Rescue of the 88th Infantry Division - PzC 06 Korsun '44

Wehrmacht supply depot at Belaya Tserkov, 104kms NW of Korsun, December 6th 1943: The Red Army was on a continuous offensive through the winter of '43-44 with the objective of securing the Dnepr and inflicting the highest number of casualties on German Army. The 1st Ukrainian Front under Marshall Vatutin executed a flanking maneuver which created a salient centered at Korsun. During these manuevers, the German 88th Infantry Division was trapped at the supply depot at Belaya Tservov by mobile elements of the Soviet 27th Army. Rather than attempt retreat, the divisional commander decided to dig in and and await a rescue attempt. The commander of the XLII Army Corps could not spare to lose a whole infantry division, so he ordered veteran panzer commander Oberst Werner Kolb to form a mobile Kampfgruppe to aid in a breakout attempt. Kampfgruppe Kolb advanced north and successfully opened a hole to the south of the city that enabled the 88th Infantry Division to escape. For his actions in this engagement, Oberst Kolb was awarded the Knight's Cross. [Size medium]