Panzers Along the Terek - Operation Ordzhonikidze

Operation OrdshonikidzeNovember, 1942Panzers Along the Terek covers the German’s Third Panzer Corp’s (13th and 23rd Panzer divisions) deepest penetration into Russia during November, 1942. During the first week of that month the previous speedy blitzkrieg advance toward Vladikavkaz (formerly Ordshonikidze) and its oil riches along the Georgian road abruptly ended. The two panzer divisions, armed with over 150 tanks, now faced a growing array of Soviet forces, many of them armed with British and American tanks provided via Lend-Lease. As each defensive position was taken by the Germans, their advance continually slowed until reaching Gizel. Then it stopped. The German spearhead was then attacked from both flanks as their supplies ran low. With the result still in the balance Stalin arrived to rally his men. Only a few miles kept the Germans from their objectives and a well prepared defensive line, bolstered with NKVD soldiers, were all that stood in their way. As the Soviet counterattacks increased in strength, the German line eventually broke and the Soviets trapped the 13th Panzer division. The German offensive halted and then turned into a rescue mission. The 23rd Panzer was unable to remedy the situation and the 5th SS division was called upon to rescue both of the German Panzer divisions that were now near collapse. The city of Grozny and its oil fields were so near, yet so far!