06/10/43 - Eastern Front
October 6th, 1943
Operation Rumyantsev
The lid is on the pot
Brodivs'ke sector (north of Ostroh) - After the violent correction inflicted the day before by the 8. Armee, Vlassov's 1st Shock Army spends the day trying to consolidate its position and to save what can still be saved of what was its vast bridgehead. Marx be praised, it is now in the sector of the 6. Armee - much less aggressive than its neighbor.
In fact, facing the 1st Shock, Karl-Ludwig Rhein's 331 ID is alone. Like before, the 223. ID of Christian Usinger in Ostroh, it is true - but the latter was in defense, had far more qualified veterans and did not have to deal with the additional 20 kilometers of riverbank to the vicinity of Zaritchne. Rhein had to attack no less to "clean up the communist residues on the west bank", without expecting any support from the IX. AK.
As was to be expected and despite the good will of the reserves, the assault, led by the only 559. Grenadier-Regiment, quickly stumbles. Vlassov can therefore continue to bring in reinforcements while waiting for the continuation - even if his formation, finally, is saved above all by the insignificance of the position it currently occupies.
.........
Sector from Ostroh to Varyvodky - In the vicinity of the former Geländer des Todes, not every day can be devoted to killing. After the bloody battle of the day before (25,000 dead, wounded or prisoners, and 175 tanks were destroyed), Russians and Germans return to a good-natured wait-and-see attitude.
The IX. AK does join its positions on the banks of the Viliya. Once again entrenched behind a river (and also away from any probable axis of offensive ...), this army corps so martyred since the beginning of Rumyantsev - and even since Zitadelle - that it has to give its Hiwis a well-deserved rest. On his right, the LIX. AK of Kurt von Der Chevallerie is not yet in position between Kutyanka and Varyvodky - it has 40 kilometers to do to reach its destination. Even with a forced march and at night, a little patience is needed.
The III. PanzerKorps of Werner Kempf has to continue to ensure the rear guard, by covering the infantry by a vast movement along the Viliya before bringing it back - in the long term - to Lanivtsi. This could be risky... But the Red Army does not really pursue.
The 1st Guards Cavalry Corps moves toward Ostroh, with the 4th Guards and the 1st Armored Corps on its left at Kam'yanka. Rudely punished the day before for their insolence, the 5th Guards Army and their fellow soldiers are content to accompany the panzers, firing an 85 mm shot from time to time. As for the 26th Army, it provides the interval alongside the first elements of the 1st Armored Guards Corps - which are likely to be the last, since Mikhail Katukov has been ordered to postpone sine die any further transfer of his forces to the west bank. Things seem to be moving - at last - towards a pleasant conclusion for the Reich in this sector.
.........
Lanivtsi sector - This is also the case here, as the II. SS-PanzerKorps begins to move, in order to bring its obviously decisive support to the encircled ones of Bar. The Schutzstaffel flies to the rescue of the Heer and the Hungarians - what a symbol! After the hard fighting of the last few days, the SS magazine Das Schwarze Korps will not fail to publish a number of interviews and other heroic stories about the fighters of the New Europe, who defended the West at the cost of their blood against the Bolshevik wave before going to triumph elsewhere - without specifying where, but one can easily guess.
Indeed, the SS was not particularly discreet about its plans. However, Himmler believes that his weapon has something to apologize for (at least in esteem!) after Zitadelle, while Manstein could not do much about it. In this vast sector from the base of the Geländer des Todes to Pidvolotchysk, there will soon be only the 125. ID (Wilhelm Schneckenburger), with eventually, on its rear and north, the III. PanzerKorps as army reserve. It is not much... but it is only temporary and at some point, one must make choices. If the HG NordUkraine still has the luxury to make choices. In truth, like a top of flesh, blood and metal, it can only keep its balance by moving.
.........
Volotchysk sector - Here, the fight continues towards Orikhovets'. The frontovikis of the 3rd Army (M.S. Shumilov), supported by T-34s of the 5th CB (S.M. Krivoshein), are still facing the Landsers of the 371. ID (Hermann Niehoff) and 141. ID (Heinz Hellmich) in a fight with no apparent outcome - reminiscent of those carried out a few weeks earlier in Belarus, and even more recently in the Ukraine. Thanks to the massive support offered by the 16th Air Force (Comrade Rudenko does not have much else to do today), the Red Army holds its positions, but not more.
.........
2nd Ukrainian Front - The Hungarian forces, educated by their experience of the previous day, are again on the defensive, waiting for the reinforcements promised by the Germans - which should arrive around October 9th, for the first of them... if all goes well! Still handicapped by the lack of armoured and air support - but also ravaged by devious dissensions - the Honvèd seems incapable of winning alone. It can only act as an auxiliary force, a modest auxiliary guard. The Wehrmacht complains about this, of course - yet this is precisely the role it has always wanted it to play, with the costume it offered him after having made it itself. Abyssus abyssum invocat.
.........
Bar Pocket - Another air delivery, this time carrying 79 tons of supplies, thanks to the commitment of several additional Heinkel 111s specially detached for this mission. It is still insufficient... but it is getting better. Is it Göring's fault if the He 111 can only carry 2 tons of cargo, and if the wind blows many of them towards the red lines? Nobody will answer these questions.
However, in the absence of a sufficient number of transport aircraft in the Luftwaffe, the wide-winged bomber proves once again to be a precious auxiliary, including in its rarer versions - such as the He 111 F, powered by Jumo 211s and initially intended for Turkey. The RLM ordered 40 of them, in order to make torpedo boats comparable to
to the SM.79 Aerosurilantes. Since then, the Italian fashion has passed, the sailors have become runners and they carry out their mission among the other He 111s, under the fire of the VVS and of the flak which today take 5 of theirs...
During this time, on the ground, the anguish, dull but visible, does not stop rising. In the evening, Erwin Jaenecke orders to prepare the construction of a makeshift field in the fields south of Stepanky. It will probably be exposed to artillery and aerial bombardment, it is true - but at night it will still be possible to use it. At least we'll try...
Kremlin, 17:00 - Now that the evacuation of the Slavuta peninsula by the enemy seems well and truly underway - in accordance with his predictions - General Aleksei Antonov returns to his Vojd with an amended plan for the continuation of Rumyantsev. This one, called Rumyantsev-TBT (Ternopol-Brody-Chervonohrad), is precisely what the Belarusian announced three days ago: a maneuver in the form of a diversion from the Slavuta peninsula, followed by a breakthrough from the south at Lanivtsi before heading northwest, taking advantage of the spaces between the various rivers in the region.
Theoretically, Antonov should not have any difficulty to make validate this plan - a fortiori when all his forecasts have proved accurate. But Stalin still does not believe in this story of maskirovka on a promontory snatched from high struggle, coupled with a breakthrough on a single sector in vague coordination with the offensive in Romania ... If there is one thing that the civil war taught him (badly), it is that quantity has a quality of its own. The quantity, therefore the width of the front.
So the Georgian pretends to accept the file with an equal air, the pipe raised and the forehead high, before putting it down on his right and moving on. Before he dismisses Antonov, he will not forget to order him - and Zhukov, through him - to restart the attacks as soon as possible in order to get out of the Slavuta peninsula. Stalin is infaibillity. Stalin is genius. Stalin is also sometimes stubborn.
When leaving the office, Antonov cannot help but meditate on this good word of Andrei Eremenko, which obviously did not concern the Marshal and General Secretary: "When two generals oppose each other, one of them is necessarily intelligent, and the other an idiot. Unless both are idiots!"
Occupied Ukraine - Sydir Kovpak's infiltrated forces, which are already raging against the forces of the Hungarian 4th Corps, are instructed to push further into the interior of the German position, in order to put to fire and blood all the communication routes leading to the Bar cauldron. Obviously, the aim is to delay the inevitable arrival of reinforcements intended to break through in the direction of the Kessel - the Stavka does not need to read Das Schwarze Korps to anticipate their arrival. The Partisans therefore abandon their Hungarian targets for a while to move on to other opponents. No less strategic, and certainly even more so - just as they will be ruthless for the civilians caught between the hammer and the anvil.
Operation Rumyantsev
The lid is on the pot
Brodivs'ke sector (north of Ostroh) - After the violent correction inflicted the day before by the 8. Armee, Vlassov's 1st Shock Army spends the day trying to consolidate its position and to save what can still be saved of what was its vast bridgehead. Marx be praised, it is now in the sector of the 6. Armee - much less aggressive than its neighbor.
In fact, facing the 1st Shock, Karl-Ludwig Rhein's 331 ID is alone. Like before, the 223. ID of Christian Usinger in Ostroh, it is true - but the latter was in defense, had far more qualified veterans and did not have to deal with the additional 20 kilometers of riverbank to the vicinity of Zaritchne. Rhein had to attack no less to "clean up the communist residues on the west bank", without expecting any support from the IX. AK.
As was to be expected and despite the good will of the reserves, the assault, led by the only 559. Grenadier-Regiment, quickly stumbles. Vlassov can therefore continue to bring in reinforcements while waiting for the continuation - even if his formation, finally, is saved above all by the insignificance of the position it currently occupies.
.........
Sector from Ostroh to Varyvodky - In the vicinity of the former Geländer des Todes, not every day can be devoted to killing. After the bloody battle of the day before (25,000 dead, wounded or prisoners, and 175 tanks were destroyed), Russians and Germans return to a good-natured wait-and-see attitude.
The IX. AK does join its positions on the banks of the Viliya. Once again entrenched behind a river (and also away from any probable axis of offensive ...), this army corps so martyred since the beginning of Rumyantsev - and even since Zitadelle - that it has to give its Hiwis a well-deserved rest. On his right, the LIX. AK of Kurt von Der Chevallerie is not yet in position between Kutyanka and Varyvodky - it has 40 kilometers to do to reach its destination. Even with a forced march and at night, a little patience is needed.
The III. PanzerKorps of Werner Kempf has to continue to ensure the rear guard, by covering the infantry by a vast movement along the Viliya before bringing it back - in the long term - to Lanivtsi. This could be risky... But the Red Army does not really pursue.
The 1st Guards Cavalry Corps moves toward Ostroh, with the 4th Guards and the 1st Armored Corps on its left at Kam'yanka. Rudely punished the day before for their insolence, the 5th Guards Army and their fellow soldiers are content to accompany the panzers, firing an 85 mm shot from time to time. As for the 26th Army, it provides the interval alongside the first elements of the 1st Armored Guards Corps - which are likely to be the last, since Mikhail Katukov has been ordered to postpone sine die any further transfer of his forces to the west bank. Things seem to be moving - at last - towards a pleasant conclusion for the Reich in this sector.
.........
Lanivtsi sector - This is also the case here, as the II. SS-PanzerKorps begins to move, in order to bring its obviously decisive support to the encircled ones of Bar. The Schutzstaffel flies to the rescue of the Heer and the Hungarians - what a symbol! After the hard fighting of the last few days, the SS magazine Das Schwarze Korps will not fail to publish a number of interviews and other heroic stories about the fighters of the New Europe, who defended the West at the cost of their blood against the Bolshevik wave before going to triumph elsewhere - without specifying where, but one can easily guess.
Indeed, the SS was not particularly discreet about its plans. However, Himmler believes that his weapon has something to apologize for (at least in esteem!) after Zitadelle, while Manstein could not do much about it. In this vast sector from the base of the Geländer des Todes to Pidvolotchysk, there will soon be only the 125. ID (Wilhelm Schneckenburger), with eventually, on its rear and north, the III. PanzerKorps as army reserve. It is not much... but it is only temporary and at some point, one must make choices. If the HG NordUkraine still has the luxury to make choices. In truth, like a top of flesh, blood and metal, it can only keep its balance by moving.
.........
Volotchysk sector - Here, the fight continues towards Orikhovets'. The frontovikis of the 3rd Army (M.S. Shumilov), supported by T-34s of the 5th CB (S.M. Krivoshein), are still facing the Landsers of the 371. ID (Hermann Niehoff) and 141. ID (Heinz Hellmich) in a fight with no apparent outcome - reminiscent of those carried out a few weeks earlier in Belarus, and even more recently in the Ukraine. Thanks to the massive support offered by the 16th Air Force (Comrade Rudenko does not have much else to do today), the Red Army holds its positions, but not more.
.........
2nd Ukrainian Front - The Hungarian forces, educated by their experience of the previous day, are again on the defensive, waiting for the reinforcements promised by the Germans - which should arrive around October 9th, for the first of them... if all goes well! Still handicapped by the lack of armoured and air support - but also ravaged by devious dissensions - the Honvèd seems incapable of winning alone. It can only act as an auxiliary force, a modest auxiliary guard. The Wehrmacht complains about this, of course - yet this is precisely the role it has always wanted it to play, with the costume it offered him after having made it itself. Abyssus abyssum invocat.
.........
Bar Pocket - Another air delivery, this time carrying 79 tons of supplies, thanks to the commitment of several additional Heinkel 111s specially detached for this mission. It is still insufficient... but it is getting better. Is it Göring's fault if the He 111 can only carry 2 tons of cargo, and if the wind blows many of them towards the red lines? Nobody will answer these questions.
However, in the absence of a sufficient number of transport aircraft in the Luftwaffe, the wide-winged bomber proves once again to be a precious auxiliary, including in its rarer versions - such as the He 111 F, powered by Jumo 211s and initially intended for Turkey. The RLM ordered 40 of them, in order to make torpedo boats comparable to
to the SM.79 Aerosurilantes. Since then, the Italian fashion has passed, the sailors have become runners and they carry out their mission among the other He 111s, under the fire of the VVS and of the flak which today take 5 of theirs...
During this time, on the ground, the anguish, dull but visible, does not stop rising. In the evening, Erwin Jaenecke orders to prepare the construction of a makeshift field in the fields south of Stepanky. It will probably be exposed to artillery and aerial bombardment, it is true - but at night it will still be possible to use it. At least we'll try...
Kremlin, 17:00 - Now that the evacuation of the Slavuta peninsula by the enemy seems well and truly underway - in accordance with his predictions - General Aleksei Antonov returns to his Vojd with an amended plan for the continuation of Rumyantsev. This one, called Rumyantsev-TBT (Ternopol-Brody-Chervonohrad), is precisely what the Belarusian announced three days ago: a maneuver in the form of a diversion from the Slavuta peninsula, followed by a breakthrough from the south at Lanivtsi before heading northwest, taking advantage of the spaces between the various rivers in the region.
Theoretically, Antonov should not have any difficulty to make validate this plan - a fortiori when all his forecasts have proved accurate. But Stalin still does not believe in this story of maskirovka on a promontory snatched from high struggle, coupled with a breakthrough on a single sector in vague coordination with the offensive in Romania ... If there is one thing that the civil war taught him (badly), it is that quantity has a quality of its own. The quantity, therefore the width of the front.
So the Georgian pretends to accept the file with an equal air, the pipe raised and the forehead high, before putting it down on his right and moving on. Before he dismisses Antonov, he will not forget to order him - and Zhukov, through him - to restart the attacks as soon as possible in order to get out of the Slavuta peninsula. Stalin is infaibillity. Stalin is genius. Stalin is also sometimes stubborn.
When leaving the office, Antonov cannot help but meditate on this good word of Andrei Eremenko, which obviously did not concern the Marshal and General Secretary: "When two generals oppose each other, one of them is necessarily intelligent, and the other an idiot. Unless both are idiots!"
Occupied Ukraine - Sydir Kovpak's infiltrated forces, which are already raging against the forces of the Hungarian 4th Corps, are instructed to push further into the interior of the German position, in order to put to fire and blood all the communication routes leading to the Bar cauldron. Obviously, the aim is to delay the inevitable arrival of reinforcements intended to break through in the direction of the Kessel - the Stavka does not need to read Das Schwarze Korps to anticipate their arrival. The Partisans therefore abandon their Hungarian targets for a while to move on to other opponents. No less strategic, and certainly even more so - just as they will be ruthless for the civilians caught between the hammer and the anvil.