June 22nd, 1944
Vistula-Oder
Siegfried
Along the Vistula (but not only) - All along a front line stretching no less than 800 kilometres, considerable forces are on the move. Five Soviet fronts, facing six German armies. Virtually all the forces of the Red Army and the Ostheer that are not already engaged across the Carpathians, and which had remained more or less quiet since Vistula-Warsaw and then Fredericus II.
The Germans no longer have the luxury of retreating. The Soviets have made too many sacrifices to stop. What's more, neither their respective totalitarian regimes nor their fanaticism give them any choice, let alone the benefit of the doubt.
Stormy weather on this thunderous day when the last battle the Reich can fight outside its own territory begins. Hundreds of thousands of casualties are already certain.
East Prussia (Baltic Front) - Marshal Rodion Malinovsky and his new Chief of Staff - and former colleague - General Markian M. Popov have the formidable privilege of picking up where they left off (among others) last February, after the near-defeat at Šiauliai.
The Baltic Front has objectively powerful but limited resources (six armies, three armoured corps) to bring the iron down on German soil, against the bulk of two German armies positioned in difficult terrain on long-standing fortified lines. Even though Malinovsky has shortened his front by 130 kilometers to allow his neighbour Kyrill Meretskov to hold the front line as far as Suwałki, his task promises to be gloriously arduous.
The plan had the merit of simplicity. In the absence of any room for maneuver, the Red Army plans to advance along three axes from Tilsit, Gumbinnen and Kowale Oleckie, converging on Königsberg, while giving a hand to the 1st Belarussian Front at Bartenstein. Advancing through woods, marshes and rivers, on land that the Fascists would defend to the bitter end... At the very least, it would help the Workers and Peasants advance everywhere else.
As expected, operations get off to a slow start. From Pagėgiai, the 4th Army (Nikolai Gusev) tries to cross the Nemunas towards Tilsit, facing the XXVI. ArmeeKorps (Willibald von Langermann und Erlencamp) and in particular the 217. ID (Friedrich Bayer), which is heavily shelled. By evening, although the Frontoviki have not broken through anywhere, it is already established north of Dubki and opposite Nausėdai, at the links of the 217. ID (stuck in Tilsit) with the 61. ID and the 206. ID, already subjecting the Germans to particularly dangerous attrition as usual. Behind, the 12th Armoured Corps (Vasily Butkov) waits - it is supposed to exploit, not get lost as others did in Belarus in endless fighting on the riverbanks.
Further east, in the apparently much more promising Gumbinnen sector, the 42nd Army (Ivan Morozov) leads the assault against the redoubts of the 59. Volksgrenadier (Rudolf Sperl) - taking advantage of the fact that, on its right, the 7th Army (Alexey Krutikov) holds the rest of the I. ArmeeKorps (Otto Wöhler) in the vicinity of Lasdehnen. The operation is a delicate one: the new People's Grenadiers are well equipped with automatic and even semi-automatic weapons (the new StG 44 rifles) and, as expected, resist ferociously. Behind the 42nd Army, the 15th Armoured Corps (Fyodor Rudkin) waits patiently. This is the most obvious main axis for a breakthrough, which is why Georg Lindemann wastes no time in preparing his reserve, 226. Volksgrenadier (Franz Sensfuß) - garrisoned in Insterburg - to reinforce the line of fire when the time came. If Georg von Küchler gives the go-ahead, a unit from the army group reserve - the 19 Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS (lettische) (Nikolaus Heilman) - can also be mobilised. It is also on standby in the town - convenient, and everyone knows that the Balts are unlikely to surrender. By nightfall, the Reds have barely approached the outer defensive perimeter - but the Ostheer pays dearly for this success.
Meanwhile, the 7th Guards Army (Nikolai Berzarin), which has moved south from Stallupönen, is trying to advance towards the Goldap road with the support of the 2nd Airborne Corps (M. Tikhonov), which is trudging through the woods and marshes of Hermann Göring's former personal estate. Its opponent, the 64. Volksgrenadier (Fritz Warnecke), is obviously holding its line as best it can, following orders. But it cannot hold out everywhere. Not with so few men. It's dangerous, with the 10th Mechanised Corps (Nikolai Vedeneyev) in the vicinity...
At the same time, even further south, the 34th Army (Anton Lopatin) attacks the positions of the 254. ID (Alfred Thielmann) at Kowale Oleckie. This is the only unit that can come to Warnecke's aid - but these saturation attacks, costly as they are for Lopatin, prevent him from doing so. In the end, in both cases, progress is marginal but significant! The Russians test, stumble, infiltrate, are pushed back, overrun... At the moment, however, they are only winning a few unimportant localities: Bitkowo, Plewki, Sadovoe... for the time being.
Malinovski and Popov's plan is more subtle than it appears. Certain that the Germans would have no reinforcements - not in this sector! - the Soviet general staff calmly envisaged a strategy of attrition designed to slowly break the backs of the fascists, as comrades Bagramian and Tolbukhin had recently done in the Carpathians - except that here, the weak points, cracks or fractures detected or even created would be immediately exploited by the armoured tanks. That's right! There's no hills here to constrain and stifle future progress. Then it is time for the classic operational doctrine: destruction of the rear, cutting off the front, encirclement, reduction and extermination. The fanatical German defence would be the ultimate cause of its own defeat.
In short, to triumph, everything has to be ravaged until the weakest point is found. But Malinovsky and Popov don't mind ravaging the region. After all, this is the enemy's home!
East Prussia and Poland (1st Byelorussian Front) - Kyrill Meretskov has a seemingly easier task: to act as a kneecap between Malinovski and Rokossovski and advance with these two animals towards Allenstein, then Elbing, Heiligenbeil and of course Bartenstein.
Its resources are limited - on the scale of the Red Army of 1944: five armies, two armoured formations. Moreover, beyond the general offensive actions designed to occupy the opposing defences to prevent any castling, Meretskov has only one window of opportunity in which to act: Ostrołęka, around which are the 1st Guards Army (Ivan Chistiakov) and the 3rd Guards Army (Ivan Zakharkin), with the 6th Mechanised Corps (V.V. Koshelev) and the 10th Armoured Corps (Alexei Popov) in the second echelon.
.........
Tanker (Yevgeny Bessonov)
A cautious start
"Our 10th Armoured Corps was not on the front line on the morning of the offensive. Not yet... Tucked away in the shelter of our turret, we listened to the rain in the distance as the gunfire increased. The road to Allenstein - for a start! - will be long and hard. But we had come too far to turn back. So we wait, hard and agonising, even painful. At least let's get on with it and get it over with!
Before nightfall, our wish was granted: we set off across the moor towards a village called Czarnia. The enemy was vaguely identified, the task uncertain... We're not going to be made to load bunkers!
(Tankist! - To the Heart of the Reich with the Red Army, Yevgeny Bessonov, Skyhorse 2017)
.........
The offensive naturally gets off to a strong but difficult start, in the direction of Friedrichshof and Willenberg - against the lines of the II. ArmeeKorps (Paul Laux) and the XXVIII. ArmeeKorps (Herbert Loch). Two formations of the 16. Armee (Christian Hansen), which hold out - but not without difficulty. With everything happening on their right...
Along the Narew and Vistula rivers (2nd Byelorussian Front) - This could be Marshal Konstantin Rokossovski's finest hour! The Pole (according to him) has to bypass Warsaw - the city he had been unable to save three months ago - by the north and south, to strike in the direction of Toruń while flanking Zhukov, on his left, in his race towards the west. In the end, the aim is to reach Danzig! A fine symbol for the men of the 1st Polish Army (J. "Radoslaw" Mazurkiewicz), stationed in the Różan sector.
In the south, the affair proves complex - the enemy is the 4. PanzerArmee (Kurt von der Chevallerie), which holds firm to its banks on the Vistula. Of course, the resources involved are commensurate: three armies, an armoured corps and a mechanised corps. But facing the Landsers, in the Kołbiel, Garwolin and Dęblin sectors, the 54th Army (Sergei Roginski), the 2nd Guards Army (Leonid Govorov) and the 29th Army (Alexander Gorbatov) do not make any spectacular progress, contenting themselves - like their comrades on the Baltic Front - with bleeding the Fascist troops and gaining a foothold in Czersk, Chmielew and Głusiec against the LXIII. ArmeeKorps (Ernst Dehner) and the LXII. ArmeeKorps (Carl Rodenburg). Behind them, Chevallerie of course prepares to engage the XL. PanzerKorps (Eberhard Rodt) and the XLVI. PanzerKorps (Franz Westhoven) - and their three precious Panzer-Divisions. But in due course, not before. Like the Soviets, the Brandenburgers are not in too much of a hurry. He knows as well as Rokossovski that 'good time' will come soon enough.
But to the north, to the north! The unfortunate 2. Armee (Carl Hilpert) takes the brunt of two Soviet armies, which are soon joined by three armoured formations. Not to mention the Poles - few in number, perhaps insignificant on the scale of the front, but highly motivated for those unlucky enough to face them.
The assault proves devastating. In Maków Mazowiecki, the LXI. AK (Ferdinand Neuling) is subjected to a very powerful bombardment by the 3rd Shock Army (Mikhail Purkayev), whose shells literally incinerate the trenches lined with poorly trained reservists and rare veterans. One Feldwebel recalls: "Before June 22nd, there were only 800 of us in the company, instead of the theoretical 1,500. Well, after the shelling, there were only 80 of us". The ensuing assault quickly sweeps away the front lines and Rokossovski immediately injects the 14th Armoured Corps (Ivan Kirichenko) on the road to Ciechanow, threatening to turn the rear of the VIII. ArmeeKorps (Gustav Höhne), just a little further north. Behind them, Mazurkiewicz's Poles are clearing up the terrain, not without clearly enjoying their task...
At the same time, on the Narew, the 15th Army (Georgiy Zakharov) breaks through the lines of the 87. ID (Walter Hartmann) at Dzierżenin, forcing all the rest of the XXIII. ArmeeKorps (Mortimer von Kessel) to lower their heads and begins to push through the 13th Armoured Corps (Boris Bakharov), which quickly sets about extending its red stain towards Gzowo and Pokrzywnica.
Carl Hilpert cannot count on any help. On his right, the 4. PzA is too far away and already occupied. On his left, the same applies to the rest of HG Nord - apart from the poor 3. PanzerArmee (Herman Balck), which had never recovered from the fighting it had lost in the north of Ukraine or the bloodletting it had suffered in the Sarny region, and which is providing the link-up to Chorzele. A mere forty kilometres of front! Which gives you an idea of its strength... Will Georg von Küchler (HG Nord) want to take the XLVII. PanzerKorps (Hans von Funck) to go and help the 2. Armee, which comes under Walter Model's HG Mitte?
In the meantime, with nothing else to hand, the 2. Armee iss reduced to emergency measures. Hilpert orders systematic but costly counter-attacks on the flanks and commits his army's only reserve (Major Oskar Vogler's 325 StuG Abt, on StuG III!), while begging Model and the OKH to send him panzers...
Along the Vistula (3rd Byelorussian Front) - Marshal Georgi Zhukov is given the lion's share of the Nazi adversary: Paul Hausser's dreaded 1. SS-PanzerArmee, so praised by German propaganda. Some might say that he has not inherited the easiest part... and rejoices. His skills are well known and his popularity is now so considerable that some - indeed many - would like to see it melt away in the sunshine of the victorious summer ahead.
Nevertheless, it would be wrong to claim that the Marshal does not have the means to practice his art. He has (after all!) eight armies, two tank armies and three independent formations, two of which are armoured.
Opposite him, Hausser certainly has the most powerful army in the whole of the Ostfront - there is no doubt about that. He has four Panzerkorps under his command, including the formidable PanzerKorps GrossDeutschland (Walter Hornlein) and IV. SS-PanzerKorps (Felix Steiner). But the LXXVIII. PzK is much weaker and the XXXIX. PzK has only one armoured Abteilung! What's more, these corps are not fully manned: three divisions - the 60. Panzergrenadier Feldernhalle (Otto Kohlermann), the 5. SS-Panzer Wiking (Herbert-Otto Gille) and the 23. Panzer (Nikolaus von Vormann) went to Germany for "rest", in reality for reconstitution. Finally, of course, the 1. SS-PanzerArmee is also amputated from the I. and II. SS-PanzerKorps, who had gone to France to defend the Vaterland against these presumptuous Americans. No one knows when they will return...
In exchange, Hausser got three of these new Panzer-Brigades - 103. Panzerbrigade [Panzer IV and JagdPanzer IV] (Oberst Treuhaupt), 104. Panzerbrigade [Leopard and Panther] (Oberst Kurt Gehrke), 107. Panzerbrigade [Panther and JagdPanzer IV] (Major Fritz von Maltzahn). The bad tongues say that they were formed somewhat haphazardly by taking all the reserve, training or independent units that could be found. Which no doubt also explains their mixed equipment!
Smaller and therefore more flexible, says the new doctrine in force. No doubt, but not only that.
The facts are there and they are stubborn. On paper, it looks good. But in reality, all faith in victory aside, the Wehrmacht only ever has four Panzer-Divisions, two Volkgrenadiers divisions (not even really operational!), three Panzer-Brigades, two heavy tank Abteilungen and three self-propelled guns to defend 150 kilometres of the Vistula. That's pretty light... and expensive in the long run, given the lack of infantry. The glorious Panzermanners of New Europe could not be everywhere. Especially as, to the south, there is also the 3rd Ukrainian Front to deal with!
In short, Zhukov is really only facing the equivalent of a large PanzerKorps from 1943. With more powerful tanks, it's true. But there are fewer of them, with less ammunition and no doubt even less petrol. This is going to show, especially when they have to try to maneuver to defend themselves against a red mass whose advance seems inexorable.
It is therefore without insurmountable difficulty that Zhukov's forces gain a foothold on the west bank of the Vistula. Covered on its right by the 4th Airborne Corps (A.F. Kazankin), the 64th Army (Mikhail Sharokin) reaches Łęka and then Kowala, with the 10th Guards Army (Vasily Chuikov) immediately on its left at Sadłowice. Opposite, the 18. Panzer (Erwin Jollasse), isolated and far from its former glory, can only pretend to slow the rush while waiting for better. The advance reaches fifteen kilometres before the end of the night and the crossroads at Zwoleń already seems under threat. Especially with the 69th Army (Mikhail Kazakov) threatening the flank of the 18. Panzer from Kazimierz Dolny.
Moving up the Vistula, the situation is even worse: the 50th Army (Konstantin Golubev) and the 4th Guards Army (Ivan Muzychenko) cross at Marianów and Sulejów - on the lands of Fredericus II, or thereabouts. Golubev and Muzychenko have only the 107. Panzerbrigade, poorly reinforced by the 905. StuG Abt (Major Jobst Veit Braun). These elements prove inadequate for the two masses that fall on them. They retreat, fighting for twenty kilometres as far as Bałtów. The centre of the I. SS-PanzerArmee is already exhausted - it needs reinforcements urgently.
Further south, towards Annopol, the Heer puts up a slightly better show: the 1. Fallschirm-Panzer Hermann-Göring (Paul Konrath) faces the 8th Guards Army (Sergei Trofimenko) and the 60th Army (Ivan Kreyzer)... No more! Very professional, they parry and feint, but still concede Zawichost and Dwikozy, while Sandomierz is fought for at one against ten. However, this mediocre result can be seen as encouraging... if Konrath had hoped to receive any significant reinforcements. But that would not happen tomorrow, or probably the day after.
Faced with the Soviet demonstration, the Panzerwaffe seems outmatched. Admittedly, every time, the panzers, StuGs and grenadiers intervene, or pretend to intervene. But the enemy evades the obstacles, counter the Teutonic armour, envelop the enemy redoubts already muzzled by the powerful Red artillery, and finally succeed in advancing by overrunning and then knocking down all the obstacles. The defenders systematically have to fall back before they are annihilated.
Marshal Zhukov seems to be well on the way to Łódź. Tomorrow, he will already inject the second motorised echelon, to advance westwards. A little early, perhaps - but the Marshal is wary of a possible stalemate battle on Fascist terms, which might follow a controlled retreat. He prefers to provoke encounter confrontations. These might be more costly, but they would force the enemy to come out of the woodwork and be eliminated.
Opposite him in Kielce, Paul Hausser - no fool - can see where the course of the battle and the many failings of his colleagues around him are leading him... "It's not looking good at all. It's not looking good at all, Herr Feldmarshall," he admits to Guderian, who is checking in by phone.
Between the Carpathians, the Vistula and the Dunajec (3rd Ukrainian Front) - That leaves the last front activated for the Oder: that of Marshal Ivan Konev. The forces allocated to Konev are no less considerable than those available to his rival - even counting the troops engaged in the bloody parody known as Dukla-Carpathians. Konev fields six armies, two armoured armies (including one of the Guards, Sergei Bogdanov's!) and three independent formations.
His main adversary of the day is Erhard Raus's 6. Armee, which Ferdinand Schörner's HG B has concentrated as best it could west of Tarnów to defend the road to Kraków - but freeing up some of the riverbank for Hausser on one side and linking up with the 8. Armee in Slovakia. It only fields seven infantry divisions and two StuG Abteilungen, and almost half of these forces hold the flank in the Carpathians. A truly crushing imbalance, which is only imperfectly compensated for by the terrain and the wet stretch of the Dunajec.
Konev knows he has an easy game. So he goes for it. On his right, he pushes aside his only worthy opponent: the IV. SS-PanzerKorps (Felix Steiner) reinforced by the Panzer-Division GrossDeutschland (Hasso von Manteuffel) - the right wing of the I. SS-Panzer-Armee right wing, which the 5th Army (Mikhail Potapov), the 9th Guards Army (Nikolai Pukhov) and the 3rd Airborne Corps (Vasily Glazunov) are able to keep occupied beyond the river. In the centre, on the other hand, Konev strikes hard towards the west with his 4th and 5th Shock Armies (Ivan Maslennikov, Ivan Chernyakovsky). Their respective opponents - the 168. Volksgrenadier (Werner Schmidt-Hammer) and 331. Volksgrenadier (Karl-Ludwig Rhein) are literally pulverised by the impact! The whole of the 6. Armee staggers and falls back towards the Kazimierza Wielka - Brzesko line, to the rhythm of assaults, counter-attacks and desperate defences.
Behind, well covered by the 65th Army (Ivan Boldin), the 4th Tank Army (Dimitri Lelyushenko) and the 1st Guards Tank Army (S.I. Bogdanov) are already preparing to push forward. Ahead of them, the 7th Guards Armoured Corps (Ivan Vasilev) and the 7th Mechanised Corps (Ivan Tutarinov) - the hero and the Cossack - have already moved forward...
Proletarian aviators of all countries, unite!
Fever
"We went to bed in the early hours of the morning, desolate to the bone, our anger already showing beneath the melancholy. Fortunately, as soon as we woke up, the patrols resumed and I was rousted from my bed by Major Albert.
- From Geoffre and Challe, take-off at 10 a.m., free hunting at high altitude, Gołdap-Darkienem sector.
Once again, fate was to have its way. In the grey, damp sky, Challe and I wander over Gross Kalveitchen.
- Is everything all right?
- Yes, everything's fine.
Below us, clouds, forests and lakes, clouds, forests and lakes, nothing but clouds, forests and lakes - and troops, lots of troops, on whom a steely sun shines from time to time, blinding us with every detonation. Moreover, the air is sizzling with sparks, so much so that I find it hard not to lose sight of Challe. He likes gas too. I apply myself. Shot after shot. The patrol continues.
Everything seems to be going smoothly when a scream on the radio upsets the peace. In the glare of the sun, two even brighter flashes: two Messers fall on us. We were taken completely by surprise. I pull on the stick like a madman. The MiG, in a terrible convulsion, twists on itself but doesn't go into a spin. The gust from the Fritz passed fifty metres behind me. A quarter of a second earlier, it had sent me into a world from which there is no return to report on it. And the fight begins.
Every man for himself and God for all. Challe has his and I have mine. To us both, my pretty Kraut! You surprised me but you missed me, you were wrong! As I whirl around, I gain on him. He senses it. He feels that I feel it. Four thousand metres. We descend into the layer but I don't let go. Three thousand metres. We are getting closer to the ground. The rain is coming down on us. So much the better, it's all to the MiG's advantage. I grit my teeth, but then my green Messer 109 - for it is all green, with only its sinister black cross and swastika on a red background - in disgust, swings upright and swoops down towards Gołdap. I try to chase him, but the showers blur my vision. Mad with rage, I dive behind him, asking my MiG for all it can give. The speedometer read 600 or 700 kilometres an hour. Nothing I could do! I increased the dive. I'm at perhaps 80 degrees when the image of Bertrand crashed, victim of a torn shot, flashes through my head. Unconsciously, I pull on my handle. It feels very hard. Much too hard. I try again, gently, so as not to break anything, and little by little it comes towards me. The controls loosen their grip. The MiG's nose straightens. The speed drops slightly. It was about time. I could no longer see clearly. But when I regained consciousness, a fifth of a second later, I realised firstly that I had just skimmed the fir trees, and secondly that I had caught up with my Messer, which was leapfrogging above the peaks in front of me.
The sight of the enemy gives me a boost.
Meter by meter, second by second, I get closer.It gets bigger.It gets bigger.I aim, I shoot. My tracers surround it perfectly.Thick black smoke rises from its fuselage.I keep firing.I seem to be chipping away at it.He sways.He hesitates.
It looks like it's hanging on by a thread, and then it's over, it tumbles and falls in a clearing, in the middle of a cloud of mud, earth, bits of scrap metal, fire and smoke.
But I don't have time to shake hands and congratulate myself. I'm a long way from my base and completely lost. I've got to get back. Heading east. At the bottom there's nothing to guide me, forest after forest. Only ten minutes to go. But head south, head south, damn it. You have to get as deep as you can to try and cross the lines. And then take advantage of the first field big enough to land and save the plane.
The lucky gods were with me that day. I landed safely on an old field about twenty kilometres south of Augustów."
(Captain François de Geoffre, Escadre Franche-Comté/Vistule, Charles Corlet ed. 1952, republished by J'ai Lu / Leur Aventure 1963 under the title Franche-Comté/Vistule)
Vistula-Oder (continued)
At the foot of the wall
OKH, Maybach I bunker (south of Berlin) and Adlerhorst (Kransberg Castle, Hesse) - It took a few hours to confirm and reconfirm it, so enormous did it seem, and yet the facts are there: almost the entire front line of the Heeresgruppen Nord and Mitte is on fire! The reserves are absent, being reconstituted or already committed in France.
The disaster scenario of the Wehrmacht being overwhelmed or even completely submerged - worse than Bagration, we never thought it possible! - invokes the spectre of a cataclysmic debacle, which now lurks in the fevered corridors of the OKH.
The phrase that Hans Krebs utters to an incredulous Adolf Hitler sums up the disarray of the German general staff: "My Führer, the Slavs have raised a huge army!"
In his eagle's nest, clutching his telephone, the dictator blames himself: "It's impossible.Not with the current operations in Hungary"
And yet...
Guderian is quick to use his stature to state the obvious: "We must throw all available forces into the battle. Withdraw from positions already lost. Clear the troops of HG B from Hungary, to recover at least the 8. Armee and 11. Armee and rescue the 6. Armee. Reconcentrate our forces in Silesia and, from there, strike at the enemy's strong points."
- That may take too long, Guderian," Hitler scolds. "We no longer have a choice. In East Prussia, we have to hold on to the essentials, but concede the rest by bleeding them dry. Silesia must be defended at all costs. In the south, withdraw all our forces to the Danube - pull back the 12. Armee south of Budapest, give the Hungarians the keys to their own capital. Ah, Breslau! Breslau must be defended. As for the rest... scorched earth. Burn Krakow, Łódź, Toruń. Leave nothing to the enemy. We're going to fight a campaign... a Napoleonic campaign!
- What about reinforcements?
- Bring back all troops in training or in reconstitution. All of them. Even the ceremonial formations, it's too urgent. But don't cancel Zigeunerbaron, it's vital. As for Schwabenwall's troops, they will arrive too late - let them slow down the Reds on the Hungarian plain, while our men cross the Danube.
- But...
- It's so obvious! The Carpathian barrier divides the theatre of operations. It is impassable, unless you spend weeks there. Our reinforcements can only come from Germany.
As soon as the situation stabilises on the Rhine, we would also recover the two SS PanzerKorps that had pushed the Americans back.
- Zum Befehl.
- Gentlemen, at this tragic time for Germany, I am returning to Berlin. Meet me there. I intend to command directly.
Cautious glances between OKH members. The Guide is tired, he won't be able to do everything. Not to mention the time it would take to organise the transfer.
But Hitler continues: "The Western world will never forgive the Europeans and Anglo-Saxons such a betrayal. The civilisation that has made the world glorious is being abandoned to the Asian masses. The people will not allow it. They will rally around the National Socialist regime like a pack of wolves around its leader. Their very survival depends on it. They will understand this instinctively. That will be all."
- Heil Hitler!
Then nothing more. Everyone returns to their many urgent duties. Guderian is not the least confused - not by his boss, but by events. What did Hausser say to him earlier? About the way things were going?
The art of using Slovaks
Dukla-Carpathians
Kassa/Košice (Greater Hungary) - This time, Dukla-Carpathians is at a standstill, perhaps for good. On both sides, everyone is on the lookout for news from the north, where the cannon fire is much more serious.
Hungary, whatever the cost
Operation Schwabenwall
1st Magyar Army and German armour, Guruslau Depression - It is now certain that the Axis is no longer fighting to capture even Cluj-Napoca, but to guarantee its own survival. While all around, the Ostheer edifice is shaking on its foundations, the illusion of the "Swabian Wall" is crumbling.
To the right of the "Wall", near Huedin (Bánffyhunyad, Heynod), the 38th Army (Kyrill Moskalenko) begins to advance along the road to Élesd (Aleșd) via Kissebes (Poieni, Klein Weichselburg). It leaves the Poic Pass on its right, while the 8th Mechanised Corps (Vladimir Baskakov) continues to secure its flank against the Hungarians of the 1st ID (Gusztáv Deseö), now in full retreat towards Zimbor.
What remains of the two divisions of XLII. AK under Frank Mattenklott have retreated towards the Ursoaia Pass. They no longer amount to much: probably less than a regiment, reinforced (or weighed down) by a host of administrative troops in disarray. As for the 13. Panzer (Helmutt von der Chevallerie) and the 560. schw. PzJ.Abt (Major Rudolf Markowz), they disappear - in fact, they disengage before being overwhelmed and retreat towards Körösfeketetó (Neumarkt, Negreni) to prevent the Reds from threatening Nagyvárad (Großwardein, Oradea).
However, Kyrill Moskalenko objectively does not have the means to do so - at least not on his own and not without a pause. But the Axis front is in such a shambles that Gotthard Heinrici is not prepared to take that risk.
In the centre, the situation seems to be in remission. But the Reds are not pushing very hard! Only one half of the 47th Army (Filipp Zhmachenko), already well beaten, is unlikely to pose a serious threat to the 19. Panzer (Hans Källner) and the 502. schw. Pz Abt (Major Horst Richter-Rethwisch), who are still trying to defend the Zimbor crossroads. To rally the survivors, of course. But also perhaps, tomorrow, to move forward again! Provided, of course, that this proves possible...
On the Axis left flank, the catastrophe is taking shape.
Faced with the mass of the 59th Army (Ivan Korovnikov), the 9th Mechanised Corps (M.I. Savelyev) and the second half of the 47th Army (Filipp Zhmachenko), the 10th ID (Frigyes Vasváry) and the 27th ID (András Zákó) crack.
Driven out of their last positions, they begin to fall back towards Alparét (Krautfeld, Bobâlna) and Dés (Dej). Of course, the 17. Panzer (Karl-Friedrich von der Meden) has not been informed of this withdrawal... but in any case, without asking anyone, it moves towards Nagyiklód (Iclod), to the relief of the 11. Panzer (Wend von Wietersheim). At the same time, the latter tried to pass under the nose of the 16th Armoured Corps (Andrei Getman), between Iclod (Nagyiklód) and Szamosújvár (Neuschloss, Gherla).
The unorganised retreat of these lonely Hungarians takes place in appalling conditions. After losing dozens of horse-drawn vehicles and a handful of lorries in the mud (fortunately, the rain severely hampers the Russian air force!), the Honvèd troops suffer martyrdom in the face of Reds who were far superior in terms of numbers, armour (the handful of Zrínyi II and the surviving Turán are no match for them!) and, to some extent, tactics.
Fortunately for the 10th and 27th IDs, Ivan Korovnikov's forces are themselves rather dispersed and are still digesting the 5th ID (Zoltán Algya-Papp), which has been definitively defeated in the hills east of Bonțida (Bonchida, Bonisbruck)*.
As for von Wietersheim, he manages to get through and join von der Meden - at the cost of heavy losses. His Geisterdivision (ghost division) now has another, less glorious reason to earn its nickname. All that remains now is for the two units to retreat to their starting positions between Dés (Dej) and Zimbor, to stabilise the lines and bleed the enemy points. And perhaps, tomorrow, to relaunch the attack!
But during the night, the orders triggered by the worrying news from the north put an end to the last illusions.
On the Hungarian side, the mirage has already evaporated. The 8th ID (Árpád Maltary), the 1st Mountain Brigade (Ferenc Lóskay) at Magyarlápos and the 2nd Mountain Brigade (Sándor Makray) cross Dés (Dej), which they abandon to the enemy and withdraw towards the Mesteacăn Pass before being pursued.
This retreat does nothing for the Germans, who have still not reached Dés. They are unlikely to forget it...
To counter Schwabenwall
Front of the 11. Armee, Apuseni Mountains - Georg-Hans Reinhardt does not have the honour of a reply to the suggestion of redeployment on an Élesd (Aleșd) - Lippa (Lipova) line, as formulated the day before. It's true that with everything that's going on around her, her 11. Armee is probably not at the top of the command's list of concerns. The Saxon can easily understand that. But he knows that his proposal is still relevant, and might even prove crucial in the days to come.
So he accelerates preparations - even if it means losing ground to the Reds at Zlatna, or even to the Romanians at Poșaga de Jos. Only the 12. Luftwaffen-Feld-Division (Herbert Kettner) has to hold on to the Valisoara Pass against all odds. This position is too strategic to be quickly abandoned. Still, it is a pity that it is being defended by its worst unit...
.........
Front of the 17. Armee, Iron Gates region - Von Arnim's army is in turmoil, like skittles jostled by a huge ball: the 4th Ukrainian Front, which has finally broken through to the edge of the great plain! At the front, the 6th Guards Armoured Corps (Alexander Shamshin) continues to overturn all obstacles as far as Făget (Facsád, Birkendorf), and then immediately continues towards Mănăștiur.
Shamshin has only a confused and discomfited mass in front of him. In order, the 20. Panzergrenadier (Georg Jauer), the 17. SS-Freiwilligen Kavallerie-Division Maria Theresa (August Zehender) and, in the distance, the 14. Panzergrenadier (Erich Schneider), are now all trying to improvise a defensive line between Lugos (Lugosch, Lugoj) and Balinț, as their scattered detachments arrive.
The Soviets have no plans to tackle this obstacle alone. They can probably destroy it, given enough time (and with the support of Valerian Frolov's 14th Army), but that is not their objective. The Red Army can finally play its favourite tune and practise the operative art it had more or less invented! Even with reduced resources. The 6th Guards Armoured Corps heads due east, hoping to overtake the Fascists on their left, leaving the infantry - the 14th Army (Valerian Frolov), then the 6th Guards Army (Pavel Batov) - to clean up behind them. And the 3rd Guards Armoured Corps (Mikhail Panov) is not far away, to assist the 6th Guards Armoured Corps if necessary. "I serve the Soviet Union!"
At the same time, on the flanks of the 17. Armee, the German situation is not much better. On the left, the 18th Army (Andrei Gretchko) continues to push back along the Mureș and as far as Bătuța what remains of the XLVIII. ArmeeKorps and the 190. StuG Abt (Hauptmann Dieter Bender). In fact, the StuG IIIs of this battalion are increasingly used as infantry transports! With a little effort, Gretchko can probably be in Lipova (Lippa) very soon, where Wolfgang Lange is already packing his bags. What a pity we lost so many people and so much energy in the Carpathian mountains!
Fyodor Tolbukhin catches up to the south. The 335. ID (Siegfried Rasp) is flanked at Caransebeș (Karánsebes, Karansebesch) by Vladimir Kolpakchi's 62nd Army, which quickly gets into trouble. However, the bulk of the German troops manage to push northwards towards Lugos (Lugoš, Lugosch). This town might soon be threatened by troops from the Mureș... Of course, Gustav Gihr and his 95. ID - who are already there - do well not to wait for their comrades. But for them, it may just be a postponement!
Maybe so, because the Soviet troops are far from being in good shape. Routed opponent or not, the 4th Ukrainian Front still looks very tired.
* Captured, Zoltán Algya-Papp spent ten years in prison for murdering civilians during the occupation of Ukraine. Released in 1954, he emigrated to the West before passing away in 1987.
