In Russia, the winter of 1941-1942 was extreme, even by Russian standards. Temperatures regularly fell to -40 degrees Farenheit and snow piled up. By the first week of December, German Army Group North was halted at Tikhvin by the stiff resistance of the Red Army and "General Winter." The Germans were forced to retreat to the Volkhov River.
With the Soviet armies east of Leningrad organized into the Volkhov Front, they were set to launch a new offensive in January to break the encirclement of Leningrad. The first objective was to liberate the village of Lyuban with a pincer attack, thus cutting off the German 18th Army near the town of Chudovo.
The attack came on January 6th. The Soviet 2nd Shock Army crossed the Volkhov north of Novgorod and advanced 40 miles over the course of January before being halted on the outskirts of Lyuban. The northern push began in March with the Soviet 54th Army pushing southwest towards Luban, threatening to encircle the 18th Army. But this attack came too late, as the Germans were also prepared to counter-attack from the south to cut off the 2nd Shock Army - and succeeded in doing so by March 19th. On the other hand, the Soviet advance in the north stalled out before advancing 20 miles.
05 June 2020 - FRAME 1
12 June 2020 - FRAME 2
19 June 2020 - FRAME 3
For more details please visit the write-up page:
https://ahevents.net/index.php/fso-setups/86-eastern-european-theatre/1279-the-thin-ice-lyuban-1942
