Battle of The Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket - German Relief Attacks

German Relief Attacks

Manstein moved quickly, and by early February the III and XLVII Panzer Corps were assembled for a relief effort. However, Hitler intervened and ordered the rescue attempt to be transformed into an over-ambitious effort to counter-encircle the two Soviet fronts.

General Hermann Breith, commander of III Panzer Corps insisted that both the relief formations should unite and attempt to force a corridor to the trapped Gruppe Stemmermann. Manstein initially sided with Hitler, although in deceptive fashion, and the attack was to be an attempt to encircle the massive Red Army force. The attack by the XLVII Panzer Corps' 11th Panzer Division on the southeastern flank of the pocket quickly stalled. The veteran division had only 27 tanks and 34 assault guns, therefore its contribution was limited. The misguided use of the III Panzer Corps to attempt encirclement of the Soviet forces lasted until February 8, when, realizing the encirclement was going to fail, Manstein ordered the corps to instead attempt to relieve the beleaguered Gruppe Stemmermann. Pulling the III Panzer Corps back through the difficult terrain, and repositioning it 15 kilometers south of Boyarka, for the new attack lasted until February 11, with a week having been lost because of the misguided initial assault.

Breith then began a push with 16th and 17th Panzer Divisions toward the Gniloy Tikich River and made good progress, with 1st Panzer Division then moving up and 1st SS Panzer Division LSSAH to cover the northern flank. After being initially surprised by the attack, Zhukov ordered Vatutin to rapidly assemble troops and armor of four tank corps "with the goal of cutting off the German spearhead and destroying it." All progress began to bog down with a change in weather, resulting in the thick mud of the rasputitsa – and the weakness of Germany’s wheeled vehicles became evident. The Soviet four-wheel and six-wheel drive trucks supplied by the United States were largely able to get through, whereas the German two-wheel-drive vehicles sat immobilized in the mud.

For the night of 5–6 February, Konev issued orders to the 4th Guards Army and 5th Guards Cavalry Corps that would attempt to split the pocket and the two German corps it contained. In the intense fighting the Soviet goal became clear to Stemmermann and Lieb; but the road "to Korsun had to be held at all costs." Stemmermann ordered the 5th SS Division's armor to the scene and together with 72nd Infantry Division an immediate disaster was avoided. Red Army efforts were renewed between 7–10 February. At this time, however, the Soviet units experienced supply shortages. The mud affected the situation, but it was not the only cause. III Panzer Corps’ penetrations toward the Gniloy Tikich River made the supply lines for Soviet formations such as Vatutin’s 6th Tank Army "much longer than they were previously." The Red Air Force then started to supply some units by air using Po-2 aircraft. Despite supply difficulties, 2nd Ukrainian Front units were able to close on Korsun by February 10, collapsing the area of the pocket to six by seven miles.