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Operation Büffel
Operation Büffel ("Buffalo") was a series of local retreats conducted by the German Army Group Centre on the Eastern Front during the period 1–22 March 1943. This movement eliminated the Rzhev Salient and shortened the front by , releasing twenty-one divisions. The withdrawals were accompanied by a ruthless security campaign, resulting in widespread destruction, deportation of the able-bodied population for slave labour, and killings of civilians. Operational history The 9th Army evacuated the Rzhev Salient in March 1943, as part of a general shortening of the line. Large-scale security sweeps, under the doctrine of Bandenbekämpfung ("bandit fighting"), were carried out in the weeks before the operation, in which an estimated 3,000 Russians were killed, the great majority of whom were unarmed, as shown by the inventory of the seized weapons: 277 rifles, 41 pistols, 61 machine guns, 17 mortars, 9 antitank rifles and 16 small artillery pieces. The withdrawal itself took two w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vyazma
Vyazma (russian: Вя́зьма) is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast, and Mozhaysk. Throughout its turbulent history, it defended western approaches to Moscow. Population: 44,000 (1970). Medieval history and monuments Vyazma was first mentioned in a chronicle under the year of 1230, although it is believed to be much older than that. The town was named after the river, whose name was from Russian word "" (''vyaz), meaning "bog" or "swamp".Е. М. Поспелов. "Географические названия мира". Москва, 1998, стр. 108. At the time, the town belonged to a lateral branch of the Rurik dynasty, Rurikid House of Smolensk, and carried on a lively trade with Narva on the Gulf of Finland. In 1403, the local princes were expelled by Lithuanians to Moscow, where they took the name of Princes Vy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Crimes Of The Wehrmacht
During World War II, the German combined armed forces ( ''Heer'', ''Kriegsmarine'' and ''Luftwaffe'') committed systematic war crimes, including massacres, mass rape, looting, the exploitation of forced labor, the murder of three million Soviet prisoners of war, and participated in the extermination of Jews. While the Nazi Party's own SS forces (in particular the '' SS-Totenkopfverbände'', ''Einsatzgruppen'' and Waffen-SS) of Nazi Germany was the organization most responsible for the genocidal killing of the Holocaust, the regular armed forces of the ''Wehrmacht'' committed many war crimes of their own (as well as assisting the SS in theirs), particularly on the Eastern Front in the war against the Soviet Union. According to a study by Alex J. Kay and David Stahel, the majority of the Wehrmacht soldiers deployed to the Soviet Union participated in war crimes. Creation of the Wehrmacht When the Nazi Party came to power, it was welcomed by almost the entire officer corps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battles And Operations Of The Soviet–German War
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force commitment. An engagement with only limited commitment between the forces and without decisive results is sometimes called a skirmish. The word "battle" can also be used infrequently to refer to an entire operational campaign, although this usage greatly diverges from its conventional or customary meaning. Generally, the word "battle" is used for such campaigns if referring to a protracted combat encounter in which either one or both of the combatants had the same methods, resources, and strategic objectives throughout the encounter. Some prominent examples of this would be the Battle of the Atlantic, Battle of Britain, and Battle of Stalingrad, all in World War II. Wars and military campaigns are guided by military strategy, whereas bat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Operations Of World War II Involving Germany
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct military uniform. It may consist of one or more military branches such as an army, navy, air force, space force, marines, or coast guard. The main task of the military is usually defined as defence of the state and its interests against external armed threats. In broad usage, the terms ''armed forces'' and ''military'' are often treated as synonymous, although in technical usage a distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include both its military and other paramilitary forces. There are various forms of irregular military forces, not belonging to a recognized state; though they share many attributes with regular military forces, they are less often referred to as simply ''military''. A nation's military may f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Werth
Alexander Werth (4 February 1901, St Petersburg – 5 March 1969, Paris) was a Russian-born, naturalized British writer, journalist, and war correspondent. Biography Werth fled with his father and grandfather to the United Kingdom in the wake of the Russian Revolution. He attended classes at the University of Glasgow from 1919 to 1922, taking classes in English, French, History, Russian, Philosophy and Comparative Literature. He became a naturalised British citizen on 7 July 1930. Werth wrote about France in the prewar period and he also wrote about Russia in World War II, especially the Battle of Stalingrad and the Siege of Leningrad. He was one of the first outsiders to be allowed into Stalingrad after the battle. He spoke and wrote both Russian and English fluently. Werth spent most of World War II in Russia as a BBC correspondent, and had unrivalled access due to the combination of his BBC press credentials and his ability to function as a native Russian speaker. In Jan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sychevka
Sychyovka (russian: Сычёвка) or Sychevka () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Sychyovka, Sychyovsky District, Smolensk Oblast, a town in Sychyovsky District of Smolensk Oblast; administratively incorporated as Sychyovskoye Urban Settlement ;Rural localities *Sychevka, Altai Krai, a '' selo'' in Sychevsky Selsoviet of Smolensky District of Altai Krai * Sychevka, Amur Oblast, a ''selo'' in Sychevsky Rural Settlement of Svobodnensky District of Amur Oblast * Sychevka, Penza Oblast, a village in Saltykovsky Selsoviet of Zemetchinsky District of Penza Oblast * Sychevka, Rostov Oblast, a ''khutor'' in Industrialnoye Rural Settlement of Kasharsky District of Rostov Oblast * Sychevka, Monastyrshchinsky District, Smolensk Oblast, a village in Barsukovskoye Rural Settlement of Monastyrshchinsky District of Smolensk Oblast * Sychevka, Tambov Oblast, a ''selo'' in Yaroslavsky Selsoviet of Nikiforovsky District of Tambov Oblast * Sychevka, Arsenyev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rzhev
Rzhev ( rus, Ржев, p=ˈrʐɛf) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Staritsa (town), Tver Oblast, Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population: History Rzhev was founded in the Middle Ages and rivals Toropets as the oldest town in the region. Rzhevians usually point out that their town is mentioned in the Novgorod Republic, Novgorod laws as early as 1019. Their neighbors from Toropets, on the other hand, give more credence to Rzhev's first mention in a major chronicle under 1216, when it was in possession of Mstislav the Bold, Prince of Toropets. Whatever the truth may be, it is clear that medieval Rzhev was bitterly contested by three regional powers—the Novgorod Republic, the Principality of Smolensk, and the Grand Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal. Following the Mongol invasion of Russia, Mongol invasion, Rzhev pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viazma
Vyazma (russian: Вя́зьма) is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast, and Mozhaysk. Throughout its turbulent history, it defended western approaches to Moscow. Population: 44,000 (1970). Medieval history and monuments Vyazma was first mentioned in a chronicle under the year of 1230, although it is believed to be much older than that. The town was named after the river, whose name was from Russian word "" (''vyaz), meaning "bog" or "swamp".Е. М. Поспелов. "Географические названия мира". Москва, 1998, стр. 108. At the time, the town belonged to a lateral branch of the Rurikid House of Smolensk, and carried on a lively trade with Narva on the Gulf of Finland. In 1403, the local princes were expelled by Lithuanians to Moscow, where they took the name of Princes Vyazemsky. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scorched Earth
A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, which usually includes obvious weapons, transport vehicles, communication sites, and industrial resources. However, anything useful to the advancing enemy may be targeted, including food stores and agricultural areas, water sources, and even the local people themselves, though the last has been banned under the 1977 Geneva Conventions. The practice can be carried out by the military in enemy territory or in its own home territory while it is being invaded. It may overlap with, but is not the same as, punitive destruction of the enemy's resources, which is usually done as part of political strategy, rather than operational strategy. Notable historic examples of scorched-earth tactics include William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea in the American Civil War, Kit Carson's subjugation of the America ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. The battle began with the launch of the German offensive Operation Citadel (german: Unternehmen Zitadelle), on 5 July, which had the objective of pinching off the Kursk salient with attacks on the base of the salient from north and south simultaneously. After the German offensive stalled on the northern side of the salient, on 12 July the Soviets commenced their Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation with the launch of Operation Kutuzov (russian: Кутузов) against the rear of the German forces on the same side. On the southern side, the Soviets also launched powerful counterattacks the same day, one of which led to a large armoured clash, the Battle of Prokhorovka. On 3 August, the Soviets began the second phase of the Kursk Strategi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bely, Tver Oblast
Bely (russian: Бе́лый) is a town and the administrative center of Belsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Obsha River. Population: 6,900 (1897). History The name of the town means "white" in Russian, although it is unknown how or why this name originated. The fortress of Bely is first mentioned in a chronicle in 1350, since it was conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was located on the border between Lithuanian and Russian lands, and intermittently changed affiliation between Lithuania (later Poland) and the Grand Duchy of Moscow. In the 15th century, it became the seat of the Belsky branch of the ruling House of Gediminas. The town was overrun by the Grand Duchy of Moscow in 1503. Three years later, Muscovites built a formidable castle, which the Lithuanians laid a siege to in 1508. The town was again subordinated to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1618 and 1654, after which it finally went under Moscow. In the course of the admin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
