Chapter 12: Operation Barbarossa: The attack on the Ukraine
Chapter 12: Operation Barbarossa: The attack on the Ukraine
The opening events of the attack into Ukraine were spearheaded by the 1st Panzer group and the 6th army attacking out of Souther Poland between the Pripjet Marshes and the Carpathians, which broke through the Soviet 5th Army early in the attack. The Hungarian army supported by a Luftwaffe fighters and CAS simultaneously attacked due east across the border taking and inflicting heavy losses. In the northernmost part the Hungarians came to engage the Soviet 15th Mechanized corps which inflicted heavy casualties, but also depleted the mobility of the Soviet Mechanized formations. The 1st Panzer group and the 6th army faced counter-attacks by the 22nd Soviet Mechanized corps, that was largely broken up by infantry formation of the 6th army*. 1st Panzer group was subsequently clear to break east towards Kiev, while dispatching parts of the 6th army south-east towards Uman including an armored division and threatening to outflank the Soviet forces facing the Hungarians and the northern parts of the Rumanian border**.
Further south, elements of the 11th army including a mountain division attacked out of Romania in the north and the German 12th army attacked in the south. The 12th army with the Romanian army broke through the Soviet 9th independent army and raced onwards towards Odessa. In the utter chaos inflicting the Southern Front German armored forces managed to maintain momentum and occupy Odessa “on the run” already on the 13th***. The German 12th army raced forward towards Kherzov and crossed the Dniepr before getting bogged down in Soviet counterattacks.
In summary, within the first 3 weeks of the battle, the 1st Panzer group managed to penetrate 450 km’s towards Kiev before running out of supplies shortly before reaching Kiev itself, while the 6th army outflanked the Soviet Southwestern Front in concert with Romanian forces and encircled the remnants in a pocket west of Vinnitsja. The 1st Panzer group was getting to far ahead of its supply line and at this time instead performed a perpendicular attack resulting an encirclement near Uman which was completed on the 7th of July. The Southern flank managed to rout the Soviet southern front while secure birdgeheads across the Dniepr and inflicting heavy losses on Soviet counterattacks****.
Supplementing the initial air attacks was submarine minelaying from a large portion of the type II submarine force in the night preceding the 10th and a penetration of Italian midget submarines into the port of Sevastopol. The Italian divers managed to mine the Sevastopol and two cruisers which sunk during the night at a heavy loss of life*****.
*IOTL the Hungarians were not part of the initial assault on Hitlers insistence, here they shield the northern flank of AGS which result in only mild fighting for the 1st panzer group which can the race on ahead.
**This looks more like OTL, but with an added deep armored thrust directly towards Kiev to the North to get the attention of the reinforcements. The noted armored division is raised additional because of the lesser African involvement ITTL.
***clear difference from OTL were Odessa was laid under siege.
****OTL they were stuck at the Diestr river.
*****Italians are more part of the planning ITTL.
The opening events of the attack into Ukraine were spearheaded by the 1st Panzer group and the 6th army attacking out of Souther Poland between the Pripjet Marshes and the Carpathians, which broke through the Soviet 5th Army early in the attack. The Hungarian army supported by a Luftwaffe fighters and CAS simultaneously attacked due east across the border taking and inflicting heavy losses. In the northernmost part the Hungarians came to engage the Soviet 15th Mechanized corps which inflicted heavy casualties, but also depleted the mobility of the Soviet Mechanized formations. The 1st Panzer group and the 6th army faced counter-attacks by the 22nd Soviet Mechanized corps, that was largely broken up by infantry formation of the 6th army*. 1st Panzer group was subsequently clear to break east towards Kiev, while dispatching parts of the 6th army south-east towards Uman including an armored division and threatening to outflank the Soviet forces facing the Hungarians and the northern parts of the Rumanian border**.
Further south, elements of the 11th army including a mountain division attacked out of Romania in the north and the German 12th army attacked in the south. The 12th army with the Romanian army broke through the Soviet 9th independent army and raced onwards towards Odessa. In the utter chaos inflicting the Southern Front German armored forces managed to maintain momentum and occupy Odessa “on the run” already on the 13th***. The German 12th army raced forward towards Kherzov and crossed the Dniepr before getting bogged down in Soviet counterattacks.
In summary, within the first 3 weeks of the battle, the 1st Panzer group managed to penetrate 450 km’s towards Kiev before running out of supplies shortly before reaching Kiev itself, while the 6th army outflanked the Soviet Southwestern Front in concert with Romanian forces and encircled the remnants in a pocket west of Vinnitsja. The 1st Panzer group was getting to far ahead of its supply line and at this time instead performed a perpendicular attack resulting an encirclement near Uman which was completed on the 7th of July. The Southern flank managed to rout the Soviet southern front while secure birdgeheads across the Dniepr and inflicting heavy losses on Soviet counterattacks****.
Supplementing the initial air attacks was submarine minelaying from a large portion of the type II submarine force in the night preceding the 10th and a penetration of Italian midget submarines into the port of Sevastopol. The Italian divers managed to mine the Sevastopol and two cruisers which sunk during the night at a heavy loss of life*****.
*IOTL the Hungarians were not part of the initial assault on Hitlers insistence, here they shield the northern flank of AGS which result in only mild fighting for the 1st panzer group which can the race on ahead.
**This looks more like OTL, but with an added deep armored thrust directly towards Kiev to the North to get the attention of the reinforcements. The noted armored division is raised additional because of the lesser African involvement ITTL.
***clear difference from OTL were Odessa was laid under siege.
****OTL they were stuck at the Diestr river.
*****Italians are more part of the planning ITTL.