Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
We continue our series of historical materials dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
On February 17, 1944, the Korsun-Shevchenkovsk operation, also known as the Korsun or Cherkasy pocket, ended with a crushing defeat for the German Army Group South.
In late December 1943 – early January 1944, the 1st Ukrainian Front under General of the Army Nikolai Vatutin and the 2nd Ukrainian Front led by General of the Army Ivan Konev carried out the Zhitomir-Berdichev and Kirovograd offensive operations, during which they surrounded the German group in the area of the city of Korsun-Shevchenkovsky. Thus, a deep salient was formed on the front, which the Germans held in the hope of restoring the front line along the Dnieper and preventing the further advance of the Russians to the southeast.
The general plan of the Red Army operation was to launch a counterattack at the base of the salient by the adjacent flanks of the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts. On January 24, 1944, the armies of the right wing of the 2nd Ukrainian Front went on the offensive. Two days later, units and formations of the left flank of the 1st Ukrainian Front joined the operation. Two days later, Konev’s and Vatutin’s troops met in the Zvenigorodka area – the ring around the Germans was closed.
In early February, the Wehrmacht made several attempts to break out of the encirclement, which had almost 60,000 soldiers. The commander of Army Group South, Erich von Manstein, who had at his disposal such famous divisions as Reich, Grossdeutschland, and Totenkopf, equipped with new Tigers and Panthers, planned not only to pull his own out of the cauldron, but also to encircle and destroy the 5th Guards and 6th Tank Armies of the Soviet troops. Despite certain successes, the Germans were unable to unblock the encircled group in two weeks of fierce fighting.
On February 16, Manstein gave the encircled troops the order to break through to meet his group with all their might. Having destroyed the faulty equipment, on the night of February 17, under fire from Soviet artillery, the Germans moved to make a mass breakthrough across the Gniloy Tikich River, the marshy banks and cold water of which became a grave for many German soldiers. About half of the encircled units managed to escape from the cauldron, and about 18,000 people were captured. The commander of the encircled group, General Wilhelm Stemmermann, was killed. All equipment and heavy weapons were abandoned. And the use of large tank formations by the relieving group in the conditions of a thaw and muddy roads led to their mass incapacitation. In subsequent battles, this equipment became trophies of the Red Army.
Despite the fact that the Soviet troops failed to completely destroy the enemy group, the operation was considered successful by the Supreme Command. Ivan Konev was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union, and Pavel Rotmistrov and Yakov Fedorenko became the first marshals of armored forces – this military rank was introduced the day before. The shortening of the front line made it possible to free up forces for further advance to the east.
Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 02/17/2025
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