Toropets-Kholm Operation
Encyclopedia
The Toropets–Kholm Offensive was a military operation conducted south of Lake Ilmen
by the Red Army
during World War II
, from 9 January-6 February 1942. The operation contributed to the formation of the Kholm Pocket, the encirclement of the Wehrmacht
s II. Army Corps in the Demyansk Pocket
, and the destruction of the German
Wehrmachts 189th Infantry Regiment near Andreapol
.
of the Red Army decided to conduct a broad-front offensive with the aim of destroying the invading Wehrmacht forces in the Soviet Union
. The Wehrmacht did not expect the Red Army to be capable of such a wide-ranging offensive, and therefore was caught off guard by attacks in areas that it supposed to be quiet, such as the region south of Lake Ilmen
.
—under General
Kurochkin—was given two tasks to be executed from its position south of Lake Ilmen
. The first was a western thrust through Staraya Russa
, to split German 18th Army and 16th Army, and support the effort of Volkhov Front
and Leningrad Front
in breaking the siege of Leningrad. The second was a south-western thrust toward Vitebsk. This attack was to be conducted by three armies, 33rd, 3rd and 4th Shock, the latter two having just recently been renamed. Its ultimate aim was to become the northern pincer of a deep envelopment of German Army Group Center.
and 4th Shock Armies was very successful. German forces in the sector were overrun with heavy losses. The failure to predict this attack—coupled with multiple demands on the German reserves—gave the Soviet Front command an opening which it exploited to the utmost, driving deep into the German rear. While the Soviet forces had few supplies at the start of the offensive, they could keep going through the capture of significant amounts of German supply stores at Toropets
.
The tank support for such an operation was very weak on the Soviet side, especially compared to the requirements of the doctrine of Deep operations
, and the practice later in the war, showing the dearth of resources in the Soviet arsenal at this low point of Soviet fortunes in the war. Yeremenko's 4th Shock Army had only two tank battalions, the 117th Tank Battalion with 12 Lend-Lease Matilda IIs
, nine Valentines
, and 10 T-60
s, and the 141st Tank Battalion had four KV-1s, six T-34
s, and 20 T-60s.
The drive of the Soviet forces was so strong that the defending German formation—123rd Infantry Division, which was covering a line of 30 km (18.6 mi)—had its forward two regiments overrun. The regiments were so thinly spread in their strongpoints that they could not cover each other, allowing the Soviet assault forces to simply walk through between them. The strongpoints were later reduced, with significant casualties for the Germans. A German reserve formation—the 81st Infantry Division—was brought in by rail during the last days of December. Its first regiment—the 189th Infantry under Colonel Hohmeyer together with the 2nd Battalion of Artillery Regiment 181 and the 3rd Company of the Engineer Battalion 181—was immediately ordered to detrain at Toropets and Andreapol. From there, it advanced to Okhvat where it was encircled and completely destroyed on 14 January. 1,100 dead were later found in a forest near Okhvat, including the regimental commander who was posthumously promoted to Major General. A total of 40 survivors from the artillery battalion made it back to the German lines. The move into action and collapse was so swift that the regiment was not even identified on German situation maps.
, of which this bend formed the northern border, was evacuated in March 1943.
The Soviet attack also created the Kholm Encirclement, and the southern shoulder of the Demyansk Pocket
.
Lake Ilmen
Ilmen is a historically important lake in the Novgorod Oblast of Russia, formerly a vital part of the Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The city of Novgorod lies six kilometers below the lake's outflow....
by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, from 9 January-6 February 1942. The operation contributed to the formation of the Kholm Pocket, the encirclement of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
s II. Army Corps in the Demyansk Pocket
Demyansk Pocket
The Demyansk Pocket was the name given for the encirclement of German troops by the Red Army around Demyansk , south of Leningrad, during World War II on the Eastern Front. The pocket existed mainly from 8 February-21 April 1942. A much smaller pocket was simultaneously surrounded in Kholm, about ...
, and the destruction of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Wehrmachts 189th Infantry Regiment near Andreapol
Andreapol
Andreapol is a town and the administrative center of Andreapolsky District of Tver Oblast, Russia, located in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina River, west of Moscow, on the Valdai Hills...
.
Context
Following the successful Moscow counter-offensive of December 1941, the StavkaStavka
Stavka was the term used to refer to a command element of the armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history of Imperial Russia as administrative staff and General Headquarters during late 19th Century Imperial Russian armed forces and those of the Soviet Union...
of the Red Army decided to conduct a broad-front offensive with the aim of destroying the invading Wehrmacht forces in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The Wehrmacht did not expect the Red Army to be capable of such a wide-ranging offensive, and therefore was caught off guard by attacks in areas that it supposed to be quiet, such as the region south of Lake Ilmen
Lake Ilmen
Ilmen is a historically important lake in the Novgorod Oblast of Russia, formerly a vital part of the Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The city of Novgorod lies six kilometers below the lake's outflow....
.
Aim
The Soviet North-Western FrontNorth-Western Front
The Northwestern Front was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-created on June 22, 1941, the first day of the Soviet-German War on the basis of the Baltic Special Military...
—under General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Kurochkin—was given two tasks to be executed from its position south of Lake Ilmen
Lake Ilmen
Ilmen is a historically important lake in the Novgorod Oblast of Russia, formerly a vital part of the Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. The city of Novgorod lies six kilometers below the lake's outflow....
. The first was a western thrust through Staraya Russa
Staraya Russa
Staraya Russa is a town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located south of Veliky Novgorod. It is a wharf on the Polist River in the Lake Ilmen basin. It serves as the administrative center of Starorussky District, although administratively it is not a part of it...
, to split German 18th Army and 16th Army, and support the effort of Volkhov Front
Volkhov Front
The Front was reformed on the 9 June 1942 from the Volkhov Operational Group of the Leningrad Front and served until 15 February 1944, participating in the relief of the Siege of Leningrad and taking part in other operations including:-Campaigns:...
and Leningrad Front
Leningrad Front
The Leningrad Front was first formed on August 27, 1941, by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front, during the German approach on Leningrad .-History:...
in breaking the siege of Leningrad. The second was a south-western thrust toward Vitebsk. This attack was to be conducted by three armies, 33rd, 3rd and 4th Shock, the latter two having just recently been renamed. Its ultimate aim was to become the northern pincer of a deep envelopment of German Army Group Center.
The battle
The initial penetration of the 3rd3rd Shock Army (Soviet Union)
The 3rd Shock Army was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The 'Shock' armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces, and were reinforced with more armoured and artillery assets than other combined arms armies...
and 4th Shock Armies was very successful. German forces in the sector were overrun with heavy losses. The failure to predict this attack—coupled with multiple demands on the German reserves—gave the Soviet Front command an opening which it exploited to the utmost, driving deep into the German rear. While the Soviet forces had few supplies at the start of the offensive, they could keep going through the capture of significant amounts of German supply stores at Toropets
Toropets
Toropets is a town and the administrative center of Toropetsky District of Tver Oblast, Russia, located where the Toropa River enters Lake Solomeno. Population: -History:...
.
The tank support for such an operation was very weak on the Soviet side, especially compared to the requirements of the doctrine of Deep operations
Deep operations
Deep battle was a military theory developed by the Soviet Union for its armed forces during the 1920s and 1930s. It was developed by a number of influential military writers, such as Vladimir Triandafillov and Mikhail Tukhachevsky who endeavoured to create a military strategy with its own...
, and the practice later in the war, showing the dearth of resources in the Soviet arsenal at this low point of Soviet fortunes in the war. Yeremenko's 4th Shock Army had only two tank battalions, the 117th Tank Battalion with 12 Lend-Lease Matilda IIs
Matilda tank
The Infantry Tank Mark II known as the Matilda II was a British infantry tank of the Second World War. It was also identified from its General Staff Specification A12....
, nine Valentines
Valentine tank
The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in 11 different marks plus various purpose-built variants, accounting for approximately a quarter of wartime British tank production...
, and 10 T-60
T-60
The T-60 scout tank was a light tank produced by the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1942. In this time over 6,292 were built. The tank was designed to replace the obsolete T-38 amphibious scout tank.-Design:...
s, and the 141st Tank Battalion had four KV-1s, six T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
s, and 20 T-60s.
The drive of the Soviet forces was so strong that the defending German formation—123rd Infantry Division, which was covering a line of 30 km (18.6 mi)—had its forward two regiments overrun. The regiments were so thinly spread in their strongpoints that they could not cover each other, allowing the Soviet assault forces to simply walk through between them. The strongpoints were later reduced, with significant casualties for the Germans. A German reserve formation—the 81st Infantry Division—was brought in by rail during the last days of December. Its first regiment—the 189th Infantry under Colonel Hohmeyer together with the 2nd Battalion of Artillery Regiment 181 and the 3rd Company of the Engineer Battalion 181—was immediately ordered to detrain at Toropets and Andreapol. From there, it advanced to Okhvat where it was encircled and completely destroyed on 14 January. 1,100 dead were later found in a forest near Okhvat, including the regimental commander who was posthumously promoted to Major General. A total of 40 survivors from the artillery battalion made it back to the German lines. The move into action and collapse was so swift that the regiment was not even identified on German situation maps.
Outcome
The Soviet aim of encircling Army Group Center was not achieved, but the attack by the two Shock Armies created a deep bend in the German frontline that was to become a major concern for the German army group commands during 1942, until the Rzhev SalientBattles of Rzhev
Rzhev Battles is a general term for a series of World War II offensives launched during January 8, 1942—March 31, 1943 by the Soviet Red Army in the general directions of Rzhev, Sychevka and Vyazma against a German salient in the vicinity of Moscow, known as the "Rzhev meat grinder" for...
, of which this bend formed the northern border, was evacuated in March 1943.
The Soviet attack also created the Kholm Encirclement, and the southern shoulder of the Demyansk Pocket
Demyansk Pocket
The Demyansk Pocket was the name given for the encirclement of German troops by the Red Army around Demyansk , south of Leningrad, during World War II on the Eastern Front. The pocket existed mainly from 8 February-21 April 1942. A much smaller pocket was simultaneously surrounded in Kholm, about ...
.
Soviet
- North-Western FrontNorth-Western FrontThe Northwestern Front was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-created on June 22, 1941, the first day of the Soviet-German War on the basis of the Baltic Special Military...
(elements of with a strength of 122,100)- 3rd Shock Army3rd Shock Army (Soviet Union)The 3rd Shock Army was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The 'Shock' armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces, and were reinforced with more armoured and artillery assets than other combined arms armies...
- 4th Shock Army
- 249th Rifle Division
- 3rd Shock Army
German
- Army Group North (elements of with unknown strength)
- German Sixteenth ArmyGerman Sixteenth ArmyThe 16th Army was a World War II field army.It took part in the Battle of France. It was then deployed with Army Group North during Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It fought its way into northern Russia where in January 1942 it was encircled by the Soviets near...
- II. Army CorpsII Army Corps (Germany)-Commanders:*Generalleutnant Fedor von Bock, creation – April 1935*General der Infanterie Johannes Blaskowitz, April 1935 – 10 November 1938*Generaloberst Adolf Strauß, 10 November 1938 – 30 May 1940...
- 123rd Infantry Division
- 416th Infantry Regiment
- 418th Infantry Regiment
- 81st Infantry Division81st Infantry Division (Germany)The 81st Infantry Division was a German division in World War II. It was formed on 1 December 1939.-81. Infanterie-Division 1939:*Infanterie-Regiment 161*Infanterie-Regiment 174*Infanterie-Regiment 189...
- 189th Infantry Regiment
- SS Cavalry BrigadeSS Cavalry BrigadeThe SS Cavalry Brigade was a unit of the Waffen SS formed in 1940, from cavalry regiments created for occupation duties in German-occupied Poland. Later, while serving in German-occupied areas of the Soviet Union, the brigade was involved in the genocide of the Jewish population and anti-partisan...
- 123rd Infantry Division
- II. Army Corps
- German Sixteenth Army
General
- Haupt, W. 'Army Group North'
- MGFA (ed.) 'Generalfeldmarshall Ritter von Leeb'.
- Vilinov, M.A. 'Features of the Toropets-Kholm Operation' VIZH 1988 Issue 1, English translation
- Ziemke, E.F. 'Moscow to Stalingrad'
- Info on the Kholm part of the Operation
- Map of 3rd Shock Army Operations during the operation Jan 9-21 1942
- Map of 4th Shock Army Operations during the operation Jan 9-21 1942
- Map of 4th Shock Army Operations during the operation Jan 23-31 1942
- Glantz, David M. & House, Jonathan (1995), When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler, Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, ISBN 0-7006-0899-0.
