Battle of the Don Bend

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The Battle of the Don Bend was a World War II Eastern Front engagement in late 1942, where Axis forces, including the Romanian 4th Army, suffered devastating Soviet attacks that helped pave the way for the encirclement at Stalingrad.

Aliases (2)
  • Battle of the Don ×1
  • Battle of the Don River ×1

Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf battle
military engagement
associatedOperation Operation Uranus
associatedWith Romanian Army collapse on the Eastern Front
belligerent Axis powers
Nazi Germany
Red Army
Romania
Soviet Union
causeOf large Axis prisoner captures by Soviets
loss of Axis artillery and armor on the Don front
characterizedBy Axis command and control breakdown
Soviet surprise attacks
armored breakthroughs
heavy artillery barrages
combatType combined arms warfare
river line defensive battle
conflict World War II
date late 1942
followedBy encirclement of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad
frontSector Axis-held Don River line
historicalPeriod Great Patriotic War
involvedMilitaryUnit German 6th Army (indirectly)
Romanian 3rd Army
Romanian 4th Army
involves Romanian cavalry units
Romanian infantry divisions
Soviet rifle divisions
Soviet tank corps
location Don River bend
southern sector of the Eastern Front
militaryObjective Soviet breakthrough of Axis Don River defenses
disruption of German 6th Army supply and support lines
notableFor exposure of Axis reliance on weaker allied armies on the flanks
high Romanian casualties
opponent Soviet Southwestern Front
Soviet Stalingrad Front
outcome collapse of Romanian defensive positions on the Don
devastating Axis losses
partOf Eastern Front
Stalingrad campaign
precededBy German summer offensive of 1942
result Soviet victory
strategicConsequence contributed to Operation Uranus success
facilitated Soviet encirclement of Axis forces at Stalingrad
weakened German 6th Army flanks
theater European theatre of World War II
timeframeRelation concurrent with early stages of the Battle of Stalingrad

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Romanian 4th Army
engagement
Hungary in World War II ("Battle of the Don River")
militaryCampaign
ARMIR ("Battle of the Don")
notableEvent

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