Case Blue (German: Fall Blau) 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".^{[citation needed]}Army Group South was selected for a sprint forward through the southern Russian steppes into the Caucasus to capture vital oil fields 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. Combatants Soviet Union,[1] Poland, Tannu Tuva (until 1944 incorporation with USSR), Mongolia Germany,[2] Italy (to 1943), Romania (to 1944), Finland (to 1944), Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Spain (to 1943, unofficial) Commanders Joseph Stalin, Aleksei Antonov, Ivan Konev, Rodion Malinovsky, Ivan Bagramyan, Kirill Meretskov, Ivan Petrov, Alexander Rodimtsev, Konstantin Rokossovsky... Combatants Germany, Romania, Finland, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia  Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Fedor von Bock Gerd von Rundstedt Heinz Guderian Günther von Kluge Franz Halder Maresal Ion Antonescu C.G.E. Mannerheim Giovanni Messe, CSIR Italo Gariboldi, ARMIR Joseph Stalin Kliment Voroshilov Semyon Timoshenko Fyodor... Battle of the Baltic concerns the German and Soviet battle for the control of the Baltic sea during World War II. Categories: | | | | | ... Combatants Germany Spanish Blue Division Soviet Union Commanders Wilhelm von Leeb Georg von Küchler Agustín Muñoz Grandes Kliment Voroshilov Georgiy Zhukov Strength 725,000 930,000 Casualties Unknown Red Army: 332,059 KIA 24,324 non-combat dead 111,142 missing 16,470 civilians 1 million civilians... Combatants Germany Romania Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Ivan Petrov Filipp Oktyabrskiy Strength 350,000+ 106,000 Casualties at least 100,000 killed, wounded or captured (Including Romanians) 95,000 captured, 11,000 killed The Battle of Sevastopol was fought from October 30, 1941 to July 4, 1942 between... Combatants Nazi Germany Soviet Union Commanders Fedor von Bock, Heinz Guderian Georgy Zhukov, Aleksandr Vasilevsky Strength As of October 1: 1,000,000 men, 1,700 tanks, 14,000 guns, 950 planes[1] As of October 1: 1,250,000 men, 1,000 tanks, 7,600 guns, 677 planes[2... The formation of the Rzhev salient during the winter of 1941-1942. ... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Fedor von Bock, Friedrich Paulus Semyon Timoshenko Strength 300,000 men, 1000 tanks, 1500 aircraft 640,000 men, 1200 tanks, 1000 aircraft Casualties 20,000 killed, wounded or captured 207,057 killed, wounded or captured, 652 tanks, 1,646 guns, 3,278 mortars, 57,626... Combatants Germany Romania Italy Hungary Croatia Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Italo Garibaldi Gusztav Jany Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovskiy Rodion Malinovskiy Andrei Yeremenko Strength Army Group B: German Sixth Army # German Fourth Panzer... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Kurt von der Chevallerie M. A. Purkayev Strength ~20,000 (on 19 Nov) 100,000 (on 19 Nov) Casualties 17,000 killed or wounded, 3,000 captured 30,000 killed or wounded Situation after the initial Soviet advance. ... The eastern front at the time of the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive. ... Combatants Nazi Germany Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Günther von Kluge Hermann Hoth Walther Model Georgiy Zhukov Konstantin Rokossovskiy Nikolay Vatutin Ivan Konyev Strength 2,700 tanks 800,000 infantry 2,000 aircraft 3,600 tanks 1,300,000 infantry and supporting troops 2,400 aircraft Casualties German... Combatants Axis Soviet Union Commanders Günther von Kluge Andrei Yeremenko, Vasily Sokolovsky Strength 850,000 men, 8,800 guns, 500 tanks, 700 planes[1] 1,253,000 men, 20,640 guns, 1,430 tanks, 1,100 planes[1] Casualties (Soviet est. ... Combatants Axis Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Konstantin Rokossovsky, Ivan Konev Strength 1,250,000 men 12,600 guns 2,100 tanks 2,000 planes 2,650,000 men 51,000 guns 2,400 tanks 2,850 planes Casualties Low est. ... The 1943 Battle of Kiev resulted in a Soviet victory, forcing the German invaders of the Soviet Union to retreat further. ... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein, Wilhelm Stemmerman (Gruppe Stemmerman), Hermann Breith, III Panzerkorps Georgi Zhukov, Nikolai Vatutin (1st Ukrainian Front), Ivan Konev (2nd Ukrainian Front), Strength 56,000 70 tanks and assault guns In packet only but much large with relief troops 200,000 500 tanks Casualties... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein (Army Group South) Hans-Valentin Hube (First Panzer Army) Georgi Zhukov Nikolai Vatutin (1st Ukrainian Front) Ivan Koniev (2nd Ukrainian Front) Strength 200,000 500,000 Casualties  ?  ? 357 tanks The Battle of the Kamenets-Podolsky Pocket, also known as Hubes Pocket... Combatants Red Army Wehrmacht Commanders Soviet STAVKA German OKW Strength Unknown Unknown Casualties 260,000 all causes Unknown // The Baltic Offensive, also formally referred to as the Baltic Strategic Offensive Operation[1][2][3][4] as it was called by the Red Army who undertook it, denotes the battle between... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Ernst Busch Walther Model Ferdinand Schörner Konstantin Rokossovsky Georgy Zhukov Aleksandr Vasilevsky Strength 800,000 1,700,000 Casualties : 400,000 killed, 158,000 POWs, 590,000 wounded : 260,000 killed, 250,000 wounded 116,000 POWs 60,000 KIA/MIA, 110,000 WIA... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Josef Harpe (Heeresgruppe Nordukraine) Ivan Koniev (1st Ukrainian Front) Strength 370,000 men 340 AFVs 4,800 guns 1,200,000 men 1,979 AFVs 11,265 guns Casualties 350,000 men 520 AFVs 198,000 men 1,285 AFVs The Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive[1... Combatants Nazi Germany Romania Soviet Union Commanders Ferdinand Schorner (until July 23) Johannes Friessner (from July 25) (Heeresgruppe Sudukraine) Günther Blumentritt (until June 28) Walter Model (until August 16) Georg Hans Reinhardt (Army Group Centre) Konstantin Rokossovsky (1st Belorussian Front) Strength  ?  ? Casualties  ?  ? Lublin-Brest Offensive is covered in the... Combatants Soviet Union Germany Romania Commanders Rodion Malinovsky Fyodor Tolbukhin Johannes Friessner Ion Antonescu Strength 1,341,200, 1,874 tanks and assault guns ca. ... Budapest Offensiv, together with other Soviet Balkan offensivesm is covered by the green area in the south. ... Combatants Wehrmacht i. ... WWII Eastern Front during 1945 The East Prussian Offensive was an offensive by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front (World War II). ... WWII Eastern Front during 1945 The East Pomeranian Offensive was an offensive by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front (World War II). ... WWII Eastern Front during 1945 Eastern Front Barbarossa – Baltic Sea – Finland – Leningrad and Baltics – Crimea and Caucasus – Moscow – 1st Rzhev-Vyazma – 2nd Kharkov – Blue – Stalingrad – Velikiye Luki – 2nd Rzhev-Sychevka – Kursk – 2nd Smolensk – Dnieper – 2nd Kiev – Korsun – Hubes Pocket – Baltic – Bagration – Lvov-Sandomierz – Lublin-Brest – Balkans (Iassy-Kishinev) – Balkans... Combatants Soviet Union Poland Nazi Germany Commanders 1st Belorussian Front – Georgiy Zhukov 2nd Belorussian Front – Konstantin Rokossovskiy 1st Ukrainian Front – Ivan Konev Army Group Vistula – Gotthard Heinrici then Kurt von Tippelskirch[2] Army Group Centre – Ferdinand Schörner Berlin Defense Area – Helmuth Reymann then Helmuth Weidling #[3] Strength 2,500... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Czech Insurgents Commanders Ferdinand Schörner Ivan Konev Strength 900,000 2,000,000 Casualties Unknown 11,997 killed or missing, 40,501 wounded or sick (52,498 casualties[1]) The Prague Offensive (Russian:Пражская наступательная операция, Prazhskaya nastupatelnaya operacia, Prague Offensive Operation) was the last major battle of... The Vienna Offensive was launched by the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front against Vienna, Austria. ... Operation Blue(German: Fall Blau) was the German Wehrmachts codename for the 1942 summer offensive. ... Combatants Soviet Union Germany Commanders Filipp Golikov Nikolay Vatutin Erich von Manstein †Theodor Eicke Strength 300,000 men 160,000 men Casualties Voronezh Front: Army of Popov: 3,000 KIA 11,000 WIA Southwestern Front: 20,000 KIA 90,000 WIA 9,000 POWs Final battles: 25,000 KIA 80... Operation Blue(German: Fall Blau) was the German Wehrmachts codename for the 1942 summer offensive. ... Combatants Germany, Hungary Soviet Union Commanders Hermann Hoth Gusztav Jany Yevgeny Golikov Strength Casualties The Battle of Voronezh was a battle of the Eastern Front of World War II, fought in and around the city of Voronezh on the Don river in June and July 1942. ... The Battle of Caucasus is a generic name for a series of operations during the Great Patriotic War. ... Combatants Germany Romania Italy Hungary Croatia Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Italo Garibaldi Gusztav Jany Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovskiy Rodion Malinovskiy Andrei Yeremenko Strength Army Group B: German Sixth Army # German Fourth Panzer... The eastern front at the time of Operation Uranus. ... Operation Winter Storm (German Unternehmen Wintergewitter) was the German Fourth Panzer Armys attempt to relieve the German Sixth Army from encirclement during the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II. The operation commenced on 12 December 1942 and was able to advance just halfway to its objective before a... Soviet advances during Operations Uranus, Mars and Saturn. ... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Hermann Balck V.M.Badanov Casualties Soviet claims for 12,000 KIA 5,000 POW unknown WIA 84 Tanks 106 Guns Unknown KIA Unknown MIA Unknown WIA up to 190 tanks The Tatsinskaya Raid occurred during Operation Little Saturn in late December 1942. ... Combatants Soviet Union Germany Commanders Filipp Golikov Nikolay Vatutin Erich von Manstein †Theodor Eicke Strength 300,000 men 160,000 men Casualties Voronezh Front: Army of Popov: 3,000 KIA 11,000 WIA Southwestern Front: 20,000 KIA 90,000 WIA 9,000 POWs Final battles: 25,000 KIA 80... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... Combatants Germany, Hungary Soviet Union Commanders Hermann Hoth Gusztav Jany Yevgeny Golikov Strength Casualties The Battle of Voronezh was a battle of the Eastern Front of World War II, fought in and around the city of Voronezh on the Don river in June and July 1942. ... Combatants Germany Romania Italy Hungary Croatia Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Italo Garibaldi Gusztav Jany Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovskiy Rodion Malinovskiy Andrei Yeremenko Strength Army Group B: German Sixth Army # German Fourth Panzer... The Battle of Caucasus is a generic name for a series of operations during the Great Patriotic War. ... Sigurd sculpture in Bremen Sigurd (Old Norse: Sigurðr, German: Siegfried) was a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Combatants Germany, Romania, Finland, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia  Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Fedor von Bock Gerd von Rundstedt Heinz Guderian Günther von Kluge Franz Halder Maresal Ion Antonescu C.G.E. Mannerheim Giovanni Messe, CSIR Italo Gariboldi, ARMIR Joseph Stalin Kliment Voroshilov Semyon Timoshenko Fyodor... Army Group South (Heeresgruppe Süd in German) was a German Army Group during World War II. Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South. ... A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (Russian: - , Ukrainian: - , Kazakh: - ), pronounced in English as , is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by tall grasses... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Caucasus Mountains. ... Drilling rig in a small oil field Near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 An oil field is an area with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum (oil) from below ground. ... The 6. ... The German Fourth Panzer Army (German: ) was a German panzer army that saw action during World War II. It played a part in the invasion of France and then on the Eastern front, the 4th Panzer Army and Guderians 1st Army encircled army after army until it came to... Insignia of the German First Panzer Army The First Panzer Army (German: ) was a German tank army that fought during World War II. When formed the First Panzer Army was named Panzer Group Kleist (Panzergruppe Kleist) and was activated on November 16, 1940 with Field Marshal Ewald von Kleist in... For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... Combatants Germany Romania Italy Hungary Croatia Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Italo Garibaldi Gusztav Jany Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovskiy Rodion Malinovskiy Andrei Yeremenko Strength Army Group B: German Sixth Army # German Fourth Panzer... The eastern front at the time of Operation Uranus. ... Soviet advances during Operations Uranus, Mars and Saturn. ...

Background

The German advance from 7 May to 18 November 1942.      to 7 July      to 22 July      to 1 August      to 18 November

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. Download high resolution version (1201x921, 219 KB) Eastern Front (WWII), 1942- 05-07 to 1942- 11-18 Drawn by User:Gdr File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1201x921, 219 KB) Eastern Front (WWII), 1942- 05-07 to 1942- 11-18 Drawn by User:Gdr File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... is the 127th day of the year (128th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 203rd day of the year (204th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 213th day of the year (214th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... Combatants Germany, Romania, Finland, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia  Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Fedor von Bock Gerd von Rundstedt Heinz Guderian Günther von Kluge Franz Halder Maresal Ion Antonescu C.G.E. Mannerheim Giovanni Messe, CSIR Italo Gariboldi, ARMIR Joseph Stalin Kliment Voroshilov Semyon Timoshenko Fyodor... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Caucasus Mountains. ... The three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: , Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587 ft) Population (2006)  - City 4,450,968  - Density 3,299/km² (8,544. ... ‹ The template below (Unit of length) is being considered for deletion. ... Leningrad (Russian: Ленинград) may mean: St. ... Kharkov (rus: Ха́рьков) or Kharkiv (ukr: Ха́рків) is the second largest city in Ukraine, a center of Kharkivska oblast. It is situated in the northeast of the country and has a population of two million. ...

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:

1. The success of the Sixth Army and other advanced units across much of Southern Russia (Ukraine).
2. Control of Odessa and Kiev as auxiliary points for air and naval units.
3. Optimal geographic conditions for the several Panzer and motorized divisions in the South (steppe conditions through Stalingrad deep into Asia).
4. 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.
5. Capture the final components of industrialized West Russia, realistically defeating Russia (combined with other projected successes), and completing Operation Barbarossa.

The 6. ... ODESSA (German: Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen, Organization of Former SS Members) is the name commonly given to an international Nazi network alleged to have been set up towards the end of World War II by a group of SS officers. ... A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (Russian: - , Ukrainian: - , Kazakh: - ), pronounced in English as , is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by tall grasses... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and elaion – oil or Latin oleum – oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ... Coordinates: , Country Azerbaijan Government  - Mayor Hajibala Abutalybov Area  - City 260 km²  (100. ...

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. Panzergruppe 4 4. ... General Hermann Hoth Hermann Papa Hoth (12 April 1885 - 26 January 1971) was a general of the Third Reich during World War II, notable for victories in France and on the Eastern Front, and later, after serving six years in prison for war crimes, as a writer on military history. ... Army Group North (Heeresgruppe Nord in German) was a high level command grouping of military units operating for Germany during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached army corps, reserve formations, and direct-reporting units. ... The German Second Army (German: ) was a World War II field army. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Kursk (Russian: ; pronunciation: koorsk; IPA: ) is a city in the western part of Central Russia, at the confluence of Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. ... Voronezh (Russian: ) is a large city in southwestern Russia, not far from Ukraine. ... “Volga” redirects here. ... The 6. ... Friedrich Paulus. ... Kharkov (rus: Ха́рьков) or Kharkiv (ukr: Ха́рків) is the second largest city in Ukraine, a center of Kharkivska oblast. It is situated in the northeast of the country and has a population of two million. ... Panzer Group Kleist Panzer Group 1 First Panzer Army The First Panzer Army (German ) was a German tank army that fought during World War II. When formed the First Panzer Army was named Panzer Group Kleist (Panzergruppe Kleist) and was activated on November 16, 1940 with Field Marshal Ewald von... The Don (Дон) is one of the major rivers of Russia. ... The German Seventeenth Army (German: 17. ...

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. For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ...

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. is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... There are at several rivers named Don: Don River, Russia Don River, Toronto River Don, England River Don, Aberdeenshire This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

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. Army Group A was the name of a German Army Group during World War II. During the German invasion of the Low Countries and France Army Group A was the southern attacking Army Group. ... Army Group B was the name of three different German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. The first was involved in the western campaign in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands which was to be aimed to conquer the Maas bridges after the German airborne actions in... Maximilian von Weichs Maximilian Maria Joseph Karl Gabriel Lamoral Reichsfreiherr von Weichs zu Glon (12 November 1881 - 27 September 1954) was a German Generalfeldmarschall and a military leader in World War II. He was born into a noble family at Dessau, a son of an Army colonel. ...

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. Rostov (Russian: Росто́в; Old Norse: Rostofa) is one of the oldest towns in Russia and an important tourist centre of the so called Golden ring. ... is the 204th day of the year (205th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In late July, Sixth Army resumed its offensive and by 10 August 1942 had largely cleared the Russian presence from the west bank of the Don. However, Soviet resistance continued in some areas further delaying the army's march east. In contrast, Army Group A after crossing the Don on 25 July fanned out on a broad front: the German Seventeenth Army swung west towards the Black Sea, 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. is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 206th day of the year (207th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Black Sea (disambiguation). ... is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Caucasus, a region bordering Asia Minor, is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea which includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. ...

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. is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Stalingrad is the former name of two cities: Volgograd, Russia Karviná-Nové Město, near Ostrava, Czech Republic Other uses: The Battle of Stalingrad (a major turning-point of World War II and arguably the bloodiest battle in human history) Stalingrad (German film set during the above battle) Stalingrad... The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, literally Air Weapon, pronounced lufft-va-fa, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ... is the 241st day of the year (242nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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. Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, GCB (Russian: ) (December 1, 1896 [O.S. November 19]–June 18, 1974), was a Soviet military commander who, in the course of World War II, led the Red Army to liberate the Soviet Union from the Nazi occupation, to overrun... For other meanings of the word Volga see Volga (disambiguation) Волга Length 3,690 km Elevation of the source 225 m Average discharge  ? m³/s Area watershed 1. ... is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Germany Romania Italy Hungary Croatia Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Italo Garibaldi Gusztav Jany Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovskiy Rodion Malinovskiy Andrei Yeremenko Strength Army Group B: German Sixth Army # German Fourth Panzer...

See also

• Battle of Stalingrad
• Operation Uranus
• Operation Saturn