The Demyansk battle was a prolonged encirclement struggle on the Eastern Front during WWII, lasting from February 1942 to February 1943. Initially, German forces occupied Demyansk for strategic reasons, but a Soviet counteroffensive trapped around 100,000 German troops in the Demyansk Pocket. Despite Soviet assaults, the Germans held on and received crucial supplies through innovative aerial resupply. After stopping the Soviet counteroffensive, the German 16. Armee attempted to rescue their besieged forces in the Demyansk and Kholm pockets.
The 3. SS-Division 'Totenkopf' suffered heavy losses during the siege. Hitler's decision to maintain a narrow salient led to ongoing Soviet attacks and German casualties in 1942. In 1943, Marshal Timoshenko launched an offensive to cut off the salient's base and eliminate trapped German divisions. Simultaneously, Hitler authorized the 16. Armee's withdrawal. As Germans retreated, Timoshenko's offensive aimed to annihilate the trapped troops. This account captures the dramatic German withdrawal amid winter attacks from multiple directions.
