Author: George Nipe Jr
Translator: Little Ice Man
Publisher: Yunnan People's Electronic Audiovisual Publishing House
preface
At the beginning of 1943The German army located in the southern part of the Soviet Union is on the brink of complete collapse. Starting from November 1942, the Soviet Union launched a series of successful counterattacks, repelling the German army for hundreds of kilometers and causing them hundreds of thousands of casualties. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
The first strike in this series of offensives surrounded the German 6th Army, which had over 200000 troops, in Stalingrad.
The Soviet army's continuous attacksEliminated the Italian 8th Army and the Hungarian 2nd Army, andDealt a heavy blow to the German 2nd Army GroupThe initiative in the war has completely fallen to the side of the Soviet army. The reserve soldiers of Germany have almost disappeared, and the armies of Hitler's Axis allies have also been largely annihilated. A huge gap has been torn open on the German front line, and what's even more deadly is that, Have you tried this before? Share your story!The German army has no reserve forces to fill this gapStalin and his main generals believed that if they gave the German army a bigger blow, the Germans would be completely destroyed. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
therefore,In the last few days of January 1943, the Soviet army quickly formulated two large-scale offensives, codenamed "Jump" and "Star".
The purpose of these attacks is toReclaim the industrial city of Kharkiv(Kharkov) andAnnihilate the remaining German and other Axis forces in southern UkrainetheseThe troops include4. Panzerarme, 1. Panzerarme, Armeeabteilung Hollidt, and Armeeabteilung Fretter Pico. The 6th Army, trapped in Stalingrad, is making its final painful struggle, and other Axis forces have also been wiped out. At this critical moment, if the four German forces mentioned above are subsequently annihilated, I've found that it's likely to lead to the complete failure of the German army on the Eastern Front. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
Stalin and his generals believed that as long as they carried out these two large-scale offensives in early 1943, they could completely defeat Germany before the German army surrounded by Stalingrad surrendered. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
The main strikes of "Jump" and "Star" will fall on the "Dunhe" Army GroupOn the head of HeeresgruppeDon, this newly formed army group only has relatively few troops.The commander of this army group is Erichvon MansteinMany people consider him the best German commander of World War II.
in the meantime,MansteinNot only to counter the fierce offensive of the Soviet army and the abundant reserve forces,We still need to fight against Hitler's stubbornness and interferenceThe deployment of three army groups under the Voronezh Front of the Soviet Union quickly posed a threat to the defense of Kharkiv. Hitler insisted on defending the city, which almost resulted in the annihilation of two SS armored grenadier divisions and the elite army force - the "Great German Will" armored grenadier division. These troops are crucial because Manstein is planning to use them for a dramatic counterattack that will turn the tide of the war against the Soviet Union in one fell swoop. Don't forget to share your experience!
Specifically, at critical moments,The commander of the SS armored forces, Paul Hausser, disobeyed Hitler's order to "fight to the last man" and ordered a retreat from Kharkiv, which saved two SS units Don't forget to share your experience!Not long after, the third division of the SS armored army arrived, whichEnable Manstein to execute his counterattack planThe subsequent battle for Kharkiv markedThe three earliest armed SS divisions - the "Guard Flag Team" Division, the "Empire" Division, and the "Skull" Division - were first concentrated under a unified armored army to fight together Have you tried this before? Share your story!.
The first stage of actionThe "Empire" and "Skull" divisions rushed 100 kilometers south of Kharkiv, blocking the Soviet 6th Army's attempt to seize the Dnieper River bridge, while the "Guard Flag" division successfully defended their own army's position What do you think about this?KrasnogradThe supply base in Krasnograd.
In the last few weeks of February 1943,Commander Sepp DietrichThe "Guard Flag Team" turned around to deal with the main force of the Soviet Tank 3rd Army Group. After ensuring the safety of the Dnieper River bridge, the "Empire" and "Skull" divisions turned north and regained control of the important railway network in southern Kharkiv. What do you think about this?
The Soviet Tank 3rd Army was forced to abandon its attack on Krasnograd and reorganize in the southern region of Kharkiv, with the aim of defending Kharkiv city. Don't forget to share your experience!
At this moment, the "Guard Flag Team" division joined the action of two brother divisions, completely annihilating the Soviet Tank 3rd Army and clearing the way to retake Kharkiv. Almost exactly one month after Kharkov was lost to the Russians, the city returned to the Germans. What do you think about this?
Strangely, there have been no English books that provide a detailed account of the Kharkiv conflict from a German perspective. In books that provide general descriptions of the Eastern Front, complete information is often not available. One notable exception is that, Let me know your thoughts in the comments!A detailed description of the Soviet Union's "Jumping" and "Staring" operations can be found in Colonel Glanz's book "From the Don to the Dnieper". Don't forget to share your experience!
A difficult question to understand is why the actions of the SS armored forces were so extraordinary and attractive, while the 4th Armored Group Army was overlooked in terms of its importance, which should not have been the case. This dramatic event occurred in southern Ukraine in early 1943. In mid February 1943, the German army suffered its first defeat in World War II and was somewhat unable to hold its ground until Manstein's Kharkiv counterattack turned the tide on the southern front of Russia. Don't forget to share your experience!In the third week of March, the four Soviet army groups were annihilated or heavily damaged, and the southern Ukrainian region was firmly held in the hands of Manstein's army group. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Chapter 1
Crisis in Southern Russia
CRISIS IN SOUTHERN RUSSIA
Stalingrad
November 19, 1942The Southwest Front and Stalingrad Front of the Soviet UnionThe final preparations before the "Uranus Operation" have begun, and the plan for this offensive is to annihilate the armored general Don't forget to share your experience!Friedrich PaulusCommanded by General der Panzertruppen Friedrich PaulusGerman 6th Army Group.The 6th Army has been fighting hard to capture Stalingrad, an important industrial city on the Don River, and the German army has concentrated its strongest forces in Russia for this purpose What do you think about this?Due to the insufficient number of German divisions, the German army had to useTroops from Romania and HungaryCome and cover upPaulus Group ArmyThe flank. However, the combat effectiveness of these Axis allies was significantly lower than that of their German partners, mainly due to a lack of competent and capable leaders at all levels, a lack of training, and poor equipment. So, the Soviet army's attack targeted the weak link on both wings of the Paulus group army - the Romanian army. What do you think about this?
Soviet ArmyThe newly formed Southwest Front was mainly formed by the merger of some units of the former Southeast/Stalingrad FrontLieutenant General VatutinCommanded by N.F. Vatutin. The remaining forces of the Southeast Front Army in the past, after strengthening, have beenLieutenant General RokossovskyRokossovsky led and renamed the "Stalingrad Front" in September 1942. In the north of Stalingrad, the Southwest Front occupied the east bank of the Don River. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Near the town of Serafimovich, Vatutin crossed the Don River to establish a bridgehead and arranged for the newly arrived tank unit, the Tank 5th Army, to defend this bridgehead. The main attack arranged by Vatutin was undertaken by the Tank 5th Army Group, with support from the 21st and 65th Army Groups. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
The goal of the attack is to advance southward from the bridgehead and charge all the way to the western region of Stalingrad, forming a typical encirclement of the northern iron pincers. What do you think about this?Vatutin's fierce offensive will fall on the head of Romania's 3rd Army Group. In fact,In early November, Hitler had already noticed this sensitive areaHowever,The German intelligence department failed to detect any important warning signals in this areaBy the time I thought of what to do, it was already too late.
German Field MarshalFriedrich PaulusOriginally an armored general, he commanded the 6th Army Group, which was besieged in Stalingrad. Hitler promoted him to Field Marshal on January 30, 1943, but Paulus surrendered with his troops a day later. After being captured, Paulus joined the National Committee of Free Germany, but this did not bring him good luck until he was released by the Soviet Union in 1953. Paulus returned to settle in East Germany and died in Dresden on February 1, 1957. The series of choices made by Paulus, including testifying in Nuremberg, brought him a bad reputation. Behind him, 300000 soldiers of the 6th Army fell, and less than 5000 were able to return to Germany alive after the war. This photo is a standard photograph taken by Paulus in Kharkiv in June 1942, when he held the rank of armored general. In fact, Paulus had a photo of him wearing a marshal's uniform, but that was taken after he became a prisoner of war. The Marshal's shoulder and collar were handed over to him by the Red Cross, and the Soviet army specially had Paulus wear Marshal's uniform and take photos to show off his outstanding military achievements. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
Southern StalingradThe defense zone on the opposite side is a mixed defense of Axis forces and German forces, with the main force being the 4th Armored Group Army, while the Stalingrad Front's plan is to launch a northward assault. The Soviet attack will be led by Let me know your thoughts in the comments!Lieutenant General TolbukhinThe 57th Army commanded by F.I. Tolbukhin and the 51st Army led by Lieutenant General N.I. Trufanov were formed. The main target of Soviet attacks was the Romanian 6th Army, which defended the central area of the 6th Army and was also a weak link in the 4th Armored Army. These two Soviet army groups advanced northward and met with the Southwest Front near Kalach in the western part of Stalingrad, thus surrounding Paulus What do you think about this?The 6th Army Group.
On the morning of November 20th, the Stalingrad Front launched an attack.
The Soviet 51st and 57th Army launched a fierce attack on the Romanian 6th Army, which was defending the central position of the German 4th Armored Army. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Commander of the 4th Armored Group ArmyGeneral Hermann HoltThe report by Generaloberst Hermann Hoth states that Romanians have been crushed by an indescribable 'tank panic disorder'. He further pointed out that due to the rapid collapse of the Romanian 6th Army, all measures to stabilize the front line have failed, as the entire frontline defense line has been completely destroyed. Most Romanian soldiers abandoned their weapons and trenches to escape, and their retreat was described by General Holt as a "shocking scene of fleeing in haste". Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
On the early morning of November 21st, due to the breakthrough of the central area, Hote's army group was divided into two. The German 4th Army followed the 29th Armored Grenadier Division and was forced to retreat to the outskirts of Stalingrad, while the Romanian 6th and 7th Armies were shattered by Soviet attacks and forced to retreat to the west and south. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
The operational situation map of the southern front of Russia in late December 1942. From this picture, it can be seen that the German army on the southern front is in a precarious state Have you tried this before? Share your story!
Under the cover of 3500 mortars and artillery, the Tank 5th Army under the Soviet Southwest Front also launched an attack on the Romanian 3rd Army in the early morning. What do you think about this?
Under this fierce bombardment, the morale of the Romanians rapidly declined.
After the shelling stopped, Soviet soldiers launched a charge, but the resistance was not fierce within the Romanian defense zone. After the flank was breached, their resistance was defeated and they immediately retreated backwards. The front line was breached by multiple points and collapsed completely within a few hours. Have you tried this before? Share your story!
At 1 pm, the rapid collapse of the German front lines made the 26th and 1st Tank Armies under the Soviet Tank 5th Army more determined and easily achieve their first phase goals. Don't forget to share your experience!
By late afternoon, the two Soviet armies had penetrated 15-20 kilometers deep into the German positions. Romanians abandoned their positions in groups, and as Soviet tanks rolled over the snow on the grasslands and charged towards them, the retreat turned into a frenzy of fleeing. What do you think about this?
The only Romanian troops that resisted resolutely were under the command of General Mihail Laskar.
