Demyansk and Kholm

Introduction

9 Feb 1942 - During the Soviet 1941/42 winter offensive II. Armee Korps with 95,000 men commanded by Generalleutnant Walter Graf von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt, was surrounded at Demyansk. While simultaneously 281. Sicherung Div. (commander – Generalmajor Theodor Scherer) was enveloped at Kholm, southwest of Demyansk.

Demyansk

Operations

12 Feb 1942 – The commander of Luftflotte 1 (GeneralOberst Alfred Keller) began airlift operations using Transport units under his command.

13 Feb 1942 - GeneralOberst Franz Halder requested, during a telephone conversation with Jeschonnek, that a full scale airlift be commenced to relieve the surrounded units.

Ju 52 of KGrzbV 9 during the airlift

18 Feb 1942 – Morzik (GeneralMajor a. D Fritz Morzik) Lufttransportführer beim Generalquartiermeister der Luftwaffe and Kommandeur der Blindflugschulen) was ordered to transfer his units from Fliegerkorps VIII to the command of Luftflotte 1. Morzik established his headquarters at Pleskau-Sud (Pskov-Sud) with a staff consisting of himself, five officers and three enlisted men. The five officers were:- Hptm. Metscher (Operations and Intelligence Officer), Hptm Trautwein (TO), Oblt Langer (Personnel Officer), Oblt Oberländer (Communications Officer) and Lt Bernt.

Morzik began assembling a force of 15 Gruppen.

Prior to the arrival of Morzik and his staff KGzbV 172 (based at Riga) and KGrzbV 9 at Pleskau-Sud were stationed in the operational area.

Initially, there was friction between Morzik and Keller.

During operations to supply the Demyansk Pocket the transport aircraft flew in “pulks” of between 20 and 40 aircraft, operating between 1800 and 2400 metres. The airfields within the Demyansk enclave were organised so that they could always receive supply aircraft.

19 Feb 1942 – Five transport gruppen were transferred to Luftflotte 1 to take part in the first major supply missions to Demyansk. They were:-

IV./ KGzbV 1 based at Ostrov.

KGrzbV 600 moved from Orsha to Korov’ye-Selo.

KGrzbV 700 moved from Orsha to Pleskau-West.

KGrzbV 800 moved from Vitebsk to Korov’ye-Selo.

KGrzbV 900 moved from Vitebsk to Pleskau-West.

20 Feb 1942 – the first 40 Ju 52s flew into Demyansk. Such were the conditions that the gunners of the planes stayed at their posts while their aircraft were unloaded – there was always the chance that they would be attacked by low-flying Soviet ground attack aircraft.

Demyansk airfield was relatively small so each day those units scheduled to fly were given a time schedule based on the number of aircraft the unit had declared operational for that day. The schedule allocated a specific time for each unit to land at Demyansk, unload and take-off for the return flight. The timing was planned to avoid the danger of too many aircraft queued for landing and to ensure the best use of the resources on the airfield at Demyansk was achieved.

Date	Unit	Aircraft Type	Code	Wkr.No.	Notes
24 Feb 1942	II./KGvbV 1	Ju 52/3m		5431	Crash landing at Demyansk 35% damage.
24 Feb 1942	II./KGvbV 1	Ju 52/3m		7262	80% Damage Demyansk

26 Feb 1942 – Soviet bombers started attacking Demyansk regularly at dawn and dusk of each day.

Date	Unit	Aircraft Type	Code	Wkr.No.	Notes
26 Feb 1942	KGrvbV 900	Ju 52/3m		5438	Damaged on take-off at Demyansk – 55%.

End Feb 1942 – by now additional transport gruppen had been moved from Luftflotte 4’s control to that of Luftflotte 1, they were:-

KGrzbV 500 transferred from the Mediterranean area to Pleskau-West.

KGrzbV Posen based at Ostrov-Sud

KGrzbV Oels based at Pleskau-Sud.

II./ KGzbV 1 moved from Dnepropetrovsk to Ostrov.

KGrzbV 105 moved from Vitebsk to Pleskau-Sud.

Early Mar 1942 – five more gruppen were moved into the area of operations, they were:-

KGrzbV 4 based at Riga.

KGrzbV 5 based at Riga.

KGrzbV 6

KGrzbV 7

KGrzbV 8 based at Daugavpils.

The KGrzbV 6 and 7 were both mixed units, they were soon deactivated and the equipment and personnel were used to bring other units up to strength.

Date	Unit	Aircraft Type	Code	Wkr.No.	Notes
2 Mar 1942	4./KGrvbV 9	Ju 52/3m	4V+AMH -SE+HU	6132	Lost between Dno and Demyansk. 100%. Uffz Karl Meyer, Fw. Gerhard Gnida and Uffz. Jakob Gerhardy all killed and Ogefr. Herbert Geyer missing.
2 Mar 1942	KGrvbV 9	Ju 52/3m		2971	Rammed by Ju 52/3m W.Nr. 5097 on take-off at Demyansk. 100%.
2 Mar 1942	KGrvbV 9	Ju 52/3m		5097	Rammed Ju 52/3m 2971 on take-off at Demyansk –unknown amount of damage
2 Mar 1942	KGrvbV 999	Ju 52/3m		5487	Destroyed on take-off at Demyansk 100% 100%.
2 Mar 1942	KGrvbV 4	Ju 52/3m		7404	Shot down by flak, Demyansk 100% 100%.
2 Mar 1942	KGrvbV 5	Ju 52/3m		2901	20 % damage en route from Riga to Demyansk due to involuntary ground contact. 100%.

3 Mar 1942 – Soviet attack on the airfield at Staraya Russa.

Date -3 Mar 1942 Unit -KGrzbV 7 Aircraft Type -Ju 52/3m Code - SN+FX Wkr.No. - 7430 Notes - 100% Demyansk

Date -3 Mar 1942 Unit -KGrzbV 172 Aircraft Type -Ju 52/3m Code - Wkr.No. - 6924 Notes -100% Staraya-Russa

Date -6 Mar 1942 Unit -KGrvbV 9 Aircraft Type -Ju 52/3m Code - Wkr.No. - 7105 Notes -Rammed by a Ju 88 at Pleskau-sud 70%

Date -6 Mar 1942 Unit -KGrvbV 9 Aircraft Type - Ju 52/3m Code - NJ+KT Wkr.No. - 7371 Notes - Rammed by a Ju 88 at Pleskau-sud. 70 %, Uffz. Kurt Golinek injured.

17 – 25 Mar 1942 – Luftwaffe Transport units lost 23 Ju 52s.

April 1942 - Oberst Morzik changed tactics and started to use large formations of transports escorted by fighter units. This resulted in a reduction in losses due to Soviet fighter activity.

1 Apr 1942 – 422 sorties by Ju 52 and He 111 aircraft delivered 808.31 tonnes consisting of 510 men and 757.31 tonnes of food, ammunition, supplies and equipment. 781.99 tonnes was for Demjansk; 20.32 tonnes for Kholm and 6.00 tonnes for II AK.

Lufttransportführer Nord: 360 Ju 52 sorties of 734.30 tonnes (508 men and 683.50 tonnes of food, ammunition, supplies and equipment for Demjansk. On the return flights 91 wounded, 13 emn and 17.1 tonnes of “empties” were flown out.

K.G.z.b.V. 5: 13 He 111 dropped 4.6 tonnes of ammunition and Food on Kholm.

I./K.G.z.b.V 172: 25 Ju 52 flew in 47.69 tonnes made up of 2 men and 47.49 tonnes of food, ammunition, supplies and equipment to Demjansk. They flew out 56 wounded, 22 men and 2.1 tonnes of empties.

Kampfverbände: 18 He 111 dropped 15.72 tonnes of food and munitions in 75 containers. In addition 6 He 111 dropped 6 tonnes of supplies , in 25 containers at Pusstynja.

2 Apr 1942 – 59 Ju 52 flew in a total of 122.50 tonnes (275 men and 95 tonnes of supplies) to Demjansk. These aircraft flew out with 31 wounded; 115 men due to go on leave and 6.7 tonnes of empties.

3 Apr 1942 – 68 Ju 52 sorties transported 145.80 tonnes of supplies – this consisted of 229 men and 122.90 tonnes of food, munitions and other supplies to Demjansk. On the return flights they brought out 91 wounded; 17 men on transfer/leave and 9.60 tonnes of empty containers.

4 Apr 1942 – In 453 sorties (including the use of 2 cargo gliders) a total of 863.63 tonnes of supplies were delivered, this consisted of 221 men and 841.53 tonnes of food; ammunition; supplies and equipment. 830.93 tonnes was destined for Demjansk and 32.7 tonnes for Kholm.

Lufttransportführer Nord: In 376 sorties 765.53 tonnes of supplies were delivered to Demjansk including 187 men and 746.83 tonnes of food, munitions, supplies and equipment. On the return flights the aircraft withdrew 17 men, 64 wounded and 20.45 tonnes of empty containers.

K.G.z.b.V. 5: 13 He111 dropped 6.70 tonnes of munitions and food on Kholm.

I./K.G.z.b.V 172: 34 Ju 52 delivered 65.40 tonnes of supplies including 1 man and 65.30 tonnes of munitions , food and equipments to Demjansk. On the return flights the aircraft extracted 96 wounded; 20 men and 5.70 tonnes of empty containers. 2 Gliders with a 5 tonne load (33 men and 1.70 tonnes of supplies were delivered to Kholm.

Kampfverbände: 30 He 111 dropped 21.00 tonnes of supplies in 129 containers on Kholm.

5 Apr 1942 – There were a total of 439 sorties operated by Ju 52 and He 111 including two glider sorties. 844.38 tonnes in total was delivered comprising 20 men plus 832.38 tonnes of food, ammunition, supplies and equipment – 807.53 tonnes to Demyansk and 26.85 tonnes to Kholm.

Lufttransportführer Nord: In 373 sorties a total of 745.78 tonnes were delivered to Demyansk (12 men plus 744.58 tonnes of food, ammunition and equipment.) On the return journey they flew out 31 wounded, 27 men and 10.95 tonnes of empty containers.

K.G.z.b.V. 5: 5 He 111 dropped 1.4 tonnes of Food and munitions to the defenders of Kholm.

I./K.G.z.b.V 172: 31 Ju 52 sorties delivered 61.75 tonnes of supplies to Demyansk.(8 men and 60.95 tonnes of food, ammunition and equipment.) On the return flights 30 wounded and 2.24 tonnes of empty containers were brought out.

In addition 2 gliders were released to land in the Kholm pocket – they delivered 5 tonnes of supplies.

Kampfverbände: 30 He 111 dropped 20.45 tonnes of supplies, in 135 containers, into the pocket at Kholm.

6 Apr 1942 – 411 sorties, by Ju 52 and He 111, were flown on this day plus two glider sorties. In total 757.29 tonnes of supplies were sent by aircraft for the troops in the pockets – these consisted of 55 men, 751.79 tonnes of munitions, food, supplies and equipment. 733.99 tonnes for Demyansk and 23.30 tonnes for Kholm. A significant number of these sorties were escorted by fighters from JG 51 and JG 53.

Lufttransportführer Nord:

K.G.z.b.V. 5: 11 He 111 dropped 3.5 t of rations and ammunition over Cholm.

I./K.G.z.b.V 172: 29 Ju 52 carried a total of 56.4 t (6 men and 55.8 t ammunition, fuel, rations and equipment) to Demjansk; on return transport out: 47 wounded, 6 men and 2 tons of empty containers. 2 cargo gliders with 5 tons of supplies were released over Cholm.

Kampfverbände: 28 He 111 dropped 14.8 t (104 containers) of ammunition and rations over Cholm.

7 Apr 1942 - In 366 sorties with Ju 52 and He 111, a total of 703.65 tonnes (49 men and 698.95 tonnes of ammunition, fuel, food and equipment) were transported; to Demjansk: 694 tonnes, to Cholm: 9.85 tonnes.

In detail:

Lufttransportführer Nord: In 328 missions with Ju 52 a total of 652.5 t (41 men and 648.4 t ammunition, fuel, food and equipment) were transported to Demjansk; return flights extracted: 53 wounded, 26 men and 16.95 t of empty containers.

K.G.z.b.V. : 6 He 111 dropped 2.6 t ammunition and rations over Cholm.

I./K.G. z.b.V. 172: 21 Ju 52 carried 41.5 t (8 men and 40.7 t ammunition, rations, fuel and equipment) to Demjansk; return flights extracted 43 wounded men, 15 men and 1 t of empty containers.

Kamptverbände: 9 He 111 dropped 7.25 t (41 containers) of ammunition and rations over Cholm.

18 May 1942 – corridor established into the Demyansk pocket.

After the ground breakthrough KGrzbV 8 was disbanded and it’s planes returned to the training schools.

Airfields Used as Take-Off Bases

Pleskau-Sud (Pskov-South) – 1200 metres square – equipped with hangars and repair facilities. It had a connection to the main railway line. Facilities – runway, permanent barracks, facilities for bad weather and night landings.

Pleskau-West (Pskov-West) – and emergency airfield. Facilities – none.

Korov’ye-Selo – located 22.5 Kms SSW of Pleskau (Pskov), this was an advance airfield of approx 1 Km square. It possessed no hangars or established runways and only had temporary barracks.

Tuleblya – an emergency airfield with no facilities.

Riga – a commercial airfield adapted for military use.

Riga-Nord – a temporary air strip located on the ice of the Bay of Riga – in use during muddy periods when other airfields were unusable.

Daugavpils – another existing airstrip.

Each of these airfields were allocated a workshop section to maintain the Ju 52 operating into Demyansk. However, supplies of engines and spare parts were slow to arrive and failed to meet demand, as a result of this badly damaged aircraft were cannibalised for spares.

Airfields / Drop Zones in the Demyansk and Kholm pockets

Demyansk – an improvised field strip lacking in facilities. The landing strip was approx 800 metres long by 50 metres wide, there were taxying and unloading areas. All of this had been created by removing the top layer of snow and packing the underlying snow hard. This created a facility that could be used by between 20 and 30 aircraft at a time.

Pieski – located within the Demyansk pocket to the SSE of Demyansk itself. A strip approx 600 metres long and 30 metres wide, made of hard packed snow on flat terrain. Could only handle from 3 to 6 aircraft at a time.

Demyansk Supply Drop Area – a marked area on open ground where supplies could be dropped if the aircraft were unable to land.

Kholm

Operations

28 Jan 1942 - Soviet forces encircled the city of Kholm trapping approximately 5,500 men of 281. Sicherung Div. within a 2 km square pocket under the command of Generalmajor Theodor Scherer.

Initially, elements of KG 4 were requested to fly supplies to the men surrounded at Kholm.

To start with an area of no-mans land was used as a landing area – this was in the main line of resistance and as such was exposed to direct fire from all Soviet arms. However, use of this was eventually abandoned as a result of the many crashed aircraft and the Soviet shelling.

25 Feb 1942 – Seven Ju 52/3ms of KGrzbV 9 landed on the small temporary landing ground at Kholm. Soviet aircraft then attacked the landing ground and four of the Ju 52s were damaged..

Date	Unit	Aircraft Type	Code	Wkr.No.	Notes
25 Feb 1942	KGrvbV 9	JU 52/3m		6062	Damaged in a bombing attack on Fl.Pl. Kholm
25 Feb 1942	KGrvbV 9	JU 52/3m	BJ+EN	3178	Damaged in a bombing attack on Fl.Pl. Kholm. Oblt. Schubert and Ofw. Karl Hansen killed.
25 Feb 1942	KGrvbV 9	JU 52/3m		6955	Damaged in a bombing attack on Fl.Pl. Kholm.

From then on with no airfields, Kholm was dependent upon Go 242 and DFS 230 gliders towed by aircraft from KGrzbV 5. The DFS 230s arrived in the landing areas at dusk and dawn. Several gliders a day were flown into the pocket – dependent upon the weather and aircraft availability. The gliders landed where they could – this sometimes meant on the towns streets – losses in gliders, crews and troops being flown in were high. Those glider crews that survived the flight and landing then fought alongside the ground troops until the pocket was relieved.

6 Mar 1942 - Another attempt was made to reach the beleaguered soldiers at Kholm. After achieving good progress at the start the assault became bogged down due to the combined effect of the Soviet forces and the snow and ice.

Date -21 Mar 1942. Unit - KGrvbV 9 Aircraft Type - Ju 52/3m Code - 4V+HL Wkr.No. - 6115 Notes - Shot down by Soviet fighters near Kholm. Hptm Ernst Plogstys, Ofw. Luis Belser, Ogfr.Peter Colgarski, Uffz. Ernst Knotsch and Uffz Josef Schick all killed aircraft 100%

Date -21 Mar 1942 Unit - KGrvbV 9 Aircraft Type - Ju 52/3m Code - 4V+FL Wkr.No. - 6355 Notes - Shot down by Soviet fighters near Kholm. Uffz. Helmut Baden, Gefr. Eitel Saborewski and Uffz. Sigmund Jungkind all missing, aircraft 100%.

31 Mar 1942 – This latest attempt to relieve Kholm was abandoned.

Flight Operations

Aircraft engaged in the supply flights flew from Pskov-Sud, these flights also involved KG 4 whose aircraft were used to drop supply containers to the besieged troops. The flight to the drop zone was from the southwest over the wedge driven by the relieving troops in the direction of Kholm. The rest of the flight was over Soviet held territory, which held a high concentration of Soviet AA guns. The supply aircraft generally flew at approx 1,300 feet, staying low so that the containers that they dropped would land in the extremely narrow drop-zones. By doing this they exposed themselves not only to the flak but also to small arms fire.

Final Relief

5 May 1942 – Relief of the Kholm pocket, by grenadier Regiment 411, after a siege that had lasted 103 days. This was the third and last attempt to relieve Kholm, other attempts had been made – the first was immediately after the encirclement and the second took place between 6 March 1942 and 31 March 1942 when it was broken off.

Statistics

From Jan 1942 64,844 tons of equipment,food, ammunition, spares, clothing, weapons, medical supplies and other miscellaneous materiel were airlifted into the pockets. 30,500 men were flown in to join the 2nd Armee Korps as replacement or relief troops. The transport units evacuated 35,400 wounded and sick (as well as a number of troops going on leave).

To achieve this 32,427 sorties were flown by the transport units to bring supplies into Demyansk. In addition a further 659 sorties were flown purely to bring in personnel.

The transport units themselves consumed 42,155 tons of aviation fuel plus an additional 3,242 tons of lubricants.

References

Luftwaffe Im Focus No 4 (Start Publications) – Pages 48 & 49.

German Airforce Airlift Operations - Fritz Morzik (USAF Historical Studies No 167 ARNO Press NY) – Pages 137 – 179

German Airforce vs Russia 1942 – Herman Plocher (USAF Historical Studies No 154)

Eagle In Flames – E.R. Hooton (Brockhampton Press)

Ju 52 Aircraft and Legend – Heinz Nowarra (Haynes)

Luftwaffe Verband No 3 – Kampfgruppe z.b.V 9 –updated loss list.

Remi Tracanelli – extracts from loss database.

Black Cross Red Star Vol 2– Bergstrom/Mikhailov (Pacifica)