1942 battle of WW2 on Eastern Front
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- Naval warfare
- 1941
- 1942
- 1943
- 1944
- 1945
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The
Kholm Pocket
(
German
:
Kessel von Cholm
;
Russian
:
Холмский котёл
) was the name given for the
encirclement
of
German troops
by the
Red Army
around
Kholm
, south of
Leningrad
, in
World War II
's the Eastern Front, from 23 January 1942 to 5 May 1942. The pocket was created by the Soviet
Toropets?Kholm offensive
.
A much larger pocket was
meanwhile surrounded
in
Demyansk
, about 100 km (62 mi) to the northeast. Both were the results of the German retreat following the defeat during the
Battle of Moscow
.
[1]
The air supply of Kholm and Demyansk was successful but led to an overconfidence in the
German High Command
on the
Luftwaffe
's ability to supply encircled forces by air, which would lead to disastrous consequences at the
Battle of Stalingrad
in late 1942 and early 1943.
[2]
Overview
[
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]
At the Kholm pocket, 5,500 German soldiers held out for 105 days. The pocket was supplied by air but since it was too small for planes to land, supplies had to be dropped in and recovered by the German defenders.
[1]
Among the airdropped supplies were 35 of the first 50 prototype
MKb 42(H)
rifles.
[3]
Most of the German units in the pocket were part of the following:
[4]
German forces made attempts to relieve the pocket in January, March and May 1942. The first two failed, but the third was successful; the German forces in the pocket had been reduced to 1,200.
[1]
In July 1942, the
Cholm Shield
was awarded to the German defenders of the pocket upon the suggestion of Generalmajor
Theodor Scherer
, similar to the
Demyansk Shield
.
[1]
[4]
Scherer was personally awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
by
Adolf Hitler
for the command of the defence of Kholm.
[1]
[4]
Kholm would be occupied by the Red Army on 21 February 1944.
[1]
War crimes
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]
Members of the Reserve-Polizei-Bataillon 65, a police unit from
Gelsenkirchen
, were questioned after the war by the state prosecutor in
Dortmund
for their involvement in
ethnic cleansing
in
Eastern Europe
. The unit was found to have taken part in a minimum of 5,000 executions and many deportations to
concentration camps
. Among them was also the hanging of a young girl in
Kholm
during the siege.
[5]
Gallery
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]
-
Offensive of the Red Army south of Lake Ilmen
7 January?21 February 1942
-
Soldiers in the Kholm Pocket, 1942
-
Soldiers preparing to board a
Gotha Go 242
glider, Kholm
-
Sergeant gives soldier food, right: wounded with head and arm injuries, the end of January - beginning of May 1942
-
Soldier sitting for dinner in front of a ruined house
-
Russian women transport the dead by sledge during the occupation of Kholm. End January - Beginning May 1942.
References
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]
Sources
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]
External links
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]
57°09′N
31°11′E
/
57.150°N 31.183°E
/
57.150; 31.183