- Operation Hannover
-
Operation Hannover Part of World War II Date April–June 1942 Location near Vyazma Result German victory Belligerents Nazi Germany Soviet Union Strength 45,000[1] 20,000[1] Casualties and losses 2,200[2] 10,500,[2] 20,000 taken prisoner[3] Operation Hannover or Operation Hanover (sources vary) was a German operation in April–June 1942 aimed at eliminating Soviet partisans, airborne troops and encircling Red Army soldiers near Vyazma (Smolensk Oblast). The operation was a complete success for the Germans.
Contents
Background
Soviet partisans had been disrupting the rear of Army Group Center (and the German 4th Army in particular). In January 1942, they were strengthened by Soviet Airborne Troops (the Vyazma airborne desant operation, part of the Battles of Rzhev).[3] The Soviets hoped that the airborne troops and the partisans would be able to secure territory and disrupt the German logistics long enough for the Soviet offensive to reach them.[3] However, the Red Army offensive involving the 33rd Army and the 1st Cavalry Corps failed to advance far enough and the Germans were able to concentrate on destroying Soviet troops in the rear.[3]
Operation Hannover
German forces from the 4th Army and the 4th Panzer Army, having stopped the Soviet offensive, engaged airborne troops and partisans.[3] These airborne troops and partisans fought a conventional battle with German forces and sustained a major defeat.[4] The partisan forces in the area were so thoroughly decimated that the Soviets were unable to recreate any significant partisan activity in this region for the remainder of the war.[4] Operation Hannover is seen as the most successful German anti-partisan operation ever; this is attributed primarily to the fact that the partisans decided to challenge the German forces in open battle.[4]
At the same time, Operation Hannover II, near Moscow, resulted in the elimination of encircled Red Army troops (the 39th Army and the 22nd Cavalry Corps).[4]
References
- ^ a b WWII Timeline
- ^ a b Martin K. Sorge, The other price of Hitler's war: German military and civilian losses resulting from World War II, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1986, ISBN 0313252939, Google Print, p. 57.
- ^ a b c d e Christopher Chant, The encyclopedia of codenames of World War II, Routledge, 1986, ISBN 0710207182, Google Print, p. 77.
- ^ a b c d Gerhard L. Weinberg, A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II, Cambridge University Press, 1995, ISBN 0521558794, Google Print, p.430
Further reading
- David M. Glantz, The history of Soviet airborne forces, Routledge, 1994, ISBN 0714634832, Google Print, p.203-204
Categories:- Conflicts in 1942
- Anti-partisan operations of World War II
- Military operations of World War II involving Germany
- Battles involving the Soviet Union
- Battles and operations of the Soviet–German War
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