Posted on Jan 16, 2017
Breaching the Blue Line: The Soviet Army at the Taman Peninsula
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Usually when looking at most US military history books on WWII - 1943 is the last of the North Africa Campaign and Sicily...... not to often do you find the Taman mentioned nor studied. But there are reasons for that - and the Soviet offensive was mass vs a determined defense with bad terrain and weather. Great Article!!!!!!
"Early in February 1943, the Soviet forces launched a general offensive to liberate the Kuban region. After several months of fighting, the Soviet Army advanced almost 400 miles before finally grinding to a halt at the Blue Line. The difficult nature of the terrain limited Soviet maneuverability, and combat actions degenerated into a costly process of pushing the Germans out rather than surrounding and destroying them."
"Early in February 1943, the Soviet forces launched a general offensive to liberate the Kuban region. After several months of fighting, the Soviet Army advanced almost 400 miles before finally grinding to a halt at the Blue Line. The difficult nature of the terrain limited Soviet maneuverability, and combat actions degenerated into a costly process of pushing the Germans out rather than surrounding and destroying them."
Breaching the Blue Line: The Soviet Army at the Taman Peninsula
Posted from warfarehistorynetwork.com
Military History
Operations
Armor
Defense
Posted 8 y ago
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This was a very costly campaign. The Soviets used their army like a hammer against the Germans.
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1stSgt Eugene Harless
"Architect of Soviet Victory in World War II" by Dr. Richard Harrison
"Architect of Soviet Victory in World War II: The Life and Theories of G.S. Isserson" The Red Army's leading operational theorist in the 1930s, Georgii Samoi...
LTC Eric Udouj - The Germans were the Anvil. I personally think that the West vastly underates the ability the Soviets had in conducting large scale combined arms operations in the war. It's easy to simply say the Russians simply overwhelmed the Germans with numbers but the fact is that they improved immensely following the weak showing during Barbarossa.
The Soviets basically a large portion of their army, then rebounded and stomped the Nazis by not only numbers but by developing a deep battle doctrine that made the Nazi Blitzkrieg look like an under-planned cluster-fuck.
Another indicator is how the Soviets absolutely crushed The Japanese in Manchuria, in 3 weeks in 1945. While they had a marked superiority of about 5-1 in Artillery and tanks and 4-1 in Aircraft, the numbers of men were roughly 1.6 to 1.2 and the Japanese had time to prepare. The Soviets pounded and broke them quickly. If you have the time and are so inclined here's an excellent lecture on the subject. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56N9iPjQDIU
The Soviets basically a large portion of their army, then rebounded and stomped the Nazis by not only numbers but by developing a deep battle doctrine that made the Nazi Blitzkrieg look like an under-planned cluster-fuck.
Another indicator is how the Soviets absolutely crushed The Japanese in Manchuria, in 3 weeks in 1945. While they had a marked superiority of about 5-1 in Artillery and tanks and 4-1 in Aircraft, the numbers of men were roughly 1.6 to 1.2 and the Japanese had time to prepare. The Soviets pounded and broke them quickly. If you have the time and are so inclined here's an excellent lecture on the subject. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56N9iPjQDIU
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LTC Eric Udouj
The Soviet Army of 1944-45 was vastly capable of offensive warfare and combined operations, as Army Group Center would find out when it was cut to shreds. But that was the future - and this was the Red Army that was still not to that point yet - and the German Army was not a force that intended to remain on the defense though the battle of Kursk had spelled out their last great offensive campaign (sure they tried in 1945 in Hungary but that was not the same). Thanks for the link Top!!
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