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Case Blue () was the German Wehrmacht 's codename for the 1942 summer offensive. It led to the Battle Of Voronezh , Battle Of Stalingrad , and the Battle Of The Caucasus . It was originally intended to be called Operation Siegfried, after the Mythical Teutonic Hero . However, Adolf Hitler , recalling the last grandiosely-named offensive operation in Russia, Barbarossa , and its results which had fallen short of German expectations, settled on the more modest name of "Blue". Army Group South was selected for a sprint forward through the southern Russian Steppe s into the Caucasus to capture vital Oil Field s of the Caucasus, then belonging to the Soviet Union. The summer offensive was named ''Fall Blau'' ("Case Blue"—German military plans were "cases", or solutions, to problems). It included the Sixth and Seventeenth Armies and the Fourth and First Panzer Armies , and saw spectacular initial gains. However the Red Army defeated the Wehrmacht at Stalingrad , and then forced the Germans to pull back from their newly-conquered territory, by conducting Operation Uranus and Operation Saturn . BACKGROUND to 18 November 1942 . ]] On 22 June 1941 , German troops advanced across the Russian border and buffer zones, commencing Operation Barbarossa . Barbarossa's objective was to take control of several key Russian areas, the main including the Ukraine , Caucasus area, Russian and free Baltic States , and the Moscow metropolitan area. By 9 September 1941, German troops had eliminated resistance in Kiev , taken a firm hold of the Ukraine (well over 60% of ethnic Ukraine population), secured several Baltic states, and advanced to within 300 Km of Moscow and 100 km of Leningrad and Kharkov . Strong communications, sufficient initial supply of basic resources (fuel, clothing, food), technological superiority and organized air superiority led to a powerful German surge during the initial months following June 1941. Factors that led to the formation of Operation ''Blue'' were: # The success of the Sixth Army and other advanced units across much of Southern Russia (Ukraine). # Control of Odessa and Kiev as auxiliary points for air and naval units. # Optimal geographic conditions for the several Panzer and motorized divisions in the South ( Steppe conditions through Stalingrad deep into Asia). # Necessity to capture valuable Crude Oil fields near the Soviet city of Baku , now the capital of Azerbaijan , to supply other motorized units throughout the entire German army. # Capture the final components of industrialized West Russia, realistically defeating Russia (combined with other projected successes), and completing Operation Barbarossa. THE PLAN The German plan was a three-pronged attack in Southern Russia. The Fourth Panzer Army commanded by Hermann Hoth (transferred from Army Group North ) and the Second Army , supported by the Hungarian Second Army , would attack from Kursk to Voronezh and continue the advance to anchor their left wing around the Volga River . The Sixth Army , commanded by Friedrich Paulus , would attack from Kharkov and move in parallel with Fourth Panzer Army to reach the Volga. The First Panzer Army would strike towards the lower Don River , flanked on its right by the Seventeenth Army . These movements were expected to result in a series of great encirclements of Soviet troops. The Soviets did not know where the main German offensive of 1942 would come. Stalin was convinced that the primary German objective in 1942 would be Moscow, and over 50% of all Red Army troops were deployed in that region. Only 10% of Russian troops were deployed in southern Russia. THE OFFENSIVE On 28 June 1942 , the German offensive began. Everywhere the Russians fell back as the Germans sliced through the Russian defenses. By 5 July , forward elements of Fourth Panzer Army had reached the Don River near Voronezh, and become embroiled in a bitter battle to capture the city. The Russians, by tying down Fourth Panzer Army, gained vital time to reinforce their defenses. As the German pincers closed in, they only found stragglers and rearguards, which only served to convince Hitler that the Russians were down to the last of their manpower reserves. However, the Russians for the first time in the war were not fighting to hold hopelessly exposed positions, but were withdrawing in good order. Angered by the delays and believing the Soviet center had fallen apart, Hitler made a series of changes to the plan. First, he reorganized Army Group South into two smaller Army Groups: Army Group A , under the command of Wilhelm Von List and including the German Seventeenth and First Panzer Armies; and Army Group B , under Maximilian Von Weichs , including German Second, Sixth and Fourth Panzer Armies and two Italian and Hungarian Armies. Army Group A was tasked with advancing to the Caucasus and capturing the vital oil fields around Baku. Army Group B was tasked with the drive for Stalingrad. The success of the initial advance of the Sixth Army was such that Hitler now ordered the Fourth Panzer Army south to assist First Panzer Army and force a crossing of the lower Don. This sudden redeployment of an entire Army caused massive logistical problems, as the road network in this part of Russia was sub-standard. The resulting traffic jams caused delays to both Army Group A and B's progress. It also removed vital tank support from the Sixth Army, slowing its advance and giving the Russians further time to consolidate their positions. Army Group A captured Rostov on 23 July 1942 . But the Russians fought a skillful rearguard action which embroiled the Germans in heavy urban fighting to take the city. This allowed the main Russian formations to escape encirclement. With the Don crossing secured and with the Sixth Army's advance flagging, Hitler sent the Fourth Panzer Army back to join up with it. In late July, Sixth Army resumed its offensive and by , while the First Panzer Army attacked towards the south and east, sweeping through country largely abandoned by the Russians. On 9 August First Panzer Army reached the foothills of the Caucausus range, having advanced more than 300 miles. Sixth Army crossed the river Don on 21 August , allowing Army Group B to establish a defensive line on the Don bend using the Hungarian, Italian and two Romanian armies. The Germans then began advancing on Stalingrad . With the city within reach from forward air bases, Luftwaffe bombers attacked the city killing over 40,000 people and turning much of the city into rubble. The ground attack on Stalingrad was two-pronged, with the Sixth Army advancing from the North while the Fourth Panzer Army advanced from the South. Between these armies and in the area from River Don to River Volga, a salient had been created. Two Soviet Armies were in the salient and on 29 August Fourth Panzer Army mounted a major attack through the salient towards Stalingrad. Sixth Army was ordered to do the same, but a strong Soviet counterattack tied it up for three vital days, enabling the Soviet forces in the salient to escape encirclement and fall back towards Stalingrad. By this time Georgy Zhukov had assumed command of the Stalingrad front, and in early September, he mounted a series of attacks from the North which further delayed the Sixth Army's attempt to seize Stalingrad. Meanwhile Soviet forces continued to be sent south to bolster the city's defenses and to take up positions on the east side of the river Volga . By mid-September, the Sixth Army, after neutralizing the Soviet counterattacks, once again resumed the march on the city. On 13 September the Germans reached its southern suburbs, beginning the Battle Of Stalingrad . SEE ALSO |
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