January 1943

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting rages around Sinyavino as the 67th and 2nd Shock Armies make slow but steady progress.

After a ferocious battle and a desperate break-out attemp, Velikiye Luki falls to the 3rd Shock Army. Just over 180 men from the garrison make it back to the German lines. Some 5,000 men have been lost during the battle while the LIX Corps loses an additional 12,000 fighting around the pocket. The Soviet forces engaged in the battle have lost 31,600 killed and missing and 72,300 wounded.

The fall of Velikiye Luki brought the largely unsuccessful Soviet offensive in the central sector to an end. Zhukov's plan to isolate Army Group Center while the 6th Army was destroyed at Stalingrad had failed in the face of overwhelming German resistance. This crucial battle clearly underscored thet when faced by German troops in well established defensive positions, the Red Army still had some difficult lessons to learn.

The isolated garrison of Chertkovo begins break-out attempst while the 19th Panzer Division launches repeated attacks in an effort to link up.

In Stalingrad the panic gripping the 6th Army spreads as Pitomnik airfield comes under heavy arty fire.