Chir River Battles
Dec 4-22 1942

Orders of Battle: German and Soviet

by Russel H.S. Stolfi


Figure 1

Divisions under command 48th Panzer Corps
Chir River Battles (4-22 December 1942)

German 336th Infantry Division (Generalleutnant Walter Lucht)

    685th Infantry Regiment
    686th Infantry Regiment
    687th Infantry Regiment
    336th Antitank Battalion
    336th Engineer Battalion
    336th Reconaissance Company
    336th Artillery Regiment
    336th Signal Company

      TO&E Strength Nov 42: Approx 15,000 men, 0 tanks
      Actual Strength Nov 42: Approx 11,000 men, 0 tanks

German 11th Panzer Division (Generalleutnant Hermann Balck)

    15th Panzer Regiment
    110th Panzer Grenadier Regt
    111th Panzer Grenadier Regt
    231st Antitank Battalion
    61st Motorcycle Battalion
    119th Panzer Artillery Regt
    231st Panzer Recon Battalion
    231st Panzer Engr Battalion
    231st Panzer Signal Battalion

      TO&E Strength Nov 42: Approx 14,000 men, 104 tanks
      Actual Strength Nov 42: Approx 11,500 men, 75 tanks

German 7th Luftwaffe Field Division (After approx 9 Dec 42)

    13th Field Infantry Regt
    14th Field Infantry Regt
    7th Field Antitank Battalion
    7th Field Antiair Battalion
    7th Field Artillery Regt
    7th Field Engineer Battalion

      TO&E Strength Nov 42: Approx 12,700 men, 0 tanks
      Actual Strength Nov 42: Approx 20,000 men, 0 tanks

Sources: Mitcham, Hitler's Legions, pp. 230,362,430, and Ziemke, Defeat in the East, p. 506. Actual strengths estimated by author.

Figure 2

Soviet Forces engaged with 48th Panzer Corps
Chir River Battles (4-22 December 1942)

5th Tank Army Forces

    Six Rifle Divisions: 119, 259, 321, 333 RDs, 4, 47 Gds 48,000 men, 0 tanks
    One Guards Cavalry Corps (3rd GCC): 5,6 GCDs, 32CD 14,000 men, 30 tanks

    One Tank Corps (1st TC) 9,500 men, 115 tanks
    One Mechanized Corps (5th MC) 13,500 men, 100 tanks
    One Independent Tank Brigade (89th TB) 1,000 men, 35 tanks

      Subtotal: 85,000 men, 280 tanks

Other Forces versus right flank 48th Panzer Corps
(Includes part of 5th Shock Army)

    One Rifle Division: 154 RD 7,000 men, 0 tanks
    One Cavalry Division: 56 CD 3,500 men, 0 tanks
      Subtotal: 10,500 men, 0 tanks

Grand Total: 95,500 men, 280 tanks

Sources: Distributed among
(1) 1984 Art of War Symposium, Soviet Offensive Operations, 1942-43
(2) Strategy and Tactics, War in the East, and
(3) Ziemke, Defeat in the East. See article notes for full citations of these works.

Back to Chir River

Chir River Battles Dec 4-22 1942

Back to Table of Contents: CounterAttack # 3
To CounterAttack List of Issues
To MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1991 by Pacific Rim Publishing Company.
This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com