Timeline 1943
January
In January 1943 the T-34 Model 43 was fitted with a new hexagonally
shaped cast turret, which was slightly larger and simpler to manufacture. It
was also up-armoured to 90mm. Despite the new turret, the vehicle retained the
same 76mm F34 gun
and could still only house two crew members.
January 1st - The 1st Panzer Army in the Caucasus begins withdrawing from the Terek front to avoid being cut off by Russian forces attacking from the northeast towards Rostov-on-Don.
January 2nd - Elements of the 3rd Guards Army capture the German airfield at Morozovsk, further reducing the Luftwaffe's ability to resupply 6th Army trapped within the Stalingrad pocket.
January 3rd - Army Group A begins a general withdrawal from the Caucasus.
January 4th - Units of the 59th Corps and Group Wohler attempt to relieve German forces trapped in Veikiye Luki, resulting in fierce fighting with the elements of the 3rd Shock Army.
January 8th - General Rokossovsky, commander of the Don Front, issues a surrender ultimatum to the 6th Army, guaranteeing 'their lives and safety and after the end of the war their return to Germany.' He also promises that 'medical aid will be given to all wounded, sick and frost-bitten.' Paulus rejects this demand for surrender.
January 10th - After a 55-minute bombardment by thousands of guns and rocket-launchers and employing seven armies, the Red Army begins Operation Ring, the final annihilation of the remnants of 6th Army, defending desperately in the ruins of Stalingrad.
January 12th - The Red Army launches operation Iskra,
designed to push the German 18th Army out of the Schlusselburg-Mga salient and
thus reopen a supply line to the besieged city of Leningrad. The 67th Army attacks
to the south of the city, and the 2nd Shock Army assaults from the Volkhov.
Germans forces continue to abandon the Caucasus and withdraw towards the Kuban
Bridgehead.
January 13th - The Russian 8th Army joins operation Iskra.
The result is that the German 26th and 28th Corps suffer heavy losses.
The offensive by the Russian 40th Army against the Hungarian 2nd Army, part
of a larger Red Army offensive involving the Voronezh, Bryansk and Southwestern
Fronts along a 480km (300-mile) front begins. The Hungarian 7th Division is
soon destroyed.
January 15th - Elements of the Russian 3rd Shock Army captures Velikiye Luki.
January 16th - At Stalingrad Russian forces capture Pitomnik airfield.
January 18th - Schlusselburg is recaptured by elements
of the Russian 2nd Shock and 67th Armies. With a narrow corridor created through
German lines south of Lake Ladoga, Leningrad can now be supplied.
In the Don bend, the Russian 3rd Tank and 40th Armies link up at Alexievka,
three Hungarian corps and the Italian Alpine Corps are encircled.
In the Caucasus, the Russian advance continues. Cherkessk is captured by the
Red Army, who are now less than 250 miles south east of Rostov.
January 19th - Russian forces make further gains during a 75-mile advance towards Kharkov on the Voronezh front. What is left of the Hungarian 2nd Army surrenders at Ostrogozh.
January 20th - Russian forces capture of the Caucasian
railway town of Voroshilovskiy.
In response to increasing partisan activity, the Germans launch Operation Weiss
in Croatia. In cooperation with Italian forces, its objective is the annihilation
of partisan units west and northwest of Sarajevo. German units include the 7th
SS Mountain, 369th and 717th Infantry Divisions and a regiment of the 187th
Infantry Division. The Italian contingent is the 5th Corps of the 2nd Army.
January 23rd - At Stalingrad, the last German airfield in the Stalingrad pocket, Gumrak is captured by elements of the 21st Army.
January 24th - Russian forces capture Starobelskiy, near
the Donets River in the eastern Ukraine, while on the Don River, elements of
the 60th Army recapture Voronezh.
The offensive by the Soviet Trans-Caucasian Front toward the Kuban bridgehead
is stopped at Novorossiysk and Krasnodar.
Januray 26th - In the Stalingrad Pocket the survivors of the German 297th Infantry Division surrender to the 38th Guards Rifle Division. The 65th Army links up with the 62nd Army between the Mamayev Kurgan and the Red October factory. What is left of the 6th Army is now trapped in two small pockets.
Based
on the T-34 chassis, the SU-122 was introduced in January 1943. It was fitted
with the 122mm M-30 howitzer, mounted in an armoured casemate. To simplify production,
the engine and transmission of the T-34 were retained. The main gun performed
poorly in the anti armour role, due to the weight of its shell, which reduced
the muzzle velocity.
January 31st - The exhausted troops of 6th Army's southern
pocket, having expended the last of their ammunition, surrender to the Red Army.
The Russians capture Field Marshal Paulus and 16 generals. Only the remnants
of the 11th Corps in the northern pocket in the city continues to hold out.
February
In
February 1943, the SU-76 began to be built on the T-70 chassis and the front
of the hull was redesigned. The old single engine was replaced with a pair of
engines fitted side by side. The new vehicle was designated SU-76M. The vehicle
was disliked by its crews, who nicknamed it 'Suka' (Bitch), due to its weak
armor and open top crew compartment. Difficulties in synchronising the two engines
also lead to transmission failures.
February 1st - The trapped remnants of the
2nd and 10th Corps evacuate the Demyansk Pocket.
Russian forces capture Svatovo, southeast of Kharkov, cutting the rail lines
from the city to the Donets Basin.
February 2nd - The remnants of the German XI Corps surrender at Stalingrad. Of the 280,000 men surrounded at Stalingrad, 160,000 had been killed, or died of starvation or exposure. Only 34,000, mostly wounded men, had been evacuated. Almost 90,000 German soldiers marched off into captivity and of these only 5000 men would see Germany again, the last returning 12 years later in 1955.
February 3rd - Hitler, in a national broadcast from his
headquarters, announces to the nation that the 6th Army has been destroyed at
Stalingrad, saying that 'the sacrifice of the Army, bulwark of a historical
European mission, was not in vain.' Four days of national morning are declared.
Kuschevka on the Soskya River, 50 miles south of Rostov is liberated.
February 4th - In the Caucasus, elements of the 17th Army contains Russian amphibious landings at Novorossisk and Ozereyka Bay.
February 5th - In central Russia, elements of the 1st Guards Army capture Stary Oskol and Izyum.
February 6th - Russian advances in the Ukraine continue, as the 51st Army captures Bataysk, the 1st Guards Army liberate Lisichansk and Barvenkovo.
February 7th - Elements of the 60th Army recapture Kursk.
February 8th - Finland requests that the U.S. arbitrate in possible peace talks with Russia. Although it would end in failure, the Finns became the first of Hitler's allies to seek an end to the war.
February 9th - Belgorod, northeast of Kharkov, is liberated by elements of the 64th Army.
February 10th - In the Donets River area, Merefa and Chuguyev are recaptured by elements of the 3rd Tank Army.
February 11th - Lozovaya is captured by elements of the
Southwestern Front.
February 14th - The 3rd Guards Army recaptures Voroshilovgrad, while further south elements of the 2nd Guards and 28th Armies liberate Rostov, cutting off the 17th Army in the Kuban forcing the Army's lines of communications to move west over the Kerch Straits and into the Crimean Peninsula.
February 15th - The remnants of the German 2nd and 10th
Corps withdraw from the Demyansk salient. At the same time the Soviet 11th,
34th and 53rd Armies of the Northwestern Front, supported by the Kalinin Front's
1st Shock Army, open an offensive in the area.
February 16th - Despite orders from Hitler to hold the city to the last,
General Hauser orders his 2nd SS Panzer Corps to abandon Kharkov as it is about
to be surrounded by elements of the 40th and 3rd Tank Armies.
February 17th - Hitler, panicked over the constant retreats
of his armies in Russia, flies to Zaporozhye to harass Field Marshal von Manstein
over his failures. Von Manstein calmly lays out the plan for his counter-attack
against the already overextended Russian spearheads. Hitler accepts the plan.
February 18th - The 1st Guards Army halts a counterattack by the 40th Panzer Corps and also recaptures Pavlograd and Novomoskovsk.
February 19th - Hitler, discovering that Russian tanks are only 60 miles from Zaporozhye, hastily decides to cut short his visit to von Manstein's headquarters and return to the safety of his HQ at Vinnitsa.
February 22nd - Von Manstein launches his 'Backhand Blow
offensive against Russian forces in the Kharkov area. The counteroffensive to
recapture Kharkov begins as with the SS Panzer Corps shattering the flank of
the 6th Army at Zmiyev. Meanwhile, oblivious to the threat to their flanks and
rear, the Russian spearhead under Popov, continues to advance west, deeper into
the trap von Manstein has sprung.
The 'Regiment Normandie' took to the air over Russia for the first time. This
fighter unit was formed from anti-Vichy French forces in Syria in 1942.
February 23rd - Von Manstein's offensive gains momentum
as the German 48th Panzer Corps captures Barvenkovo. Meanwhile, elements of
the 57th Army capture Sumy and Lebedin northeast of Kharkov.
The newly formed 16th Rifle Division went into action for the first time on
the Russian front near Alekseyevka. This formation was made up almost exclusively
of Lithuanian Jews.
February 24th - The SS Panzer Corps joined up with elements
of the 48th Panzer Corps south of Krasnograd, as the 40th Panzer Corps engages
Group Popov along the Mius line.
February 27th - In southern Russia, von Manstein's offensive continues to gain ground, occupying a line from Lozovaya to Kramatorsk.
February 28th - As the 48th Panzer Corps reaches the Donets west of Izyum, Russian forces withdraw from Barvenkovo to Izyum to avoid being cut off.
March
March 1st - The evacuation of the Rzhev salient, operation 'Buffalo' begins. Elements of the German 4th and 9th Armies start a phased withdrawal of the salient.
March 3rd - Elements of the 3rd Panzer Corps capture Slavyansk.
March 5th - To the south of Kharkov, elements of the 4th Panzer Army inflict a heavy defeat on the 3rd Tank Army.
March 12th - Elements of the German 4th Army evacuate Vyazma as part of operation Buffalo.
March 11th - The Grossdeutschland Division captures Bogodukhov, while the SS Panzer Corps fights its way into Kharkov.
March 13th - As the Grossdeutschland Division prises apart the Russian 40th and 69th Armies and the SS Totenkopf Division severs the enemy's lines of communication east of Kharkov. The depleted 3rd Tank Army is now cut off in the city.
March 13th - Finland agrees peace terms with Russia and all fighting between the two countries ceases the following day.
March 14th - Elements of the SS Panzer Corps recapture Kharkov.
March 16th - In the north, the Russian 3rd Shock Army recaptures Cholm after a prolonged battle.
March 18th - Elements of the SS Corps and Grossdeutschland
Division eject the 69th Army from Belgorod.
April
The
PzKfw IV Ausf H entered production in April 1943. Frontal armour was increased
from 50mm to 80mm on the front hull and superstructure. This also increased
the weight of the Ausf H to 25 tons. It was fitted with a new, water-cooled
gasoline engine producing 265hp, giving a maximum road speed of 38km/h. Also
introduced were new commander's cupola with anti-aircraft MG34 cupola mount
and vehicles began to be fitted with side armour skirts (Schurzen).
April 15th - Lieutenant Yakov Stalin, the son of the Russian dictator who has been a German prisoner since July 1941, dies in Sachsenhausen camp after running into the electric fence surrounding the camp, apparently overcome by shame at the news of his father's massacre of Polish officers at Katyn. The Germans had wanted to exchange him for General Paulus, but Stalin would not hear of it.
April 18th - The German 17th Army begins its attacks to eliminate the Russian beachhead at Novorossiysk, but fails and gives up on the 23rd April.
April 19th - The Warsaw uprising begins. Organized by the ZOB (Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa - Jewish Fighting Organization), which is led by 23-year-old Mordecai Anielewicz, it is sparked by German troops and police entering the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants.
April 29th - A series of minor attacks by
the Red Army forces in the Ozereyka Bay beachhead near Novorossiysk, make gradual
progress against stiff German resistance.
May
The
Marder III was introduced in May 1943. Built on the on the PzKfw 38(t) chassis,
it was armed with the 75mm PaK 40/3 L/46 anti-tank gun, which was mounted in
an open armored fighting compartment.
May 16th - German police and SS units bring the uprising in the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw to a bloody end.
May 24th - With the German 17th Army in the Kuban fending
off every assault, Stavka brings the Krasnodar Offensive to an end.
June
June 1st - The Red Air Force attacks German rear communications and airfields at Smolensk, Orel and Bryansk.
June 2nd - The Red Air Force bombs Kiev and Roslavl, while the Luftwaffe bombs the city of Kursk.
June 4th - Hitler flies to Finland to meet
with the Finnish head of state, Marshal Mannerheim.
July
The
PzKfw IV Ausf D was fitted with an improved version of the 75mm KwK 42 L/70
gun and the turret was rotated by a hydraulic power traverse, which took its
power from the gearbox. The
vehicle also saw the introduction of wide tracks for better traction and improved
cross-country performance. The vehicle also featured large overlapping road
wheels and a new suspension system that enabled it to traverse rough terrain
at high speed. The
Panther first saw action during operation Citadel but suffered badly from a
variety of technical problems including gearbox, transmission and suspension
failure, and more seriously engine fires.
July 3rd - The Red Army begins an offensive against the German forces isolated in the Kuban bridgehead between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
July 4th - The Germans launch operation
'Citadel', their last major offensive on Eastern Front, aimed at eliminating
the Kursk salient.
In the south, elements of the 4th Panzer Army attack in the direction of Prokarovka
and Oboyan. Here the attack is a little more successful and by the end of the
first day advances of up to 20km (16 miles) are made.
The southernmost force to attack is Army Detachment Kempf. It attacks across
the northern Donets River, before breaking out from its bridgehead at Mikhailovka
near Belgorod.
July 5th - The attack on the northern flank of the Kursk salient opens, as the 9th Army attacks at the junction of the Russian 13th and 48th Armies. Little progress is made against the well-prepared Russian defence lines. Elements of the 20th Panzer Division reach the village of Bobrik.
July 6th - In the northern sector of the Kursk salient, both sides focus their efforts on the ridges stretching between Ponyri and the heavily defended villages of Olkhovatka and Samodurovka.
July 7th - The German forces engaged at Kursk are still unable to achieve a major breakthrough in the face of stiffening Russian resistance, which is reinforced by the arrival of strong tank and infantry reserves.
July 11th - The attacking German forces at Kursk have been depleted by heavy losses in men and armour and have nearly spent their momentum, even though the 4th Panzer Army and Army Detachment Kempf in the southern sector have succeeded in capturing the pivotal town of Prokhorovka.
July 12th - The greatest tank battle in history' takes place near Prokhorovka, as the Soviet Central, Bryansk and West Fronts begin a massive counter offensive in the area of Orel, Bryansk and Kursk. At Krasnograd near Moscow, a group of captured German officers, including Field Marshal Paulus, General von Seydlitz and exiled German communists form the 'National Committee for a Free Germany' that calls for the overthrow of Hitler and the cessation of hostilities against the Soviet Union.
July 13th - Despite the maximum efforts by the German forces to break through the Russian defences at Kursk, no further gains can be made, so Hitler orders the suspension of Operation 'Citadel' and orders the transfer of various divisions to the West.
July 14th - Joining in the counter-offensive by the Central, Bryansk and Western Fronts, the Soviet Voronezh Front launches attacks against the 4th Panzer Army and Army Detachment Kempf in the southern sector of the Kursk salient.
July 29th - Army Group A launches counter attacks to
improve its positions along the Mius River.
August
August 1st - Hitler orders the immediate evacuation of the Orel salient.
August 3rd - The Voronezh and Steppe Fronts begin operation Rumyantsev. Its objectives are the destruction of both the 4th Panzer Army and 6th Army by reaching the Black Sea coast in their rear. By the end of the day Russian forces have driven a 10km wedge between the 4th Panzer Army and Army Detachment Kempf. In the Steppe Fronts area, the SS Panzer Divisions 'Das Reich' and 'Totenkopf' are forced back from the River Mius and along with the battered 3rd Panzer Division, they are placed under the 3rd Panzer Corps.
August 6th - The Russian 3rd and 63rd Armies recapture
Orel.
Further south, elements of the 48th Panzer Corps begin a fighting withdrawal
from Tomarovka under pressure from the 5th Guards and 6th Armies.
August 7th - The Russian Western Front opens its offensive
to recapture Smolensk. It will later be joined by the Kalinin Front, which will
assault the German 4th and 3rd Panzer Armies north of the city.
Further south the Russian 5th Guards and 6th Armies eject the German 52nd Corps
from Borisovka, while the 1st Tank Army recaptures Bogodukhov.
August 12th - In southern Russia, the 1st Tank Army recaptures Vysokopolye, while the 57th Army liberates Chuguyev as units of the Steppe Front reach Kharkov's outskirts.
August 13th - The Southwestern Front begins its Donbas
Offensive against the 1st Panzer Army.
August 15th - The Southern Front opens an offensive along the Mius River against the German 6th Army.
August 22nd - The German 11th Corps begins to abandon Kharkov, despite strict orders from Hitler to hold the city at all costs.
August 23rd - The German 6th Army begins to withdraw from its positions along the Mius River as the 5th Shock Army encircles the 29th Corps at Tagenrog.
August 26th - In central Russia, the Central Front begins an offensive against the German 2nd Army in the direction of Poltava and Sevsk, as elements of the 60th Army manage to force a breakthrough at Nezhin.
August 27th - Elements of the 65th Army capture Sevsk.
August 30th - Elements of the 5th and 10th Guards Armies
capture Yelnia and force the 9th Corps to retreat westwards.
Further south, Tagenrog is captured by elements of the 44th Army.
September
September 2nd - the Russian 38th Army recaptures
Sumy.
Further south, the 3rd Guards Army captures Lisichansk, while the 51st Army
liberates Kommunarsk.
September 8th - In the south, elements of the 5th Shock Army captures Stalino while the 3rd Guards Army captures Krasnoarmyansk.
September 10th - The 28th and 44th Armies capture Mariupol, while the 1st Guards Army captures Barvenkovo.
September 14th - The German 9th Army begins to withdraw from Bryansk under heavy pressure from elements of the 50th Army.
September 16th - In central Russia, the 31st Army captures
Yartsevo, while the 10th Army forces a crossing of the Desna River and the 60th
Army liberates Novgorod.
Further south, the 3rd Guards Tank Army recaptures Romny. In the Kuban, the
18th Army liberates Novorossisk.
The
SU-85 was introduced in September 1943 following the poor performance of the
SU-122. It was found that the 85mm D-5S gun was more effective against heavier
German armor than the 122mm M-30 that equipped the SU-122. The vehicle was almost
identical to the SU-122 with the exception of the main armament.
September 22nd - In southern Russia, elements of the Central Front reach the Dnepr River and its 3rd Guards Army forces a crossing at Veliki Bukrin.
September 24th - Smolensk is surrounded by the 31st, 5th and 68th Armies, leaving German forces no option but to begin to abandon the city.
September 26th - Russian forces continue to pierce the
Dnepr line as the 38th Army forces a crossing north of Kiev at Lyutezh and the
6th Army at Dnepropetrovsk. The 4th Panzer Army's 13th Corps mounts a belated
counter attack at Lyutezh in an attempt to eradicate the bridgehead, but fails.
October
October 5th - The Russian 8th Guards Army of the Steppe Front, forces its way across the Dnepr, south of Dnepropetrovsk.
October 6th - In central Russia, The 3rd and 4th Shock Armies capture Nevel at the junction of Army Groups North and Centre, cutting communications between the two.
October 10th - The Southwestern Front begins to reduce
the Zaporozhye bridgehead, containing elements of the German 40th Panzer and
17th Corps, with the 3rd Guards, 8th Guards and 12th Armies.
The Spanish Blue Division, which has fought on the Eastern Front since 1941,
is recalled by the Spanish Government.
October 14th - The 3rd and 8th Guards and 12th Armies capture Zaporozhye, forcing the Germans to abandon their bridgehead.
October 15th - In southern Russia, the Voronezh Front continues to attack from its Bukrin bridgehead, but the 3rd Guards Tank, 27th and 40th Armies are held by 48th Panzer Corps. The 5th Guards Army has more success at Kremenchug, which breaks through the 57th Panzer Corps with the aid of the 5th Air Army, thrusting its armour to break into the 1st Panzer Army's rear.
October 17th - In central Russia, the 43rd Army creates a breach between the German 9th and 53rd Corps near Vitebsk, as it crosses the Dnepr at Loyev.
October 23rd - The German 6th Army retreats from Melitopol to the Dnepr, thus leaving the 17th Army isolated in the Crimea.
October 25th - In southern Russia, the 8th Guards and
46th Armies capture Dnepropetrovsk after defeating the 30th Corps.
November
The
ISU-152 was built on an IS-2 chassis and introduced in November 1943. The superstructure
was similar to the SU-152 with armour protection increased to 90mm. The gun
was mounted on the right side of the superstructure and fitted in a new two-piece
mantlet. It was also fitted with an improved suspension design.
November 1st - the
Soviet 38th Army attacks The 4th Panzer Army at Kiev. The 27th and 40th Armies
launch diversionary attacks from the Bukrin bridgehead in order to mask a larger
build-up in the Lyutezh bridgehead.
In the Crimea, the Soviet 51st Army attacks at Perekop and Armyansk as the 56th
Army crosses the Kerch strait.
November 3rd - In the south, Russian forces begin an offensive to liberate Kiev as the 38th and 60th Armies attack from the Lyutezh bridgehead, supported by the 2nd Air Army.
November 5th - The 38th Army fights its way into Kiev, while to the southwest of the city the 60th Army breaks into the rear of the 4th Panzer Army. The German 13th and 59th Corps are forced back towards Korosten and Zhitomir.
November 6th - The 38th Army liberates Kiev.
November 8th - In central Russia, the 3rd and 4th Shock Armies attack the 3rd Panzer Army in the Nevel area.
November 10th - Forces of the Belorussian Front commence the Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive south of Loyev, striking Army Group Centre's flank.
November 12th - In southern Russia, the 1st Ukrainian Fronts 1st Tank Army captures Zhitomir while the 2nd Ukrainian Front's 52nd Army crosses the Dnepr at Cherkassy and drives back the 11th Corps.
November 15th - In southern Russia, as the 1st Ukrainian Front continues its advance westwards, Manstein counterattacks from the southern base of the Russian salient. His aim is to retake Kiev as his forces head for Zhitomir.
November 17th - Manstein's counterattack gains momentum, with the 48th Panzer Corps capturing Zhitomir in the rear of the 1st Ukrainian Front.
November 22nd - In central Russia, the Belorussian Front opens a fresh offensive against the German 9th Army at Propaisk.
November 25th - In central Russia, Propaisk falls to
elements of the Belorussian Front.
Further south, Manstein's counterattack grinds to a halt short of Kiev.
November 28th - The Tehran conference begins and is attended by Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill.
November 30th - In southern Russia, the 48th Panzer Corps launches a fresh attack in the Zhitomir area, and the German 59th Corps recaptures Korosten forcing the 60th Army to withdraw.
December
In
December 1943, the Stug IV was introduced. It was essentially a slightly modified
Stug III superstructure, mounted on the PzKfw IV chassis. It was armed with
the 75mm StuK 40 L/48 gun mounted in a cast mantlet.
December 6th - In southern Russia, the 48th Panzer Corps resumes its attack, attempting to destroy enemy forces in the area of Meleni.
December 8th - The 48th Panzer Corps reaches the River Teterev, but is being slowed by strong resistance from the 13th and 60th Armies.
December 10th - In southern Russia, the 5th Guards Tank and 5th Guards Armies end German resistance at Znamenka. In addition, the 4th Guards and 52nd Armies join up at Cherkassy.
December 14th - In northern Russia, the 3rd Panzer Army is attacked by the elements of the 1st Baltic Front at Nevel.
December 16th - In southern Russia the 48th Panzer and 59th Corps strike enemy forces around Meleni.
December 21st - In central Russia, the 48th
and 65th Armies are involved in heavy fighting with the German 41st Panzer and
55th Corps at Zhlobin.
In southern Russia, the German 60th Army relinquishes its hold on the Kherson
bridgehead as the 4th Ukrainian Front nears the mouth of the Dnepr.
December 23rd - In southern Russia, the 48th Panzer Corps halts its attacks around Meleni.
December 24th - Russian forces launch a new offensive in the Ukraine against Army Group South. The 1st Ukrainian Front attacks with the 1st Guards and 18th Armies hitting 13th Corps in front of Zhitomir, while the 13th and 60th Armies assault the 59th Corps to the north and the 27th, 38th and 40th Armies striking the 7th and 24th Panzer Corps in the south.
December 29th - The 60th Army captures Korosten and the 3rd Guards Army has encircled Zhitomir, trapping elements of the 13th Corps in the town.
December 31st - As the Russian offensive
in the Ukraine gains momentum, Zhitomir falls to the 3rd Guards Tank and 18th
Armies and the 7th and 24th Panzer Corps begin to withdraw towards Vinnitsa
while the 48th Panzer Corps is falling back to Berdichev.
