Operation Fischreiher

Operation Fischreiher was a WW2 German military campaign, which was launched on June 28, 1942, to conquer the region of the Volga River, and to capture the city of Stalingrad. It was assigned to Army Group B, under Maximilian von Weichs, who had to lead his forces eastwards, in a straight direction. It was one of the two military operations into which Fall Blau (Case Blue) was divided; the other was Operation Edelweiss, which was the military campaign carried out by Army Group A to invade and secure the Caucasus region and the Baku oil fields. Thus, Operation Fischreiher’s main objectives was to secure the northern flank of Operation Edelweiss and to conquer both sides of the Volga River.

German Military Components

To carry out Fall Blau, Adolf Hitler had divided Army Group South into Army Group A, led by Wilhelm List, and Army Group B, commanded by von Weichs, in his Directive 41 signed on April 5, 1942. Army Group B was a very powerful military unit; it was composed of the 6th Army, under Friedrichs von Paulus; the 4th Panzer Army, led by Hermann Hoth; the 2nd Army; 4th Romanian Army; 8th Italian Army; and 2nd Hungarian Army.

The Volga Campaign

On June 28, the 4th Panzer Army set in motion Operation Fischreiher, moving eastwards as it was the spearhead of the German advance. When it reached the Don River, this armored unit took part in the Battle of Voronezh, which held up its offensive for a about a week. Meanwhile, the 6th Army also marched eastwards, in a straight line, but a few kilometers to the north and parallel to the 4th Panzer Army ‘s line of advance. The mechanized infantry divisions of the 6th Army was moving fast. However, von Paulus ordered the front line units to slow down their march because they had outstretched the logistic supply lines.

This decision would prove to be fatal, as this drop in the speed and dynamic of the German advance made the 6th Army fail to encircle the Soviet 62nd and 64th Army, which managed to get out of the German pincers maneuver as they made their way into the city of Stalingrad. Once in the city, the Soviet troops would be resupplied with men and ammunition from the other side of the Volga River. Thus, Operation Fischreiher would end up in the Battle of Stalingrad, during which the German 6th Army would be annihilated by February 2, 1943. The German defeat on the Volga would eventually lead to the withdrawal of Army Group A’s forces from the Caucasus region.

Below, German 6th Army’s infantry moving towards Stalingrad.

Map of Case Blue, showing its two sub-operations: Edelweiss and Fischreiher.

Below, the infantry soldiers of the Soviet 62nd Army fighting on the outskirts of Stalingrad on the western shore of the Volga.