Schwerpunkt!

The battles on the Dnieper had been bitter and costly. The salient at Cherkassy was the last crossing still held by the Germans. In January, Russian armored pincers had torn past the salient, boldly netting a pocket containing 7 German …

1944-02-16

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The battles on the Dnieper had been bitter and costly. The salient at Cherkassy was the last crossing still held by the Germans. In January, Russian armored pincers had torn past the salient, boldly netting a pocket containing 7 German divisions. It fell on the armored force of the III Panzer Corps to relieve the pocket and save the 56,000 men that were trapped within. The 1st Panzer Division, in conjunction with Schwere Panzer Abteilung Baeke, made a thrust for Hill 239. The high ground dominated the surrounding steppe; its capture was critical to the breakout of the forces in the cauldron. The heavy tanks of Baeke’s regiment engaged the Soviet 5th Guard Tank Army in a desperate struggle for the hill. Three German tanks made it to the crest, only to be forced off by flanking fire. Russian tanks counterattacked from the northern road, and the eastern and southern forests. Over 70 T-34s were destroyed in the ensuing battle, but the German attack was brought to a standstill. The heavy tank regiment, whose successes had tallied over 400 kills since its inception, had been stopped.

Lissjanka, Ukraine

The Battle of the Korsun–Cherkasy Pocket was a World War II battle fought from 24 January to 16 February 1944 in the course of the Soviet Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive in Ukraine following the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky Offensive. In the battle, theist and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, commanded, respectively, by Nikolai Vatutin and Ivan Konev, encircled German forces of Army Group South in a pocket near the Dnieper River. During weeks of fighting, the two Red Army Fronts tried to eradicate the pocket. The encircled German units attempted a breakout in coordination with a relief attempt by other German forces, resulting in heavy casualties, estimates of which vary.

Wikipedia: Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket

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