Did the Germans "mix up" Army Groups A and B during Fall Blau?
Upvote:4
Disposition was partially deliberate, partially result of circumstances
Main objective of Fall Blau was oil, i.e. capture of oilfields (Maykop-Grozny-Baku) . In late July 1942, after the Battle of Voronezh, Army Group South was split into two Army Groups : A and B. Army Group A was going for aforementioned main objective, had to cover lot of distance, therefore it was envisaged that it should contain mostly motorized units. Army Group B had to cover northern (left) flank of Army Group A. Its goal was to capture Stalingrad (preferably on the march) , disrupt riverine traffic on Volga, and if possible move to capture Astrakhan .
Overall mood in OKW and OKH was fairly optimistic in July of 1942. Winter crisis of 1941 has passed, German Army was again smashing Soviets in the South like they did last year. Position in the North and Center seemed secure, in fact Soviets bleed themselves dry in futile Rzhev meat grinder. German attack toward Voronezh secured right bank of Don (fairly good defensive position) and possibly tricked Soviets that main objective of the offensive could be Moscow (north-eastern direction of attack). Considering losses in 1941, and early 1942, Germans hoped that Soviets exhausted their manpower reserves, and food shortage (with the loss of Ukraine) was also real possibility. Therefore, plan with two Army Groups (splitting of the forces) seemed possible in face of seemingly inevitable Soviet collapse.
However situation at the front was not that rosy. First, Soviets counter-attacked at Kalach. Counter-attack was poorly planned, Soviets again squandered lots of tanks in futile attacks without artillery and infantry support. However, they did disrupt advance on Stalingrad, caused some losses, held on small bridgehead across Don (latter used for Operation Uranus) , and forced OKW to reinforce Army Group B (mostly XIV Panzer Corps). Overall, this battle is relatively unknown in historiography - both sides had their reasons to gloss over it. However, it did stall Army Group B enough that they could not take Stalingrad on the march as they previously planned.
Army Group A had problems on their own. In the south, near Black Sea coast, advance was slow. They did manage to capture Novorossiysk, but not much beyond that, do to the presence of still powerful Black Sea Fleet and Soviet coastal forces. As a consequence, Army Group A had not only northern (left) flank open do to the stall at Stalingrad, their southern (right) flank was now at northern base of Caucasus mountains. Soviets had retreated into the mountains , and Germans unsuccessfully tried to cut them off by penetrating south. This was forced move - Army Group A was never intended for mountain warfare, but driving eastwards for oilfields with both flanks hanging in the air would be suicidal.
Finally, number of tanks is a fluid matter. OKH did shift units and reinforcements between Army Groups A and B (mostly First and Fourth Panzer Army) as situation demanded. Exact numbers are hard to get, research would have to over daily reports in panzer divisions . Also, some panzer divisions like for example 14th Panzer were initially slated for Army Group A, but ended fighting in area of Army Group B, because of the demands of the front. 23rd Panzer division had similar fate, but they were taken from Army Group A somewhat latter.
More post
- 📝 Where did the idea of a Pharaoh originate?
- 📝 What are the safeguards in the German constitution of 1949 against dictatorship?
- 📝 Did King George III turn his back on John Adams and Thomas Jefferson?
- 📝 What authority did the Catholic Church have over European monarchs from 900–1450?
- 📝 Were the Quebecois ever considered higher-class because they spoke French?
- 📝 Written sources that mention Macedonia, prior to the 19th century?
- 📝 Did the Germans "mix up" Army Groups A and B during Fall Blau?
- 📝 What is the significance of the term "never start changing the borders in Eastern Europe by force?"
- 📝 How were the prophecies of Biblical prophets such as Isaiah first published or disseminated?
- 📝 Where to get historical Finland railways map for 1939 year?
- 📝 What was the ethno-linguistic makeup of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth?
- 📝 What was the Soviet role in Syria during the Cold-War?
- 📝 How do we compare historical empires on these statistics?
- 📝 Economic status of whites in the US South at the height of slavery?
- 📝 Were the pre-WW1 alliances really created to prevent war?
- 📝 Why did Germany not colonise much?
- 📝 Why/how did German arms output peak in 1944 when they were running out of oil?
- 📝 Which people resisted Russian expansion most fiercely?
- 📝 Plans for More Nuclear Warfare in Japan during WW2
- 📝 How did the Ten Attendants gain power in the imperial palace?
- 📝 Is there a database of wars in Europe since 1945?
- 📝 Is there a reason beyond the simple textbook explanation as to why the Allied forces chose to fight the Axis powers in North Africa during WWII?
- 📝 What happened to Muslim spouses who converted to Christianity during the 1923 Graeco-Turkish population exchange?
- 📝 How many U.S. Founding Fathers knew about Baruch Spinoza?
- 📝 Why was there an Anglo-Saxon law banning sheepskin covered shields?
- 📝 Was the Abolition of Slavery in the United States perceived and advertised as an effort to improve race relations or as an improvement to labour laws?
- 📝 The diversity of human eating utensils
- 📝 Has any (nominally) democratic government ever been domestically overthrown without military assistance?
- 📝 What concessions did Hitler demand from the Poles before 1939?
- 📝 What was the point of horse armour?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Did the Germans "mix up" Army Groups A and B during Fall Blau?
- 📝 During the Great Depression, did the US Army do a study involving paying people to dig a hole and fill it back up?
- 📝 How and why did the Cavalry lance temporarily fall out of favour during the 16-18th centuries?
- 📝 During and right after the French Revolution, how did France maintain and operate such a big army all over Europe?
- 📝 What did the Germans believe were the causes of WWI during the war and after?
- 📝 When did the round house fall out of vernacular use throughout Britain and Ireland?
- 📝 Why did the Germans not encircle and besiege Stalingrad?
- 📝 Why did the Arabs start the 1973 War during Ramadan, and did it affect their performance?
- 📝 Did the Germans have a team equivalent to the one from Bletchey Park in the UK during WWII?
- 📝 Did the Germans use the V1 and V2 missile system on the Eastern Front in World War 2?
- 📝 Which fruits and vegetables did Chinese migrants introduce to Australia during the gold rush?
- 📝 Why did the French Army melt film during WWI?
- 📝 Did the Red Army and German Army clash in Poland in 1939?
- 📝 What goods did Germany trade during the Weimar Republic, and with whom?
- 📝 Why did the Germans fall behind the Americans in the development of the atomic bomb after an initial lead?
- 📝 What did European people of the 5th century AD eat during spring and what was the availability?
- 📝 Why did the Union army favor a "western" route to approaching Richmond during the American Civil War
- 📝 How did the British Army unit size and structure in WWI change from 1915 to 1918?
- 📝 Why did the expelled Sudeten Germans and Danube Germans go to Germany, as opposed to Austria?
- 📝 How did agricultural productivity change in Italy with the fall of the Roman Empire and through the early Middle Ages?
- 📝 During the Second World War, did the Germans expect that Japan would declare war on Russia?
- 📝 Did Germans and Soviets count casualties differently at the Battle of Kursk?
- 📝 Did Viet Nam suffer a famine any time during the 1980s? And if not, how close was it to famine?
- 📝 Why did the Byzantines not try to recover Syria during the war between Ali and Muawiya?
- 📝 Did the Germans consider an amphibious landing for Fall Blau?
- 📝 Did Bamako exist as a major settlement of trade and culture during the Mali empire?
- 📝 What were conditions like for Chinese men subject to recruitment by the army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War?
- 📝 Why did meat and dairy drop out of the working people in Britain's diet during the industrial enclosures period?
- 📝 Did Mao Zedong and Chinese communists collude with the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese War?
- 📝 Why did the German Military and Police not intervene during the years of NSDAP ascend?