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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| May, 1943: Soviet Air Force Bombing raid in Minsk railyard |
| 2024-05-05 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. Text taken from the V Kontakte age of THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR. On the night of May 5, 1943, more than a hundred aircraft raided the railway junction of Minsk and the accumulation of troops and equipment, as well as headquarters and warehouses located in the city. Here are some results of this raid received from the partisans: at the railway junction, freight and passenger stations, a locomotive depot, a railway suspension bridge, and a power plant were destroyed. 30 trains with manpower, ammunition and equipment, 20 tanks with fuel, 9 locomotives were destroyed, and an ammunition warehouse was burned. Railway traffic was interrupted for three days. In the city of Minsk, a building (opera and ballet theater) was destroyed, where the headquarters of the air unit was located and confiscated valuables were stored, barracks in which up to 200 flight personnel were destroyed, buildings where the Germans repaired guns and where 200 to 300 vehicles were destroyed, military barracks , military unit headquarters and warehouses, field commandant's office, two dormitories with Germans, chemical, yeast and bread factories. The machine tool and tannery factories were damaged. The house of the German field commandant's office, where a banquet was held, of which 158 officers were killed, was destroyed. The power plant, radio station, and buildings of the clinical campus were destroyed. In the villages of Grushevsky and Kominternovsky, buildings housing Germans were destroyed. Seven anti-aircraft installations were destroyed. Up to 4,000 Germans were killed, including a general and 70 officers. According to the Germans themselves, 2,000 soldiers were killed. The German garrison was evacuated from the city and settled in the villages closest to Minsk. The bombing caused panic among the Germans. From 180 to 230 aircraft each simultaneously took part in massive raids on the Orsha railway junction. Orsha is almost 200 kilometers east of Minsk. Here are partial data on the results of our raid carried out on the night of May 4-5, 1943. At the railway junction, six trains with military equipment were destroyed, and two railway bridges were destroyed. At the central station, four trains with ammunition and military equipment were destroyed. After the bombing, the shells at the station exploded within three days. The tracks leading to the central station were destroyed. Two warehouses with ammunition and one with food were destroyed. It should be noted that Minsk was a critical rail node for the German Army. Supplies transshipped from these points were used for the buildup to the last major German offensive, code named Case Citadel. In July 1943. Recovery trains have been sent from Vitebsk to Orsha. In the city, up to 3,000 German soldiers and officers who were in the barracks were destroyed. The central special purpose camp was completely destroyed; up to 4,500 people fled from two prisoner-of-war camps during the bombing. Two prisons were broken, where many Germans were killed, including two generals. The house with the officers, the building of the commandant's office No. 353, the barracks with the policemen were destroyed. The counterintelligence building was smashed, an ammunition depot was blown up, and two anti-aircraft batteries with crews were destroyed. A.E.Golovanov "Long-Range Bomber" Aleksandr Evgen'evich Golovanov (1904-75) was a Chief Marshal of Aviation. During World War II, he served as Commander of Long-Range Aviation (ADD) |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #3 I ran across that information a few days ago. This news post does review some of what I had found; |
| Posted by: Dale 2024-05-05 09:26 |
| #2 I realize this is 1943 but Russia just recently delivered a blow similarly. |
| Posted by: Dale 2024-05-05 09:12 |
| #1 Western equipment newly delivered. Poof go the millions. Everything seems to be well surveilled. |
| Posted by: Dale 2024-05-05 09:09 |