The Great Patriotic War
 1942 - Days of Darkness

 A historical overview of the Great Patriotic War.

This section will focus on a the events of the Great Patriotic War, as well as the costs in men and equipment. It should be noted that no other war in history involved as many men and as many vehicles as this one.  It required every effort of the Soviet people along with the resources and equipment sent to them by the United States and England to bring victory.

1942

 

 

 

 

 

5 January

Stalin orders a new offensive to begin on January 7th.

 

9 January

Soviet forces re-enter Smolensk provence.

  18 January Red Army launches new offensive south of Kharkov.
   24 January Barenkovo is recaptured by Soviet forces.
  31 January German counter-offensive causes a 60 mile deep salient into Soviet territory before reaching its limit.
  8 February Soviet forces isolate 90,000 Germans within the Demyansk pocket.
  15 February Soviet paratroopers drop into Demyansk pocket but are completely destroyed.
  27 February Red Army Crimean continues offensive in Kerch peninsula and at Sevastopol.
  5 March Germans manage to stabilize line in Crimea.
  13 March Red Army loses 130 tanks in three days in Kerch.
  20 March German forces under Gen. Manstein commit 22nd Panzer division to an abortive counter-attack.
  26 March Soviets mount another attack in the Crimea.
  5 April Hitler signs Directive 41 ordering German forces to concentrate efforts on taking Russia's oil.  Leningrad and Moscow become secondary targets.
  9 April Final counter-attack by Soviet Crimean front.
  8 May With heavy Luftwaffe support, Gen. Manstein's forces strike a three mile salient into the Soviet positions at Kerch.
  12 May German forces shatter Red Army forces in the Crimea.
Soviet South-West front launches offensive to encircle Kharkov.
  15 May German army takes town of Kerch.
  19 May Soviet offensive in Kharkov region stopped by Germans.
  20 May Germans retake Kerch peninsula from Soviet forces.
  28 May Large number of Soviet forces near Kharkov are destroyed.  Soviet losses are: 214,000 men, 1,200 tanks, and 2,000 artillery pieces are captured by Germans.
  1 June Hitler flies to Poltava in a visit to Army Group South.
  7 June With the support of heavy artillery and Luftwaffe bombers, Germans launch attack on Sevastopol.
  10-15 June Operation Wilhelm
Soviet 28th army is attacked by German 6th Army in Volchansk region.
  18 June Wehrmacht breaks through on the north and east of the Sevastopol front.
  22-26 June Operation Fredrick II
Elements of German 6th army and 1st Panzer army strike from south east of Kharkov.
  28 June German forces launch summer offensive on a front from Kursk to Sea of Azov.  German 11th army closes on Sevastopol and crosses North Bay.
  2 July End of Soviet evacuation of Sevatopol.
  4 July Remnants of Soviet Coastal Army surrenders on Khersonesskiy Peninsula.  Soviet losses - 30,000 men taken captive.
Sevastopol is taken by Germans.  90,000 men taken prisoner and 460 artillery pieces captured.
  8 July 1st Panzer Army crosses Donets.
  13 July 4th Panzer Army under Gen. Hoth is transferred from Gen. Bock's command to Gen. List and is ordered to strike Rostov.
  18 July German Army Group B is ordered to take Stalingrad.
  23 July Rostov falls to Hoth's 4th Panzer Army.
  25 July Germans attack over River Don from three bridgeheads.
  28 July Nazis forces murder 10,000 Jews in the Minsk Ghetto.
  29 July Army Group A and 4th Panzer Army drive deep into Caucasus and come within 70 miles of Caspian Sea.
  5 August Stavropol and Voroshilovsk fall to Germans.
  9 August Maykop oilfields are captured by the Wehrmacht.
  18 August Battle for the Caucasus begins.
  20 August German forces reach the Volga.  German mountain troops scale Mt. Elbrus.
  23 August XIV Panzer Corps crosses River Don.  Stalingrad bombed.
  24 August Fighting reaches outskirts of Stalingrad.
  28 August Group 'Ruoff' forces back Kotov's 47th Army and reaches the Black Sea at Anapa.
  30 August 1st Panzer Army crosses River Terek.
  31 August 24th Panzer Division severs rail lin south of Pitomnik.
  3 September 4th Panzer Army and German 6th Army link up near Pitomnik.
  7 September 6th Army begins attacks on Mamayev hill and the Stalingrad city center.
  10 September General Kempf's 48th Panzer attacks from South West
  11 September General Chuikov takes over command of the Soviet 62nd army from General Krylov.
  14 September Germans capture Tsarisyn. Luftwaffe mines the Volga.  13th Guards rifle division is ferried across the Volga under heavy fire.
  15 September Fighting rages in the Stalingrad main railway station.
  20 September General Paulus requests more troops as hopes for a quick German victory are abandoned.
  26 September Major German offensive begins at Stalingrad.
  28 September Stalingrad front is renamed Don front with General Rokossovsky in command.
  6 October Hitler makes capture of Stalingrad the top priority of Army Group B.
  14th October Hitler orders that there is to be no retreat from the line taken on October 1942.
  15th October German 6th Army forces reaches the Volga and 62nd Soviet Army nears destruction.
  17th October Soviet 138th Rifle Division crosses the Volga and begins counterattacks.  Heavy casualties are taken on both sides.
  29th October The Soviet Sout-West front is created between Voronezh and Don fronts.
  17 November General Zhukov is sent from Stalingrad area to Kalinin and West Front to coordinate attacks against Army Group Center.
  19 November Valtutin and Rokossovsky begin attacks the Romanian 3rd Army under General Dumitrescu.
  20 November Operation Jupiter begins at 1000 hours with an artillery barrage, the encirclement of the German 6th Army is begins.  48th Panzer Corps clashes with Soviet forces.
  21 November Soviet 5th Tank Army engages 24th Panzer Division and suffers heavy casualties.
  24 November Hermann Goring boasts that the Luftwaffe can supply the German 6th Army from the air.
  26 November Hitler orders the 6th army to hold its ground and await resupply.
  27 November General Manstein assume command of Army Group Don and is ordered to prepare to open a corridor to Paulus' besieged 6th Army.
  12 December General Manstein begins Operation Winter Storm - the attempt to rescue the 6th Army in Stalingrad.
  14 December Three day tank battle around Verkhne-Kumskiy.
  16 December Soviet attacks on the Voronezh and South-West fronts begin against Axis troops along the Don.
  19 December Luftwaffe's air re-supply delivers 290 tons of supplies to forces in Stalingrad - its peak delivery day.  Even this is far short of the 600 tons required by the 6th Army.
General Kharitonov's 6th Army captures German supply depot at Kantemirovka.
Manstein's 6th Panzer Division reaches Myshkova, 30 miles from Stalingrad.
  27 December Soviet 7th Tank Corps assaults Kotel'nikovo airfield.
  18 December Hitler orders the withdrawal of Army Group Don and Army Group A to a line 150 miles west of Stalingrad..

 

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