Eastern Front

This article is devoted to Birth Anniversary of Kurt Knispel, the highest scoring tank ace of World War II with a total of 168 confirmed tank kills. He was born in Salisfeld (Salisov) near the town of Zuckmantel (Zlaté Hory) in Sudetenland (now Jesenicko District, Land of Silesia, Czech Republic).

Предлагаемая Вам статья является предисловием к сборнику материалов, посвященных генералу Б.В. Геруа, талантливому командиру, штабисту и военному теоретику эпохи Первой мировой войны. Основное внимание уделяется прояснению и эволюции "картины мира" мемуариста. Кроме того, на основе архивных документах уточняется его боевой путь, подробно описываются бои октября 1914 г. в Галиции и апреля 1915 г. под Горлицей

A magyar 2. hadsereg soproni 4/I. zászlóaljának sikeres harckocsi-elhárítása 1942. május 31-én (és június 1-én) Kalinovnál. The baptism of fire of the Hungarian 2nd Army's 4/I. Battalion at Kalinov on 31 May/1 June, when they successfully repulsed a Soviet armoured and infantry attack, destroying 5 tanks.

Hungary joined as the first nation to the Japan, Germany and Italy formed Tripartite Pact in November 1940. The Axis ally evolved during military operations. First, during the attack on Yugoslavia in April 1941, and then during the attack against the Soviet Union from June 1941. Hungary joined to the attack against the Soviet Union after the bombardment on Kassa. The Hungarian government declared that bombardment was committed by Soviet airplanes. The attack of the Royal Hungarian Army conducted by the Carpathian Group included VIIIth corps from Kassa, and the most modern Ist Mobile Corps. The tasks of the Group were in the first period, until 9th of July 1941 to track the Russian troops withdrawn from the Hungarian border and to take in hand the crossing points on the river Dniester.
The Ist Mobile Corps detached from the Carpathian Group on 9th of July and subordinated by the German Army Group South. The Carpathian Group itself left under Hungarian command. The tasks of the Group were: set up the military administration, restart the economy, and peace-making in the hinterland. The additional tasks of the German subordinated Mobile Corps were: supply to reach Opera-tion Barbarossa’s aims on East and cut the withdrawal of the Soviet Armies and help to sur-round them. The Carpathian Group and the 1st Mobile Corps were relieved in October-November of 1941, during the attack against Moscow (aka Operation Typhoon).

My paper examines the failure of Operation Barbarossa and the Invasion of the Soviet Union from the perspective of Army Group Center in 1941. My question is “What are the variables that led to the failure of Operation Barbarossa and its pinnacle point of the Battle of Moscow?” The Nazi doctrine believed that the Russians were considered to be “sub-human,” but yet the Red Army at a heavy price won a major strategic victory. The paper investigates the effects of the weather, logistics, intelligence, Hitler’s leadership role, and the Red Army’s fanatical resistance. The work includes tactical and strategical assessments of Army Group Center towards Battles of Minsk, Smolensk, Kiev, and Moscow.  As well as, Soviet military tactics to stall the advance of the Wehrmacht offensive. The evidence draws on the German and Soviet memoirs, and accounts of Operation Barbarossa. The thesis of my paper is, Hitler and his generals’ tactical errors resulted in the failure of​ the conquest of the Soviet Union. The key significance of the study is understanding the failure of the invasion resulted in the downfall of the Third Reich in 1945.

Even before Operation Barbarossa petered out in December 1941, Germany's oil reserves were severely depleted. Adolf Hitler worried that his armed forces would soon grind to a halt for want of petroleum products. During the last months of 1941 and the first of 1942, economic considerations played as much of a role in the formulation of a new strategy as did the run-down state of the eastern armies and air fleets. Hitler feared heavy Soviet bombing attacks on Rumanian oilfields, his main source of oil, and knew that the Reich's reserves were almost exhausted. Consequently, he considered the protection of the Rumanian oilfields and the acquisition of new sources of oil crucial if he were to wage a prolonged war against the growing list of nations he opposed.

The Story of Franz Bäumer’s Wartime Emergency Landing in Grossliebental (Ukraine), Circa Early 1944

By Edgar Seibel of Hallenberg, Germany

Translated and edited by Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz

NOTE:  This article translation first appeared in Heritage Review, Vol. 46, No. 2 (June 2016):  pp. 40-44.  Reprinted here with permission of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society (GRHS) in Bismarck, North Dakota. 

EDGAR SEIBEL'S ABSTRACT:  I held conversations in August 2010 with Günter-Franz Bäumer (1923-2012) of Hallenberg in the Hochsauerlandkreis in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, writing down some of his life stories before his passing in April 2012.  He was our family’s former landlord and neighbor from 1998, the year of our entry into the Federal Republic of Germany, until 2002.

Bäumer told me about the ethnic German settlers of Grossliebental (today Velikodolinskoye) in Ukraine.  During the Second World War, he had to make an emergency landing with his transport plane in the Black Sea area.  Germany had already known of the ethnic Germans (“Volksdeutsche”) residing in Ukraine.  The story went that he landed his aircraft filled with wounded soldiers directly into this colony.  He explained how the ethnic Germans gave him provisions (bread and much bacon).  He had to hurry, however, because Red Army troops were only thirty kilometers away from him.  The wintry ground conditions at the time kept the plane grounded, but Grossliebental’s local German population helped him with “horses and boards” to break the aircraft out from the ice.

For the English summary, please see below.

Santrauka

LIETUVIŠKAI
Istoriją istorikams - teigia kaimyninių didžiųjų valstybių politikai. Jiems prisiminti kai kuriuos praeities įvykius yra nenaudinga ir nepatogu. Deja, kai kurie vis primenami minint jų sukaktis. Pvz., 1939 – 1941 m. bolševikinės SSRS (Sovietų Rusijos) ir nacistinės Vokietijos pasirašyta sutartis su slaptais protokolais. Jos pasirašymas vyko apie pusantrų metų (nuo 1939 rugpjūčio 23 d. iki 1941 sausio 10 d.). Bendru sutarimu pavyko nustatyti kaimyninių valstybių okupacijos sąlygos ir dviejų agresyvių valstybių interesų ribą Europoje.
Sutartis su slaptaisiais protokolais vadinama Molotovo - Ribentropo paktu (MRP). Tai neteisėta ir nusikalstama.sutartis. Ji lėmė Lietuvos ir kitų Europos valstybių okupacijas ir aneksijas.
Vykusios derybos dėl bolševikinės SSRS (Sovietų Rusijos) ir nacistinės Vokietijos interesų ribos Europoje tai politinis detektyvas vertas kinematografų dėmesio. Ypač nervingai agresoriai dalijosi Lietuvos Respublikos ir Lenkijos Respublikos teritorijas.
Jų interesų riba per Lietuvos Respubliką vesta net tris kartus, Vyko mainai ir prekyba atskiromis Lietuvos teritorijos dalimis. Agresoriai susinervino dalindamiesi Lietuvos teritoriją. Ypač dėl dalies Užnemunės, kurią vokiečiai vadino „Gebietsstreif“. Po abi puses erzinusių derybų tik 1941 01 10 pasirašytas slaptas sienos sutarties minimame Lietuvos teritorijos ruože protokolas, o po kelių mėnesių tarp bolševikinės SSRS (Sovietų Rusijos) ir nacistinės Vokietijos prasidėjo karas. Taigi, MRP, turėjęs užtikrinti dviejų agresorių draugystę, galiojo
tik apie pusmetį.
Šiemet sukanka 80 metų nuo MRP pasirašymo pabaigos ir jo įtakoto bolševikinės SSRS (Sovietų Rusijos) ir nacistinės Vokietijos karo pradžios. Karas prasidėjo 1941 m. birželio 22 d. ir įvardijamas kaip Antrojo pasaulinio karo Rytų frontas.
MRP pasirašymo pabaigos ir Antrojo pasaulinio karo Rytų fronto pradžios 80 metų sukaktį minint, glaustai prisiminkime svarbiausius įvykius vykusius iki Antrojo pasaulio karo ir po jo.

Summary

ENGLISH
History for historians - argues the politicians of neighboring major states. For them to remember some of the events of the past is useless and inconvenient. Unfortunately, some are still being reminded of their anniversaries. For example, between 1939 and 1941, the Bolshevik USSR (Soviet Russia) and Nazi Germany signed an agreement with secret protocols. Its signature took place for about a year and a half (from 23 August 1939 to 10 January 1941). By consensus, it was possible to establish a European boundary between the conditions of occupation of neighboring states and the interests of two aggressive states.
The treaty on secret protocols is called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (MRP). It's an illegal and criminal
contract. It led to occupations and annexations of Lithuania and other European countries.
The negotiations that took place on the boundary of interests of the Bolshevik USSR (Soviet Russia) and Nazi Germany in Europe is a political detective worthy of the attention of cinematographers. Especially nervously, the aggressors shared the territories of The Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Poland.
The boundary of their interests was led through the Republic of Lithuania three times, there was an exchange and trade in individual parts of the territory of Lithuania. The aggressors were nervous about sharing the territory of Lithuania. Especially for the part of Užnemunė, which the Germans called "Gebietsstreif". After mutually irritated negotiations, only on 10.1.1941, a secret protocol was signed on the part of Lithuania mentioned in the border treaty, and a few months later a war broke out between the Bolshevik USSR (Soviet Russia) and Nazi Germany. Thus, it was only a contract that was in force for about half a year. Thus, the MRP, which was supposed to secure a friendship between the two aggressors, was only valid for about half a year.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the MRP and the start of the war between the Bolshevik USSR (Soviet Russia) and Nazi Germany, which was influenced by it. The war began on June 22, 1941, and is named the Eastern Front of World War II.
To mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the MRP and the beginning of the Eastern Front of World War II, let us briefly recall the most important events that took place before and after the Second World War.

Various other explanations have been demonstrated as being pivotal to total victory and the downfall of the Third Reich. These central articulations amongst historians include German idealism, both militarily and politically, Soviet economic performance, the Russian Winter, external Lend Lease aid, Stalin’s Communist Party playing its vital role of “leader, organiser and inspirer”, and the contrasting personalities of Hitler and Stalin.

The article is devoted to the research of genealogy, biography and military experience of  Sergei Nikolaevich Voevodsky (1889-1914). He was the nephew of the Russian Navy Minister, a participant of three wars and an officer of the Chevalier Guard Regiment of the Russian army.

Più di 100.000 sudditi austro-ungarici di lingua italiana originari di Trentino e Litorale adriatico combatterono nell’esercito dell’Impero durante la Grande guerra. Parlavano la lingua del nemico e per questo furono considerati inaffidabili e sospetti dal punto di vista nazionale. Inviati soprattutto sul lontano fronte russo, in migliaia caddero prigionieri. Già nel corso della guerra, circa 4.000 furono intercettati da un’apposita missione militare italiana che, dopo averli selezionati e parzialmente «rieducati», li trasportò via nave nel Regno. Altri, sorpresi dalla rivoluzione bolscevica e trasferiti con un viaggio avventuroso nella concessione militare italiana di Tientsin, furono in parte aggregati al Corpo di spedizione italiano in Estremo oriente, inviato a combattere contro i bolscevichi e rimpatriato soltanto nei primi mesi del 1920.
Al di là dei trascorsi avventurosi, vissuti in lunghi anni passati tra guerra, prigionia e complicati ritorni, i soldati di lingua italiana dell’esercito austro-ungarico rappresentano un tema storiograficamente interessante. Le loro vicende ci rimandano alla complessa questione nazionale nella Duplice monarchia, in particolare nelle cosiddette «terre irredente». Ma soprattutto ci spingono a indagare i motivi dello sguardo per certi aspetti egualmente diffidente che su di essi rivolsero sia le autorità austriache, sia quelle italiane, nonché a interrogarci sui sentimenti con cui partirono per il fronte, sulle loro identità culturali, nazionali, regionali e sui modi in cui queste vennero messe in discussione, modificate o ribadite a seguito dell’esperienza di guerra.

It is actually two books under one cover, but the materials are closely connected.  It is based on a kind of 15-year-long painstaking research, which was really problematic, since the entire fast bomber documentation was lost.

The first part of the book covers all phases of the pilot training of the Royal Hungarian Air Force from a young NCO's and his classmates' point of view and through his own experiences (primary, basic, advanced training and OTU - types, units, logged hours, accidents, long list of trainees of his class and their future fate, comparison of the officer and NCO training and their status and comparison between the Hungarian and German and US training system as well) It contains many interesting details about the short range reconnaissance units stationed at Hungary, about the Me 210 equipped night fighters' and daily destroyers' clashes with the 15th AAF in April, 1944 and it contains many unpublished details also about the target tug units (another important, but entirely neglected form of the military aviation).

The second part of the material is the detailed history of the Hungarian Me 210 equipped fast bomber group in 1944-45. It contains their sorties in great details (day by day account, in most days with the identified and marked exact targets as well), all of their personnel losses (ground/air), their kills, WNrs, Hungarian codes and factory numbers and so on, formerly unknown details. For the 15th AAF fans it contains details not only about the April, 1944 clashes, but the very details from both sides about the 21 August, 1944 strike against Hajdúböszörmény airfield as well, for which 325th FG's famous ace, Herschel 'Herky' Green earned his DSC.

The book has a detailed, rich appendix, which contains fast bomber logbook entries, biographies of notable pilots, detailed claims list, detailed personnel loss list, detailed squadron rosters, commander and airfield list, fast bomber aircraft strength returns, and a detailed rank comparison table (Royal Hungarian Air Force, Luftwaffe, USAAF, RAF)

The book contains close to 200 photos (most of them have never been published before), a map and 4 beautiful Me 210 Ca-1 colour profiles.

The photo/map/colour profile captions are bilingual and although the main text is Hungarian, the book contains a very detailed English summary (over 17 000 words) plus the very detailed appendix is also bilingual (in all, you can find a 25 000 word-long English text in this book).

This is the story of the first Uryw-Storozhewoye bridgehead battle, fought on 18 July, 1942. On that day, the Hungarian 2nd Army successfully seized the area (but it remained in the focus of the fight and the Soviets recaptured it soon) It was published in the 6/2010 issue of Haditechnika, pp. 58-62.

Podcast jest dostępny pod adresem: https://podcasty.polskieradio.pl/track/ff3d510d-7e7b-4463-8a83-108138f9c55e (dostęp 03.03.2022 r.). Początek wywiadu: 8 min. 30 s. Rozmowę przeprowadził redaktor Roman Czejarek w lutym 2022 roku podczas zwiedzania czołgu ciężkiego IS-2 – eksponatu Muzeum Pamiątek 1. Armii Wojska Polskiego oraz Dziejów Ziemi Mieszkowickiej w Mieszkowicach (oddział w Starych Łysogórkach).

This article presents Józef Stanisław Dunin’s (1896–1980) memoirs written about fifty years after World War I. Dunin was a soldier of the Polish Legions, and then a soldier in the 1st Horse Artillery Battalion stationed in Kraków. In 1915, his unit was sent to the Eastern Front, to the area of Volhynia. In 1917, the author was assigned to a new unit — the 204th Field Artillery Regiment, fighting on the Eastern and then the Italian Front. The author recounts his war experiences from a landlord’s perspective. Information about his unit, place of dislocation and military actions is scarce, but we can read much about the relationships with other landlords and scenes from everyday life, such as hunting, horse riding, meetings, etc. The present paper tries to compare Dunin’s memoirs to other historical sources and reconstruct main facts from the author’s life. On the other hand, the paper is an attempt to look at an autobiographical text as a narrative telling more about the author’s memory than about past events. The main reason behind writing an autobiographical text in the communist era (1970s) was the desire to better understand one’s own personality and to re‑examine one’s life.

The source publication presents a special segment of the Second World War German military technology activities by publishing in Hungarian translation the German report on the usableness of the Soviet army vehicles taken during the first year of the war against the Soviet Union.
The capacity of the German military industry and the losses of the war year of 1941 forced the German High Command to give a serious consideration to the adaptation of the captured equipment. After some systematic examinations of different types of vehicles, German engineers declared two basic types to be suitable for entering Wehrmacht service, and these are the variations of the T-34 and the KV tanks. The publication which survived in the library of the Fifth Division of the Technology Institute of the Hungarian Royal Army is an important document of the Hungarian–German technology cooperation of the time, and as such it gives many details of the Soviet army vehicles characteristic of the period: features which would be difficult to reconstruct otherwise. The notes and the perspectives part of the examination report present the German and the Hungarian practice of the further use of the equipment taken from the Soviet Army during the war.

This book gives a detailed history of the Hungarian 2nd Army's bridgehead-battles at the Don-bend during the summer of 1942. With an analytical approach, the book is based on primary Hungarian and German sources and also covers the Russian secondary sources. In was published in the summer of 2006 as my first book in Budapest by Paktum.