The Battle of Bryansk (2–21 October 1941) was a twenty-day battle during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

conducted in the

Bryansk Oblast Bryansk Oblast (), also known as Bryanshchina (, ), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Bryansk. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 1,169,161. Geography Bryansk Oblast lies in weste ...

as a part of the overall Moscow campaign. Returning from the Kiev operation,

Heinz Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who later became a successful memoirist. A pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of ...

attacked in an unexpected direction capturing Bryansk and

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

with few casualties thereby encircling two Soviet formations, the 13th Army and 3rd Army. A third Soviet formation, the 50th Army was encircled by infantry of the German 2nd Army north of Bryansk. However the encircled Red Army units continued fighting, delaying the drive on Moscow for two weeks. This delay, as well as the casualties taken by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

liquidating the pockets contributed to the German collapse at the gates of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. See also: Vyazma and Bryansk pockets. As a result of this battle, the Germans occupied Bryansk until they were expelled by the Red Army on 17 September 1943 as a part of the Smolensk campaign.

Background and planning

After the successful encirclement of the reconstituted Western Front in the Smolensk pocket, the tanks of

Army Group Centre Army Group Centre () was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created during the planning of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the So ...

were ordered to halt so that the infantry could catch up and liquidate the pocket. Further to the north,

Army Group North Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area. The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...

had stalled out in the drive towards

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, and

Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...

was struggling to take

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. To secure the flanks of Army Group Center, Hitler ordered that the

3rd Panzer Army The 3rd Panzer Army () was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 3rd Panzer Group on 1 January 1942. 3rd Panzer Group The 3rd Panzer Group () was formed on 16 November 1940. It was a constituent part of Army Grou ...

be diverted north and the

2nd Panzer Army The 2nd Panzer Army () was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 2nd Panzer Group on October 5, 1941. Organisation Panzer Group Guderian () was formed on 5 June 1940 and named after its commander, general Heinz Gude ...

be diverted south. Army Group Centre's infantry formations, the 4th Army and 9th Army were ordered to dig in and wait for their flanks to be secured. During the "lull" in the offensive, the Red Army General Staff, the

Stavka The ''Stavka'' ( Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка, ) is a name of the high command of the armed forces used formerly in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrat ...

ordered Red Army formations around Smolensk and Bryansk to conduct frontal assaults on Army Group Center in an effort to drive the

back from the approaches to Moscow. The offensives were conducted over poor terrain against units in strong defensive positions and nearly all of them were disasters that seriously weakened Red Army formations defending the approaches to Moscow.

Operation

In September 1941, the German troops of XLVII. Armeekorps (mot.) (commander General of Panzer troops

Joachim Lemelsen Joachim Lemelsen (28 September 1888 – 30 March 1954) was a German general during World War II who rose to army-level command. During Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, troops of the XLVII Motorized Corps under hi ...

) advanced towards, and crossed the

Desna River The Desna ( Russian and ) is a river in Russia and Ukraine, a major left-tributary of the Dnieper. Its name in means "right hand". It has a length of , and its drainage basin covers .Bryansk Front The Bryansk Front () was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Red Army during the World War II, Second World War. First Formation (August - November 1941) General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it fi ...

on 30 September, during the operation to encircle the 50th Army. This resulted in the penetration of the Front's position between the 50th and 13th Armies. The Bryansk Front commander Andrei Yeremenko adopted a

defence in depth Defence in depth (also known as deep defence or elastic defence) is a military strategy that seeks to delay rather than prevent the advance of an attacker, buying time and causing additional casualties by yielding space. Rather than defeating a ...

strategy, with the Front's reserves consisting of two rifle, one tank division and one tank brigade concentrated in the Bryansk area. However, in the course of the operation the troops of the XXXXVII Corps took

Karachev Karachev () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Karachevsky District in Bryansk Oblast, Russia. Population: History First chronicled in 1146, it was the capital of one of the Upper Oka Principal ...

and were able to advance to east of the city on 6 October while trying to link up with the XXXXIII Corps coming from the opposite direction. This forced the Red Army's 50th and 13th Armies and the Operational Group of General Major A.N. Yermakov to withdraw in order to avoid encirclement, and consequently Bryansk was evacuated without significant fighting. Regardless of this, the city was subjected to heavy artillery and air bombardment which destroyed large parts of

Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...

. The Red Army, as part of the Orel-Bryansk Defensive Operation (30 September 1941 – 23 October 1941) lost over 80,000 killed in and around the area of the city, with around 4,062 soldiers injured and hospitalizedKahaner, Larry. "Weapon changed pattern of modern war." 29 December 2006 Another 50,000 prisoners were taken, before XXXXVII Corps proceeded on to its next objective, Orel.

Aftermath

By virtue of Guderian's one-armed encirclement, the Germans had destroyed all of the Red Army forces defending the southern approaches to Moscow, opening the way to Tula. Tula stood at the center of the road and rail network south of Moscow and its capture was vital to the Moscow Offensive. After the encirclement of the Bryansk Front, Guderian was closer to Tula than the nearest Red Army formation. However, the delay in liquidating the pocket bought the

precious time to rush in reinforcements south of Moscow, stabilizing the front. When Guderian resumed the drive, he failed to capture Tula, and instead opted to bypass the city. This put a severe logistical constraint on the rest of the Moscow campaign. When Stalin ordered the Moscow Counter-Attack in December, Red Army control of Tula forced Guderian to withdraw the

from Moscow, in violation of a direct order from Hitler. This resulted in Guderian's dismissal in January 1942. In honor of its determined stand, Tula was awarded the title of Hero City in 1976.

Inspiration for the AK-47

Mikhail Kalashnikov Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (10November 191923December 2013) was a Soviet and Russian lieutenant general, inventor, Military engineering, military engineer, writer, and small arms designer. He is most famous for developing the AK-47 assau ...

was a senior sergeant (

tank commander A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; t ...

) serving on the

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

s of the 24th Tank Regiment, 12th Tank Divisionp.27 Perechen No.6 of the 8th Mechanised Corps stationed in

Stryi Stryi (, ; ) is a city in Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the left bank of the Stryi (river), Stryi River, approximately south of Lviv in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. It serves as the administrative center of Stryi R ...

(31 KV-1 and 10

tanks) before retreating after the Battle of Brody, with the regiment soon to become a part of the 159th Tank Brigade. He was wounded during the battle, but made it to a hospital on foot, where he received medical attention. This was not Kalashnikov's first battle as he had also participated in the Battle of Brody where his division was part of the 8th Mechanized Corps that encountered the German 16th Panzer Division in battle around Leshuv. While recovering from his injuries, Kalashnikov started experiencing flashbacks of the raid and "became obsessed with creating a submachine gun that would drive the Germans from his homeland. Many believe the myth he mostly just copied the

Sturmgewehr 44 The StG 44 (abbreviation of Sturmgewehr 44, "assault rifle 44") is a German assault rifle developed during World War II by Hugo Schmeisser. It is also known by its early designations as the MP 43 and MP 44 (''Maschinenpistole 43'' and ''44''). ...

. However when examined, the Sturmgewehr 44 is very different in regards to the bolt design and operation, the disassembly method and contains a completely different style firing mechanism. Essentially the Sturmgewehr 44 has many more similarities to the HK G3 rifle than the AK-47."

References

External links

Weapon changed pattern of modern war
reprint of article at Infoshop News (

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...

)
Orel-Bryansk defence operation 19419.Armee-Oberkommando
supplemental timeline information from Feldgrau.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryansk, Battle Of (1941) Battles and operations of the Soviet–German War Battles of World War II involving Germany Battles and operations of World War II involving the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa September 1941 in Europe October 1941 in Europe Moscow in World War II