Raid on Tatsinskaya

Raid on Tatsinskaya
Part of the Battle of Stalingrad and the Eastern Front of World War II
Soviet Advances during Operation Little Saturn.
Date December 16–28, 1942 Location Tatsinskaya, Soviet Union Result Soviet victory
Belligerents
Germany	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Hermann Balck	Vasily Badanov
Casualties and losses
Soviet claims for 12,000 KIA, 5,000 POW, unknown WIA, 84 tanks, 106 guns, 300 aircraft destroyed	Unknown KIA Unknown MIA Unknown WIA up to 190 tanks

The Raid on Tatsinskaya was a Soviet armoured raid deep into the German rear conducted by 24th Tank Corps under the command of Major General Vasily Mikhaylovich Badanov in late December 1942. It took place during Operation Little Saturn, on the heels of the successful encirclement of the Wehrmacht's 6th Army in the Battle of Stalingrad. The raid was designed to force the Germans to divert forces attempting to relieve the 6th Army. The Soviet force captured its objective, the Luftwaffe's airlift hub at the Tatsinskaya Airfield. The Soviet forces destroyed over 72 aircraft on the ground, but was left cut off and without supplies. Despite the loss of most of the tank corps during the ensuing breakout, the raid was a great operational victory.