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For the battle in the same area during World War I, see Battle of Gumbinnen . Background At the outbreak of the war Maximilian von Prittwitz 's orders were very strict and clear his German Eighth Army was to remain in its positions
Gumbinnen Operation
Part of Eastern Front of World War II

German troops on the outskirts of Goldap, retaken on 3 November 1944
Date October 16, 1944 – October 27, 1944
Location East Prussia
Result Soviet tactical defeat
Belligerents
Nazi Germany Flag of the Soviet Union Soviet Union
Commanders
Georg-Hans Reinhardt
(Army Group Centre)		 Flag of the Soviet Union Ivan Chernyakhovsky
(3rd Belorussian Front)
Strength
 ? 404,500[1]
Casualties and losses
 ? 16,819 irrecoverable; 62,708 wounded[1]

The Gumbinnen Operation[2], 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 Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 312 - Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. East Prussia (Ostpreußen; Rytų Prūsija or Rytprūsiai; Prusy Wschodnie Восточная Пруссия or Vostochnaya Prussiya) refers to the main part Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Georg-Hans Reinhardt ( March 1, 1887 – November 23, 1963) was a German general of World War II, who was Colonel General Army Group Center (Heeresgruppe Mitte was the name of two distinct German strategic Army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky, also Cherniakhovsky, (Ива́н Дани́лович Черняхо́вский Uman, current Cherkasy The 3rd Belorussian Front (alternative spellings are 3rd Byelorussian Front and 3rd Belarusian Front) was a Front (military subdivision Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The 3rd Belorussian Front (alternative spellings are 3rd Byelorussian Front and 3rd Belarusian Front) was a Front (military subdivision East Prussia (Ostpreußen; Rytų Prūsija or Rytprūsiai; Prusy Wschodnie Восточная Пруссия or Vostochnaya Prussiya) refers to the main part

The offensive failed, due to strong resistance by the Wehrmacht. Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 As a result it is largely known through German accounts of the defence and because of the atrocities that were alleged to have been committed by troops of the 11th Guards Army, the so-called Nemmersdorf massacre. Nemmersdorf in East Prussia (today's Mayakovskoye, Kaliningrad Oblast) was one of the first pre-war German villages

Contents

Planning

The operation was planned as a result of the success of the Memel Offensive Operation to the north. The Battle of Memel or the Siege of Memel took place when the Soviets launched their Memel Offensive Operation (Мемельская наступательная 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. The 3rd Panzer Army (3Panzerarmee was a German army that saw action during World War II. Memel is a name mainly used by Germans and both for towns and rivers The Curonian Lagoon (or Bay, Gulf; Kuršių MariosKuršu Joma Zalew Kuroński Kurisches Haff Kуршский залив is separated from the Baltic Stavka permitted Chernyakhovsky to further exploit this success by attacking along the Gumbinnen - Insterburg - Konigsberg axis deep into East Prussia. Stavka (Ставка was the term used to refer to command element of Armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history Gusev (Гу́сев Gumbinnen Gumbinė Głąbin/Gąbin is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. Chernyakhovsk (Черняхо́вск; Įsrūtis Wystruć is a town in the centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, at the confluence of the rivers Königsberg (Karaliaučius Low German: Königsbarg; Królewiec see also other names) was until 1946 the name of Kaliningrad. East Prussia (Ostpreußen; Rytų Prūsija or Rytprūsiai; Prusy Wschodnie Восточная Пруссия or Vostochnaya Prussiya) refers to the main part

Chernyakhovsky's plan involved using the 5th and 11th Guards Armies to break open the German defensive lines, before pushing through exploitation forces from the 2nd Guards Tank Corps and 28th Army. The 2nd Tatsinskaya Guards Tank Corps was a Red Army armoured formation that saw service during World War II on the Eastern Front. 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. The 3rd Panzer Army (3Panzerarmee was a German army that saw action during World War II. The 4th Army (4 Armee Oberkommando was a field army that fought in World War II.

Deployments

Wehrmacht


Red Army

The offensive

On 16 October, the 5th and 11th Guards Armies went onto the offensive and initially penetrated some 11 km into the German defensive belt. Army Group Center (Heeresgruppe Mitte was the name of two distinct German strategic Army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II Georg-Hans Reinhardt ( March 1, 1887 – November 23, 1963) was a German general of World War II, who was Colonel General The 3rd Panzer Army (3Panzerarmee was a German army that saw action during World War II. Erhard Raus ( January 8, 1889 - 1956 was born in Wolframitz ( Moravia) which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Hoßbach (1894-1980 was a German staff officer who in 1937 was the Military adjutant to the Fuehrer of the Third Reich Adolf Hitler The XXVII Corps (XXVII Armeekorps or XXVIIAK) was an infantry Corps in the German Army XXXXI Panzer Corps (also written XLI Panzer Corps) was a tank Corps in the German Army during World War II. Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling ( 2 November 1891 &ndash 17 November 1955) was an officer in the German Army ( Wehrmacht The Fallschirm-Panzer-Division1 Hermann Göring ( 1st Paratroop Panzer Division Hermann Goering - abbreviated Fallschirm-Panzer-Div 1 HG The VI Corps (VI Armeekorps or VIAK) was an infantry Corps in the German Army The 3rd Belorussian Front (alternative spellings are 3rd Byelorussian Front and 3rd Belarusian Front) was a Front (military subdivision Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky, also Cherniakhovsky, (Ива́н Дани́лович Черняхо́вский Uman, current Cherkasy The 5th Red Banner Army was a Soviet field army of World War II, and is today a Russian Ground Forces formation in the Far East Military Nikolay Krylov may refer to Nikolay Ivanovich Krylov (1903&ndash1972 a Soviet general Nikolay Mitrofanovich Krylov (1879&ndash1955 Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western The flanking armies commenced operations the next day, by which time units of the 11th Guards Army had crossed the East Prussian border.

The Soviet troops ran into extremely strong resistance, however. It took them four days to penetrate the initial tactical defences, while the second defence 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-Panzerkorps Hermann Göring, which had been redeployed in the area to counter the Soviet advance. Events 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony The Fallschirm-Panzer-Division1 Hermann Göring ( 1st Paratroop Panzer Division Hermann Goering - abbreviated Fallschirm-Panzer-Div 1 HG On 21 October, the Soviets' reserve, the 28th Army, was committed, but the offensive in the north was fought to a standstill in the region of Stalluponen thanks to some effective German counter-attacks. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. Nesterov (Не́стеров Stallupönen or Ebenrode; Stalupėnai Stołupiany is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia

Gumbinnen was taken by 22 October, but retaken by German forces on the 24 October, after the Germans committed the 5th Panzer Division, and Heavy Panzer Detachment 505 (equipped with Tiger IIs). Events 202 BC - Hannibal Barca, leader of the Carthaginians, is defeated by the Roman legions under Scipio Africanus Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat World War II era The 5th Panzer Division ( 5 Panzer-Division) was created in 1938. German heavy tank battalions ( schwere-Panzer- Abteilung) were Battalion -sized World War II tank units equipped with Tiger I and Tiger II heavy Tiger II is the common name of a German Heavy tank of the Second World War. 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 counter-attacks at Goldap, on the southern sector of the Soviet penetration. 101 Panzer Regiment 99 Panzergrenadier Regiment Artillerie Regiment 'FGB'(- 911 Sturmgeschutz Brigade 124 Flak Abteilung Kampfschule 'FGB' Gołdap ( Geldapė is a Town and the seat of Gołdap County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland. The town was retaken on 25 October. Events 1147 - The Portuguese, under Afonso I, and Crusaders from England and Flanders conquer Lisbon after a

The Soviet attacks continued until 27 October, as the flanking armies sought to close up to the 11th Guards Army. Events 312 - Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross.

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. Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine Events 644 - Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim Caliph, is killed by a Persian slave in Medina.

See also

Further reading

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b See soldat.ru, accessed 15 April 2008
  2. ^ Glantz, Failures of Historiography
David M Glantz (born 11 January 1942 in Port Chester, New York) is an American military historian and the editor of The Journal of
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