Kozelsk Offensive

Kozelsk Offensive
Part of the Eastern Front of World War II
Date 22 August–9 September 1942 Location southwestern Kaluga Oblast, Soviet Union Result Soviet offensive defeat
Belligerents
Soviet Union	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Georgy Zhukov Prokofy Romanenko Ivan Bagramyan Pavel Belov	Rudolf Schmidt
Units involved
3rd Tank Army 16th Army 61st Army	2nd Panzer Army
Strength
218,000 men About 700 tanks	About 200 tanks and assault guns
Casualties and losses
12,134 killed 22,415 wounded 500 tanks	Unknown

The Kozelsk Offensive (Russian: Козельская наступательная операция) was an offensive conducted by parts of the Red Army's Western Front against the German 2nd Panzer Army in southwestern Kaluga Oblast on the Eastern Front of World War II between 22 August and 9 September 1942.

The attack of the 2nd Panzer Army in early August created a small salient in the Soviet line. The Western Front sent the 3rd Tank Army, with the 16th and 61st Armies as support, to launch an attack to cut off the German troops in the salient. The Soviet offensive bogged down in the face of unfavorable terrain and German defenses and air superiority. Although the three armies managed to reduce the size of the salient by around 9 kilometers (5.6 mi), they suffered heavy losses, especially in tanks. The offensive failed to achieve its objective, but tied down German armored units in a secondary sector.

The German 2nd Panzer Army, commanded by Rudolf Schmidt, launched Operation Wirbelwind, an attack meant to shorten Army Group Centre's frontline by cutting off and defeating the Soviet troops of the 10th and 16th Armies stationed in the Kirov and Sukhinichi salient, on 11 August. The original attack plan would have involved a simultaneous advance of the 2nd Panzer Army form the south and the 4th Army from the north, which was to cut off the salient at its base. However, the Rzhev–Sychevka Offensive, a Soviet attack that began in late July, forced the relocation of most of the 4th Army to reinforce the defense of Rzhev. At the insistence of Army Group Centre commander Günther von Kluge, the offensive took place despite this, and the attack was made with only the forces of the 2nd Panzer Army. The 2nd Panzer Army's tank spearhead force, the 9th and 11th Panzer Divisions, ran into the 16th Army's fortified defensive lines, and the 9th and 19th Panzer Divisions were halted after crossing the Zhizdra River. The 2nd Panzer Army in Wirbelwind captured the village of Ulyanovo and created a 25-kilometer salient in the Soviet line, surrounding and destroying forward elements of three rifle divisions.

...
Wikipedia