Kiichler sacked

With both wings of his army in disarray, and no reinforcements except the single 12th Panzer Division, Kiichler realised the necessity of withdrawing the 18th Army to the Luga as a matter of urgency, only to see himself immediately relieved of his command in favour of Colonel-General Model. Monstrously unjust as this decision was, it nevertheless helped to save Army Group "North”, since Hitler showed himself more ready to listen to a commander of working-class origin than to the aristocratic Kiichler; and the day after his appointment. Model was given two more divisions.

A Field-Marshal Erich von Manstein. Sacked in April 1944, his dismissal was permanent, unlike that of several other senior commanders. Liddell Hart described him as "the Allies’ most formidable military opponent-a man who combined modern ideas of manoeuvre, a mastery of technical detail and great driving power”.

Field-Marshal Walther Model was born in 1891. He was chief-of-staff of IV Corps in the Polish campaign and of 16th Army in the French. He commanded the 3rd Panzer Division in "Barbarossa” and 9th Army in 1942. Always in favour with Hitler, Model was instrumental in getting "Zitadelle” postponed until July 1943, when he failed to stem tbe Russian counteroffensive at Orel. In 1944 he was successively head of Army Groups "North”, "South”, and "Centre”. Model was then transferred to the West as supreme commander and then head of Army Group "B”.

On the whole, Model, a capable soldier, adopted the arrangements made by his predecessor, and moreover managed to get them approved by Hitler. However, hardly had he got his army from out of the clutches of Govorov, than the latter, enlarging the radius of his activities, crossed the River Luga to the left of the town of the same name; Pskov, the main supply base of Army Group "North” seemed to be the objective of this push, but at the same time it seriously exposed Colonel-General Lindemann’s rear. Furthermore, the left wing of General Hansen’s 16th Army was beginning to wilt under the attacks of General Popov and his Baltic Front, and to make matters worse, was in great danger of being flooded by the waters of Lake Ilmen.

This last extension of the Soviet offensive forced Model to abandon his intention of placing his 18th Army as a defensive barrier between Lake Ilmen and Lake Peipus. He asked for, and obtained, permission from O. K.H. to withdraw all his forces back to the "Panther” line, which, stretching from a point west of Nevel’, passed through Opochka and Pskov, then followed the western bank of Lake Peipus, finally reaching the Gulf of Finland at Narva. Begun on February 17, this withdrawal was concluded by mid-March without any untoward incident. When Model was called upon to replace Manstein a fortnight later, Lindemann succeeded him at the head of Army Group "North”, being in turn succeeded at the head of the 18th Army by General Loch.

For the German Army, therefore, the first quarter of 1944 was marked by a long series of reverses, which, although their worst effects had been avoided, had nevertheless been very costly in terms of men and materials. And many reports originating at the front showed that reinforcements were arriving without the necessary training.