"In fierce competition, people tend to remember only the winners and forget the losers. This is a common occurrence in modern society, and the same applies in war.
During World War II, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany fought two urban offensive and defensive battles. One is the Battle of Stalingrad, which is more than 2 million and is known as one of the "three major meat grinder battles in the world"; The other was the Battle of Velikiye Luki, which was overlooked due to its similarity in nature to the Battle of Stalingrad. ”
From 1942 to 1943, the same Pacific theater, the same battle against the German army, the same urban offensive and defensive battles, and even the same Soviet victory. The Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Velikiye Luki have many similar elements.
However, it is precisely these similarities that make the smaller Battle of Velikiye Luki completely overshadowed by the Battle of Stalingrad in terms of popularity and reputation. Nevertheless, the Battle of Velikiye Luki was no less intense and strategically significant than the Battle of Stalingrad.
In fact, it can even be said that the Battle of Velikiye Luki played a key role in deciding the outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad. World War II officially broke out on September 1, 1939, with the combined invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union.
Nazi Germany, with its great military strength, occupied 15 countries in succession, including France, the Netherlands, Norway and Yugoslavia. Their brilliant record brought Hitler's ambition and conceit to unprecedented heights.
After successfully taking control of much of Europe, Hitler turned his attention to the Soviet Union. On June 22, 1941, he tore up the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact and launched a blitzkrieg program codenamed "Barbarossa" against the Soviet Union.
The German Barbarossa plan made initial progress, but eventually the Soviet Red Army came back from defeat in the Battle of Moscow, shattering Hitler's blitzkrieg myth.
Subsequently, the Soviet-German battlefield entered a stage of strategic stalemate. Against this background, from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943, the German army launched a fierce battle of Stalingrad in order to regain the initiative.
Stalingrad was the core grain, oil, and coal producing region of the southern part of the Soviet Union, and the only important gateway to the central part of the Soviet Union. Whoever can take Stalingrad will have control over key operational resources.
Therefore, both the Soviet and German sides sent a large number of soldiers to fight around Stalingrad. And the Battle of Velikiye Luki took place during this time period.
Located in the western part of the Soviet Union, Veliky Luki, on the banks of the Lovati River, is not strategically important, but the small town of "Novosokolniki" under its cover has a vital position.
This small city with a population of less than 30,000 is strategically important as the meeting point of two main railway lines of the Soviet Union, directly connecting the important cities of Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad and Riga.
As early as August 1941, at the beginning of the Soviet-German war, the German army gathered heavy forces to take the lead in seizing Velikiye Luki, and sent 9 divisions to defend it. The Soviets launched several siege battles in an attempt to retake Veliko Luki, but they were repeatedly defeated.
The Battle of Stalingrad began, and the Soviet Union was deeply aware that through Velikiye Luki, the German army could not only easily replenish strategic supplies, but also send garrisons to reinforce them. This is undoubtedly a big threat to the Soviet army.
So, on November 4, 1942, when all the main German forces were besieging Stalingrad, the Soviet Union also dispatched a number of elite troops to launch a siege of Velikiye Luki.
Like many other sieges, such as the Siege of Sarajevo, the Battle of Velikiye Luki saw the Soviets carry out a "siege trilogy", that is, bombing, cutting off water and electricity, and cutting off supply lines.
The Soviet Air Force launched a carpet bombing of Velikiye Luki and quickly cut off the city's ** line and railway transport routes. Soon, the German garrison in Velikiye Luki was in a desperate situation of running out of ammunition and food, and running out of medicine.
At the same time, the Germans faced a triple dilemma. First, although the Germans deployed nine divisions around Velikiye Luki, the defenders of the city were only about 7,000 men because they were too scattered.
When the Battle of Stalingrad entered the white-hot stage, the main German forces could not be withdrawn. By the time the German 8th Panzer Division arrived in Velikiye Luki from Leningrad in December, the Soviets had already built an encirclement network and successfully stopped and defeated the Germans.
The USSR was located at high latitudes and had extremely low winter temperatures. After years of adaptation and training, the Soviet army still has strong combat effectiveness in the cold winter, and even specially developed light armored vehicles that can pass through the ice.
However, the German army suffered greatly from its combat effectiveness in the cold environment. Although the city of Velikiye Luki is surrounded by water on three sides, it is a typical easy and difficult place to attack, and the German army built perfect fortifications in advance, but due to the disparity in strength, equipment and environment, the German army finally failed.
On January 20, 1943, the Soviets succeeded in retaking Velikiye Luki, and only 200 of the city's 7,000 German troops survived. According to the "Soviet Military Encyclopedia", in the Battle of Velikiye Luki, the German army **590,000 people, and more than 100,000 Soviet troops.
The magnitude of this smaller, disparity of battle was staggering. This contrast, as well as the strategic and tactical issues behind it, made the Battle of Velikiye Luki rated by the United States as a "modern warfare offensive and defensive textbook" after the end of World War II, and was compared with the Battle of Stalingrad.