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Great and Bold World War II Raids

Khalid Elhassan January 3, 2025 16 min

Raid - Italian frogmen in manned torpedoes launched from submarine near Alexandria Harbor, by Ivan Berryman. World Naval Ships

3. A Russian Tank Raid

Raid - Tatsinskaya-based Ju 52 transports en route to airlift supplies to the besieged Germans in Stalingrad — Raid – Tatsinskaya-based Ju 52 transports en route to airlift supplies to the besieged Germans in Stalingrad. Ebook Fiebere

The Tatsinskaya Raid, also known as “Red Christmas” or the “Christmas Raid” because it took place on Christmas eve, 1942, was a Soviet armored raid deep into the German rear to destroy the Tatsinskaya airfield. From that air base, Luftwaffe transport planes were frantically airlifting supplies to the besieged German 6^th Army in Stalingrad. Planes flying out of that airfield were the surrounded Germans’ only lifeline, so its destruction, along with the irreplaceable Ju 52 transport planes based there, would seal the 6^th Army’s doom. The raid, conducted by the 24^th Tank Corps, struck the airfield from three sides and caught the Germans by surprise. T-34 tanks rolled down the tarmac, machine gunning and shelling facilities and installations, as well as the precious planes – some still in crates on railway cars that had recently brought them to Tatsinskaya.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.