Korsun Pocket, also known as the Cherkassy Pocket, was the name of the large pocket of German troops between the towns of Korsun and Cherkassy on the lower Dnepr River in the Southern Ukraine, during World War II.
In January of 1944, the encroaching SovietRed Army executed a pincer operation against a salient in the German lines near the town of Cherkassy. German troops, prevented from retreat by orders of Adolf Hitler, soon found themselves completely encircled, with their only source of supply being an airfield next to the town of Korsun. The Soviets thus succeeded in encircling 56,000 Germans, creating the largest pocket of German troops since the Battle of Stalingrad.
After the encirclement the Red Army persistently tightened their stranglehold against the German troops in the pocket, while at the same time, the Germans, led by Field Marshal von Manstein, mounted increasingly strong relief efforts against the outer Soviet perimeter. The relief was a partial success as the enciricled German forces were able to break out, but they suffered heavy losses and had to abandon most of their heavy equipment.
External links
US ARMY Historical Study - Operations of Encircled Forces, German Experiences in Russia (http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/BOOKS/WWII/20234/20234.html)
KorsunPocket is the long awaited sequel to The Ardennes Offensive in the Decisive Battles system.
KorsunPocket uses a greatly improved version of the Ardennes Offensive engine to recreate the desperate German attempt to escape encirclement on the Russian Front early in 1944.
As preparations were made for fresh relief attempts, the Germans inside the pocket slowly retreated from the Dnieper and made their own attacks in the southwest.
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