October 12th, 1943
Operation Rumyantsev-TBT
Overflow
Sector of the 1st Ukrainian Front, 06:55 - On the banks of the Zbruch and Zherd'* rivers, it is not far from freezing. The sun has not yet come out and it will be half an hour before the light comes. For several hours already, however, the soldiers of the 2nd and 3rd Airborne Corps (M.F. Tikhonov and V.A. Glazunov) have been crossing the river in order to secure the land and the crossing areas.
Mostly, the paratroopers catch isolated Landsers of the 125. ID (Wilhelm Schneckenburger) unawares, which had to defend a front of 35 kilometers with the only reinforcement of the 909. StuGAbt (Major Rossi). Of course, not everything goes well: small arms fire and cannonade can be heard in the distance. However, nothing, absolutely nothing of this can prepare the German infantrymen for what was about to come upon them.
At his advanced headquarters in Svyatets' (only 8 kilometers from the front), Konstantin Rokossovsky does not have the luxury to doubt - and even less reasons to do so. Zhukov - who himself spent a good part of the night in this sector, before going back down to the south, in order to take care of Bar's business - was categorical. The disproportion of forces is overwhelming and the stakes are high. Break through or die, that is the mission of the 1st Ukrainian Front. Everything else - losses, flanks, destruction - is only as important as their impact on the rest of the operation.
It is 7 am. A pale sun seems to rise with difficulty... And the artillery of two armored corps and a cavalry corps open fire on the German positions, before men and armoured vehicles set off. It is going to be a long day.
Brutally seized by the extreme vigor of the Soviet action, which benefits moreover from the support of Sergei Rudenko's 16th Air Army, the 125. ID is literally swept along the banks. At 10:00, it has already yielded 4 km. By noon, it is submerged at the Lanivtsi, Osnyky, Bilozirka and Pal'chyntsi crossing points (from north to south). Crushed by the Russian steamroller, the division has to retreat in haste to avoid being completely destroyed.
Schneckenburger calls for help, of course, but because of the lack of available reserves in his rear, Walter Weiß can only send him, from the south, the pair 141. ID and 905. StuG - who must however disengage beforehand in front of the 3rd Army at Chernylivka - and, from the north, the III. PanzerKorps (Werner Kempf), which is at rest near Maly Zahaitsi. In both cases, the German forces have about twenty kilometers to go before approaching the flanks of the Soviet thrust. Rudenko's "Falcons" are to turn this modest route into a ordeal. All day long, Il-2s and Tu-2s bludgeon the columns and the roads, drowning a powerless Luftflotte 4 under the number, weakened by months of confrontation and of which a great part - all the Stukas in particular - was requisitioned for the Bar offensive.
For lack of anything better, the Heinkel 111 and 177 of KG.4 are launched against the communist bridges and bridgeheads, covered by the Fw 190 of JG.51 - but 17 bombers and 9 fighters were lost: a real loss, which could not be compensated by the fall of 39 Red fighters and the destruction of two boat bridges (a third one was damaged).
In the evening, the Red Army is not in danger anywhere. The defenders have been dispersed to the four winds, the equivalent of an infantry corps has already passed on the west bank and the armor of the 2nd Mechanized Corps and the 1st Armored Guards Corps starts to cross.
As for the counter-attacks coming from the south and the north, they are both in preparation and poorly engaged. If the 141. ID (Heinz Hellmich) is doing well, being brought up at its own pace from Chernylivka, Werner Kempf and his panzers suffer uninterrupted aerial assaults, which cost 31 planes to the VVS but also made the III. PzK lose 24 tanks, nearly fifty trucks and semi-trailers, and above all long hours. The 6., 7. and 8. Panzer (reinforced by the 203. StuG, which has been accompanying them for some time) will deploy tonight. Fortunately for Kempf, darkness falls early in the season - at 16:45.
Nevertheless, after the Geländer des Todes, here is the Todesstraße, the Road of Death! Under a hostile sky and facing a numerically superior enemy, the Heer is not able to launch a single offensive action! Like in a nightmare, Walter Weiß's 8. Armee thus replays Sedan - but on the wrong side...
This glorious surprise is soon known throughout the Soviet front, where the news spread like wildfire. Deserting the 3rd Ukrainian Front (where nothing interesting was interesting), Vassili Grossman hurriedly climbs into a plane that takes him to Rokossovsky's HQ. In the evening, he notes in his notebook, with the bitterness of one who has not been warned: "in the dust, in the smoke, in the middle of the flow of thousands of vehicles, we enter the village of Svyatets'. How can we find people we know in this terrible tohu-bohu? Suddenly, I see a car with beautiful new tires. I announce, prophetically: "This car with incredible tires can belong either to Rokossovsky or the correspondent of Tass**, Major Lipavsky. We enter the house: a soldier sitting at a table eating borstch. "Who is staying in this house?" - "Major Lipasvski, correspondent of Tass," answers the soldier. Everyone looks at me in admiration. I understand how Newton felt when he discovered the law of universal gravitation.
Sector of the 2nd Ukrainian Front - Here, too, the situation is hot - but it is the Red Army is the one to suffer.
Facing the announced storm, Ivan Bagramyan's 2nd Ukrainian Front is as ready as it can be. At least it was already warned - unlike the Germans who were surprised at the same time south of Lanivtsi. At 07:30 exactly (Germanic precision!) the rescue force moves eastward, advancing with power but without much imagination along two axes constrained: Vovkovyntsi- Klopotivtsi and Vovkovyntsi-Vasyutyntsi. It aims at taking in vice the crossroads of Horyany and threaten to encircle and crush the entire right flank of the 59th Army of Ivan Korovnikov - which will have either to withdraw or to be folded on the banks of the river and then annihilated.
The Red Army reacts with the energy of despair. If the 17th Air Force cannot give all its measure in front of the Bf 109 of all the JG.52 (which get 35 victories*** for only 7 losses), Bagramian nevertheless had Andrei Getman's 16th Armored Corps counter-charge, while preparing the 3rd CB to cross the River at Bar in order to flank the Fascists.
to flank the Fascists. Severely mistreated by motivated panzers, well supported by the Stukas and almost as numerous as his tanks, Getman has to withdraw, having lost no less than 83 machines! The SS and the "Guards of Honor" have only to charge to break through the infantry line before eliminating the survivors. At least that is what they
think...
Because, in Klopotivtsi as in Vasyutyntsi, a grain of sand will seize the Nazi machine. In fact, many grains of sand, in fact: the Soviet infantrymen live up to their reputation of bravery, preferring to let themselves be crushed on the spot rather than flee, literally putting their hand into the German death machine to pin it down with their flesh. Later, Grossman will collect several testimonies of these terrible hours - although from anti-tank artillerymen in the second line, and obviously screened by the censors, they keep an intact evocative force.
"The German air force is bombing, we are in the smoke, the fire, and the men have become savages, they shoot without paying attention to the rest. I myself was wounded seven times.
The enemy tanks have managed to penetrate the corner, the infantry is shaken.
Incessant thunder, the earth shaking, fire all around, we shout. On the radio, the Germans are trying to deceive us, they shout: "I am Nekrassov, I am Nekrassov!" I shouted, "You're talking nonsense, it's not you, get out of here! They cover our voices with screaming. The Messers were prowling over our heads, Sergeant Ourbissoupov with his machine gun shot down one of them as it swooped down on him. The Messers bombarded the trenches, first lengthwise, then crosswise, in order to spray all the blind spots.
We did not sleep all night. For the quieter it is, the more the tension rises. It is much quieter when the fight is going on, and it is then that sleep overtakes you.
We eat in spurts and at full speed. The food instantly turns black with dust, especially the fatty bacon."
Unfortunately for these gunners, the fight is not over - and neither is their story...
In the evening, SS-PanzerKorps and GrossDeutschland have advanced 5 km on one axis, 8 km on the other - the German assault is not stopped, but it gets stuck in the middle of the entrenchments that the 59th Army have set up on its route to channel its advance. These include several anti-tank redoubts, which have to be reduced by force one by one.
The Red Army, which can neither maneuver nor give up ground, takes the blows and simply suffers. At the end of the day, the Fascists see the river in their binoculars, while Vasily Badanov's tanks pass through the ruins of Bar to get into position.
Bar pocket - Throughout the night, the 2nd Shock Army continues to push north of the Kessel towards Mizhlissya, attempting to drive the besieged south to oppose the forces trying to rescue the besieged an additional barrier: the Riv, which the SS would have to cross in order to accomplish their mission. Kuzma Galitsky does not succeed completely - at daybreak, part of the encircled Fascists is still east of Man'kivtsi, on the way to survival.
While the smoke of the fighting by the rescue force rises to the horizon, the troops of the pocket continue to resist the push of the 2nd Shock Army - with still less means but with a much better morale, while their adversary is now fighting without armor support, and with a right flank threatened by the terrible fight in progress in the Horyany area. The IV. ArmeeKorps (Erwin Jaenecke), which defends the northern part of the Kessel, holds on to the ground. However, it had to gradually gives up its meager salvation on the "good" side of the Riv - the fault of an ever decreasing supply (43 tons today!).
.........
As the fighting shifts to Stepanky's pseudo-airfield, the crew of the wrecked Junkers 52 is fighting for its life. The airmen spend the night tinkering with their controls by the light of fire and the rhythm of the gunfire. With derisory means, they manage to repair the left aileron, which should be able to hold at least for a while. Refueled, its engines still healthy, the plane can (theoretically!) fly... as long as it can take off ! Because from now on, we fight all around him: the Reds are at 500 meters - they have snipers, mortars and artillery. It is doubtful that they are watching the bird without doing anything.
For the crew, too, it was time to decide. To flee and risk a quick but flamboyant death? Or stay here and tie their fate to this dying pocket? As good aviators, they will opt for the way of the birds... However, they are not out of the woods: because before facing the Soviets, they have to face... their compatriots! Indeed, the news of the departure made the turn of the ground and attracted a horde of mislaid, deserters or unhappy Landsers without any assignment for the current operations and who literally fight to get on board, in spite of the instructions and the calls for discipline, even simple reason. Finally, it is obvious that the Ju 52 will never be able to take on board the mass of men who are piling up all around and trying to enter! Finally, the drama breaks out: the co-pilot has to fire several shots to close the door, with the help of several passengers (one of whom was a policeman who had conveniently boarded the plane to "maintain order"). The bullets are fired in the air - but not all... The crowd gives way to light for a brief moment before someone finally slams the door. Darkness returns in the apparatus, agitated by vibrations and resounding of dull rumblings.
Now alone with his destiny - if we except the tragic cohort which runs after him and tries to cling to the landing gear - the three-engine, 31-passenger plane hurtles down the ravaged runway without even trying to avoid possible gunfire. It's make or break!
After a moment of astonishment (they did not think it possible!), the Soviets give their tubes one last time, which spray the plane while it takes speed. Bang, an impact on the left flank. Bang, another one on the right wing! Boom, the left aileron has eaten it! Now, the right engine is making a worrying sound, not to mention the oil flooding the wing...
Finally, against all odds, the bird takes off and heads west. A final shell tears off the fairing of the left wheel, while a piece of rudder comes off. The three-engine plane tilts, seems to recover, then tilts again before disappearing on the horizon... We will not see it again**** - just as we will not see any German operational aircraft at Stepanky.
HG NordUkraine (Kovel), 18:30 - Coming out of a hectic staff conference to think in calm - we are constantly disturbed here, whether by Rastenburg or by messages from the front, where the situation is changing by the hour! - Erich von Manstein sinks heavily into an armchair for a moment of silence. He, who is still mourning the death of his son - among so many wounds - is now faced with a terrible dilemma: to leave the two army corps in the Bar pocket to their fate or to leave the whole of the 8. Armee to be threatened with destruction. For, despite the illusions of the Wolfschanze, it is already seems obvious that neither Kempf nor Hellmich will be able to throw the Reds back into the water alone!
Damn Russians, unable to recognize the superiority of the Wehrmacht - like the French in truth, all stubborn, these communists, in the East as in the West! In short... the situation around Ternopol is critical, even catastrophic.
And yet, in Rastenburg, we do not see things in the same way. Sharpened by the SS, Hitler even said: "If the Russians advance to Ternopol, all the better. Hausser's panzers will flank them, drive them back to the Seret and then annihilate them!" No doubt, it is easy to move blocks on a map... Even if Hausser re-establishes the link with the Kessel tomorrow, he would need at least 72 hours to reach the Ternopol sector! What situation would he find there? And in what condition would his forces be when he arrived there?
In short, all this is ridiculous. But for the time being, a FührerBefehl forbids to call off the attack on Bar - only, it is just as unthinkable to let the Reds surge to Ternopol with impunity! The HG NordUkraine has no choice - until Rastenburg has come to its senses, it must seal the gaps, hinder the opponent on its flanks, gain time and hope for a miracle. Thank God, Manstein still has the authorization to maneuver as he wishes - because the days to come will be complex. But isn't he still the "Genius of Defense" praised by the propaganda? He will necessarily know how to do whatever is necessary to save his forces... "whatever it takes".
* The Zbruch is a tributary of the Zherd', which itself only flows for about 15 kilometers before it flows into the Horyn. In order to simplify the story, we will only talk about the Zbruch, which is the main river crossed - just as, when describing the previous engagements, we spoke only of the Horyn itself when it was in fact the Zbruch or the Zherd'.
** The Telegrafnoye Agentstvo Sovetskogo Soyuza (Telegraphic Agency of the Soviet Union), which had the exclusive right to collect and distribute domestic and international information in the USSR. From the Stalinist point of view, it was far from the modest cabbage sheet for frontovikis that was the Krasnaya Zvezda...
*** Two of which were for Barkhorn and one for Hartmann, who was returning from a well-deserved vacation after his past adventures ! However, the miraculous ace is not far from being shot down again - as often, he will only find salvation due to his deceptive rudder game (intended to lure the opponent on the trajectory followed by the plane) as well as by violent blows of the stick from one corner to the other of his cockpit...
**** This aircraft probably crashed in the region of Ternopol. We will never identify it formally for lack of archives, even if a rumor has since attributed to it the name of Wallenstein. The fate of its crew as well as of its passengers remains unknown. Some romantic or supposedly Cartesian minds, refusing to admit that pilots could have taken so many risks to evacuate a modest handful of panicked individuals, imagined much later that the plane was carrying a load of stolen gold, Ukrainian nationalists responsible for the trap set for Vatutin, or even defecting scientists capable of creating the ultimate Wunderwaffe against the Red tanks... The Wallenstein affair even inspired a novelist who, based on information from the famous pilot and secret agent Biggles, claimed that the plane had finally crashed in the Carpathian forest, with a sinister cargo on board... But Squadron-Leader Bigglesworth never confirmed this fantasy.