Frank's Tanks ETO (id:#66885)

(Special Ops #12 ID: O23)   [next]   [previous]

Lysyanka, Ukraine 1944-02-12 (7 others)

Overview:

Yet another encirclement of German forces in the winter of '44 caused by Hitler's "no step back" policy forced German High Command to mount a relief attempt. While the Korsun Pocket would not be on the scale of the encirclement of the 6th Army at Stalingrad, it was big enough to warrant serious attention. As the German relief force got closer to the encircled Germans, it became harder to find crossings over the natural terrain barriers. In one case, a large stream-the Gniloi Tikich- stood in the way of the relief force. A bridge captured in the small village of Frankovka was deemed not robust enough to support the heavy Tiger tanks, so another bridge or crossing had to be secured. It was decided that a Kampfgruppe from Panzer-Division 1 would capture the bridge at Lysyanka in a surprise attack.

Defender: Russian (16th Guards Tank Division, 2nd Guards Tank Army)  

Errata (source)