Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front 1943-1945: Red Steamroller

Nor was Zhukov done with Heeresgruppe Nord, since he had been working on a plan known as ‘Polar Star’ that was intended as a follow-on to Operation Iskra. His grand plan was that Marshal Semyon Timoshenko’s Northwestern Front would crush the German-held Demyansk salient then coordinate with the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts to envelope and crush the right flank of Heeresgruppe Nord between them. A new 1st Tank Army, led by one of the most experienced senior Soviet tankers – General-leytenant Mikhail E. Katukov – was formed in the Northwest Front at the end of January 1943. Katukov was given the 3rd Mechanized Corps and 6th Tank Corps and other units for a total of 631 tanks.³⁹ Zhukov wanted to drop a large force of parachutists behind German lines then have Katukov’s armour punch through the front to relieve them and split open Heeresgruppe Nord’s defences. As often happened with Zhukov’s bold, grand plans, it was more than the Red Army could accomplish and it failed to anticipate enemy actions. Timoshenko’s 1st Shock Army had mounted a powerful but clumsy attack against the Demyansk Salient in early January that had cost it 423 tanks in six weeks and failed to break through. As this offensive was dying down, Zhukov ordered Meretskov’s Volkhov Front to mount a strong fixing attack toward Tosno to prevent Heeresgruppe Nord from shifting reserves to Demyansk. Anticipating this attack, Heeresgruppe Nord moved 1./s. Pz. Abt. 502, which had received three new Tigers, to the Krasny Bor sector on 7 February.

Three days after the Tigers moved by rail, the Soviet 55th Army launched a major attack against the Spanish Blue Division (250.Infanterie-Division) at Krasny Bor. After a massive artillery barrage, the Soviets blasted through the centre of the Spanish division with the 63rd Guards Rifle Division, supported by 21 KV-1 tanks from the 31st Guards Tank Regiment. Although the Spanish defenders managed to knock out four KV-1 tanks, their centre was shattered within two hours and they lost Krasny Bor by the end of the day. It was a significant Soviet victory and the Spanish Division was badly hurt, but the Soviets failed to anticipate that the loss of terrain always provoked a German counter-attack. The 1./s. Pz. Abt. 502 (three Tigers and three Pz III), led by Leutnant Gert Meyer, was attached to a Kampfgruppe from the SS-Polizei Division and ordered to contain the Soviet breakthrough. Unlike the Siniavino sector, the area around Krasny Bor and Mishkino was better suited to the use of heavy tanks since the ground was more solid and flat, with few trees. Attacking into the left flank of the Soviet salient on 11 February, Meyer’s Tigers had a field day and knocked out 32 Soviet tanks. The next day, they knocked out 10 more. Bloodied, the Soviet 55th Army paused its offensive in order to bring up its own armour, then attacked at Mishkino again on 17 February; Leutnant Meyer’s Tigers were occupying hull-down positions and they calmly picked off 10 KV-1 tanks in a matter of minutes. German Panzerjägers also contributed to the slaughter, since they had just received a large shipment of HEAT ammunition (High Explosive Anti-Tank). A Dutch Panzerjäger Kompanie in the SS-Legion Nederland, equipped with 7.5cm Pak 97/38 anti-tank guns, repulsed an attack by the Soviet 124th Tank Brigade and knocked out 19 tanks.

Following the success of Operation Iskra, the Red Army continued to pound on Heeresgruppe Nord throughout the rest of the winter, but without success. Zhukov transferred the 1st Tank Army to Timoshenko’s Northwest Front to use for another offensive against the Demyansk salient – a swampy area that had already proven totally unsuitable for tanks – but the Germans began evacuating the salient on 17 February and completed the operation by early March. Timoshenko was surprised by this German operation and failed to strike them as they were withdrawing; the Stavka decided to transfer Katukov’s 1st Tank Army to the Voronezh Front. Running out of options, Zhukov pressured Meretskov to make one last effort against the Siniavino Heights before the winter ended – a truly futile effort.