Tatsinskaya Raid
Part of World War II
Soviet Advances during Operation Little Saturn.
Date 16 December 1942 to 28 December 1942 Location Tatsinskaya, Russia Result Soviet Strategic Victory
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. It was an armoured raid conducted by the 24th Tank Corps under the command of Major General Vasilii Mikhailovich Badanov. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1256x956, 212 KB) Webpage: World War II File is under US Government Copyright File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 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Mannerheim Benito Mussolini Miklós Horthy Jozef Tiso Joseph Stalin Strength ~3. ... 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 Wilhem von Leeb Georg von Küchler Kliment Voroshilov Georgiy Zhukov Strength 725,000 930,000 Casualties Unknown 300,000 military, 16,470 civilians from bombings and an estimated 1 million civilians from starvation The Siege of Leningrad (Russian: блокада Ленинграда (transliteration: blokada Leningrada... 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 Germany Soviet Union Commanders Fedor von Bock Georgi Zhukov Strength ~ 1,500,000 ~ 1,500,000 Casualties 250,000 700,000 The Battle of Moscow refers to the defense of the Soviet capital of Moscow and the subsequent counter-offensive against the German army, between October 1941 and January... 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 Italy Hungary Romania Slovakia Soviet Union Commanders Maximilian von Weichs Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Italo Garibaldi Gusztav Jany Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovsky Rodion Malinovsky Strength German Sixth Army German Fourth Panzer Army Romanian Third Army... 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 Germany Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Hans 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, 2,400 aircraft Casualties German Kursk : 50,000 dead, wounded... 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 Rokossovsky, 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... During World War II, Operation Bagration was the general attack by Soviet forces to clear the Nazis from Belarus which resulted in the destruction of the German Army Group Centre, possibly the greatest defeat for the Wehrmacht during the war. ... 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 Red Army Wehrmacht Heeresgruppe Südukraine, Romanian Army Commanders Marshal Semyon Timoshenko Generaloberst Friessner Strength 1,341,200, 1,874 tanks and assault guns ca. ... Combatants Wehrmacht i. ... Combatants Axis Soviet Union Commanders General Otto von Lasch Marshal Vasilevsky Marshal Rokossovsky Strength 130,000 250,000 Casualties 50,000 60,000 The Battle of Königsberg was the last battle of the East Prussian Operation. ... Combatants Soviet Union Poland Germany Commanders Georgiy Zhukov Ivan Konev Konstantin Rokossovskiy Vasiliy Chuykov Adolf Hitler â€  Gotthard Heinrici Helmuth Reymann Ernst Kaether (one day) Helmuth Weidling # Karl Dönitz # Wilhelm Mohnke # Strength 2,500,000 soldiers, 6,250 tanks, 7,500 aircraft, 41,600 artillery pieces [1] 1,000,000... The Eastern Front at the time of the Prague Offensive. ... Operation Blue(German: Fall Blau) was the German Wehrmachts codename for the 1942 summer offensive. ... Combatants Soviet Union Axis powers 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, finally battles: 25,000 KIA... 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 Italy Hungary Romania Slovakia Soviet Union Commanders Maximilian von Weichs Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Italo Garibaldi Gusztav Jany Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovsky Rodion Malinovsky Strength German Sixth Army German Fourth Panzer Army Romanian Third Army... 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 Soviet Union Axis powers 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, finally battles: 25,000 KIA... Soviet advances during Operations Uranus, Mars and Saturn Operation Saturn was a Red Army operation on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in the northern Caucasus and Donets Basin regions of the Soviet Union from December 1942 to February 1943. ... The 2nd Guards Tank Corps (honorific Tatsin) was a Red Army armoured formation that saw service during World War II on the Eastern Front. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ...

The purpose

The Red Army had encircled the Wehrmacht’s 6th Army in Stalingrad with Operation Uranus, conducted from 19 November 1942. By the middle of December, the German relief effort called Operation Winter Storm was making progress to within 48km of the encirclement ring, and the airlift with which the encircled army should have been kept going until the siege was lifted was in full swing. In this situation, the STAVKA decided to launch Operation Little Saturn, to encircle all of German Army Group A, by penetrating to the south and the coast of the Sea of Azov. The danger this operation created was so serious that the German command had to give up any hope of relieving the besieged 6th Army, and instead turned its attention to fighting the advancing Red Army formations, while simultaneously trying to move as many formations as possible to the west. As a consequence of the threat, the most potent of the German divisions involved in the relief effort, 6th Panzer Division, was turned west, and ordered to first clear the raiding force from Tatsinskaya, and later to establish a new frontline towards the north of the airfield. With that decision, any hope of breaking through to 6th Army had gone. The Workers and Peasants Red Army (Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия, Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya; RKKA or usually simply the Red Army) were the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and that in 1922 became the army of the Soviet Union. ... Image:Wehrmacht 20 April 1939 Birthday Parade. ... The 6. ... 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 eastern front at the time of Operation Uranus. ... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... 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... Stavka (Ставка) was the General Headquarters of armed forces in late Imperial Russia and in the Soviet Union. ... Soviet advances during Operations Uranus, Mars and Saturn Operation Saturn was a Red Army operation on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in the northern Caucasus and Donets Basin regions of the Soviet Union from December 1942 to February 1943. ... 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. ... The shallow Sea of Azov is clearly distinguished from the deeper Black Sea. ... The Workers and Peasants Red Army (Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия, Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya; RKKA or usually simply the Red Army) were the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and that in 1922 became the army of the Soviet Union. ... 1st Light Brigade 1st Light Division 6th Panzer Division The German 1st Light Brigade was a mechanized unit established in October 1937 in imitation of the French Division Légère Mécanique, intended to take on the roles of army-level reconnaissance and security that had traditionally been the...

The battle

Soviet planning

24th Tank Corps^[1] belonged to 3rd Guards Army which was commanded by General D.D. Lelyushenko. The army was a part of the Southwestern Front under command of N.F. Vatutin. The 24th Tank Corps was designated as the army's exploitation force, in line with the doctrine of Deep Battle. It was therefore not to be committed during the initial breaching of the tactical defenses of the axis forces in the sector, but would be committed once a breach in these defenses had been opened. A Tank Corps was a Soviet armoured formation used since before the beginning of World War II. // In Soviet Russia, the so called armored forces (броневые силы) preceded the Tank Corps. ... The Soviet Third Guards Army was a field army of the Red Army that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II, notably in 1945. ... Dmitri Danilovich Lelyushenko (Дмитрий Данилович Лелюшенко in Russian) (10. ... The Southernwestern Front was one of the Soviet Army fronts during the World War II. In 1941 it took part in the tank battles in western Ukraine and the defensive operation around Kiev, in which the Front Chief of Staff General Mikhail Kirponos was killed and the entire Front captured... now. ... During the 1930s, Soviet military theorists introduced the concept of deep battle. ...

The assault by 3rd Guards Army commenced during the morning of 16 December 1942. In order to accelerate the breaching of the Axis tactical defense by his rifle formations, Lelyushenko committed the other two tank corps available to him (17th and 25th Tank Corps) during the initial phase of the battle.

24th Tank Corps was ordered to commence its operation at 11.30 hours on 17th December. At this stage, 17th and 25th Tank Corps had already reached the operational depth, and were in the process of encircling Italian 8th Army and battling the forces of Army Detachment Hollidt. 25th Tank Corps later conducted a deep raid towards Morozovskaya to the east of Tatsinskaya itself. The purpose of the two deep raids was to cut off the German formations conducting Operation Winterstorm, the relief attempt for 6th Army. 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... The German Sixth Army (German: ) was a World War II field army and the protagonist of the tragic Battle of Stalingrad in 1942. ...

The raid

Detail of USMA Map showing the penetration routes of 24th and 25th Tank Corps (3GD arrow = 24th Tank Corps; Unlabeled arrow = 25th Tank Corps.

The raid was aimed at the German Luftwaffe's airfield of Tatsinskaya, from which a major part of the Stalingrad relief airlift was conducted. On Christmas Eve, 24 December 1942, they captured the airfield with an attack from three sides. The airfield may not have received a warning, since flight operations were still going on. An eyewitness account by a Soviet officer describes the scene: Image File history File links Tatsinskaya. ... Image File history File links Tatsinskaya. ... Combatants Germany Italy Hungary Romania Slovakia Soviet Union Commanders Maximilian von Weichs Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Italo Garibaldi Gusztav Jany Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovsky Rodion Malinovsky Strength German Sixth Army German Fourth Panzer Army Romanian Third Army...

“Our tank detachments unexpectedly broke into Tatsinski military airport. First to penetrate enemy’s territory was captain Nechaev’s battalion. A tough fight between tanks and enemy artillery began. Germans were shooting grenades at the Russian tanks and managed to blow up several of them. However the Soviet tank crews broke the Nazi defense. After they destroyed patrol forces, Russian soldiers started shooting German pilots that rushed to their planes desperately hoping to save their lives.” (from the Voice of Russia Article)

The 24th Tank Corps claimed the destruction of over 300 planes on the airfield, including 72 Junkers 52, or almost 10% of the transport capacity of the Luftwaffe. The airfield defenses were quickly over-run, and while over 100 transport planes managed to escape during the battle, losses to the German side were heavy. As the tanks were low on ammunition, almost all of the planes destroyed were rammed by the tanks. A number of planes were destroyed while still on railway cars on which they had arrived to contribute to the Stalingrad airlift. The Junkers Ju 52 nicknamed Tante Ju (Auntie Ju) and Iron Annie was a civilian airliner and military transport aircraft and bomber manufactured between 1932 and 1945 by Junkers. ...

Once the airfield was seized however, the 24th Tank Corps was cut off, and found itself without supplies deep inside the German lines.

German reaction^[2]

Already while the battle for the airfield and the town were going on, it became clear to Badanov that he had been cut off, when march columns of his 24th Motorized Brigade were followed from the north by German forces, and on the 26th December the last elements of 24th Motorized Brigade managed to break through the encirclement ring to join the main force of the Corps. German Army Group Don under Fieldmarshal von Manstein had meanwhile ordered XXXXVIIIth Panzerkorps to move towards the deep penetrations the Red Army had achieved with the 11th Panzer Division and 6th Panzer Division. From 26 December the two divisions had cut off completely the connection between 24th Tank Corps and 1st Guards Army. Towards the north, a mixed Kampfgruppe blocked the road for other Red Army formations that might have come to the assistance of 24th Tank Corps. The German command also brought up the 579th Infantry Regiment of the 306th Infantry Division. Together, these forces now conducted an attack with the aim of destroying the 24th Tank Corps. Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... The XLVIII Panzer Corps (German ), originally called the XLVIII Motorized Corps, was a corps level formation of the German Heer which saw extensive action on both the east and western fronts during World War II. History The corps was originally formed on 15 December 1940 in Germany as the XLVIII... // Background A Panzerkorps was a military formation type in the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The name was introduced in 1942, when the motorised Armeekorps (AK (mot. ... The 11. ... 1st Light Brigade 1st Light Division 6th Panzer Division The German 1st Light Brigade was a mechanized unit established in October 1937 in imitation of the French Division Légère Mécanique, intended to take on the roles of army-level reconnaissance and security that had traditionally been the... December 26 is the 360th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, 361st in leap years. ... The Kampfgruppe was a common combat formation used by the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War. ...

The STAVKA reacted by ordering the Front command to assist Badanov's force. The available units were 25th Tank Corps, which was reduced to 25 tanks by heavy combat, and 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, which had already incurred losses too. They were reinforced with infantry, but did not manage to break through to Tatsinskaya. This led to the need for Badanov and his surviving men to break out to escape destruction, and permission to do so was given on 28 December. Most of the materiél and many men were lost during the break-out, but the damage to the Germans had been done. German forces engaged in the relief of Stalingrad had to be withdrawn to deal with the raiders, and many invaluable transport planes of the Luftwaffe had been destroyed, with their crews and ground personnel mostly all killed. The 24th Tank Corps claimed the destruction of 84 tanks, 106 guns, the killing of 12,000 Axis soldiers and the capture of almost 5,000 more in this operation. The 1st Guards Mechanized Corps (honorific Vienna) was a Red Army armoured formation that saw service during World War II on the Eastern Front. ... December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 3 days remaining. ... 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... The German Luftwaffe was one of the most powerful, doctrinally advanced, and battle-experienced air forces in the world when World War II started in Europe in September 1939. ...

Analysis

Despite the loss of most of the Tank Corps, the raid was a great operational success in some aspects. It also showed major shortcomings in the organisation of the Soviet Tank Corps, in particular its weakness in sustaining independent operations in depth and over time, and therefore contributed to the further refinement of Soviet tactics. A Tank Corps was a Soviet armoured formation used since before the beginning of World War II. // In Soviet Russia, the so called armored forces (броневые силы) preceded the Tank Corps. ...

24th Tank Corps operated up to 150 miles (240km) from its supply base, and had to rely on captured supplies to stay operational. The follow-on rifle divisions were not mobile enough to keep up with the Tank Corps, allowing the Germans to cut off the connection between the raiding force and its base, and ultimately defeating the operational intent of cutting off a large part of the German forces in the region.

Despite this, the raid for the first time in the war had pushed a strong combat-capable formation deep into the rear of mobile German formations, forcing the German command to adapt its own operational plans while doing so. Previous raids had been by much weaker cavalry or airborne forces operating together with partisans, and these had not been able to create as much damage. Soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat are commonly known as cavalry (from French cavalerie). ... Look up airborne in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Partisan may refer to: A member of a lightly-equipped irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation. ...

Much was learned by the Soviet command from the raid, and it probably gave further impetus to create the new tank armies as independent formations capable of conducting sustained operations deep in the enemy rear. The almost complete loss of the equipment and that of many of the personnel of the 24th Tank Corps also brought home the truth that operating so deep behind enemy lines carried exceptional risks.

Recognition

STAVKA was quick in recognising the exceptional achievement of the 24th Tank Corps. Major General Badanov became the first recipient of the newly created Order of Suvorov for this operation, and quickly went on to command 4th Guards Tank Army later in the war, with which he participated in Operation Kutuzov in July 1943. From 1944 onwards he commanded the Red Army Armoured School, and he rose to the rank of Lieutenant-General. The Order of Suvorov (Russian Орден Суворова) is a Soviet award, named after Aleksandr Suvorov, was established on July 29, 1942 (during World War II) by a Decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The medal was created to award army personnel for exceptional duty in combat operations. ... Operation Kutuzov was a military operation by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht during World War II. It was named after Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, the Tsarist general credited with saving Russia from defeat during the invasion by Napoleon in 1812. ...

Already during the raid, 24th Tank Corps was renamed 2nd Guards Tank Corps and given the honorific title 'Tatsinskaya' to honour of its achievement. It later played a key role in the Battle of Prokhorovka, as well as many other important operations during the remainder of the war. Combatants Soviet Union Germany Commanders Pavel Rotmistrov Erich von Manstein Strength 500 tanks 200 tanks Casualties Ca. ...

Captain Nechaev, commander of the last tanks of the Tank Corps was made a posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union for his actions. Hero of the Soviet Union (Russian: Герой Советского Союза, Geroy Sovyetskovo Soyuza) was the highest honorary title and the superior degree of distinction of the Soviet Union. ...

Forces

Soviet Forces

24th Tank Corps

The strength of the corps was 90% of tanks provided for in the TO&E for a total of 159 tanks, 50% of motor transport, and 70% of personnel. The Corps was supplied with two units of ammunition^[3], two units of fuel and lubricants, and five days of rations.

• 24th Tank Corps (Major General of Tank Troops V.M. Badanov)
  • Corps Troops
    • 13th Mining Engineer Company
    • 158th Mobile Repair Base
  • 4th Guards Tank Brigade (Colonel G.I. Kolypov) ^[4]
  • 54th Tank Brigade (Colonel V.M. Polyakov)
  • 130th Tank Brigade (Colonel S.K. Nesterov)
  • 24th Motorized Rifle Brigade (Colonel V.S. Savchenko) ^[5]

Reinforcements attached to the corps for the raid:

• 658th Anti Aircraft Artillery Regiment
• 413th Guards Mortar (Rocket) Battalion

Air support was provided by 3rd Composite Air Corps of 17th Air Army, through an aerial liaison officer travelling with the HQ of the 24th Tank Corps. Katyusha multiple rocket launchers are a type of rocket artillery built and fielded by the Soviet Union beginning in the Second World War. ...

Other forces

• 25th Tank Corps
• 1st Guards Mechanized Corps

The 1st Guards Mechanized Corps (honorific Vienna) was a Red Army armoured formation that saw service during World War II on the Eastern Front. ...

German forces

• XXXXVIIIth Panzerkorps
  • 11th Panzer Division
  • 6th Panzer Division
  • 306th Infantry Division

The XLVIII Panzer Corps (German ), originally called the XLVIII Motorized Corps, was a corps level formation of the German Heer which saw extensive action on both the east and western fronts during World War II. History The corps was originally formed on 15 December 1940 in Germany as the XLVIII... The 11. ... 1st Light Brigade 1st Light Division 6th Panzer Division The German 1st Light Brigade was a mechanized unit established in October 1937 in imitation of the French Division Légère Mécanique, intended to take on the roles of army-level reconnaissance and security that had traditionally been the...

Trivia

In the game Call of Duty: Finest Hour, the last three Soviet missions are at Tatsinskaya in which in a tank you attack the station, move onto the airfield then finally assault the last Germans at the Control tower. In a nod to the true story of the raid, the player's character is a tank commander named Nikolai Badanov. Call of Duty: Finest Hour is a first-person shooter for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube video game consoles. ...

Notes

• ↑  A tank corps was actually a division-size formation, but commanded by an officer in the rank of a Corps commander.
• ↑  Glantz, D. 'From the Don to the Dnepr' pp.68-71
• ↑  one unit (also referred to as 'combat load') is defined as standard expenditure of the item in question during a day of combat.
• ↑  At this time, a tank brigade consisted of two tank battalions (usually with two medium companies of 10 T-34 and one light company of 10 T-70 each) and one motorized rifle battalion, as well as an anti-tank artillery battery, and a headquarters company.
• ↑  Motorized rifle battalions consisted of three motorized rifle battalions, an artillery battalion, an anti-aircraft artillery battalion, a mortar battery, and a headquarters company.

The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank first produced in 1940. ... The T-70 was a light tank in the Red Army during the WW2. ...

See also

• Battle of Stalingrad
• Operation Uranus
• Operation Little Saturn
• Operation Winter Storm

Combatants Germany Italy Hungary Romania Slovakia Soviet Union Commanders Maximilian von Weichs Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Hermann Hoth Italo Garibaldi Gusztav Jany Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovsky Rodion Malinovsky Strength German Sixth Army German Fourth Panzer Army Romanian Third Army... The eastern front at the time of Operation Uranus. ... Soviet advances during Operations Uranus, Mars and Saturn Operation Saturn was a Red Army operation on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in the northern Caucasus and Donets Basin regions of the Soviet Union from December 1942 to February 1943. ... 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...

References

• Erickson, J. 'The Road to Stalingrad'
• Glantz, D. 'From the Don to the Dnepr'
• Porfiryev, ‘Raid to Tatsinskaya’, VIZH 11/1987
• Scheibert, H. ‘Panzer zwischen Don und Donets’
• Voice of Russia Article
• Article (in Portuguese) on Operation Winter Storm
• Through the Furnace of War – article on evolvement of Soviet mechanized formations
• Russian map showing advance along the middle Don river