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Battles of the Caucasus

From September 25th, 14:00 GMT till September 28th 7:00 GMT

Participate in War Thunder events dedicated to

aircraft and ground vehicle fights in the Caucasus!

[Battle] Kuban - AB Ground Battles

[Battle] Kuban - RB Ground Battles

[Operation] Kuban - RB Air Battles

[Operation] Road to Grozny - SB Air Battles

Gebirgsjäger during the Battle of Caucasus

The Battle of the Caucasus refers to a series of operations which took place in the Caucasus area between Axis and Soviet forces, on the Eastern Front of World War II. From the German side, Operation ‘Edelweiss’ was planned in order to gain control of oil fields in Baku. This operation was authorised by Hitler on the 23rd of July 1942, and a large amount of preparation was made in order to carry out their plans. In fact, several German oil firms, which has been issued with leases to exploit the Caucasian oil fields, delivered large amounts of piping which would allow for oil transportation.

Bombing the oil fields had been forbidden, and so, this event was marked by considerable amounts of tank forces leading the battle. The main forces included Army Group A, the 1st Panzer Army, the 4th Panzer Army, the 17th Army, part of the Luftflotte 4, and the 3rd Romanian Army. About 1,000 aircraft from the 4th Air Fleet were also involved.

From the Soviet point of view, the Caucasus area had become a new established hub of industry. As the German Army launched operation Edelweiss, the rate at which their forces advanced slowed, as they entered the mountains of the Southern Caucasus area. Although German forces had been able to neutralize a Soviet counter-attack, they were placed on the defensive after Soviet breakthroughs occurred in the region around Stalingrad.

The Germans began to withdraw in 1943, due to setbacks in other regions. Now on the defensive, they hoped through consolidation and regrouping, they would be able to re-establish their positions to launch new operations in the Caucasus. No considerable gains were made though, and in September 1943, the fighting effectively ended when fresh withdrawals were made by the Germans.

The War Thunder Team