Soviet artillery in the Battle of Kursk and in the last stages of the Second World War

The defeat of Hitler's divisions in Stalingrad became a real bucket of icy water poured by the Soviet Union on the collective German head. Until that moment in the Reich, only rare individuals allowed themselves to say something about pacifism, and only those who were perceived as local crazy spoke about the possibility of defeat in the war. But when the whole field marshal surrendered, the first truly serious panic mood crept across Germany. And more and more people began to appear who understood that the war could be lost.

Hitler tried to take revenge. After several unsuccessful operations by Soviet troops near Kharkov and in the Donbass, the Wehrmacht took a little spirits. The "general" battle, which, according to Hitler, was supposed to regain Germany's advantage in the war and "finish off" the USSR - a battle within the framework of Operation Citadel. The Nazis planned to strike from two directions on the Kursk salient, where Soviet troops wedged more than 100 km into the enemy's defenses, and to develop the offensive.

German troops saturated the approaches to the area of ​​the future operation with heavy armored vehicles. The Red Army was faced with a difficult task - to restrain the offensive impulse of the enemy. And for containment, effective, including anti-tank, means were needed. One of the main places in such a situation was played by artillery.

Additional Difficulty - New German Tanksthat appeared on the Kursk Bulge - tanks with reinforced frontal armor, against which not all the usual and proven means were effective. I had to make new decisions.

The story "God of War" on the TK "Zvezda" tells about the role of Soviet artillery and artillery crews in the Battle of Kursk and in the subsequent stages of the Great Patriotic War:

Comments

[Flooding]

"After the hospital where I got there, I got there"
The situation described in many works about the Great Patriotic War. How many have been re-read. Favorite books of any Soviet boy.
But there were few artillerymen among them. Immediately came to mind only the work about the battalion commander of 122mm howitzers, I don't remember the name.

[Insurgent]

Hitler tried to take revenge. After several unsuccessful operations by Soviet troops near Kharkov and on the Donbass in the Wehrmacht perked up a little.

Here I would like to insert my own remark. If the operation near Kharkov is widely known, then little is said about attempts to break through the German defense system on Mius at that time.

The subsequent events that led to the breaking of this line of defense are described more broadly and in detail than the previous events in March 1942, when the first attempts by Soviet troops were made to test the strength of the German defense in this sector. According to the plan of the command, the southern front of R. Malinovsky was to cut off the ledge between Matveyev Kurgan and Sambek with a sudden blow and liberate the city of Taganrog. The depth of the operation was shallow, only about 40 km, and it was supposed to be carried out within two or three days.

The forces allocated for the operation consisted of four divisions and six brigades of the 56th Army, 260 guns and 60 tanks. From the reserves of the Headquarters, the newly formed tank brigade and the 3rd Guards. a rifle corps, the core of which was one of the first Soviet guards formations - the 2nd Guards Rifle Division. In addition to the 2nd Guards. rifle division in the operation was attended by naval rifle brigades.
The offensive began on March 8, 1942, but it was not possible to break into the defenses that had been preparing for several months.
The second phase of the operation, which began on March 14, also did not bring decisive results.
The last attempt to break into the Mius Front with reinforced units of the Guards Corps took place on March 23-26, 1942.

[Eug]

Most of the attempts to carry out the operation were made in the Vyazma-Rzhev sectors, near Kharkov and on the Mius front. If successful, the outcome of any of them would be strategic. But most of them were unsuccessful ..

[Insurgent]

Quote: Eug

Most of the attempts to carry out the operation were made in the Vyazma-Rzhev sectors, near Kharkov and on the Mius front. If successful, the outcome of any of them would be strategic. But most of them were unsuccessful ..

But in the end, due to the prevailing situation on the fronts, it was possible to break into the defense on Mius.

[Petr Vladimirovich]

D 30. Excellent howitzer! In the Democratic Republic of Korea in 1975, at the final combat firing, he helped cadets shoot, since even at a target, T 34 was hit straight ...

[sharp-lad]

"Hot Snow", by Yuri Vasilievich Bondarev?

[Flooding]

Quote: sharp-lad

"Hot Snow", by Yuri Vasilievich Bondarev?

Thank you. She is the most. That library has long been gone. It's even a shame that such things are forgotten.

[Thunderbolt]

Until that moment in the Reich, only rare individuals allowed themselves to say something about pacifism, and only those who were perceived as local crazy spoke about the possibility of defeat in the war. But when the whole field marshal surrendered, the first truly serious panic mood crept across Germany. AND more and more people began to appear who understood that the war could be lost.

Actually, the Prussian cadre corps understood this even before June 22, because. war on 2 fronts is kaput, all those smart colonels ...
P.S. After the battles near the city of Moscow, enlightenment came and before the tactical, let's say, flight, the generals of divisions and corps understood what awaited them. And a simple soldatn realized this from the first shot over the Bug.

[Your stranger]

East, Africa and naval and air warfare in the west,
In the east, I made my first mistake when I went to Leningrad at 41, and not to the south it would have been much sadder

[Eug]

There is an amazing book on the Internet "The Gunners, Stalin Gave the Order" by Mikhin. Alas, I don’t remember the initials ...

[Konnick]

There is an amazing book on the Internet "The Gunners, Stalin Gave the Order" by Mikhin. I don't remember the initials, alas

There are also front-line myths.