DavidFrankenberg wrote: ↑23 Jan 2019 13:47
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Voronej was not taken by the Germans.
VB tried but failed.
Hitler's didnt order to take Voronej, he allowed to take it but only if it was free, if it didnt need a lot of german troops. He ordered arm. div. to go south.
VB not only tried to take Voronej whereas it was not empty, but he also prevented the arm. div. to go south.
That's why he was dismissed.
Hitle was right by guessing that the soviet troops were fleeing.
"Voronej was not taken by the Germans." Wellcome to "Groundhog Day"!
Let's read von Bock's diary:
" 5/7/42 ... In the afternoon, Halder informed Sodenstern that the Fuhrer was annoyed by the slow advance on the right wing. In his opinion, the 6th Army should have long ago captured beachheads on the other side of the Tichaj Sosna!
... The bridgeheads mentioned by the Führer have already been captured by us in the area of Budyonny, Nikolaevka and Ostrogozhsk."
" 6/7/42 ... The enemy is retreating on the entire northern front of the Weichs army group. They report to me that in several places the Russians are "fleeing". Almost simultaneously, news came that the enemy had begun to evacuate from Voronezh, and that during the night the battalion of the 24th Panzer Division had broken through the southern part of the city to the Voronezh River.
... The supreme command of the ground forces continues [466] to pressure me so that I release the units of the tank army located in Voronezh and to the north of it, and deploy them to the south. There is nothing to argue against this, but it all depends on how quickly the infantry approaches, which should change tank crews."
" 8/7/42 ... The advance units of the 23rd Panzer Division, directed north, reached the positions of XXXX tank corps. The “Great Germany” division, which also emanated from Voronezh, is already moving southward, while the 24th Panzer Division, chained to the site by exploded bridges and downpours, was unable to move earlier yesterday. In the morning, our troops repelled enemy attacks from the north in the direction of Voronezh. In the northern part of the city, several isolated centers of resistance of the enemy, who, apparently, did not have time to evacuate completely, continue to snarl with fire."
Blaming von Bock do not forget the old simple rule: audiatur and altera pars. It is quite possible that the Hitler used incomplete and outdated information.
Again: Voronezh was taken on July 6-7, 1942 and was freed on January 25, 1943. The Voronezh was fortified and defended ... by the Germans for more than half a year. The Soviet troops almost continuously attacked the city with huge bloody losses.