The spoiling attack -- a surprise thrust into the enemy attack preparation -- is a very effective, though rare, operation. Its purpose is to disorganize the enemy's assembly and his offensive or to force him to launch his attack at a less vulnerable point. Such an attack from the defensive can be undertaken only under certain conditions. The enemy assembly area must be easily accessible to a surprise thrust, and the defender must have strong armored reserves on hand. The terrain and road net must facilitate quick maneuver under cover of darkness. All attack plans must be concealed from the enemy, or he must be deceived with regard to the real intentions. For this reason, it is imperative that one act without delay. These prerequisites existed only on rare occasions. However, the Germans were presented with a perfect opportunity to exploit them at the beginning of November 1943. The Russians had broken through north of Kiev, and there were indications that they intended to envelop the northern wing of Army Group South. The forces at the disposal of the First Ukrainian Front were insufficient to attain this objective. The Soviets advanced sixty miles to the west, captured the important railroad junction of Fastov, neutralized Zhitomir, and encircled the LIX Infantry Corps in Korosten. But a German flank attack by armored units forced the Russians to pull back across the Teterev. Although Zhitomir was relieved, Fastov remained in enemy hands, and the siege of Korosten continued. The Fourth Panzer Army front, which had faced east before the Russian offensive, gave way and was now facing north. Both the German and the Russian flanks were open to the west. Because of their inability to close this gap, the Germans extended an open invitation to the Russians to continue their offensive in order to exploit the success they had hitherto achieved. They had a unique opportunity to execute a wide envelopment out of their assembly area north of Zhitomir. Troop concentrations and road repairs performed behind the hostile Imes indicated the immediate resumption of the Soviet offensive which would first threaten the Fourth Panzer Army and subsequently the entire army group. The situation called for immediate action, and the Germans therefore decided to avert the threat by striking the flank of the hostile attack preparations with strong panzer force& The XLVIII Panzer Corps, with the 1st SS, 7th, and 1st Panzer Divisions, was withdrawn from the front and assembled behind the center of the army sector. Meanwhile the approach routes-some of which 1ed through marshy wooded terrain-were reconnoitered, bridges repaired, and the partisan units rampant in the forest dispersed by the security division responsible for this area. Immediately afterward, the combat elements of all three panzer divisions moved out in broad daylight and marched along the main highway through Zhitomir in order to deceive the enemy into believing that strong forces were being shifted to another sector of the front. It was later established that this deception was completely successful. In any event, these preliminary steps were actually inevitable since the movements connected with them had to be executed to enable the Germans to strike deep into the open enemy flank. Without this attempt at deception, the movements would have required two nights since the approach and assembly of such a strong panzer corps could not be effected in one night. By carrying out the movements by day, they could be timed so that the units reached their turn-off points along the main highway shortly after dusk. By that time half the itinerary had been covered and the movements continued without interruption. The enemy had no opportunity to observe the turning movements of the corps, first to the north, then toward the east. The entire movement proceeded according to plan without enemy interference. On 4 December 1943, at 0600, all three panzer divisions were poised for attack along the Zhitomir-Korosten highway. At the same time all the GHQ artillery, a rocket-projector brigade with launchers of different calibers up to 320mm, and an armored train, were moved into position behind the left wing of XIII Infantry Corps on the extreme end of the open flank These preparations, as well as the concentration of strong reserves behind XIII Corps wing, were to 1ead the Russians into assuming that the German attack wou1d continue on the army 1eft wing, exactly where it had bogged down the previous month. The Russians were easily convinced of these intentions because their own reaction in similar situations was identical. When a heavy concentration was delivered in this sector at dawn and a German infantry division launched a frontal attack immediately afterward, the enemy felt absolutely certain that his estimates were correct. He shifted strong reserves to this sector and counterattacked, only to be stopped in his tracks by the concentrated fire of 300 rocket launchers. The Russians were still completely unaware of the impending flank attack. Only after they had moved all available forces and weapons close to the front line did two German corps comprising five divisions simultaneously attack their right flank. The main thrust was executed by the three divisions of XLVIII Panzer Corps which advanced east toward the Teterev River. Some 1st SS Panzer Division elements were to turn south and attack the Russian forces from the rear. The 7th Panzer Division was to cover the corps left flank and establish contact with LIX Corps, which was breaking out of encircled Korosten. Completely surprised by this flank attack, the enemy offered little resistance during the first day. The mine fields emplaced by the Russians to protect their open flank were easily discovered from the air and bypassed. The entire flank was crushed and destroyed by the attack from the rear. Within a few hours the German tanks penetrated deep into the enemy artillery emplacements, overran batteries under cover of light ground fog, and destroyed the guns. Since the ground was frozen and covered by only a thin layer of snow, the tanks were able to move quickly and according to schedule. By the end of the first day the panzer divisions had advanced fifteen to twenty miles into the enemy's flank, taken numerous prisoners, and captured all of his artillery. The LIX Corps had achieved its breakout and established contact with the panzer corps. The Zhitomir-Korosten highway and railroad line were once again in German hands. The completeness of the surprise achieved guaranteed the success of the operation. Only weak remnants of the enemy forces escaped to the east. The thrust was continued during the second day. But its momentum was greatly impaired by heavy fog and a breakdown of the 1st SS Panzer Division supply system. Even though this division dropped out because of ammunition and fuel shortages, the other divisions advanced twelve more miles. The enemy resistance remained negligible. As the attack progressed, the elements of the XIII Corps gradually joined the panzer corps thrust along the sectors in which the flank attack had swept away all enemy opposition. Farther north, however, the LIX Corps was heavily engaged and progressed only step by step. It was not until the third day that the first enemy countermeasures were felt, but the few Russian armored and infantry units thrown across the lower Teterev were incapable of withstanding the powerful drive of the panzer corps. The Russians' newly established defenses were quickly overrun and several Soviet tanks destroyed during this action. Armed points of the 1st Panzer Division reached the Teterev south of the railroad bridge. The 69th Infantry Division, operating on the right wing of XIII Corps, crossed the Teterev at Radomyshl and joined the panzer corps advance. On the other hand, the sizable Russian forces remaining in the swampy forests along the Irsha held out so tenaciously that the LIX Corps with its two infantry divisions was unable to overcome their resistance. West of the Teterev, the enemy troops were reduced to a few bridgeheads. During the night, however, these were reinforced to a point where they nearly burst with personnel and equipment. A new enemy army attempted to reverse the tide at any cost. During the fourth day, heavy enemy attacks struck at the XIII Corps and XLVIII Panzer Corps sectors. Most of them were checked and territorial gains were made by means of armored counterattacks. By the end of the day, however, the center of XIII Corps was in danger of being overrun. The Germans now decided to eliminate the enemy bridgeheads. On the fifth day of the drive the 1st Panzer Division and the 1st SS Panzer Division formed the jaws of a pincers movement intended to annihilate all enemy forces remaining on the west bank of the Teterev. The weak 7th Panzer Division was to protect the north flank. Desperate enemy attempts to withstand the onslaught of 200 tanks were in vain. One bridgehead after another was crushed or reduced by the powerful drive of the panzer divisions. By noon armored points established contact within the perimeter of the fifth and last enemy bridgehead. The bridges were blown up and the bulk of the enemy equipment, together with many prisoners, fell into German hands. The day culminated in an all-out attack by all available panzer forces and strong elements of XIII Corps against those enemy units which had dented the German lines during the preceding day. It ended in their encirclement and annihilation. Thus, the first objective of the operation was achieved. The surprise thrust from the defensive penetrated an area forty-five miles in depth and completely destroyed one Russian army and a second one suffered such heavy casualties that it was at least temporarily rendered ineffective. Enemy casualties numbered thousands dead, wounded, or prisoners; more than 200 enemy tanks were destroyed and approximately 800 artillery pieces captured. German losses were light. The front line was shortened and now faced east; it was held solely by German infantry divisions. The XLVIII Panzer Corps was available for another mission. Second Phase The second phase of the thrust had the objective of consolidating the German lines. In order to clear the swampy forests along the Irsha of hostile forces and establish direct contact between LIX and XIII Corps, the XLVIII Panzer Corps moved to the Korosten area and launched a pincers attack against the enemy forces in the swamps. Two panzer divisions and Korpsabteilung "E" [a provisional unit of divisional strength formed by three weakened infantry divisions, each organized into one regiment] attacked from Korosten, north of the Irsha, toward the southeast, and the 7th Panzer and 112th Infantry Division thrust from positions south of the river toward the northeast. The northern spearhead, advancing in open terrain along the railroad to Kiev, initially made good progress, whereas the southern thrust was slowed down by heavy fighting in the wooded terrain. Nevertheless, the two armored spearheads established contact by the second day. The marshy forests along the Irsha were still being combed when strong Russian tank formations suddenly launched a flank attack from the north. Soviet armor and infantry also moved up from Kiev. According to statements made by prisoners of war, the Russians anticipated a German offensive to capture Kiev and therefore committed all units available in the area. In view of their limited strength, the Germans had not p1anned such a large-scale operation, quite apart from the difficulties they would have had in getting through the marshy forests extending between the Teterev and the Dnepr. Actually, the objective of the surprise thrust had been fully achieved, and the intended creation of a continuous infantry front was well under way. In spite of the reckless expenditure of newly arrived armored and infantry forces, the Russian counterattack did not gain any ground. All enemy attacks were repelled after stubborn fighting. On the very first day of the clash, the enemy lost more than eighty tanks. During the following two days, 150 additional tanks were destroyed by the Germans, and the Russian counterattack bogged down eventually. Minor thrusts supported by tanks were directed against the XIII Corps sector but were equally futile. The consolidating phase of the thrust accentuated the effects of the initial surprise attack. Two additional Russian armies were so badly mauled that they were incapable of offensive action. The acute threat in the area north of Zhitomir was thereby eliminated. A few weeks later the Russian Christmas offensive was launched at a less vulnerable sector of the front, an obvious indication that the enemy had been forced to change his plans. The spoiling attack therefore achieved the dual purpose of relieving an encircled corps and enabling the Germans to build up a continuous front where previously there had been a wide gap. The annihilation of strong enemy forces was an incidental, though important result of this operation. A frontal counterattack would not have been successful in this case, quite aside from the heavy casualties it would have involved. Frontal thrusts into enemy attack preparations can be employed only in minor operations. Their success depends on achieving complete surprise as, for instance, during night raids. A singularly well executed frontal surprise thrust was launched at the beginning of March 1945, when a detachment of young German naval cadets carried out a raid from a bridgehead north of Stettin. When equipped with Panzerfausts [recoilless antitank grenade launchers], they struck at the center of the assembly area of a Russian tank brigade and destroyed all its thirty-six tanks. German Active Defense Against Russian Breakthroughs Introduction Frontal Counterattack Flank Attack Spoiling Attack German Active Defense Against Russian Breakthroughs Part 2 Introduction Defensive Pincers Defense in Place with Mobile Reserves Position Defense in Strong Points and Improvised Fortresses Back to Table of Contents -- Combat Simulation Vol 2 No. 1 Back to Combat Simulation List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by Mike Vogell and Phoenix Military Simulations. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com