Battle of Krasny Bor

(Spark).[3] By January 1943, the situation looked very

good for the Soviet side. The German defeat at Stalingrad
had weakened the German front. The Soviet forces were
planning or conducting oensive operations across the
entire front, especially in southern Russia. Amidst these
conditions, Iskra was to become the rst of several offensive operations aimed at inicting a decisive defeat on
Army Group North.[4]

The Battle of Krasny Bor was part of the Soviet offensive Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda. It called for a
pincer attack near Leningrad, to build on the success
of Operation Iskra and completely lift the Siege of
Leningrad, encircling a substantial part of the German
18th Army. The oensive near Krasny Bor, formed the
western arm of the pincer. The Soviet oensive began on
Wednesday, 10 February 1943. It produced noticeable
gains on the rst day, but rapidly turned into a stalemate.
The strong defense of the 250th (Spanish) Infantry Division led by General Emilio Esteban Infantes and the 4th
SS Police Division gave the German forces time to reinforce their positions. By February 13, the Soviet forces
had stopped their oensive in this sector.

Operation Iskra was a strategic victory for the Soviet

forces and successfully opened a land corridor 810 km
wide into the city. A railroad was swiftly built through
it and allowed many more supplies to reach the city than
the Road of Life (the truck route across the frozen Lake
Lagoda), eliminating the possibility of the capture of the
city and a German-Finnish linkup.[5] At the same time,
however, STAVKA knew that Iskra was incomplete
as the corridor it had opened was narrow and was still
in range of German artillery. Additionally, the important heights and strong point at Siniavino were still controlled by the Germans. This led Georgy Zhukov, the
Soviet commander, to plan a much more ambitious offensive operation named Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda
(Polar Star).[6]

In Spain, February 10 became known as Black Wednesday, due to the heavy losses of the Spanish Division,
which lost over 70% of the men engaged in the action.
It was the most costly battle for the Spanish volunteers
during their time on the Eastern Front.

Background

Main articles: Spain in World War II, Blue Division,

Siege of Leningrad and Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda

1.1

1.2 Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda

The Siege of Leningrad

The Siege of Leningrad began in early autumn 1941. By

September 8, German and Finnish forces had surrounded
the city, cutting o all supply routes to Leningrad and
its suburbs. However the original drive on the city failed
and the city was subjected to a siege. During 1942 several attempts were made to breach the blockade, but they
were all unsuccessful. The last such endeavour in 1942
was the Sinyavin Oensive. After the defeat of that effort, the front line returned to what it was previously Soviet plan for Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda in the context of the
and again 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) separated Leonid Gov- wider oensive in the northern and central parts of the front
orov's Leningrad Front in the city and Kirill Meretskov's
Volkhov Front.[1]
Main article: Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda
Despite the failures of earlier operations, lifting the siege
of Leningrad was a very high priority, so new oensive preparations began in November 1942, only weeks
after the last oensive failed.[2] In December, the operational plan was approved by the STAVKA (the Soviet High Command) and received the codename Iskra

Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda tried to build on the success of Operation Iskra and began only days later.
Zhukov, who had overseen Iskra, was promoted to
marshal of the Soviet Union on January 18, the day the
two Soviet Fronts linked up and broke the blockade. This
1

THE BATTLE

foresaw a three-front attack by the Northwestern Front 2 The battle

[roughly equivalent to an army group], under Marshal
Semyon Timoshenko; the Volkhov Front under Colonel
General Kirill Meretskov, and the Leningrad Front under Colonel General Leonid Govorov, of which the 55th
Army was now a part. The Northwestern Front was
to attack the Ramushevo Corridor, which connected the
Demyansk Salient, held by the Germans to their main positions since 1942. The destruction of the bulk of the
German 16th Army in the pocket would allow the Front
to exploit the gap in the German lines.[7] The Leningrad
and Volkov Fronts were to capitalize on the fact that the
German 18th Army was stretched very thin in the January ghting and attack the armys anks, aiming to link
up near Tosno. Again, this would create a gap in the German lines.[8] Overall, the goal of the oensive was nothing short of decisively defeating Army Group North and
German eld defences near Leningrad in January 1943
advancing to Lake Chud[9]
The 55th Armys objective was to break open the vital Leningrad-Moscow Highway, starting from its jumpo position in Kolpino towards Tosno; it was to join-up
with a northbound pincer attack of the 54th Army of the
Volkhov Front, thereby encircling German formations in
the Mga sector. The highway is an important road/railway
connection linking Moscow and Leningrad. The pivotpoint for this highway was Krasny Bor, situated between
the highway and the railway line. 55th Armys attack
would also hit sectors defended by other German formations which were established to secure anks and draw
them into battle. Once this attack had succeeded, the plan
was for the second echelon forces to advance through the
gap towards Tosno. The attack was planned for February
10, 1943 and was to jump o from Kolpino. The 55th
Army planned to attack with a force of approximately
40,000 men and 30 tanks in rst echelon, to be followed
by a mobile group consisting of the 122nd Tank Brigade
and the 35th Ski Brigade.
At the end of January 1943, Emilio Esteban Infantes, the
general in command of the 250th [Spanish] Infantry Division (Blue Division) was aware of a build-up of Soviet
forces (55th Army), which indicated that an attack was
imminent. To deect it, he ordered his reserves, two cycle companies and the 9th and 11th Batteries of the 250th
Artillery Regiment, into Krasny Bor on February 2. On
the 9th he ordered that at least one-third of the men with
all available automatic weapons were to withdraw 2,000
meters behind the main line of resistance; that the 269th
Infantry Regiment should be ready to give up its 2nd Battalion as soon as that was requested; and that the 263rd
Infantry Regiment had to provide one infantry company,
two Fusilier companies and a machine gun company as
reserves. Some additional mineelds were laid, and minor improvements to ring positions were undertaken.
The German command promised to send two anti-tank
companies with 75 mm Pak 40 AT guns and 88 mm AT
guns (although only one of these arrived in time for the
battle) as well as an infantry regiment.

2.1 February 10 Day 1

On Wednesday, February 10, 1943, a massive artillery
bombardment of 1,000 Soviet guns and mortars descended on the Spanish lines at precisely 6:45. Shells,
mortars and Katyusha rockets pounded the trenches,
bunkers and dugouts which had been constructed to
strengthen the eastern ank of Army Group North. At
8.45 hours, the bombardment shifted from the front
line onto Krasny Bor itself, also striking the villages of
Podolvo and Raikelevo (located east and southeast of
Krasny Bor, respectively), the latter being the location of
Infantes forward command post.
At approximately 8:40, the 45th and 63rd Guards and the
72nd Rie Divisions, followed by some tanks, advanced
towards Staraia Mgsa (east of Krasny Bor), Krasny Bor,
Raikelevo and Podolvo, with the 63rd Guards Rie Division facing the 5,900 troops of the 250th Infantry Division, holding the eastern ank of the line. Pinned down
by two hours of initial bombardment, Spanish formations
were unable to retreat towards the town and in many cases
fought to the death. The frontline was quickly overrun,
and many Spanish formations were destroyed there.[10]
Inside Krasny Bor, a company of the 250th Infantry Division held the October Railway station, repulsing infantry charges and three tank assaults by advancing Soviet forces. By 11:00 the company was reduced to 40
combatants, yet these managed to hold the factory until 12:00, when they fell back into the town. From 9:00
to 10:40, isolated Spanish units fought o Soviet attacks
but were cut o when the Soviets seized the October Railway. Now encircled, the units still holding the LeningradMoscow Highway decided to hold-on as long as possible
and were destroyed in combat.
The 55th Army, in the meantime, had advanced despite
heavy casualties inicted by the dug-in Spanish troops.
The Soviets took Raikelevo, which cut o Podolvo from

3
Krasny Bor. In Krasny Bor itself the Spanish artillery,
engineers and other assorted stragglers came under attack
from Soviet infantry and armour, and by 12:00, the 63rd
Guards Rie Division reported the capture of Krasny
Bor, despite the fact that the southern half of the town was
still controlled by the Spanish. Soviet tanks opened re
on a hospital and retreating ambulances but were eventually beaten o by Spanish troops armed with Molotov
Cocktails and hand grenades. The afternoon brought belated support for the defenders in the form of a Luftwae
ghter-bomber attack on the Soviet positions around the
town of Kolpino, to the north of Krasny Bor, while the
45th Guards Rie Division seized Mishkino. Sviridov decided to insert the mobile group into the battle late on the
day, but they were stopped by a combination of erce resistance and a sudden thaw that stopped the Ski Brigade
from operating o road. The German command reinforced the Spanish defenses with battle groups.

By February 13, 55th Army had lost almost a third of

its initial strength and most of its tanks, and could no
longer advance. The total penetration achieved reached a
depth of four to ve kilometres over a frontage of 14 kilometres. After the Spanish 262nd infantry Regiment and
1st Artillery Battalion evacuated, they bombarded the Soviet positions and attempted a counter-attack to recapture
Krasny Bor on February 12. The attack by the 55th Army
made a anking assault by the 67th Army in the Sinyavino
sector easier, because of the withdrawal of German forces
from that sector.
The main road to Moscow was still controlled by the 18th
Army, despite the capture of three km of railway line, and
the Soviets launched their last major attack in this sector
on March 19, 1943. It was also repelled with heavy losses
on both sides.

Soviet general sta critiques after the battle highlighted

the reasons for the failure of the attacks during Operation
The 63rd Guards Rie Division advanced as far as the Polar Star as strongly fortied defenses, faulty reconnaiscentral-western part of the town, and after 15:15 man- sance, poor command and control on all levels, clumsy
aged to push a small formation into the rear of the Span- employment of tanks and ineective artillery support.
ish divisions forward command post. Meanwhile the remaining Spanish troops were ordered to new positions on
the Izhora River, to the west of the town. Here they held
out against 63rd Guards Rie Divisions last attacks of the 3 Aftermath and consequences
day.
The failure by the 55th Army to follow through on its
initial success meant that the encirclement of the German forces in the Mga sector had lost its northern pincer. Lack of success by the other attacking armies, for
similar reasons, led to the overall failure of the grandly
conceived Operation Polar Star. It would take almost another year before the 18th Army withdrew from the direct approaches to Leningrad. The German 50th Corps,
in particular the 250th (Spanish) Infantry Division, had
At the end of the day, the 63rd Guards Rie Division
managed to hold the Red Army inside the perimeter of
had advanced four or ve kilometres and captured Krasny
the siege of Leningrad, but at heavy cost.
Bor, Mishkino, Staraya Mirza, Stepanovka, and Popovka
Station. On its left wing, the attack by the 43rd Rie Di- On February 15 the 250th Infantry Division reported cavision and the 34th Ski Brigade had had initial success, sualties of 3,645 killed or wounded and 300 missing or
driving the 4th SS Police Division into the Tosno River. taken prisoner, which amounted to a 7075% casualty
rate of the troops engaged in the battle. It claimed 11,000
In the Ishora River sector, the 72nd Rie Division pushed
Soviet troops of the 55th Army had been killed in the
back the lines of the Spanish towards the river, destroying
ve days beginning February 9. Because of these heavy
the Field Replacement Battalion, but suering up to 70%
losses and Allied pressure on the Spanish government,
casualties in the process.
the Blue Division was withdrawn to Germany and later
disbanded. A new volunteer formation called the Blue
Legion (Legin Azul) remained in combat on the Eastern
Front, attached to the 121st Infantry Division until March
2.2 February 1113
1944. It was then also disbanded and the majority of the
The next day, February 11, 1943, left forward 63rd volunteers sent back to Spain. The 55th Army eventuGuards Rie Division units were surrounded in several ally took part in breaking the siege of Leningrad, securplaces, but the 63rd Guards Rie Division was in con- ing the Leningrad-Moscow line in 1944. It subsequently
trol of Krasny Bor by evening. A planned counter-attack advanced into Estonia and fought against the Courland
by the Spanish division and the German 212th Infantry pocket until 1945.
After 16:30 hours a battle group of the German 212th Infantry Division and two companies each of the Flemish
and the Lithuanian Legions were able to support the
Spanish with a counter-attack on the forest at Staraya
Rechka, and by taking over the frontline from the highway to the Izhora River. Elements of the 212th relieved the Spanish troops still holding the southern half
of Krasny Bor.

Division was thought likely to be successful, but was ul- Those captured in the battle, on the Spanish side, were
timately not carried out due to concern over the overall sent to gulag camps, primarily in Siberia, and were not
repatriated to Spain until 1954. Krasny Bor remains,
position of the 18th Army.

6 FOOTNOTES
Battle Group 11th Infantry Division

for the most part, an obscure battle in modern historical

knowledge relating to this devastating war. The Blue Division was awarded a Combat Service Medal, personally
designed by Adolf Hitler, for its defense of Army Group
Norths precarious eastern ank.

Battle Group 21st Infantry Division

Battle Group 212th Infantry Division
Battle Group 215th Infantry Division

Order of battle

4.1

Battle Group 227th Infantry Division

Soviet Union Leningrad Front

Battle Group 2nd SS Motorized Brigade

Soviet 55th Army, 38,000 soldiers Lieutenant General

Vladimir Petrovich Sviridov[11][12]
43rd Rie Division
45th Guards Rie Division

SS-Volunteer Legion Flanders (two companies)

5 Notes

63rd Guards Rie Division

1. ^ Combat groups were from the Flanders Legion,

2nd SS Motorized Infantry Brigade, 11th, 21st,
212th, 215th, and 227th Infantry Divisions.[13]

122nd Tank Brigade

31st Tank Regiment

2. ^ Glantz, D. p. 297

34th Ski Brigade

3. ^ Map on p. 87 in Infantes, E.E.

35th Ski Brigade

4. ^ Infantes, E.E. p. 81-2

Artillery and mortar regiments with a total strength

of 1,000 guns and mortars

4.2

5. ^ Glantz, D. p. 585

Germany Army Group North, 18th

Army
6

German 50th Corps General Philipp Kleel

Elements of 250. Infanterie-Division, 4,500 soldiers
Major General Emilio Esteban Infantes

Footnotes

[1] Isayev p. 441

[2] Glantz p. 264

250 Field Replacement Battalion

[3] Glantz p. 265

262 Regiment (three battalions)

[4] Glantz (2002) p. 259

Ski Company
250 Reconnaissance Battalion

[5] Glantz (2002) pp. 284285

1st Artillery Battalion (three Batteries) with

10.5 cm guns

[6] Glantz (2002) p.284

One battery of 3rd Artillery Battalion with

10.5 cm guns

[7] Glantz (2009) p.403

One battery of 4th Artillery Battalion with

15.0 cm guns

[8] Glantz (2009) p.405

250th Anti Tank Battalion with 37 mm Pak36

AT-guns
Assault sappers group
Independent anti-tank gun company with 75
mm Pak40 anti-tank guns.
4th SS Police Division - Major General Alfred
Wnnenberg

[9] Glantz (2009) p.403

[10] p.140, Glantz, Leningrad: City under siege 19411944,
Grange books, 2001
[11] Glantz (2002) p. 294
[12] Glantz (2002) p.507
[13] Glantz (2009) p. 412

References
Glantz, David M. (2002). The Battle for Leningrad
19411944. Kansas University Press. ISBN 07006-1208-4.
Glantz, David M. (2009). After Stalingrad: The Red
Armys Winter Oensive 19421943. Helion and
Company. ISBN 978-1-906033-26-2.
Halisbury, Harrison E. 900 Days, The: The Siege of
Leningrad Da Capo Press, 2003.
Infantes, E.E. Blaue Division Spaniens Freiwillige
an der Ostfront. Druel 1977
, (2006).

. ,
. (in Russian). . ,
. ISBN 5-699-11949-3.
Kleinfeld, Gerald L., Tambs, Lewis A. Hitlers Spanish Legion: The Blue Division in Russia. Illinois:
Southern Illinois University Press, 1979.
Wylie, Nevile.
European Neutrals and NonBelligerents during the Second World War. Cambridge University Press, 2001.

External links
250.Infanterie-Division by Jason Pipes
Commemorative Medal for Spanish Volunteers
Google-Earth Geographic Blue Division Project
(spanish)

Coordinates: 594047N 304010E / 59.67972N

30.66944E

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

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Battle of Krasny Bor Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Krasny_Bor?oldid=666964400 Contributors: Zocky, Altenmann,

Ezhiki, Bobblewik, Albrecht, MistToys, Irpen, Miborovsky, Circeus, Trainik, Ghirlandajo, Woohookitty, Tim!, Biederman, Gurch, Noclador, Bleakcomb, Kurt Leyman, Kirill Lokshin, Manxruler, Welsh, Howcheng, Mieciu K, Capt Jim, SmackBot, Roger Davies, Durova,
OrphanBot, Andreas1968, Ohconfucius, RASAM, Georey Pruitt, Volker89, Ka34, Andrwsc, Kencf0618, Tawkerbot2, Penumbra-88,
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