The Orsha offensives were a series of battles fought in Belarus between the Red Army and the Wehrmacht during the autumn of 1943, and into the following winter. Orsha was a main road junction with the north–south route from Leningrad to Kiev and the east–west route from Minsk to Moscow. After the failure of Operation Typhoon in the winter of 1941, Army Group Centre had spent the most part on the defensive in the central sector of the front. The time afforded to them in 1942, a distinct period of inactivity in this area, allowed the Wehrmacht to build formidable defensive positions.
The 4th Army was in retreat to the Panther-Wotan line, pursued by the Soviets. Troops from the Soviet Western Front then launched a heavy attack on both sides of the Minsk-Moscow highway. One thrust was directed at Orsha, a main road junction, and another at Bogushevsk.[1]
Referencesedit
^Glantz D.M. (1995) The failures of historiography: Forgotten battles of the German‐Soviet war (1941–1945), Journal of Slavic Military Studies 8(4): 768–808
Literatureedit
Frieser K-H., Schmider K. & Schönherr K. (2007) Das deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg, Vol. 8, Die Ostfront 1943/44, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart: 1350 pp.
orsha, offensives, 1943, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, orsha, offensives, 1943, news, newspapers, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Orsha offensives 1943 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message Orsha offensivesPart of The Eastern Front of World War IIDateOctober 12 1943 November 19 1943LocationOrsha region Belarus Soviet Union54 30 N 30 25 E 54 50 N 30 42 E 54 50 30 42ResultGerman defensive victoryBelligerents Soviet UnionGermanyCommanders and leadersVasily SokolovskyGotthard HeinriciStrengthWestern Front310 900 men with steady reinforcements4th Army 193 510 men heavy fortificationsCasualties and lossesUnknownUnknown The Orsha offensives were a series of battles fought in Belarus between the Red Army and the Wehrmacht during the autumn of 1943 and into the following winter Orsha was a main road junction with the north south route from Leningrad to Kiev and the east west route from Minsk to Moscow After the failure of Operation Typhoon in the winter of 1941 Army Group Centre had spent the most part on the defensive in the central sector of the front The time afforded to them in 1942 a distinct period of inactivity in this area allowed the Wehrmacht to build formidable defensive positions Contents 1 Prelude 2 The battles 3 References 4 LiteraturePrelude edit nbsp Panther Wotan Line After their defeat in the Battle of Smolensk the Wehrmacht retreated on a broad front to the Panther Stellung line The German 4th Army Heinrici part of Army Group Centre took defensive positions near Orsha To the north the 3rd Panzer Army Reinhardt took up defensive lines around Vitebsk and to the south the 9th Army Model held the area east of Bobrujsk The Soviet Stavka saw the liberation of Ukraine as their primary goal so the Lower Dnieper Offensive had priority in equipment and reinforcements The battles editThe 4th Army was in retreat to the Panther Wotan line pursued by the Soviets Troops from the Soviet Western Front then launched a heavy attack on both sides of the Minsk Moscow highway One thrust was directed at Orsha a main road junction and another at Bogushevsk 1 References edit Glantz D M 1995 The failures of historiography Forgotten battles of the German Soviet war 1941 1945 Journal of Slavic Military Studies 8 4 768 808Literature editFrieser K H Schmider K amp Schonherr K 2007 Das deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg Vol 8 Die Ostfront 1943 44 Deutsche Verlags Anstalt Stuttgart 1350 pp Portal nbsp Soviet Union Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Orsha offensives 1943 amp oldid 1220164914, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
