Combined Arms Armies in the Vistula-Oder Operation

Der Alte Fritz · #1

Can anyone help me with translating the column headings of this Summary of the Rear of the 8th Guards Army for the 25th Jan when the Army was just surrounding Poznan.

https://pamyat-naroda.ru/documents/view/?id=133371755
https://pamyat-naroda.ru/documents/view/?id=133371759

Art · #2

"Information on availability and expenditure of ammunition, available weapons, fuel and food in artillery units of the 8 Guards Army as of ...."
Columns:
1. Unit name
2. Caliber of weapons in mm
3. Total number of artillery pieces
4. Of them operational
5. Ammo expenditure [in the last 24 hours] in rounds
6. Ammo available in rounds
7. the same in units of fire
8. Fuel in loads
9. Food in daily rations

Totals by the army at the table's bottom.

Der Alte Fritz · #3

From Sborniki No 25

The use of road transport.
The period of preparation for the operation has been used to bring in the proper order of the car park. During this time, it was repaired 28,500 motorised units. This number included 22 thousand. motor vehicles and 6,500 engines. By means of the front reserve 5,500 have been repaired, the support of armies and corps 10,500 and support troops 12,500 motorised units.
On January 1, 1945 in the 1st Belorussian Front had registered 62.750 cargo vehicles, which are made up of automobile units of the Front reserve 3,220, army automotive units 3,930 and in the fighting units 55,600 cars (including up to 20,000 trucks).
58% of vehicles were in the army. This is a large pool of road transport which has not been incorporated into any motor vehicle divisions or units.

During November and December, frontline and army motor transport ferried 923 300 tonnes, including 179,521 tons of ammunition, 15,341 tons of fuel, 290,059 tons of food and 438,358 tons other cargoes, as well as 100,290 personnel.

Military Thought 2005

Тыловое обеспечение войск в Висло-Одерской стратегической наступательной операции (Rear Support Troops in the Vistula Oder Strategic Offensive)
For the transport of the material means the direct supervision of the 1st Belorussian Front had 3,749 vehicles in the armies - 4407 a total capacity of 14,864 tons, in the divisions - 3019 (5874 tonnes). The 1st Ukrainian Front and his armies were 7389 cars. Despite the fact that the railways long before the start of the operation had been restored to the Vistula, on the vehicles lay significant stress on the implementation of operational and resupply (from 1 December to 10 January front-line road of the 1st Belorussian Front was transported 274,974 tons of various cargoes).

Der Alte Fritz · #4

The 8th Guards Army and the 5th Shock Army broke out of the bridgehead and followed in the path of the 1st Tank Army towards Lodz and then Poznan. The offensive started on the 14th January and the 8th Guards were outside Poznan on the 24th January 10 days later having covered nearly 350 km from the bridgehead. The railway bridge over the Vistula opened on the 9th day, so how did the two Combined Arms Armies support their advance using just the trucks listed above over such a distance across the snowy Polish plains?

Der Alte Fritz · #5

Organisation of the 1st Belorussian Front on 1st January 1945

Der Alte Fritz · #6

I have been trying to work out the breakdown of the vehicles as listed above based on the Front's order of battle:
Front transport ............................................. 3,220
Army transport ............................................. 3,930

63 Rifle Divisions (each 122 vehicles) ................... 8000 (to allow for GRD)
6 Cavalry Divisions (each Corps 1400 vehicles) ........ 2800
5 Tank Corps (each 511) ................................... 2555
2 Mech Corps (each 1530) ................................. 3060
4 Tank Bde (each 166) ...................................... 664
11 Tank Regiments ......................................... 1254
total........................................................ 15,739

unaccounted for ......................................... 37,400
Overall total .............................................. 62,750

Der Alte Fritz · #7

8th Army's original objective was 125-180 km and the capture of Lodz with a distant objective of Posen 300 km away

At the start of the offensive the Front Regulating Station was at Brest Litovsk and Kovel and the Army Field Base at Lukov where there was an unloading station and the bulk of the depots were just behind the bridgehead with further unloading stations.

Once the railway bridge opened on Day 9 of the operation, the Rear of the Front moved forward and the Front Regulating Station moved forward to Warsaw and Deblin while the fuel and munitions depots and field hospitals started to move forward to Lodz and Kuvno by the 28th January (Day 14)

I do not have the breakdown of vehicles for 1st Belorussian Front but as a similar example, I do have the figures for January 1945 for the 3rd Belorussian Front:

1 Motor Vehicle Bde, 15 Motor Battalions, 3 Fuel Delivery Companies

* 39th Army – 551 tons
* 5th Army – 530 tons
* 28th Army - 712 tons
* 11th Guards – 618 tons
* 2nd Guards – 347 tons
* 31st Army – 491 tons

overall number of vehicles was 3,862 (395 under repair) plus 23rd Motor Regiment from STAVKA Reserve of 587 vehicles for a total of 4,054 vehicles with a load capacity of 9,975 tons (2.5 tons per vehicle) (Since the Red Army rated the Studebaker at 4 tonnes these vehicles would have been a mix of 1 tonne Gaz-MM, Ford-6 and 3 tonne ZIS-5 trucks rather than cross country lorries.)

So we can estimate from the figures in the earlier post that the 8th Guards Army had roughly 400 lorries with a capacity of 800 tonnes until we can find some better figures.

Der Alte Fritz · #8

Der Alte Fritz · #9

Translation: Page 1
a) Stock of material stores - POL
Name of product - With Troops (Number of tonnes/Refills) - On vehicles (Number of tonnes/Refills) - At the storage depot (The three columns are different depot towns - Lasharew, Sobolev, Rolovn.?)

B-70
HB-70
Gasoline
Motor Oil
Kerosine
Diesel
Aviation fuel
Aviation Oil
Solidol

b) Rations & Fodder
columns as above except the depot towns are different

Bread flour
Biscuits
Total Flour

Grain for flour
Flour ???????????? мука оертебая
Groats
Concentrates
Pasta
Total cereals

single grain cereals
dry rations
livestock
meat
meat concentrates
concentrated fish
total meat and fish

Butter
Fat
Sugar
Tea
Salt
Vegetables and card F
Rotten vegetables??????
Total vegetables

Der Alte Fritz · #10

Page 2
continues with previous table:
shag
tobacco
raw tobacco
total tobacco

matches
vodka
barley oats
oats

Table B; Residues from agricultural production left over in warehouses, mills and around troops billets
Columns: corn flour - cereal grain - fodder grain - flour - cereals - potatoes - oats
Location of goods collected:
Tarvolinskii county
Lukevskii county
Lubartovkii county
ending with Gomel Oblast

at the bottom is a total and underneath that is a line showing the amount transferred to Rifle Divisions.
This is very interesting as it shows the Red Army 'living off the land' in the area that it had just been through as most of the Polish counties are close behind the bridgeheads, while the two Soviet Oblasts cover about 600 km behind the bridgeheads.

The final table at the bottom of the page is Supply Transport Following in the Direction of the Forces
Columns: Transport - No of vehicles - tonnes - kind of cargo - delivery place - destination - per type, per refill, per day?

it says on 27th Intelligence: there were no transport journeys today

Der Alte Fritz · #11

Page 3:
Annex to the summary of the Rear No 24
1. Stocks of material resources in the rear of forces on 18th
columns: Products - Guard Rifle Divisions ( 89 - 79 - 35 - 47 - 57 - 27 - 76 - 82)
POL
Gasoline
Prodfurazh (Rations & Fodder)
flour
biscuits
groats
canned goods
meat
livestock and replacing with availability at 18:
fats
sugar
salt
vegetables
shag tobacco
forage grain
oats

footnote: definition of values:
a) for POL according to Division of Fuel Supply (OSG)
b) for Profurazhu (Rations & Forage) For 28th and 4th Guards Rifle Corps by removing alleged expenditure on 26.1.45 and replacing with availability at 18:00 25.1.45 of receipts from local resources - flour meat vegetables and forage

Der Alte Fritz · #12

As a slight aside, the map shown here:
https://pamyat-naroda.ru/documents/view/?id=100681962

shows the Sandomir Bridgehead in December 1944 in microscopic detail, every machine gun, mortar, artillery piece identified by the Russian forces of the 1st Ukranian Front is marked on the map. If you ever wondered what a German defensive position looked like, here it is shown in exquisite detail.

Der Alte Fritz · #13

Art wrote:"Information on availability and expenditure of ammunition, available weapons, fuel and food in artillery units of the 8 Guards Army as of ...."
Columns:
1. Unit name
2. Caliber of weapons in mm
3. Total number of artillery pieces
4. Of them operational
5. Ammo expenditure [in the last 24 hours] in rounds
6. Ammo available in rounds
7. the same in units of fire
8. Fuel in loads
9. Food in daily rations

Totals by the army at the table's bottom.

The table shows 3 types of 76 mm guns:
NA - Regimental Gun
DTA - ????????
DA - Divisional Gun

Paul_Atreides · #14

Der Alte Fritz wrote: The table shows 3 types of 76 mm guns:
NA - Regimental Gun
DTA - ????????
DA - Divisional Gun

ПА - полковая артиллерия
ПТА - противотанковая артиллерия
ДА - дивизионная артиллерия

Der Alte Fritz · #15

Thank you Paul

ПА - полковая артиллерия - 76 mm regimental gun M1943 (OB-25)
ПТА - противотанковая артиллерия - 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) in AT role
ДА - дивизионная артиллерия - 76 mm divisional gun M1936 (F-22) 76 mm divisional gun M1939 (USV) 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3)

Usual AT units are:
ИПТАБр — Истребительно-Противотанковая Артиллерийская Бригада
ИПТАП — Истребительно-Противотанковый Артиллерийский Полк.
ПТД — Противотанковый Дивизион.
ПТБ — Противотанковая Батарея.
ПТО — Противотанковое Орудие.

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