern Russia (Ukraine).
2. Control of Odessa and Kiev as auxiliary points for air and naval units.
3. Optimal geographic conditions for the several Panzer and motorized brigades in South (steppe conditions through Stalingrad deep into Asia).
4. Necessity to capture valuable crude oil fields near the Russian city of Baku to supply other motorized brigades throughout the entire German expedition.
5. Capture the final components of Industrialized West Russia, realistically defeating Russia (combined with other projected successes), and completing Operation Barbarossa.
[edit] The German Offensive
The German plan was a three pronged attack in Souther Russia. The 4th Panzer Army commanded by Hermann Hoth (transferred from Army Group North) and the 2nd Army supported by the 2nd Hungarian Army would attack from Kursk to Voronezh and continue the advance to anchor their left wing around the Volga River. The 6th Army, commanded by Friedrich Paulus, would attack from Kharkov and move in parallel with 4th Panzer Army to reach the River Volga. The 1st Panzer Army would strike towards the lower Don River, flanked on its right by the 17th Army. These movements were expected to result in a series of great encirclements of Soviet troops.
The Soviets did not know where the main German offensive of 1942 would come. Stalin was convinced that the German objective of 1942 would be Moscow and over 50% of all Red Army troops were deployed in the Moscow region. Only 10% of Russian troops were deployed in Southern Russia.
On June 28, 1942, the German offensive began. Everywhere the Russians fell back as the Germans sliced through the Russian defenses. By July 5, forward elements of 4th Panzer Army reached the Don River near Voronezh and got embroiled in a bitter battle to capture the city. The Russians by tying down 4th Panzer Army gained vital time to reinforce their defenses. The Russians for the first time in the war were not fighting to hold hopelessly exposed positions but were retreating in good order. As German pincers closed in they only found stragglers and rear guards. This only served to convince Hitler that the Russians were down to the last of their manpower reserves.
Angered by the delays and believing the Soviet center had fallen apart Hitler made a series of changes to Operation Blue. Hitler re-organized Army Group South to two smaller Army Groups, Army Group A, under the command of Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist, which now included the German 17th Army and the German 1st Panzer Army and Army Group B, under the command of Maximilian von Weichs, which included German 2nd Army, 6th Army, the 4th Panzer Army and two Italian and Hungarian Armies. Army Group A was tasked with advancing on Caucasus and capturing the vital oil fields around Baku. Army Group B was tasked with the drive for Stalingrad.
The success of the initial advance of the 6th Army was such that Hitler ordered the 4th Panzer Army south to assist 1st Panzer Army and force a crossing of the lower Don River. This sudden redeployment of an entire Army caused a massive logistical problem, as the road networks in this part of Russia was sub-standard. The resulting traffic jams caused delays to both Army Group A and Bs progress. It also removed vital tank support form the 6th Army's, slowing its advance and giving the Russians further time to consolidate their positions.
Army Group A captured Rostov on July 23, 1942. But the Russians fought a skillful rearguard action which embroiled the Germans in heavy urban fighting to take the city. This allowed the main Russian formations to escape encirclements. With the River Don crossing secured and with the 6th Army's advance flagging Hitler send the 4th Panzer Army back to join up with 6th Army.
In late July, 6th Army resumed its offensive and by August 10, 1942 6th Army cleared Russian presence from the west bank of the River Don. However, the Russians held out in some areas further delaying 6th Army's march east. In contrast, Army Group A after crossing the River Don on July 25 had fanned out on a broad front. The German 17th Army swung west towards the Black Sea, the 1st Panzer Army attacked towards the south and east sweeping through country largely abandoned by the Russians. On August 9, 1st Panzer Army reached the foothills of the Caucausian mountains, having advanced more than 300 miles.
6th Army crossed the river Don on August 21, allowing Army Group B to establish a defensive line on the Don bend using the Hungarian, Italian and two Romanian armies. 6th Army began advancing on Stalingrad. With the city within reach from 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 the 6th Army advancing from the North while the 4th Panzer Army advanced from the South. Between these armies and in the area from Rover Don to River Volga, a salient had been created. 2 Russian Armies were in the salient and on August 29, 4th Panzer Army mounted a major attack through the salient towards Stalingrad. 6th Army was ordered to do the same but Russian tanks counterattacked against the 6th Army which tied up the 6th Army for 3 vital days enabling the Soviet forces in the salient to escape encirclement and fall back towards Stalingrad.
Georgy Zhukov had assumed command of the Stalingrad front and in early September, he mounted a series of attacks from the North which further delayed the 6th Army's attempt to seize Stalingrad. Meanwhile Soviet forces continued to be sent south to bolster the defense of Stalingrad and to take up positions on the east side of the river Volga. By mid-September, the 6th Army, after neutralizing the Soviet counterattacks, once again resumed the march on Stalingrad. On September 13, the Germans advanced through the southern suburbs of Stalingrad, beginning the Battle of Stalingrad.
