The Gumbinnen Operation,[3] also known as the Goldap Operation (or Goldap-Gumbinnen Operation, Russian: Гумбиннен-Гольдапская наступательная операция), was a Soviet offensive on the Eastern Front late in 1944, in which forces of the 3rd Belorussian Front attempted to penetrate the borders of East Prussia.
The operation was planned as a result of the success of the Memel Offensive Operation to the north. The troops of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian Fronts had succeeded in pushing the Third Panzer Army back to the East Prussian border, surrounding the city of Memel and reaching the shore of the Curonian Lagoon. Stavka permitted Chernyakhovsky to further exploit this success by attacking along the Gumbinnen – Insterburg – Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) axis deep into East Prussia.
Chernyakhovsky's plan involved using the 11th Guards and 5th Armies to break open the German defensive lines, before pushing through exploitation forces from the 2nd Guards Tank Corps and 28th Army. The 31st and 39th Armies would advance on the flanks of the main force.
The opposing German forces, from the Third Panzer and Fourth Armies, were aided by the presence of substantial fortifications, and had been heavily reinforced.
On 16 October, the 5th and 11th Guards Armies went onto the offensive and initially penetrated some 11 km into the German defensive belt. The flanking armies commenced operations the next day, when units of the 11th Guards Army had already crossed the East Prussian border.
German troops on the outskirts of Gołdap, retaken on 3 November 1944
The Soviet troops ran into extremely strong resistance. It took them four days to penetrate the initial tactical defenses, and the second defense line was so strong that Chernyakhovsky was compelled to commit the 2nd Guards Tank Corps to break it. Casualties were extremely heavy.
On 20 October, the second line was ruptured by the 11th Guards Army and 2nd Guards Tank Corps east of Gumbinnen, defended by the guns of the 18th Anti-Aircraft Division and the Fallschirm-Panzerdivision Hermann Göring, which had been redeployed in the area to counter the Soviet advance. On 21 October, the Soviet reserve, the 28th Army, was committed, but the offensive in the north was fought to a standstill in the region of Ebenrode because of effective German counterattacks.
Gumbinnen was taken by 22 October but was retaken by German forces on 24 October after the Germans had committed the 5th Panzer Division, and Heavy Panzer Detachment 505 (equipped with Tiger IIs). Also, Nemmersdorf, on the banks of the Angrapa River, was taken by units of the 2nd Guards Tank Corps on 21 October but was retaken by German forces on 23 October.
Units of 11th Guards Army found themselves cut off in the area of Großwaltersdorf and were involved in intense fighting. In the meantime, the Germans had pressed more reserves, including the 102nd Panzer and Führer Grenadier Brigades into counterattacks at Goldap, on the southern sector of the Soviet penetration. The town was retaken on 25 October.
The Soviet attacks continued until 27 October, as the flanking armies sought to close up to the 11th Guards Army.
There was more fighting in the operation's immediate aftermath: on 28 October, the 31st Army retook Gołdap in a surprise attack. The town was again taken by the 5th Panzer Division, which was redeployed from the Gumbinnen area on 3 November.
See alsoedit
East Prussian Offensive, in which the Front renewed its attack into East Prussia the following January, this time successfully.
Dieckert, K. and Großmann, H. Der Kampf um Ostpreußen, Gräfe und Unzer Verlag, München, 1960
Frieser, Karl-Heinz; Schmider, Klaus; Schönherr, Klaus; Schreiber, Gerhard; Ungváry, Kristián; Wegner, Bernd (2007). Die Ostfront 1943/44 – Der Krieg im Osten und an den Nebenfronten [The Eastern Front 1943–1944: The War in the East and on the Neighbouring Fronts] (in German). Vol. VIII. München: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. ISBN978-3-421-06235-2. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
Glantz, D.The Failures of Historiography: Forgotten Battles of the Soviet-German War,
Zeidler, Manfred (1996). Kriegsende im Osten – Die Rote Armee und die Besetzung Deutschlands östlich von Oder und Neiße 1944/45 [End of War in the East - The Red Army and the Occupation of Germany east of Oder and Neisse 1944/45] (in German). Munich: Oldenbourg. ISBN3-486-56187-1.
December 20, 2023
gumbinnen, operation, battle, same, area, during, world, battle, gumbinnen, part, eastern, front, world, iigerman, panther, tank, goldap, november, 1944date16, october, 1944locationeast, prussia, germanyresultgerman, victorybelligerents, germany, soviet, union. For the battle in the same area during World War I see Battle of Gumbinnen Gumbinnen OperationPart of Eastern Front of World War IIGerman Panther tank in Goldap November 1944Date16 30 October 1944LocationEast Prussia GermanyResultGerman victoryBelligerents Germany Soviet UnionCommanders and leadersGeorg Hans ReinhardtFriedrich HossbachErhard RausIvan ChernyakhovskyKuzma GalitskyPyotr ShafranovAlexander LuchinskyIvan LyudnikovVasily GlagolevTimofey KhryukinUnits involvedArmy Group Centre 4th Army 3rd Panzer Army3rd Belorussian Front 11th Guards Army 5th Army 28th Army 39th Army 31st Army 1st Air ArmyStrength318 tanks assault guns and tank destroyers 1 377 300 men 2 Casualties and losses16 236 men 2 6 801 killed or missing 9 435 wounded 115 tanks and assault guns destroyed 2 79 527 men 2 16 819 killed or missing 62 708 wounded 914 tanks and assault guns destroyed 2 The Gumbinnen Operation 3 also known as the Goldap Operation or Goldap Gumbinnen Operation Russian Gumbinnen Goldapskaya nastupatelnaya operaciya was a Soviet offensive on the Eastern Front late in 1944 in which forces of the 3rd Belorussian Front attempted to penetrate the borders of East Prussia Contents 1 Planning 2 Deployments 2 1 Wehrmacht 2 2 Red Army 3 Offensive 4 See also 5 References 6 BibliographyPlanning editThe operation was planned as a result of the success of the Memel Offensive Operation to the north The troops of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian Fronts had succeeded in pushing the Third Panzer Army back to the East Prussian border surrounding the city of Memel and reaching the shore of the Curonian Lagoon Stavka permitted Chernyakhovsky to further exploit this success by attacking along the Gumbinnen Insterburg Konigsberg now Kaliningrad axis deep into East Prussia Chernyakhovsky s plan involved using the 11th Guards and 5th Armies to break open the German defensive lines before pushing through exploitation forces from the 2nd Guards Tank Corps and 28th Army The 31st and 39th Armies would advance on the flanks of the main force The opposing German forces from the Third Panzer and Fourth Armies were aided by the presence of substantial fortifications and had been heavily reinforced Deployments editWehrmacht edit Army Group Centre Colonel General Georg Hans Reinhardt Southern flank of Third Panzer Army Colonel General Erhard Raus XXXX Panzer Corps General Sigfrid Henrici IX Corps General Rolf Wuthmann Northern flank of Fourth Army General of the Infantry Friedrich Hossbach XXVII Corps General Maximilian Felzmann XXXXI Panzer Corps General Helmuth Weidling Fallschirm Panzerkorps Hermann Goring Lieutenant General Wilhelm Schmalz VI Corps General Horst Grossmann Red Army edit 3rd Belorussian Front General Ivan Chernyakhovsky 11th Guards Army Colonel General Kuzma Galitsky 2nd Guards Tank Corps Major General Alexei Burdeinei 5th Army Lieutenant General Pyotr Shafranov for Colonel General Nikolay Krylov 28th Army Lieutenant General Alexander Luchinsky 39th Army Lieutenant General Ivan Lyudnikov 31st Army Colonel General Vasily Glagolev 1st Air Army Colonel General of Aviation Timofey Khryukin Offensive editOn 16 October the 5th and 11th Guards Armies went onto the offensive and initially penetrated some 11 km into the German defensive belt The flanking armies commenced operations the next day when units of the 11th Guards Army had already crossed the East Prussian border nbsp German troops on the outskirts of Goldap retaken on 3 November 1944The Soviet troops ran into extremely strong resistance It took them four days to penetrate the initial tactical defenses and the second defense line was so strong that Chernyakhovsky was compelled to commit the 2nd Guards Tank Corps to break it Casualties were extremely heavy On 20 October the second line was ruptured by the 11th Guards Army and 2nd Guards Tank Corps east of Gumbinnen defended by the guns of the 18th Anti Aircraft Division and the Fallschirm Panzerdivision Hermann Goring which had been redeployed in the area to counter the Soviet advance On 21 October the Soviet reserve the 28th Army was committed but the offensive in the north was fought to a standstill in the region of Ebenrode because of effective German counterattacks Gumbinnen was taken by 22 October but was retaken by German forces on 24 October after the Germans had committed the 5th Panzer Division and Heavy Panzer Detachment 505 equipped with Tiger IIs Also Nemmersdorf on the banks of the Angrapa River was taken by units of the 2nd Guards Tank Corps on 21 October but was retaken by German forces on 23 October Units of 11th Guards Army found themselves cut off in the area of Grosswaltersdorf and were involved in intense fighting In the meantime the Germans had pressed more reserves including the 102nd Panzer and Fuhrer Grenadier Brigades into counterattacks at Goldap on the southern sector of the Soviet penetration The town was retaken on 25 October The Soviet attacks continued until 27 October as the flanking armies sought to close up to the 11th Guards Army There was more fighting in the operation s immediate aftermath on 28 October the 31st Army retook Goldap in a surprise attack The town was again taken by the 5th Panzer Division which was redeployed from the Gumbinnen area on 3 November See also editEast Prussian Offensive in which the Front renewed its attack into East Prussia the following January this time successfully References edit Frieser et al 2007 p 612 a b c d e Frieser et al 2007 p 616 Glantz Failures of HistoriographyBibliography editThis article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations October 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Dieckert K and Grossmann H Der Kampf um Ostpreussen Grafe und Unzer Verlag Munchen 1960 Frieser Karl Heinz Schmider Klaus Schonherr Klaus Schreiber Gerhard Ungvary Kristian Wegner Bernd 2007 Die Ostfront 1943 44 Der Krieg im Osten und an den Nebenfronten The Eastern Front 1943 1944 The War in the East and on the Neighbouring Fronts in German Vol VIII Munchen Deutsche Verlags Anstalt ISBN 978 3 421 06235 2 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help Glantz D The Failures of Historiography Forgotten Battles of the Soviet German War https web archive org web 20161216063344 http fmso leavenworth army mil documents failures htm Zeidler Manfred 1996 Kriegsende im Osten Die Rote Armee und die Besetzung Deutschlands ostlich von Oder und Neisse 1944 45 End of War in the East The Red Army and the Occupation of Germany east of Oder and Neisse 1944 45 in German Munich Oldenbourg ISBN 3 486 56187 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gumbinnen Operation amp oldid 1189445219, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
