To the 70 anniversary of the counter-offensive. Elets offensive

December 5 2011 1

The ancient, like Russia itself, the city-warrior and the city-worker Yelets (the city was first mentioned in the annals of 1146) wrote many nice pages in its history. He was an important stronghold that blocked the enemy. Especially famous in the history of the city is the battle of the summer of 1395. Then the army of a formidable commander and conqueror of many peoples and lands of Tamerlan went to Russia. After the inhabitants of the city refused to capitulate, the army of the Iron Cromian broke the resistance of the villagers and broke into the fortress. All the defenders and residents were killed, only Prince Fyodor and his boyars were captured. But after this battle, the army of Tamerlane retreated and did not go deep into Russia.

During World War II, Yelets again with his chest stood in the way of the enemy, who was trying to take the capital of the USSR. At the end of November 1941, the situation on this sector of the Soviet-German front was very difficult. The Germans 22 November captured Efremov, 26 November - Livny, December 3 - Pavelets and December 4 - Yelets. As a result of heavy defensive battles, the Soviet troops suffered significant losses, needed to be replenished with people and equipment, and rest. But, despite this, the Red Army soldiers and commanders stubbornly held on to each defensive line. Especially fierce battles were for populated areas. Some of them passed from hand to hand several times.

To stabilize the situation, the command of the Southwestern Front (commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko) brought into the battle fresh forces, including the newly formed infantry, tank and artillery units. These measures helped stabilize the front line and prepare for a counteroffensive.

The Nazis began terror in Yelets, shot the wounded Red Army soldiers who remained in the city. Residents rescued many of them. Risking their lives, they hid the wounded Soviet soldiers, for example, the teacher of elementary school No. 4 V.F. Lyashkova hid 33 wounded from the Germans. In this noble and dangerous business, her students helped her. The partisan movement began almost immediately, the partisans killed the Germans, destroyed the communication lines, attacked the wagons. On December 6, a partisan detachment burst into Olypanets and freed our captured soldiers. The partisans took an active part in the offensive operation that began on December 6. They corrected artillery fire, Soviet raids aviation, showed workarounds with which you could bypass enemy strongholds, helped in the liberation of settlements. Before the liberation of Yelets, partisans killed more than a hundred Nazis in the city itself and its environs.

Plans of the Soviet command. Forces of the parties

The High Command and the Front set up the command of the 13 Army (Commander Major General Avksentiy Mikhailovich Gorodnyansky) and the 3 Army (Commander Major General Yakov G. Kreyzer) of the South-Western Front. First, defeat the Wehrmacht’s Yelets grouping (part of the 2 of the German army) and thereby help the advancing forces of the Western Front; secondly, by breaking through the army mobile group towards Khomutov and Upper, to create a threat to the rear of the 2 tank army of Heinz Guderian.

According to the plan of command, the Soviet troops were to deliver the main attack from the Terbuny, Borki, Natalyivka areas in the general direction of Nikitsky, that is, on the flank and rear of the enemy grouping in the Yelets area. At the same time, bypassing Yelets from the north, an auxiliary blow was struck from the Maslovo, Rogatov area in the direction of Trosny, Nikitsky. Both attacks, which were aimed at Nikitsky, should have led to the complete encirclement and liquidation of the enemy grouping.

For this operation, 2 shock groups were formed. It was assumed that the main attack would be delivered by the forces of the mobile strike group of the South-Western Front, Lieutenant General Fedor Yakovlevich Kostenko (the group was created from the reserves of the front). The group included the 1-I Guards Rifle Division, Major General I.N. Russiyanova, 5 th cavalry corps of Major General V.D. Kryuchenkina, the 34-I motorized brigade of A. A. Shamnin and the 129-I tank brigade under the command of P.М. Zykov. It was about 20 thousand people, more 200 guns and mortars, 82 machine guns and 360 light machine guns. This grouping was able to unnoticeably form and redeploy for a strike, its appearance was a complete surprise for the Germans.

An auxiliary strike from the north, bypassing Yelets, to divert the Germans, was to be delivered by units of Major General AM Gorodnyansky's 13 Army, where they formed a mobile force group commanded by General Kirill Semenovich Moskalenko. It should be noted that the 13 Army was heavily drained of previous battles, it included 6 small rifle divisions and one cavalry division, as well as one tank brigade, where not a single tank remained. In total, there were about 19 thousand people in the “army”. From the turn of the city of Ephraim, the Germans were preparing to attack the 3-I army of General Ya.G. Kreiser.

At the beginning of the counteroffensive, the Soviet troops had a slight advantage in personnel (Soviet forces had about 65 thousand people). But in armament - in armored vehicles, guns and mortars, machine guns - the Germans had superiority. In fact, according to the theory of military art, the Red Army could not succeed in the offensive.

Offensive

After completing the concentration of forces and preparation for the offensive, on December 6 on 10 hours, 13 Army General AM Gorodnyansky went on the offensive. The strongest grouping of the 13 of the German army (Commander General Maximilian von Weichs) as part of the 2's infantry divisions - 3, 262 and 134 played against the advancing units of the 45 Army. The Hitler command took into account the significant operational value of Yelets, which was the basis for the development of the further attack on Zadonsk, Voronezh, Lipetsk. That is why such a significant force was allocated to the defense of the city of Yelets. During 6 December, units of 13 Army of General Gorodnyansky fought fierce battles on the entire front. The shock group of the army was able to approach the northeastern edge of the city. Began fierce fighting for the city. 8 December, the northern flank of the army troops was freed by Khmelenets and entered the Yelets-Efremov highway. The 148 Rifle Division led street battles in the center of Yelets, taking it quarter by quarter. According to eyewitnesses to these battles, the city was shrouded in thick clouds of smoke and was shaking from constant explosions. Fights in the city continued at night. By the morning of December 9 1941, the 148 Division released the Elec. 143-i and 307-rifle divisions, which covered Yelets from the south and north, greatly assisted in the liberation of the city. On December 9, the city of Yelets was completely liberated from the Nazis.

Our troops, without stopping the onslaught, continued to advance in the direction of the Cossacks. The Germans, unable to withstand the onslaught of the Soviet army, closing with rear guards and air strikes, which they hurriedly transferred to this sector of the front, began to retreat to the line of the Vorgol river. Gathering in the area of Cossacks and Myagkaya, build two defense knots so that, relying on them, stop the movement of the Red Army. But to solve this problem the command of the German army failed, the line of defense of the Wehrmacht was broken.

December 7 in 7 hours went on the offensive strike group of General F.Ya. Kostenko. The group delivered the main blow in the direction of Nikitsky, towards the formations of the 13 Army. Part of the group - the 34-I motorized rifle brigade - was thrown at Livny to gain a deeper coverage of the German forces. During the fierce battle at the end of December 10, the main forces of the 95 and 45 of the German infantry divisions were defeated, and the Soviet troops went to the rear of the enemy grouping in the Yelets area, cutting off the Germans' retreat routes to the west.

In order to surround the departing main units of the 34 Army Corps, our troops had to accelerate the pace of movement. Therefore, the motorized rifle brigade of Colonel A.A. Shamshina and the 1 Cavalry Division were ordered to take the Khomutovo-Verkhovye line and seize the knot of roads to Verkhovye. Parts of Kryuchenkina's cavalry corps continued the counter-offensive on the morning of December 11. They passed the day 30-40 km and December 12 took to the line Yelets-Orel. On the same day, cavalrymen of the division after a fierce battle occupied Shatilovo, more than 200 units of vehicles were captured there. The cavalrymen also captured Rossoshny and by the end of the day went into the area of Orev. On the same day they occupied Nikitino.

In Shatilovo, Soviet cavalry crushed the headquarters of the 34 Army Corps. The corps commander, according to the captured Germans, threw his troops and fled by plane. As a result of the successful throwing of the Kryuchenkin cavalcade units, the rear of the 45 and 134 of the German infantry divisions were routed, and the withdrawal routes of the German units to the west, which fell into the "boiler", were cut off. Parts of the 1 Guards Rifle Division of the Russiyanov 13 December captured Izmalkovo.

The compounds of the two infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht (45 and 134) fell into the "boiler". Pressed by the connections of General Moskalenko from the east, the Germans concentrated all their forces near the settlements of Shatilovo, Rossoshnoye and went to break through the ring, attacking the cavalry units of Kryuchenkin’s corps. The cavalry, already much worn out after several days of continuous fighting, could not withstand the blow of the more technically equipped Wehrmacht infantry. The cavalrymen left Shatilovo and Rossoshnoye, retreated to the south-west and occupied a new line of defense at the turn of Verkhnyaya Lyubovsh, Zybino, Shcherbachi. The next day, December 14, the German units continued their desperate attacks, trying to force their way west. The Germans directed their main efforts to the flanks of the cavalry corps, trying to bypass them from the north and south. Some German units were able to enter the communications and interrupted the supply of cavalry units. The cavalry was in a very difficult position. Parts were drained of blood and exhausted by the battles, ammunition, food and fodder ended.

From the command of the cavalry corps there were messages one more disturbing than the other: "The enemy, trying to escape to the west, flows around the flanks of the cavalry corps"; in an hour: “The 32-I and 14-I cavalry divisions are cut off from the corps corps headquarters, and the headquarters of the 32-division is cut off from their regiments. The headquarters of the cavalry corps is connected with the 32 division of G.A. Kovalev supports only by radio ... with the 14-th division A.I. There is no Belogorsk connection at all ... the control is violated ... ”. To support the cavalrymen, an 34 motorized brigade was urgently dispatched, and the corps was also attempted to be supported from the air. The Germans, realizing the complexity of their position, threw themselves into new attacks.

15-th Germans made the last attempt to break through, gathering all the forces in the shock fist. The Germans struck from the area of Rossoshensky in the direction of Krivets, the attack was led by the commander of the German 134 Infantry Division, General Cohenhausen. But the cavalrymen withstood this attack, the enemy was dispersed, the German general was killed. After that, the organized resistance was broken, part of the Germans surrendered to captivity, others fled through the forest. 16-th remnants of the group were destroyed or captured. As a result, the 134-i and 45-i infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht were virtually destroyed.

December 18 was restored Bryansk Front. It includes 3-I, 13-I armies and fresh 61-I army. Colonel-General Y.T. Cherevychenko was appointed its commander. Having regrouped and replenished his forces, Cherevichienko led them to the offensive. In the second half of December, the armies of the Bryansk Front advanced 30-110 kilometers. But by the end of December, they were stopped by well-organized resistance and counterattacks by the German troops and went on the defensive.

Operation value

The uniqueness of the Yelets offensive operation was that in the area of the town of Yelets, the troops of the right flank of the Southwestern Front immediately moved from defense to counterattack without a preliminary operational pause. This was unexpected for the German command.

As a result of the Yelets operation, the Soviet troops advanced 80-100 km, cleared an area of approximately 8000 square from the Germans. m, freed from the Nazis, the eastern part of the territory of the Oryol region - Krasnozoresensky, Korsakov, Novoderevinka areas, that is, more than 400 settlements. Including the important Yelets railway junction - the city of Efremov. Already on 7 in the morning on 9 in December 1941, the first repair train arrived at Elets railway station, and on December 10 the first military train passed through the city. Thus, the railway communication between the center of the Soviet Union and its southern regions was fully restored.

The Yelets projection was eliminated, the front line was stabilized, and the situation on the right flank of the Southwestern Front was normalized. The front troops surrounded and destroyed the Wehrmacht 2 infantry divisions, dealt a heavy blow to the 2 of the German army. The Germans lost 16 to thousands of people killed and wounded near Yelets, 226 guns, more than 900 vehicles, 319 machine guns and many other military assets were captured as trophies.

In addition, the Yelets offensive operation diverted part of the forces of the 2 German Tank Army to itself, rendering this significant assistance to the troops of the left wing of the Western Front. Favorable conditions were created for the defeat of the German troops south of Tula.