Sdvizhkov, Igor Confronting Case Blue

Briansk Front's Attempt to Derail the German Drive to the Caucasus July 1942

Author Igor Sdvizhkov takes a close look at the attempt by the Chibisov Operational Group of the Bryansk Front to break up the northern wing of the German advance into the Caucasus northwest of Voronezh in July 1942. Using previously secret Soviet documents and German records, Sdvizhkov focuses in particular on the role of General A. I. Liziukov as commander of the 2nd Tank Corps in the counteroffensive after his 5th Tank Army was disbanded following unsuccessful counterattacks in early July. The Soviet attacks led to nine days of heavy, fluctuating fighting involving tens of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of tanks and guns on both sides, threatening to isolate the German forces holding Voronezh. Sdvizhkov also describes the German response to the initial advance of Operation Chibisov: a counterattack carried out mainly with the forces of the 9th Panzer Division, which was in a reserve position at the time of the new Soviet offensive and served as a fire brigade. The German counteroffensive weakened the Soviet attacks, surrounded parts of the Chibisov operational group and finally stabilised the faltering German front northwest of Voronezh for the time being. General Liziukov disappeared during the attack of the 2nd Tank Corps, and the author discusses why the command of the Bryansk Front and the Chibisov Operational Group initially made little or no effort to find the general. Sdvizhkov also addresses the numerous controversies that arose later due to false and/or misleading recollections and the complete inability to find General Liziukov or his remains. After careful examination of the available evidence, Sdvizhkov provides a coherent and convincing explanation of what happened.