KANEV
September 23rd, 1943
In the aftermath of the failed Kursk offensive in July 1943, German forces throughout Russia were in retreat. The Soviet Army was determined to pursue their enemy with the utmost vigour and thereby prevent the establishment of major fortifications on the Dnepr River.
Both sides reached the river at about the same time. The Soviet 3rd Tank Army forced a bridge-head at Zarubentsy while away to the south, lead elements of the German 8th Armee were crossing the Dnepr at Kanev. The Russians decided to commit their parachute reserve. This was the 1st Airborne Corps(?) of some 10,000 men. The plan was to drop the parachutists on the west bank of the Dnepr to seal off the bulge in the river between Kanev and Khudorov. This would allow the Russians to build up strength on the west bank for a subsequent drive on Kiev, some 100 km further up the river.
The logistics involved in getting the airborne operation underway proved too much for the limited transport capacity of the VVS. 180 transports were required; 6 were available on the 23rd, the day the airlift was supposed to begin. The first parachutists did not drop until the 24th and then only in dribs and drabs. The inexperienced transport pilots dropped their cargoes all over the place and to compound the troubles, several batteries of flak guns from the 24th Panzer Korps had arrived and gone into action along the Kanev-Ulyanik road.
A full-strength panzer division, the 19th, was available to
contest the 40th Army's crossing of the Dnepr at Balyka while some infantry divisions from the 8th Armee, now safely
across the Kanev bridge, went into action in the rugged terrain north of Tschernyski to stall the advance of 3rd Tank Army.
With each passing day, the German build up made the chance of a successful Russian breakout increasingly slim. The Russians persistently tried to force the German position throughout October with no success. Finally, they withdrew, in secret, most of the mobile forces and sent them north where a successful assault broke through the German defences, resulting in the liberation of Kiev on November 7th.
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Map:
http://home.clara.net/percy/maps/kanev.gif
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The parachute landings began at dusk on the 24th September. The Soviet 5th Parachute Brigade jumped literally on top of the 19. Panzer Division as it formed up ready to move to Kanev. The Soviet parachutists and their planes came under heavy fire and those survived the landing were, by and large, killed or captured. Overall the Soviet airborne operation was badly planned and their 7000 paratroops were scattered over a large area. Without heavy weapons or communications large numbers were killed or captured and the rest melted into the woods and swamps where they joined up with partisan units.
http://home.clara.net/percy/siegfriedmenzel.htm
Eventually the Soviets decided to switch their main efforts to the Lyutezh bridgehead north of Kiev, whilst deceiving the Germans into thinking Bukrin was still the main focus of attack. In order to fool the Germans the Soviets continued to apply pressure at Bukrin and this worked superbly. When the Soviet offensive broke out of the bridgehead at Lyutezh on 3rd November 1943 the Germans were taken by surprise.
