'Zigeunerbaron' was a German operation by General Heinrich Clössner’s 2^nd Panzerarmee of Generalfeldmarschall Günther von Kluge’s Heeresgruppe 'Mitte' against partisans operating in the forested region to the south of Bryansk and thereby threatening the army group’s rear-area security and lines of communication in the German-occupied western USSR during the preparations for 'Zitadelle' (15 May/6 June 1943).