Kuban bridgehead

The Kuban bridgehead (also Gotenkopf ), was a German collector position on the Taman peninsula in southern Russia, which existed from January to October 1943. It had been originally held after the withdrawal of German troops from the Caucasus to allow a renewed attack on the oil fields of the Caucasus. After the general withdrawal of the German Eastern Army on the Panther Wotan line located in the bridgehead troops were evacuated over the Kerch Strait to the Crimea.

History

After a transfer was in December 1942 by Hitler been issued, cancel the initiated as Operation Blue in June 1942 advance on the oil fields of Grozny and Baku, as it had become increasingly bogged down due to always becomes longer supply lines and front lines and finally before Ordzhonikidze (now Vladikavkaz ) came to a halt, the troops of Army Group A to the northwest, towards the Black sea and Crimea were withdrawn, constantly harassed by advancing units of the Soviet armed forces.

The 17th Army ( commander Colonel-General Richard Ruoff, later General of the pioneers Erwin Jaenecke ) presented for this retreat a collecting position on the lower reaches of the river Kuban ( hence the name) on the Taman Peninsula end of January 1943 completed and held it against the Soviet North Caucasus Front to October 9, 1943, when the last unit of the Strait of Kerch in Crimea direction crossed. The task of the bridgehead had been decided on 3 September 1943 by Hitler because of the changed overall situation on the Eastern Front after the withdrawal of Army Group South had become inevitable on the Dnepr line.

Despite repeated Soviet attacks during this time of the Cuban beachhead could be maintained and the transport of 239 669 soldiers, 16,311 wounded, 27,456 civilians and 115 477 tonnes Wehrmachtsgut (primarily ammunition), 21,230 motor vehicles, 74 tanks, 1,815 guns and 74,657 horses make to the Crimea. The Air Force flew from a field airport ( at Slawjanskaja ) in the bridgehead further 15,661 man. In order for the withdrawal from the northern Caucasus foothills in 1943 was one of the few military withdrawal operations of the Armed Forces, in which not lost the entire Army Group and all the heavy equipment.

Transportation over the at the narrowest point about four kilometers wide Kerch Strait was partly with Marinefährprahmen, some with a tensioned by sea freight lift. A built by the Todt Organization combined road and railway bridge over the strait had to be blown up shortly before completion in the evacuation of the bridge head in October 1943.

Trivia

• The Kuban bridgehead formed the historical framework for action war film Steiner - The Iron Cross by Sam Peckinpah.