At the end of January 1944, the 5th WSS Panzer Division "Wiking" was encircled in the Cherkasy pocket along with five other German divisions.


At the end of January 1944, the 5th WSS Panzer Division "Wiking" was encircled in the Cherkasy pocket along with five other German divisions. 

The pocket was surrounded by 35 Soviet divisions and was compressed to 100 square kilometers. This time Hitler allowed the breakout attempt and the Div. "Wiking" as the only armored division in the pocket and also well equipped, led the strike to the south. After the element of surprise had passed, the Russians began a heavy counterattack with armored support. 

However, the onset of a snowstorm gave the German troops excellent cover and eventually the broken formations reached the final barrier to rescue, the less than 2 meter deep river at Gniloj and Tikits.

 Since there was no bridge or ford, the soldiers had to swim across the river, with a human chain helping non-swimmers to cross. Many were swept away by the icy waters, but most made it to safety. 

Finally, thanks to the action of the Wiking Division and in particular the Walloons of the Walloon Assault Brigade, who formed the rear guard, 34,000 of the originally 55,000 men trapped were finally able to escape from the pocket by February 20, 1944.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The actual execution of Amon Goeth.

Image
This is the actual execution of Amon Goeth. He was famously depicted in the movie Schindler’s List, as firing on concentration camp prisoners with a sniper rifle from his balcony. Amon Leopold Göth  (German: [ˈɡøːt] (listen); alternative spelling  Goeth ; 11 December 1908 – 13 September 1946) was an Austrian SS functionary and war criminal. He served as the commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp in Płaszów in German-occupied Poland for most of the camp's existence during World War II. Göth was tried after the war by the Supreme National Tribunal of Poland at Kraków and was found guilty of personally ordering the imprisonment, torture, and extermination of individuals and groups of people. He was also convicted of homicide, the first such conviction at a war crimes trial, for "personally killing, maiming and torturing a substantial, albeit unidentified number of people." Göth was...
Read more

The Pins by Anna Göldi: the story of the last beheaded witch in Europe

Image
The Pins by Anna Göldi: the story of the last beheaded witch in Europe Kilkenny, Ireland, 1324: Petronilla de Meath is burned at the stake accused of being a "witch". The woman may not know, but the trail of blood that traces her innocent death will continue for another 458 years, until 1782. In that year Anna Göldi, the last witch killed in Europe, dies. The story of Anna Göldi Anna was born in Sennwald, Switzerland, in 1734, the fourth of eight children, into a wealthy family. His father was the grandson of a prestigious local judge, from whom he inherits his own seal. Due to disagreements with the mayor of the town regarding land and direct aggression, the family falls into ruin, forcing the eight brothers to find jobs in more affluent homes. Anna changes city, probably to avoid the ridicule of her fellow villagers, and goes to Maienfeld, in the Canton of Grisons, where she becomes the servant of Mayor Enderlin. She then moved to Sax to work as a baker's maid, and in 1...
Read more

Alexander Pearce was a native of County Monaghan, Ireland, born in 1790. Alexander Pearce was a native of County Monaghan, Ireland, born in 1790.

Image
Alexander Pearce was a native of County Monaghan, Ireland, born in 1790.  He was transported to Australia in 1819 for stealing shoes and continued to prove troublesome in Van Diemen’s Land. Pearce absconded with several others in May 1822, and became a bushranger. This was short lived and Pearce was captured with one of his mates, and was duly sent to Macquarie Harbour. At Macquarie Harbour, Pearce joined a gang of convicts led by the pirates Greenhill and Travers, who intended on escaping from their prison on Sarah Island. The escape was haphazard, and the escapees decided to take their chances going through the forest. The men soon found themselves lost and starving. The decision was made to turn to cannibalism. The men either separated from the group or died one by one and were eaten by the survivors, until only Pearce and Greenhill remained. Pearce claimed that Greenhill and he merely parted ways before Pearce emerged from the bush, but it is believed Pearce got lucky and Green...
Read more

The Man Who Survived Two Atomic Bombs

Image
The Man Who Survived Two Atomic Bombs Some 260,000 people survived the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, but Japanese engineer Tsutomu Yamaguchi was one of the very few who endured the horror of both blasts and lived to the tell the tale  Tsutomu Yamaguchi was preparing to leave Hiroshima when the atomic bomb fell. The 29-year-old naval engineer was on a three-month-long business trip for his employer, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and August 6, 1945, was supposed to be his last day in the city. He and his colleagues had spent the summer working long hours on the design for a new oil tanker, and he was looking forward to finally returning home to his wife, Hisako, and their infant son, Katsutoshi. At around 8:15 am, Tsutomu was going to his workplace when he noticed the B-29 in the sky of Hiroshima. An object attached to a parachute dropped from the bomber, and then a flashlight was seen rushing towards the city. Tsutomu described it as a “magnesium ...
Read more

After the Great War ended, around 200,000 ANZAC soldiers were repatriated home.

Image
Coming Home  After the Great War ended, around 200,000 ANZAC soldiers were repatriated home.   Our dominant image of this event is of triumphal soldiers returning on troopships, which dock at ports overflowing with cheering loved ones; of heartfelt reunions under colourful bunting and tossed streamers.  Yet Private Arthur Foxcroft’s account of returning home provides an alternative narrative.  Enlisting in 1915, Arthur meticulously recorded his war experience in his diary.  Foxcroft described his splendid Sydney send off, the wonderment of visiting ancient Egypt, and the joy of marching through the French countryside in full bloom.  His diary entries darkened in mid-1916, when he recorded the ‘awful slaughter’ on the Somme, where he sufferred a serious wound.    In 1917, Foxcroft wrote soberly of being seriously wounded a second time, which left him with ‘drop foot’.  His mother, Amelia, pleaded with authorities for his return so he coul...
Read more

The Alliances in the Genesis of World War I (end): The Alliances of Powers on the Eve of War

Image
The Alliances in the Genesis of World War I (end): The Alliances of Powers on the Eve of War By 1912, both the Triple Alliance and the Triple Understanding had become established characteristics of international relations.. Examining the coherence of both systems of alliance was a common issue in memorandum and official correspondence, but also in letters and journals from experts and decision-makers. Whenever a crisis in international relations arises, the current situation of alliances and the possible impacts on their future would be considered. Austria-Hungary's stance on the First Moroccan Crisis and its effect on its ally Germany; Russia's setback in 1909 following the British and French withdrawal signals; and Germany's disapproval of the Monarchy of Habsburg's bet on the crisis of the European Union the winter of 1912-1913 were the most significant examples of help alliances contributed to reducing the crisis in the last decade before 1914. The alliance between ...
Read more

A man decided to bake a cake that resembles him for his birthday.

Image
TRENDING:-A man decided to bake a  cake  that resembles him for his birthday. He choose a chocolate and brown  colour to make it look exactly like him everyone enjoyed how tasty and yummy  it was . Below are the pictures of the cake. What is the spiritual meaning of the cake? Consuming cakes can have both beneficial and detrimental results. These are a wonderful alternative to think about for more formal occasions. You'll put on weight and feel horrible about yourself if you consume it without a purpose. A dream like this could be a favourable omen, or it could be a reflection of guilt over a real-world wrongdoing. The significance of your dream depends on the type of cake you see in it. A wedding cake in a dream represents love and friendship, while cupcakes represent the minor but important tasks that are easy to miss when running a business. The ineffable desire to devour a cake in a dream may represent your underlying fears. Having a dream in which ...
Read more

Italian prisoners captured during the Second Battle of the Isonzo, 1915.

Image
Italian prisoners captured during the Second Battle of the Isonzo, 1915. Today 108 years ago, on July 18, 1915, the Italians launched the Second Battle of the Isonzo against the Austro-Hungarians on the Italian Front.  On June 23, 1915, the Italians opened up the Isonzo Front by launching the First Battle of the Isonzo, resulting in minimal Italian gains at the price of 15,000 Italian casualties and 10,000 Austro-Hungarian casualties. Though the Italians believed the Austro-Hungarian lines were near collapse and immediately began planning for yet another offensive on the Isonzo. For this battle the Italians brought up some 290,000 troops and many artillery guns, which they believed was the factor which caused the defeat in the first battle. The Austro-Hungarians had also received reinforcements from the Eastern Front, but were still outnumbered 2:1. Since the first battle they had improved their defensive positions in the rocky terrain near the Isonzo, expecting further Italian off...
Read more

THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN-July 10th 1940, just 83 Years ago-

Image
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN-July 10th 1940, just 83 Years ago- On This Day in the Battle of Britain:JULY 10th 1940- The heavy clouds of the dawn along with the driving rain made most of the pilots turn over and take advantage of a 'lie-in'. In these conditions, the Germans made the most of the cloud cover and made photographic reconnaissance flights over possible and probable targets, but the Dornier 17s that usually made these flights often suffered heavy losses. But being as no 'scramble' calls were made during the early hours of this day by Fighter Command it was believed that the German Luftwaffe enjoyed the freedom of the skies although most kept out over the sea but keeping the distant English coastline in sight. 0730hrs (7.30am): 66 Squadron (Spitfires, Coltishall) got a 'scramble' call and one section took off into the driving rain after the Chain Home radar station at West Beckham had picked up a blip on the radar.  (RAF aircraft carried a sensor unit attache...
Read more

The death pit

Image
The death pit A horrific photograph of an execution in eastern Europe during the second world war can be seen in Holocaust archives and museums around the world. But who are the killers, who are the victims, who took it - and why? Janina Struk felt compelled to investigate Two naked men stand on the edge of a pit, an older man several feet behind them, while a man and a boy, also naked, walk into the frame. Surrounding them are seven perpetrators, some armed, some in uniform, some not. A uniformed man on the far right-hand side of the picture is standing on a mound of earth, presumably dug from the pit, seemingly directing proceedings. The caption reads: "Sniatyn - tormenting Jews before their execution. 11.V.1943." I first saw a copy of this image as I was filing through photographs in the Polish Underground Movement (1939-1945) Study Trust in west London. At the time I did not understand what I was looking at. I had never encountered a scene quite like it before. The pit...
Read more