Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Red Christmas: The Tatsinskaya Airfield Raid 1942
    Unavailable
    Red Christmas: The Tatsinskaya Airfield Raid 1942
    Unavailable
    Red Christmas: The Tatsinskaya Airfield Raid 1942
    Ebook163 pages1 hour

    Red Christmas: The Tatsinskaya Airfield Raid 1942

    By Robert Forczyk and Johnny Shumate

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    By December 1942, the Soviets had surrounded the German 6th Army in Stalingrad, cutting off all lines of supply except through the air. Seeking to sever this last German lifeline, Soviet Command decided to launch a raid with the entire 24th Tank Corps to seize the airfield at Tatsinskaya, the primary operating base for the German airlift efforts. On 17 December, the 24th Tank Corps advanced toward Tatsinskaya, seizing the airfield on Christmas Eve. The Soviet tankers succeeded in destroying many Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground, but afterwards found themselves isolated and out of fuel behind the German lines. Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein rapidly organized a counterattack with elements of two panzer divisions, crushing most of the raiding force between 26 and 28 December. Just before the raiding force was annihilated, it received permission to abandon its heavy equipment and escape back to Soviet lines on foot. Thus, the raiders accomplished their mission of severely disrupting the airlift to Stalingrad, but at the cost of an entire tank corps.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateApr 20, 2012
    ISBN9781780964065
    Unavailable
    Red Christmas: The Tatsinskaya Airfield Raid 1942
    Author

    Robert Forczyk

    Robert Forczyk has a PhD in International Relations and National Security from the University of Maryland and a strong background in European and Asian military history. He retired as a lieutenant colonel from the US Army Reserves having served 18 years as an armour officer in the US 2nd and 4th infantry divisions and as an intelligence officer in the 29th Infantry Division (Light). Dr Forczyk is currently a consultant in the Washington, DC area.

    Read more from Robert Forczyk

    Related to Red Christmas

    Titles in the series (3)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Wars & Military For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Battle Of leuthen

      Oct 29, 2020

      Battle Of leuthen
      7 min read

    • Article

      Operation Bodenplatte

      Feb 26, 2020

      Operation Bodenplatte
      2 min read

    • Article

      Spearhead To The Meuse

      Feb 26, 2020

      Spearhead To The Meuse
      2 min read

    • Article

      Sturmovik Killer!

      Dec 14, 2021

      Sturmovik Killer!
      10 min read

    • Article

      5 Best Books On Waterloo

      Oct 4, 2018

      Many books were released for the bicentennial of Waterloo, but few were as clearly written and as challenging as Glover’s monograph. Highlighting many myths about the battle, the author provides convincing evidence to support his version of the event

      1 min read

    • Article

      Panzerartillerie Firepower For The Panzer Divisions

      Apr 18, 2019

      Author Thomas Anderson Publisher Osprey Publishing Price £30 As the German Army formed their new doctrine of mobile warfare based around fast moving armoured columns (Blitzkrieg) in the 1930s, it became clear that artillery was going to be a major p

      1 min read

    • Article

      Enter The Afrika Korps

      Oct 2, 2017

      Enter The Afrika Korps
      11 min read

    • Article

      Panzerkampfwagen V Panther

      Jul 12, 2018

      Panzerkampfwagen V Panther
      3 min read

    • Article

      Luftwaffe And Top Billing

      Jun 3, 2022

      When it comes to desirability in collector circles, the Luftwaffe (LW) may take top billing. Which is interesting, for Kriegsmarine material is scarcer, Waffen-SS both rare and notorious. Heer mementos are lots more plentiful, but too often deemed “c

      1 min read

    • Article

      Sturmpanzerwagen A7v

      Apr 19, 2018

      Sturmpanzerwagen A7v
      4 min read

    • Article

      Is-3 Heavy Tank

      Dec 29, 2020

      Is-3 Heavy Tank
      3 min read

    • Article

      America’s “Few”

      Jan 20, 2022

      America’s “Few”
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Battle For Hougoumont

      Apr 14, 2018

      The Battle For Hougoumont
      16 min read

    • Article

      Jagdpanz er 38

      Aug 5, 2021

      Jagdpanz er 38
      3 min read

    • Article

      Polish Airborne At Arnhem

      Sep 5, 2019

      Polish Airborne At Arnhem
      12 min read

    • Article

      Napoleonic Banner

      Oct 1, 2021

      Napoleonic Banner
      1 min read

    • Article

      M10 & M10A1 TANK DESTROYER

      Mar 18, 2021

      M10 & M10A1 TANK DESTROYER
      3 min read

    • Article

      Hardware IS-2

      Sep 3, 2019

      Hardware IS-2
      2 min read

    • Article

      Seconds Of Silence

      Jan 25, 2022

      Seconds Of Silence
      10 min read

    • Article

      The Battle Of St Vith

      Feb 26, 2020

      The Battle Of St Vith
      6 min read

    • Article

      Emperor Of The North

      Nov 25, 2021

      Emperor Of The North
      11 min read

    • Article

      Savoia-marchetti Sm.79

      Jul 11, 2019

      Savoia-marchetti Sm.79
      3 min read

    • Article

      Breaking Rommel’s Siege

      Nov 29, 2018

      Breaking Rommel’s Siege
      11 min read

    Reviews for Red Christmas

    4/5

    6 ratings2 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      A very good topic to write history upon. It is generally good.

      Here are the details that are not:
      (...) Despite this shocking news, Fiebig still shrank from openly disobeying Hitler
      and Göring’s direct orders – just as von Paulus was doing in Stalingrad by refusing
      to conduct an unauthorized breakout of AOK (...) INCORRECT: Paulus didn't refuse, he didn't receive any confirmation by Mannstein; He also didn't have the supplies and strength to perform such an action.
      (...) (lack of air support by Vatutin) (...) Soviet Air Force was totally out of range, less a dozen of A20 Boston planes and a few Li-2 planes, because it lacked any air fields nearby.
      (...) (soviet transport planes not dropping supplies, even not a plan for this) (...) again, 14 Li-2 can't support 2 Tank Corps. In reality, they dropped supplies, which made the final breakthrough possible.
      (...) (11th PzD loosing only 1x killed and 7x wounded) (...) - citing an downplayed casualty report. Those numbers were lost in a small skirmish by 11 PzD alone. Casualties have been much higher - in the hundreds of killed and missing.
      (...) (Hitler didn't allow retreat) (...) again the Madman Hitler card played - Hitler had objective views on the topic, as well as fresh examples supporting him (the defense of another airfield by a much more active commander). Saving AOK 6 was a greater goal than saving the personnel on the Airfield (he had to choose between bad and worse), while the local airfield commander should have taken initiative in the defense, which he didn't.
    • 4/5
      A nice setting straight of accounts of the celebrated Russian mission to disrupt the German airlift into Stalingrad, emphasizing that while the operational objective was achieved thee were still failings in terms of command and control and logistics at this stage of the capabilities of the Red Army. One also comes away with respect for the Soviet commander Vasily Badanov, who proved able to handle an independent command in terms of trying to complete the mission when having really reached the culmination point a little short, and then salvaging what could be salvaged when the inevitable German counter-attack arrived.