Read The Road to Berlin Online
Authors: John Erickson
Tags: #History, #Europe, #Former Soviet Republics, #Military, #World War II
Goure, Leon,
The Siege of Leningrad
(Oxford UP/Stanford UP, 1962), pt II, ch. 9, ‘The Fortress City, March 1942–January 1943’, pp. 254–99. Detailed and definitive account.
Salisbury, Harrison E.,
The Siege of Leningrad
(US title:
The 900 Days)
(London: Secker & Warburg 1969), pt III, ‘Leningrad in Blockade’, pp. 273–393; pt V, ‘Operation
Iskra’
, pp. 535–50. Authoritative and vivid account, bitterly assailed by Soviet critics.
KTB/GMD
KTB
, III/1, Lageberichte/Ostfront entries 15 February–23 March 1943, pp. 127–236.
FHO
(IIa), Beurteilung der Feindabsichten vor der deutschen Ostfront im grossen: 22.2.43. T-78/R466, 6445936–39.
FHO
(IIa) Nr 574/43. Beurteilung der Feindabsichten vor der deutschen Ostfront im Grossen (auf Grund der neuesten Abwehrmeldungen): 23.3.43. T-78/R466, 6445951–56.
OKH
/General der Eisenbahntruppen. Soviet railway construction: copious material on Soviet efforts to supply Leningrad (reports, air photos, maps). T-78/R119, 6044128ff.
Hgr. Nord
. Feldzug gegen die Sowjetunion der Heeresgruppe Nord. Kriegsjahr 1943: Entwicklung der Lage 1.1 bis 31.1.43 (Bound volume). T-311/R136,7181737–60.
AOK
9 (9th Army). Orders/appreciations relating to Operation
Büffel
(Buffalo): Army Group/Corps orders
‘Büffel
Bewegung’: January–March 1943, T-312/R320, 7888896–993.
Soviet materials
IVOVSS
, 3 (1961), (i) pp. 142–9, Soviet offensive operations, central and north-west sectors:
Stavka
plans for NW, Kalinin, W, Bryansk and Central Fronts, aim to destroy Second Panzer Army and drive from Bryansk to Smolensk, encirclement of AGp Centre, NW Front to destroy enemy forces at Demyansk and introduce mobile group into rear of German forces operating against Leningrad/Volkhov Fronts, Bryansk Front operations, German countermoves, Central Front operations 15 February, inability to concentrate full Front forces, operations 65A and 2nd Tank Army, 21 March Central and Bryansk Fronts form northern face of Kursk salient, Kalinin and West Front operations liberate Rzhev and Vyazma (3–12 March), NW Front offensive delayed, poor command and control, Germans withdraw from Demyansk, Kalinin Front offensive (3rd Shock Army) north of Velikie Luki, summary of Red Army winter offensive, German losses (October 1942–March 1943) 1,324,000 officers and men.
(ii) pp. 124–39,
Iskra
(Leningrad):
Stavka
directive 8 December 1942, Soviet deployments, organization of two assault groups, Voroshilov as
Stavka
representative, artillery reinforcement for 67A and 2nd Shock Army, operations 12–18 January, junction of Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts (0930 hours, 18 January 1943), impossible to push offensive south of Mga.
IVMV
, 6 (1976), (i) pp. 141–6. Western, NW offensive operations February–March 1943,
Stavka
plans to destroy Army Group North (Operation
Polyarnaya Zvezda
, pp. 141–2) using Leningrad, Volkhov and NW Fronts, Germans anticipate Soviet offensive, Central Front operations at least force Germans to commit reserves, Western Front offensive makes only slow progress, NW Front offensive begins without full concentration of forces, Germans evacuate Demyansk, Stalin orders Zhukov to speed up operations of 27th Army and 1st Shock Army (signal, p. 145), limited results of NW offensive. (This version supplies more detail on
Polyarnaya Zvezda
(‘Pole Star’), Zhukov’s role as
Stavka
co-ordinator in NW theatre.)
(ii) pp. 117–24,
‘Iskra’
(Leningrad): operational planning, Leningrad Front plan 22 November 1942 (p. 119),
Stavka
confirmation 2 December, directive 8 December, Stalin sanctions delay due to ice conditions (p. 120), Voroshilov supervises co-ordination, Zhukov takes over on eve of offensive, role of Ladoga flotilla, Leningrad/Volkhov Front operations 12–18 January, decision to build rail link Leningrad–Volkhov. (Slightly more detail on operational planning.)
Diplomatic collections/wartime correspondence
Perepiska Predsedatelya Soveta Ministrov SSSR s Prezidentam SShA i Prem’er–Ministrami Velikobritanii … 1941–1945 gg
. (Moscow: Politizdat, 2nd edn 1976), vols 1 and 2. Cited henceforth as
Perepiska
… ; see here vol. 1, no. 114, pp. 114–15, Stalin to Churchill, 16 February 1943.
Documentary-memoir materials
Bagramyan, Marshal SU I.Kh.,
Tak shli my k pobede
(Moscow: Voenizdat (VM) 1977), pp. 163–73, 16th Army operations/W Front February–March 1943. (See also Bagramyan,
KZ
, 21 February 1965, on Sokolovskii as Front commander and failure of Orel–Bryansk operation due to insufficient allocation of forces.)
Batov, General P.I.,
V pokhodakh i boyakh
(Moscow: Voenizdat (VM), 3rd edn 1974), pp. 276–92, 65A operations Central Front February–March 1943, Kryukov–Sankovskii enquiry Rokossovskii rejects field court-martial (pp. 289–90), Malenkov inspects army for GKO, Central Front forms north face of Kursk salient. (Note: In the 2nd edn (Voenizdat 1966) of Batov’s memoirs, Malenkov is not mentioned, merely a ‘GKO representative’.)
Burov, A.V.,
Blokada den za dnem
(Leningrad: Leninzdat 1979). Daily record: see January 1943, pp. 291–308. (Note: Zhukov appointed Marshal SU 18 January 1943, the day blockade was breached.)
Fedyuninskii, General I.I.,
Podnyatye po trevoge
(Moscow: Voenizdat (VM), 2nd edn 1964), pp. 128–41, Fedyuninskii appointed deputy commander Volkhov Front, made personally responsible for success of right-flank operations/Volkhov Front, operations of 2nd Shock Army, casualties among Soviet senior officers.
Frolov, M.I.,
Artilleristy v boyakh za gorod Lenina
(Leningrad: Lenizdat 1978), pp. 149–84, artillery planning, operations in
Iskra
.
Inozemtsev, Lt.-Col. I., ‘Deistviya aviatsii Leningradskovo i Volkhovskovo frontov v yanvare 1943 goda’,
VIZ
, 1973 (1), pp. 26–31 (air operations, 13th Air Army, 14th Air Army/Leningrad).
Karaseyev, A.V.,
Leningradtsy v gody blokady
(Moscow: Akad. Nauk 1959), pp. 271–85, breaching blockade. (Remains an invaluable work.)
Katukov, Marshal Tank Troops M.E.,
Na ostrie glavnovo udara
(Moscow: Voenizdat (VM), 1st edn 1974, here 2nd edn 1976), pp. 191–7, raising of 1st Tank Army/NW Front (February 1943), Khozin’s ‘special group’ (1st Tank and 68th Army), tank army disengaged and ordered to Moscow, thence Kursk.
Kovalchuk, V.M.,
Leningrad i Bol’shaya Zemlya
(Leningrad: Nauka 1975), pp. 290–321, Ladoga road/rail systems, winter 1942–3. (Detailed research monograph.)
Mikoyan, A., ‘V dni blokady’,
VIZ
, 1977 (2), pp. 45–54 (supplying besieged Leningrad).
Platonov, Lt.-Gen. S.P. (ed.),
Bitva za Leningrad 1941–1944
(Moscow: Voenizdat 1964), pp. 230–70, situation December 1942, operational planning,
Stavka
directive 8 December, deployment/strength 67A and 2nd Shock Army, operations 12–18 January 1943. (Detailed operational narrative, though omits any mention of Zhukov’s role.)
Rokossovskii, K.K.,
Soldatskii dolg:
see
A Soldier’s Duty
, pp. 175–81, assumes command Central Front, logistics difficulties, 65A and 2nd Tank Army operations,
Stavka
miscalculation over planned deep envelopment of German ‘Orel group’, ‘grave blunder’ in not studying terrain, mid-March offensive halted.
Romanovskii, Col.-Gen. V.Z., ‘Deistvuyet 2-ya udarnaya …’ in
Operatsiya ‘Iskra’
, pp. 233–48. (Lt.-Gen. Romanovskii, cdr. 2nd Shock Army, on breaching blockade, January 1943.)
Shumilov, N.D.,
V dni blokady
(Moscow: Mysl 1977), pp. 250–59, on breaching blockade. (Author—Party propagandist, later editor
Leningradskaya Pravda.)
Tkachev, Maj.-Gen. F. and Komarov, Col. N., ‘Proryv blokady Leningrada’,
VIZ
, 1973 (1), pp. 18–25 (Soviet planning, strength/deployment, operations 67th Army, 2nd Shock Army).
Vasilevskii, A.M.,
Delo vsei zhizni
(2nd edn), pp. 308–17, reports to Stalin (16 February), Stalin retails contents of letter to Churchill, surprise at appointment to Marshal SU, recalled by Stalin to co-ordinate offensive against AGp Centre,
Stavka
directive for Central Front (p. 315), recalled to Moscow.
Vysotskii, F.I.
et al., Gvardeiskaya tankovaya
(Moscow: Voenizdat 1963), pp. 10–23, raising of 2nd Tank Army, assigned to Central Front, Sevsk operations, turns to defensive 19 March 1943.
Yarkhunov, Colonel V.M.,
Cherez Nevu
(Moscow: Voenizdat 1960). 67th Army operations and
Iskra:
operational narrative, chs 1–3.
Zhukov, G.K., ‘V bor’be za gorod Lenina’ in
Operatsiya ‘Iskra’
, pp. 27–37, Zhukov assigned to
Iskra
operation (5 January), special report to Stalin (document 11 January 1943, printed pp. 32–3), capture and testing of Tiger tank, Leningrad/Volkhov Front link-up.
The build-up in the Kursk salient pp.
63
–
76
Boelcke, Willi A. (ed.),
Deutschlands Rüstung im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Hitlers Konferenzen mit Albert Speer 1942–1945
. (Frankfurt: Athenaion 1969), pt IV, ‘Das Kriegsjahr 1943’, entries January–May 1943, pp. 209–65.
Jukes, Geoffrey,
Kursk. Clash of Armour
, ‘The Germans prepare’, ‘The Red Army prepares’, pp. 32–61. (Detailed account, excellent sketches of personalities/commanders.)
Klink, E.,
Das Gesetz des Handelns ‘Zitadelle’ 1943
(Stuttgart: DVA 1966). Basic authoritative work on
Citadel
documentation/decision-making,
passim
.
Read, Anthony and Fisher, David,
Operation Lucy
, ch. 11, ULTRA, benefits from ‘long preparation periods’, also disagreements in commands, larger number of signals, Rado to Moscow 8 April (postponement of German attack), Moscow informed of new German tanks, 29 April Rado informed Moscow of attack date as 12 June, 9 May ‘Director’ in Moscow received 120 cypher groups on German plans: see pp. 151–3. (Note: Soviet sources have made no reference to
ULTRA
. The ‘Ziebert’ episode is described in a dramatized version in
Front bez linii fronta
, Moscow, Novosti 1965, pp. 134–9.)
Seaton, Albert,
The Russo–German War
, pp. 353–61, on Kursk, German and Soviet planning/preparations.
Bibliographical note
Parrish, Michael,
The U.S.S.R. in World War II. An Annotated Bibliography of Books Published in the Soviet Union 1945–1975
(Addenda 1975–1980) (New York and London: Garland Publishing 1981), pt 1 (10), ‘The Battle of Kursk’, pp. 97–102.
Istoriya SSSR
, III, pp. 247–54, Bibliography (publications 1941–67) on Kursk (entries nos. 2695–2795).
KTB/GMD
KTB
, III/2, Operationsbefehl Nr 5: 13.3.43, pp. 1420–22; Operationsbefehl Nr 6 (Zitadelle): 15.4.54, pp. 1425–7.