Quote:
Originally Posted by Homer
Regarding 5IDs divisional raid, I’ll try a couple of objectives.
First, Łódź is a major transportation hub due to its central location. Destruction of surviving rail and road infrastructure would add disruption to any pact plans for future operations, including disrupting rail communications along the Oder front and to Czechoslovakia and points south. This intel could have been developed over up to a year before the offensive by surviving platforms and validated by multiple sources.
Second, the area around Łódź cultivates cereals, sugar beets, and other feedstocks for people, animals, and alcohol fuels. It’s not a stretch to have stills located centrally in Łódź processing the produce of the area, then using the central position on the rail lines to move it where needed. While not as disruptive as destroying transport infrastructure, this is an important secondary objective. Again, the intel for this is pretty easy to collect and validate.
Finally, 5IDs movement to a limit of advance at Łódź was intended to enable their destruction, or at least disruption, of Pact infrastructure supporting the Oder line. Cantonments, farms, workshops etc would be targeted in an effort reminiscent of classic cavalry raids. While the intel supporting this assessment was solid, the density of forces and presence of polish and Russian counterattack forces was not accurately depicted due to the limited numbers of real-time collection assets being prioritized for the main effort by III German Army.
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That makes a lot of sense, both operationally and strategically. Such a raid would also forestall potential PACT counterattacks against German 3rd Army's long right flank. In the end, 5th ID achieved the latter goal, by unwittingly bringing the entire weight of said counterattack upon itself. Its sacrifice allowed the rest of US XI Corps to make its escape- an unintended consequence of the raid as planned. Without 5th ID's last stand around Kalisz, it's possible that Soviet 4th Guards Tank Army could have cut off and trapped the bulk of US XI Corps on the Baltic Shelf.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bestbrian
The 8th was cut off by sizable Soviet forces to its rear and compelled to keep moving east to avoid destruction, with their sole hope resting on seizing suitable facilities for a naval evacuation.
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That's the most logical explanation for 8th ID's bizarre Latvian detour that I can remember seeing.
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