SIXTEEN
STALIN AND HIS GENERALS WERE NOT CONTENT WITH just the destruction of the German Sixth Army and its Axis allies around Stalingrad. With its armies having ripped a gaping hole through the sector, Stavka (the Soviet High Command) had grand plans to envelop and destroy the entire German Southern Front. Even while the agony of Stalingrad was still being played out, the Soviets launched major attacks in the Don bend, but lacked the resources necessary for a quick victory as a large proportion of their troops, aircraft, armour and equipment were still employed besieging the city. In this way German Sixth Army played a vital role even in its death throes by tying down half the Soviet forces in the counteroffensive and buying time, albeit with a heavy price in blood and pain, to allow other German forces to either withdraw or restabilise their front.
To restore this crumbling situation, Hitler turned to Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, probably the ablest strategist of the German Army,1 appointing him commander of the newly formed Army Group Don on 27 November 1942 (the name was changed later to Army Group South). Moreover, by February Hitler had been chastened by the obliteration of Sixth Army under his own strategic direction, and was inclined to cede operational control, if only temporarily, to Manstein. He flew to the latter’s headquarters at Zaphoroze on 17 February where he listened to Manstein’s plan to continue German withdrawals, so as to overextend the Soviet attackers and render them vulnerable to a counteroffensive. As part of this plan he would pull First Panzer Army from the Caucasus and place it on his left, followed by a withdrawal of Fourth Panzer Army, which had been holding open its escape route. Finally, with these units plus a newly arriving SS Panzer Corps, as well as Grossdeutschland, he would again drive east, severing the Soviet spearheads with surprise counterthrusts to restabilize the front. But time had become urgent, and his plan needed to be enacted immediately. As to emphasis his point, Russian tanks approached within kilometres of the headquarters. Hitler quickly flew back to Germany after giving Manstein his assent to carry out operations as he saw fit.
Throughout January von Manstein had been seriously concerned with getting General von Mackensen’s First Panzer Army safely withdrawn through the narrow gap at Rostov which was just barely being held open by General Hoth’s troops. Finally the Germans squeezed through, and withdrew some 150 kilometres west of the Mius, with the Russian 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps chasing them the whole way. Hoth kept going until he reached Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporzhe. It was some of these pursuing Russian spearheads that posed the threat to the relatively unprotected headquarters that Hitler had been visiting; there was precious little to stop them as the Germans only had very few operational tanks along the front.
On 29 January, the burly Russian General Vatutin—one of Stalin’s favourites, and the destroyer of the Italian Army outside Stalingrad—launched Operation Gallop with the Soviet Sixth Army and 1st Guards Army. They smashed into the Germans, breaking them up into uncoordinated groups. Along with this operation, the Russians launched Operation Star under Colonel General Golikov and spearheaded by four tank corps led by General Markian Popov, whose objectives were the capture of Kursk and Kharkov, the Ukraine’s second largest city after Kiev.
Moving to defend Kharkov was the newly established II SS Panzer Corps under the one-eyed SS General Paul Hausser, an extremely capable ex-army general. He had under his command the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (Hitler’s Bodyguard) and the SS Das Reich Panzergrenadier Divisions. They would be joined later by the SS Totenkopf (Death’s Head) Panzer-grenadier Division. All were seasoned veterans of the French and Russian campaigns, although Totenkopf had recently been replenished with a large number of Reich Labour Service draftees.2
Along with the SS Panzer Corps, two army divisions were deployed around the Belgorod area: the Grossdeutschland and the 168th Infantry Divisions. This force was designated Army Detachment Lanz after its commander, General of Mountain Troops Hubert Lanz.
The Waffen SS divisions were reasonably strong, if well below establishment, with the Leibstandarte having 52 Panzers IIIs, but only 21 Panzer IVs and 10 Tigers.3 Graf Hyazinth’s von Strachwitz’s Grossdeutschland Panzer Regiment was not as strong. During March for instance, at its strongest on 11 March, it had 39 running Panzer IVs, 9 Panzer IIIs, six flame tanks and six Tigers. At its weakest on 23 March it only had operational six Panzer IVs, seven Panzer IIIs, nine flame tanks and no Tigers.4 It was fortunate that von Strachwitz was accustomed to achieving a great deal with very little.
Grossdeutschland’s front line consisted of battalion-strong battle groups, deployed along the major roads, with large gaps in between, with no major formations alongside guarding the flanks. These gaps had to be patrolled extensively. However the 168th Infantry Division lacked mobility and couldn’t cover its open areas adequately. Lanz therefore ordered Grossdeutschland to assist, placing a greater strain on its resources. By late January it only had 13 operational tanks with another 14 undergoing short-term repair. This was clearly insufficient to carry out operations, as well as cover the open areas of both divisions.
At the beginning of February, the Soviet 69th Army attacked both Grossdeutschland and SS Leibstandarte. Lanz had to send Das Reich in as reinforcement and it deployed on Grossdeutschland’s southern flank. Even so there was still a 15-kilometre gap between the two divisions which Grossdeutschland had to patrol.
The 168th Infantry Division came under strong Soviet pressure and was in danger of being overwhelmed. Grossdeutschland’s commander, General Hörnlein, sent in his reconnaissance battalion to shore it up and clean out any Russian penetrations, which temporarily stabilised the situation. He then sent in his Grenadiers’ 2nd Battalion and the Fusiliers’ 3rd Battalion into the attack between Belgorod and Voltschansk. However during the next few days, 5–6 February, the Russians riposted with an attack of their own, using four divisions to push Grossdeutschland back westwards.
On 7 February the Red Army threw the 168th Infantry Division back into Belgorod which it held, along with Grossdeutschland’s Reconnaissance Battalion and the Führer Begleit (Escort) Battalion which had just arrived at the front as part of its normal rotation between guard and front-line duties.5
The Russian 69th Army, under General Kazakov, carried out human wave attacks against both Grossdeutschland and Das Reich west of Belgorod. Both divisions were hard pressed to contain the hordes. Copious amounts of vodka gave the Russians the courage to face almost certain death and many Grossdeutschland units gave way before the relentless attacks. Some grenadiers simply ran away with the maddened, howling Russians charging after them. The Russians overwhelmed the hapless 168th Infantry Division which simply broke up, with some units fleeing in panic-stricken flight as far as 25 kilometres west of Belgorod.6 This made Grossdeutschland’s position untenable, forcing it to pull back.
On 9 February the SS Panzer Crops took over the defence of Kharkov, with parts of Grossdeutschland, together with the Führer Begleit Battalion withdrawing to Dolbino. The Soviet 40th Army reached the northern and western approaches of Kharkov, threatening to outflank both the Grossdeutschland and Leibstandarte. Grossdeutschland was unable to launch a counterattack as it was too stretched, having to cover the area abandoned by the fleeing 168th Infantry Division. It was gradually forced back, fighting all the way to Zolochev, leaving Das Reich’s northern flank exposed.7
On 10 February, at Dergatski north of Kharkov, Major von Usedom’s Grossdeutschland’s Reconnaissance Battalion was forced out by strong Russian units, despite General Lanz’s orders to hold out to the last man. Reinforced by the Führer Begleit Battalion, which had now been reduced to the strength of a mere company of 150 men, and an SS anti-tank platoon, von Usedom mounted a counter-attack, retaking Dergatshi after savage fighting. The Reds suffered heavily, losing five T-34s on roads leading to Kharkov while the Führer Begleit Battalion was reduced even further.8On 12 and 13 February, the Russians mounted several attacks on Libzy, which was staunchly defended by the division’s Fusilier Regiment. The attacks failed, so the Russians decided to bypass the town. This move outflanked Grossdeutschland, forcing it into a retreat pursued by the Russians.
The Russians now prepared to capture Kharkov. They massed three armies, the 40th, 69th and 3rd Tank. All were severely degraded by continuous combat, but they were still able to muster a combined strength of just under 200,000 men and 300 tanks. To oppose them Army Detachment Lanz had barely 50,000 men holding a sector of some 270 kilometres.9 The German line was thus seriously overstretched and undermanned, making it relatively easy for the Soviets to make penetrations. These required a German counterattack or else a hasty withdrawal, if no mobile forces were available to mount an attack, as was often the case.
In Kharkov, SS General Paul Hausser was worried that the city would suffer the same fate as Stalingrad. He was determined to save his precious Panzer Corps at all costs. He asked Lanz’s headquarters for permission to withdraw. Fully realizing that Hitler had strictly forbidden abandoning the city, Hausser went on to say that if permission was not forthcoming he would take the responsibility on himself and order the withdrawal. He added that there was shooting in the streets with civilians firing on German troops. The situation was fast becoming untenable and the city could not be held. In reply Lanz reminded him of Field Marshal von Manstein’s order reaffirming the Führer’s directive that the city be held at all costs. Hausser noted the reply and told his 1A that he couldn’t leave his men there to be killed or taken prisoner, and so ordered the withdrawal.
An hour and a half later, Lanz personally called Hausser and repeated Hitler’s order. Kharkov was to be held to the last man and Hausser’s order to withdraw was to be rescinded. Hausser replied drily that rescinding the order would be difficult as the withdrawal was already well under way. Historian George M. Nipe contends that Lanz was in full agreement with the correctness of Hausser’s decision and may have deliberately delayed before making his call, knowing full well that in doing so it would be difficult, if not impossible to cancel the withdrawal.10 Lanz was also in the process of covering his tracks since he knew full well that ultimate command responsibility would rest with him, and not being a Führer favourite he could expect repercussions.
Throughout 15 February, the Russian 69th Army continued its assault on Das Reich and Grossdeutschland, making several penetrations in the army division’s sector. Von Usedom’s battalion, along with the Führer Begleit, fought desperately to hold Ljubotin where Grossdeutschland’s medical clearing centre was located.
The Waffen SS completed their withdrawal from the burning city from Kharkov, pursued by the Russians entering from all directions. Alongside the SS, Major Remer’s 1st Grossdeutschland Grenadier Battalion was fighting an increasingly desperate rearguard action. A very concerned Hörnlein sent in Captain Frantz’s Assault Gun Battalion, numbering 30 guns due to the arrival of 20 new Sturmgeschütz IIIs, to help extricate him. Frantz took up positions in the almost abandoned city but Remer failed to appear. Frantz waited anxiously, knowing that at any moment he could be enveloped by the Russians, and without infantry support his guns were vulnerable in the narrow city confines. Here even Russian infantry was a real threat. He sent a Stug III forward to scout, but there was still no sign of Remer. Wait or withdraw, Frantz agonized. If he left, Remer was doomed, if he hadn’t already been wiped out. If he stayed too long, his own battalion could be destroyed. Eventually, to Frantz’s immense relief, Remer appeared. Battle-weary, hunched over, exhausted, many showing wounds, the grenadiers came slowly into view. Their pace quickened when they saw the German self-propelled assault guns waiting to take them to safety. Spaeter described Captain Frantz’s withdrawal:
The long-awaited order was now given to the assault guns. They formed up and likewise drove out of the city toward the west. At the end of the column was the commander’s vehicle. This in turn was eagerly awaited by the division’s pioneer commander Hauptman. Chrapowski, at the bridge, for the pioneers also felt that it was time to withdraw from the city. They too had been fired at from all sides while they waited. With a huge roar the large road bridge in the centre of Kharkov flew into the air.
The crews of the assault guns fired rifles and sub-machine guns at windows from which muzzle flashes were seen. We had no way of telling whether it was partisans or regular Russian troops doing the shooting. After a good two-hour drive the battalion drove into a small village just behind the new main line of resistance.11
If the Germans were suffering, the Russians also had their problems. Their casualties, particularly in the infantry, were enormous, with some regiments down to 600 men, or battalion strength. Their supply lines were stretched and not really coping with demand, while their vehicles were badly in need of maintenance. They simply lacked the strength to pursue and destroy the retreating Germans. Their tanks did, however, manage to ambush Grossdeutschland’s Fusilier Regiment which was spearheading the division’s withdrawal, and pin it down, halting the division in its tracks. Only the timely intervention of Peter Frantz’s assault guns hitting the Russians on their flanks saved the situation.
In late February Grossdeutschland was attached to Korps Raus, under the beak-nosed Austrian panzer general and superb tactician, who would eventually command an army. Alongside, it had the 320th Infantry Division and SS Grenadier Regiment Thule on detachment from SS Totenkopf. Thule was commanded by Heinz Lammerding, a former aide to Heinrich Himmler. An engineer by profession, Lammerding was tall, blonde and good-looking, everything Himmler expected the perfect Aryan to be (and everything Himmler himself wasn’t). Lammerding was reasonably competent and rose to command the Das Reich Panzer Division. He was commanding it when its troops committed the atrocities at Aradour-sur-Glane in France in 1944.12
On 18 February, 20 Russian tanks, supported by infantry, attacked Grossdeutschland Grenadiers from the 3rd Battalion on some high ground, near a collective farm on the outskirts of Korotisch. Bereft of any anti-tank weapons the grenadiers were easy prey for the rampaging Russian tanks. Nevertheless they steadfastly held their ground pouring fire down onto the T-34s, clearing the decks of many of the infantry mounted on them. Here and there a high-explosive shell blew to pieces a German machine-gun post as the Soviets drew nearer. The Grenadiers hung grimly on, firing resolutely at the brown-uniformed Russian infantry behind the tanks, but only a few shell-shocked and shattered survivors managed to reach the German lines to the rear. A German counterattack was quickly launched but was easily repulsed with the loss of two panzers. Hoping to escape the massacre of their comrades, the Germans fell back toward Ljubotin.13
Lammerding’s Thule battalion was defending a line of strongpoints west of Olshanny while Grossdeutschland held positions around Ljubotin with Thule’s right wing tied in with Grossdeutschland’s Fusilier Regiment’s left flank. However on Thule’s left or western flank there was an undefended gap. Reconnaissance patrols reported Russians in this gap near Bairak but there were no troops available to drive them out.
On the night of 19/20 February the Russians struck the right flank of the Grenadier Regiment but were driven back with one T-34 destroyed. The grenadiers swiftly counterattacked, taking by surprise and destroying several Russian anti-tank guns and a supply column of 60 horse-drawn sleds.14
Meanwhile the Reds, milling around in the undefended gap, took Bairok in a surprise attack. Lanz promptly ordered a counterattack to recapture the town. Thule, along with a Grossdeutschland battle group of Major von Usedom’s Reconnaissance Battalion, the Assault Pioneer Battalion, a battery of assault guns and some self-propelled artillery, assaulted the town. The gap left by the Reconnaissance Battalion’s departure had to be filled by a mixture of cooks, clerks, butchers, bakers, supply and security troops, there being no fighting troops left to plug the hole. Russian attacks elsewhere meant that the Reconnaissance Battalion had to return to clear up the other penetrations. The most serious was an attack by Soviet General Rybalko’s Third Army on Ljubotin. Von Usedom’s men struck the Russian flank, smashing their infantry and destroying two T-34s and a KV-1.15
Undeterred, the Russians continued their attack on Ljubotin throughout 20 February, breaking through the Fusiliers’ lines on the northern perimeter. The Russians lost six T-34s in the fighting but managed to establish a strong position on the town’s outskirts.
General Lanz meanwhile, was finally made the scapegoat for Hausser’s withdrawal. He was dismissed by Field Marshal von Manstein, who gave the excuse that Lanz was a general of mountain troops and he wanted a general of panzer troops. Lanz’s replacement was the dark-haired, moustachioed General Werner Kempf, who had led panzer troops in Poland and commanded the 6th Panzer Division and XLVIII Panzer Corps. The unit was renamed Army Detachment Kempf. Kharkov eventually also took Kempf’s scalp when he was sacked for the city’s final loss in August 1943.
On the same day that Lanz was being dismissed, the Soviets converged on Kovjagi with its vital railhead, and the Grossdeutschland’s medical clearing station. There ensued a mad race to evacuate the wounded as all knew leaving them to the Russians was tantamount to a death sentence. A motley mixture of vehicles was scraped together, and with the help of various noncombat troops the evacuation was successfully completed.
On 22–23 February Grossdeutschland’s Fusilier Regiment faced Russian human wave attacks once again. Yelling their hoarse battle cry of “Urra! Urra!” the Russian masses surged towards the fusiliers’ lines. Sustained bursts from the machine guns scythed them down in long writhing rows. When the Russian assault finally withered away there were over 100 dead piled around the fusiliers’ positions. Elsewhere, Grossdeutschland’s Reconnaissance Battalion was fighting alongside SS Thule at the Sholestrovo and Iskrovkia areas, with Shelestrovo being taken in a joint assault.
On 22 February Grossdeutschland abandoned Ljubotin as the Russian 3rd Tank Army was threatening its escape routes. The division’s casualties had been extremely high due to its involvement in almost continuous fighting, so that its combat value was considerably degraded. Von Manstein decided to pull it out for a refit, sending it to Poltava on 23 February. Here Graf von Stachwitz was already waiting with a second tank battalion, the Tiger company, and his regimental headquarters. It was while he was here, organising his newly arrived units, that he became involved in a plot to arrest and or kill Hitler (see chapter 17). The division also received an extra artillery battalion, its fourth, which was a considerable addition to the three battalions that most panzer and panzergrenadier divisions were allocated. The additional tank battalion was more than welcome as in mid-February the original battalion had only seven Panzer IVs and three Panzer IIIs operational, barely enough to equip a company. The division’s Reconnaissance Battalion provided a security screen to allow the division to undergo its refit and reorganisation undisturbed.
The few days during the refit were hectic ones for von Strachwitz as he integrated the battalions as well as his regimental headquarters. It was also an opportunity for 1st Battalion officers and men to acquaint themselves with their new regimental commander. He had too little time to acquaint himself with them, or to accomplish everything he needed to, as the demands of the front drew the division back into battle.
On 24 February as part of von Manstein’s masterful counteroffensive, General Mackensen’s troops surrounded Popov’s mechanized force, which was overextended, short of supplies, and severely short of supporting infantry. The Germans also surrounded large parts of the Soviet Sixth Army. On 1 March Hausser’s SS Panzer Corps smashed into the Russian 3rd Tank Army of General Rybacko and defeated him soundly by 3 March.
A few days earlier, on 26 February, Theodor Eicke, the brutally tough, abrasive commander of the SS Totenkopf division, was killed when his Fieseler Storch command aircraft was shot down by Russian ground fire from a village supposedly unoccupied or held by units of his division. His men mourned him, for he was a soldier’s general, sharing his men’s privations, rations and dangers. Almost everyone else, including many in the Nazi hierarchy, were glad to see the coarse, former Nazi concentration camp commander go. His men mounted several attacks to retrieve his body, which they then buried with full military honours.
On 4 March Grossdeutschland had completed its refit, and entered the fray a much stronger division, with its full panzer regiment, replenished infantry, and extra artillery and support units. It was now stronger than most panzer divisions and would remain so throughout its existence, casualties notwithstanding. General Hörnlein organised the division into several battle groups on 6 March. These were Battle Group Beurmann, Battle Group Wätjen and Battle Group Strachwitz. The Panzer Graf’s battle group was the strongest and comprised the Panzer Regiment—less one battalion which was with Beurmann’s battle group. The Grenadier Regiment consisted of four infantry battalions instead of the usual three for a panzergrenadier division, and only two for a panzer division, which again highlights the army’s determination to make Grossdeutschland its premier division. Three gun batteries from the artillery regiment together with headquarters and supply units, equivalent to a normal battalion in strength, plus the 3rd Company Assault Pioneer Battalion and the 3rd Company Anti-tank Battalion completed the organization. This represented the strongest force the Graf had commanded to date, and he would make good use of it. His battle group assembled in the Sidorenkovo–Chiabonovka area and it was tasked with taking Kontokusovo and Perekop.16
Enemy resistance was weak and Perekop was taken with very little fighting. The temperature was beginning to rise, but it was still cold, just above freezing, so the ground remained firm, providing good mobility for von Strachwitz’s tanks. Leading from the tip of the spearhead, the Graf spotted an advancing Russian tank column in open ground. As he had seen the enemy first, and having his Tiger company with him, he decided to try them out taking the enemy on at long range. He watched carefully as they drew closer, wanting to keep them at a distance where his panzers were out of their range but not the Russians from the long-range 88mm guns of his Tigers. His Tiger commanders grew fidgety as the Graf coolly observed the enemy, giving his firing instructions. His order to fire finally came and the powerful 88s roared in unison. Immediately hits were registered, with Russian tanks suddenly flaring in flames and smoke with several turrets being blown cleanly away, the tell-tale smoke rings rising slowly into the sky. The Russians didn’t stand a chance, their shorter-ranged 76mm guns totally ineffective. Even had they closed the range the Tigers armour would have withstood any hits. One after another the Russian tanks were blown away. A few, mainly damaged tanks escaped, and a few of their crews who had survived the initial hits made it back alive, though most were wounded or horribly burnt. The more seriously injured were picked up by the grenadiers who mopped up the scene of carnage. Nine T-34s and a KV-1 blackened the snow with their burnt-out carcasses.
On 7 March, von Strachwitz met up with Kurt Meyer’s Leibstandarte Reconnaissance Battalion west of Babiska where Untersturmführer Iseke advised him where Meyer was and the Graf agreed to adjust his attack further to the north of Valki in order to avoid casualties from friendly fire. Meyer went on with his attack and was extremely lucky to come out of it alive as he related in his memoir:
Anti-tank fire strikes our spearhead as we approach within range of the second village but the Tigers dispose of the enemy anti-tank weapons. The right hand tank company under Jürgensen moves forward swiftly exploiting the cover of some orchards and is about to outflank the village.
Our car receives a hit from a 47mm anti-tank gun, which however does not cause serious damage. Unfortunately we cannot see where it is dug in. We are now within 200 meters of the village and are looking for a point to breach, machine-gun fire hammers armour plating. The leading Tiger hit a mined obstacle and lies to our rear with a shattered track. T-34s emerged and pitched into the fight. We must get into the village! Suddenly there’s a tremendous explosion in the car and I find myself lying in a rut looking at my driver sitting headless at the wheel. A direct hit has torn a massive hole in the armour plating.
Unterscharführer Albert Andres staggers dazedly into cover. With horror I notice that he only has one arm. I can’t even see a stump among the remains of cloth and shattered bone.
Bremer’s company breaks into the village and fights its way down the street. Unexpectedly we run past a Russian tank and finish it off with a limpet charge… . The village is ours within the hour and we immediately occupy it and defend it with a “hedgehog” perimeter. The shortness of the days make it advisable to spend the night in the village. We lay my driver, Ernst Webelung, to rest in the twilight.
Liaison officers from the Grossdeutschland Division report the entry of their division into the attack on our left hand neighbouring sector. I am glad to know that there is a tried and trustworthy unit to our north.17
Sometime afterwards Meyer and his men reached the Mischa river. There was still a bridge across it, but Meyer didn’t want to use it as it was probably mined. He urged his men to rush across the frozen river, but no one moved. Then Meyer came up with an idea, and his men stormed across the ice in a rush. His secret? Three weeks’ leave for the first man to reach the other side. It worked like a charm.18
Grossdeutschland’s combat groups continued their assaults with the objective of cutting the road and railway lines from Bogodukhov to Oshanny, cutting off the Russians in Bogodukhov and preventing them from reinforcing Kharkov, which was being attacked by the SS Panzer Corps.
Von Strachwitz’s panzers found it hard going because of strong winds and heavy snow which caused deep drifts on the roads. He thrust east from Kovjagi along the Poltava–Kovjagi–Kharkov railway line and road. At midday his tanks came across Russian infantry dug in with anti-tank guns. A short duel ensued, resulting in all the anti-tank guns being destroyed and the infantry driven off or killed. He arrived at Stary Merchik an hour later but without his supporting infantry, the majority of whom were about three hours behind as their wheeled vehicles found it extremely hard going in the icy conditions and poor roads. Nevertheless the Panzer Graf pushed on towards Bogodukhov. He was stopped by strong Russian defensive positions at a village on the route. He quickly deployed his tanks and grenadiers. His tank guns blazed in a hail of deadly fire at the Russian defences, silencing the anti-tank guns with high-explosive rounds and sustained machine-gun fire. The grenadiers stormed across to take the houses with machine pistols and hand grenades. The surviving Russians fled in disarray.
On 8 March, while Das Reich re-captured Ljubotin, von Strachwitz with his 2nd Tank Battalion crossed the Merchik River near Alexandrovka, intending to reach Maximovka the following day. The Russians mounted several weak counterattacks by a few tanks and supporting infantry, which were crushed with ease. Just before dawn von Strachwitz moved off, but his progress was slowed by severe snow squalls, which blocked the road with deep drifts. Visibility was poor, so he had to keep most of his torso outside the cupola, peering through the icy sleet. His tanks skidded and slid along the icy roads, testing the drivers’ skill to the utmost. The wheeled vehicles could make no headway at all and had to be towed. His column gradually became strung out, as each vehicle grappled with the icy conditions. The wheeled vehicles had to be left behind, while he pushed on with his tanks and half-tracked APCs carrying the grenadiers of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Regiment.19
At 10:25 a.m. he reached a train station south of the town of Maximouka, five kilometres northwest of Bogdukhov. He sent a company of tanks towards Maximovka, which was attacked by T-34s just near the town. A firefight quickly developed which left several Russian tanks burning while the remainder fled. Then von Strachwitz’s panzers seized the town. He quickly regrouped his tanks, sending the Tiger company with some grenadiers on board towards Popovpa ten kilometres east of Bogodukhov.20
The Russians then mounted a counterattack with 30 T-34s against his main strike force. The Graf quickly surveyed the ground, noting the enemy’s location, and made his dispositions. He sent one company into some cover to engage the Soviets from the front. While they were thus engaged he led the remainder of his force to strike the Russians from the flank and rear. They did not fire until all the tanks were in position, which meant an agonizing wait for those to be deployed first. When everyone was ready and had sighted on an opponent, the Panzer Graf gave the order to fire. Almost instantly flames belched from stricken Russian tanks while others halted in confusion or because their tracks had been hit or damaged. Another salvo brewed up more T-34s, with the Soviets now realising that they were being attacked from the rear. Most turned to face the new, more immediate threat, at which point the Graf ordered his company which had been engaging frontally, to attack what was now the enemy rear. It proved too much for the Russians, who milled about in confusion firing randomly or seeking to escape. Explosion followed explosion as one after another the T-34s succumbed to the German fire. Only two T-34s managed to escape, leaving 28 shattered or burning hulks. Almost an entire Soviet tank battalion had been wiped out. The infantry who had been riding on their decks were nearly all killed, having had no chance in the crescendo of explosions and hail of machine-gun fire. The grenadiers swept through the battleground gunning down the dazed and shocked survivors. Von Strachwitz estimated that his battle group had killed around 2,000 Soviet soldiers throughout the action on 9 March.21
The Russians were determined to have their revenge. On 10 March units of the Russian 69th Army attacked von Strachwitz’s battle group with infantry supported by a dozen T-34s. Von Strachwitz quickly and deftly outmanoeuvred the Russians, destroying several of them and putting the rest to flight towards Bogodukhov. The infantry who couldn’t flee promptly surrendered.
The Graf’s combat group was now low on fuel and ammunition and had to wait until nightfall for resupply. He did however send his grenadiers forward, and they captured two villages on the southern outskirts of Bagodukhov. Von Strachwitz then planned to attack the town from the east while the grenadiers struck from the south. Another unit, Battle Group Wätjen, was to attack from the west alongside SS Regiment Thule on its left flank, which went on to capture Shelostrova and Visokolye.
The attack was launched on 11 March, preceded by a heavy artillery bombardment. Stukas swarmed over the city making their long plunging dives, sirens howling. Long columns of Russians leaving the town were easy targets for both artillery and bombers. Sizing up the situation Graf von Strachwitz ordered his Tiger Company to some high ground where the long range of their guns could blast the retreating Russians columns. The Germans entered Bogodukhov from one end while the Russians were exiting from the other, harried all along by the Stukas and von Strachwitz’s Tigers. The town was secured that evening.
While Grossdeutschland was fighting its battle for Bogodukhov, the SS Panzer Corps was fighting its way into Kharkov. Hausser’s plan used the hammer and anvil principle: he lured the Soviets forward to strike them hard with Das Reich and Totenkopf, while the Leibstandarte circled around northwest to block the Soviets from the rear. He then closed the pincers around the Russians slamming them back against the Leibstandarte’s panzers. This cleared the way for his attack into Kharkov where his grenadiers came up against fanatical resistance. Stukas and assault guns had to be called in for close support to blast the Russians from their positions. Belov, the Soviet commander of Kharkov, pulled his troops out from the west of the city which allowed Das Reich to break in there.
Around this time, Lammerding and his Regiment Thule finally returned to its parent unit, the Totenkopf Division. It had proved to be a valuable support unit for Grossdeutschland, especially for the Reconnaissance Battalion with whom it had fought closely.
On 12 March Graf von Strachwitz launched Major Pössl’s 1st Battalion towards Graivoron which lay in the centre of the Vorskla river valley. His regiment followed on. It was now operating at 50% of its strength, although most of his disabled tanks were only in short-term repair and were dribbling back into the regiment on a daily basis. Close behind the panzers came the assault gun battalion, and a battery of 88mm guns, with close infantry support provided by the Grenadier Regiment. The Fusilier Regiment and Reconnaissance Battalion made up the rearguard.
The attack on Graivoron was spearheaded by Pössl’s 1st Battalion, together with the Tiger Company. The Grenadiers rode on the tanks, ready to leap off as soon as contact was made. A small force of T-34s sallied out to challenge them but were swiftly battered into submission leaving several of their number shattered or burning, while the remainder fled back into the town. Pössl with his Panzer IVs and Tigers, along with some flamethrowing Panzer IIIs, stormed into the town. The flame tanks did fearful execution to the Soviets, burning up anti-tank gun positions and machine-gun nests, frying their crews from a range of 60 metres. Close behind the panzers the grenadiers swarmed in, engaging the Russians in close combat.
Meanwhile the Reconnaissance Battalion of the division had been ambushed by some cleverly concealed anti-tank guns eight kilometres south of Bogodukhov, and its lead assault gun destroyed. Uncertain of the enemy strength, the battalion halted in a village. Hörnlein, flying above in his Fieseler Storch, saw the immobilised battalion and landed on the road nearby. He called the officers together and, leaning on his carved campaign walking stick, stressed the importance of keeping the momentum going, ordering them forward once again. The battalion moved out and kept going until it reached Pissarovka when it came under heavy shellfire from dug-in Soviet artillery. The assault guns moved to flank the guns. The 2nd Battalion Panzer Regiment and the Fusilier Regiment were brought in to support the attack. The fusiliers mounted on the tanks stormed the town while the assault guns smashed the artillery in a slashing flank attack. The Russians abandoned their guns and fled north. The battle group reassembled and moved off to join the attack on Graivoron.
The grenadiers joined the savage street fighting which went on into the night. Flares and fires illuminated the scene as ghostly shadows flitted among the buildings, men seeking each other out to kill or maim in a frenzy of hand-to-hand combat. It wasn’t until 9.00 p.m. that the last of the Russians were cleared out of the town.
On 13 March von Strachwitz attacked Golovttschino with the Panzer IVs of his regiment. Using fire and movement, his tanks cleared the antitank guns and fortified positions in front of the town. Excellent gunnery and observation ensured that the anti-tank guns barely got one shot away before being blown up. Soviet machine-gun posts were blown to pieces while the panzers’ machine guns mowed down the Soviet infantry. Under cover of artillery fire some T-34s put in an attack on the panzers’ flanks. Von Strachwitz took his rear company of Panzer IVs in a slashing attack on the flank and rear of the T-34s which left several of them burning while the remainder hastily fled the scene. General Hörnlein was so impressed that the divisional war diary recorded that the Panzer IVs had distinguished themselves in the action.22 The next objective was Borisovka, which the division captured in a combined infantry-tank attack.
Also on 13 March the SS Panzer Corps had driven the Soviets out of Kharkov. Every house and building had to be cleared in savage close-quarter combat, as the defenders preferred to die rather than surrender. The Russians used the Stalingrad tactic of reinfiltrating buildings that had previously been cleared by the Germans. Howitzers, assault guns, mortars and self-propelled anti-tank guns blasted buildings at point-blank range, collapsing walls and buildings, burying the defenders alive. Soviet NKVD security troops withdrew to the tractor factory for a desperate last stand. They had to be methodically blasted out, not a single soldier surrendering. The defenders there held out until 16 March, and with their demise the last organised resistance collapsed.
On 14 March German reconnaissance planes reported 100 Russian T-34s from the 2nd Guards Tank Corps marching on Boriskovha. Von Strachwitz quickly sent his tanks to screen the town, and sent in the assault guns under Captain Magold, the 1st Battery commander, to set up an ambush. As the Soviets moved into a valley, Captain Magold fired into their flanks from concealed positions, the low profile of the assault guns making them hard to spot.
Rapid, well-armed fire at almost point-blank range saw 25 T-34s destroyed in short order. Another column of tanks veered north straight into the Panzer Graf’s waiting panzers. Reacting quickly he divided his force to catch the Russians in pincer movement, hitting them on both flanks while a smaller force engaged them from the front. The battle raged all day in a crescendo of exploding fuel tanks, ammunition and barking guns. Flame and smoke marked the funeral pyres of 100 Russian tanks. Superior German tactics and gunnery had won the day once again.
On 15 March Grossdeutchland was involved in a major battle with elements of the Russian V Tank Corps and II Guard Tank Corps, which had 720 operational tanks, and III Tank Corps, which only had 50 tanks. The Russians converged around Borisovka some 60 kilometres north of Kharkov. Leading a reconnaissance group east of Boriskovha, von Strachwitz spotted a Russian tank column, showing as dark spots against the snow in the distance. A quick count revealed at least 45 to 50 Russian tanks. Russian aircraft flew overhead providing cover for the advance. The Red Air Force had been fairly quiescent up to this point, allowing the Luftwaffe a relatively free hand, to the extent that the Stukas had been flying without fighter escorts.23 A force of 10 T-34s detached themselves to attack the bridge embankment at the northern edge of the town while the remainder continued on. The Graf quickly decided to ambush the main force. He moved his tanks, which included his three operational Tigers, to a small village, hiding them among the houses. The Russians halted, uncertain as to whether the Germans had occupied the village. They fired a few rounds to draw the Germans out, but the Graf was wise to that old trick. With the Russians uncertain but suspicious it became a waiting game, with neither side making a move as night approached.
At dawn, the Russian detached force approached Boriskovha, coming under fire from German anti-tank guns, which destroyed several of them. The majority skidded away to the side making their escape, while two entered the side streets. Here the defending grenadiers took care of them with satchel charges.24
The noise of this action prompted the main force to move towards the village on a broad front, where Graf von Strachwitz was patiently waiting. He let them close in to around 100 metres then ordered his panzers to open fire. Flames and smoke billowed from several stricken tanks, another had its turret blown away, others stopped dead, then exploded with a flash and a roar as their fuel and ammunition ignited. At such close range every shot was a hit. The survivors fled and von Strachwitz ordered an immediate pursuit. A fast-moving, wide-ranging battle took place with the retreating Russians at a grievous disadvantage. In their eagerness to escape the Russians’ return fire was erratic, nor did they help each other, making them easy prey. Seventeen Russian tanks were left burning on the field, not a single tank escaped.25
However the Panzer Graf didn’t always have things go all his way. On 18 March his combat group, with the assault-gun battalion sent forward to clear his route of advance, was attacked by a small force of T-34s. They were easily driven off with the loss of one tank. Von Strachwitz continued his advance until he came across a Soviet armoured force of 25 tanks. Both sides manoeuvred for tactical advantage with the Russians being quicker, aggressively attacking von Strachwitz’s flanks before he was ready. He promptly counterattacked. After a brisk exchange of fire the Russians withdrew with von Strachwitz in hot pursuit. Too late he realized he had fallen into a trap as concealed Russian anti-tank guns began firing at his tanks. Four Panzer IVs were burning before he could make a hasty withdrawal. It was the Russians’ turn to pursue, their fire inaccurate as they fired on the move. The Graf ordered two platoons to swing out and counterattack from the sides while he regrouped his main force to attack from the centre. Being suddenly attacked and fired on from three sides surprised the Russians, who were thrown into confused disarray. In short order six T-34s were destroyed while the rest fled with von Strachwitz in pursuit. By the time the fighting was over the combat group had claimed 15 Russian tanks destroyed.
The planned attack on Tomarovka took place on 19 March. Its approaches were defended by units of the Russian III and V Tank Corps, as well as by the 305th, 309th and 340th Infantry Divisions. However the infantry divisions were badly understrength, and they could barely muster a regiment apiece.26 The two tank corps were also badly depleted, as was von Strachwitz’s Panzer Regiment.
During a reconnaissance to check out the ground he expected to be operating on, Graf von Strachwitz spotted a large force of some 100 Russian tanks in the distance. He quickly resolved to ambush them. Not having any Tigers operational at this time he knew he would have to engage at close range utilising the element of surprise. Using his keen tactical sense to judge the ground he deployed his tanks into their ambush positions. To lure the Soviets into his killing ground he used a few Panzer IIIs and APC-mounted grenadiers as bait. The Russians quickly spotted this small German unit and moved in for the kill. The Germans promptly fled with the Russians giving chase, into the prepared ambush site. The Graf calmly watched the Soviets approaching, letting the Russians close in to where his guns could do maximum execution. At almost point-blank range the Graf gave the order to fire. The barrage left the hapless T-34s and T-17s as molten, twisted metal wrecks encasing the blackened corpses of their crews. The shocked Russians could barely co-ordinate a response and their return fire had little or no impact.
With the battlefield obscured by smoke and flames, the Graf ordered independent fire. The Germans began picking off the panic-stricken Russian tanks one by one. The tanks at the tail of the column broke off and fled. The Graf had anticipated this and pursued them, firing at their flank and rear. A fast-moving fluid battle developed, but the Russians were handicapped by their panic, returning a desultory fire while on the move. The Germans halted and took careful aimed fire, leaving a trail of burning and brewed-up Soviet tanks along their line of pursuit. As the Germans had to halt repeatedly the distance between them and the Russians increased, but it was not enough as one by one the Russians were destroyed or disabled. Behind von Strachwitz’s tanks, the grenadiers in their APCs mopped up the surviving Russian tank crews, many of whom were burnt or wounded and surrendered willingly in the hope of treatment. When it was all over 65 destroyed or disabled Russian tanks littered the ambush site and its approaches, spirals of black smoke marking the funeral pyres of their crews. It was a triumph of German tactical superiority and excellence in gunnery which, together with von Strachwitz’s victories around Boriskovha, prompted a grateful Hörnlein to recommend his Panzer Regiment commander for the award of Swords to his Knight’s Cross and Oak Leaves.
General Hörnlein had planned to push on to capture Belgorod but the delays caused by the continuous actions around Boriskovha and Tomarovka gave this opportunity to the Waffen SS. They too had dashing commanders with the cavalry flair in their ranks. One was the boyish, good-looking Stürmbannführer Jochen Peiper, commander of the Leibstandarte’s armoured grenadier battalion. Seizing his chance, he made a dash for the city. He was reinforced by his friend, the Leibstandarte 7th Panzer Company commander, Joachim von Ribbontrop—son of the foreign minister—and some Tiger tanks from the Panzer Regiment.
Outside the city Peiper’s battle group was attacked by a group of T-34s. The Tigers quickly deployed to engage the Reds. In a masterful display of fire and movement they swiftly hit or destroyed 17 Soviet tanks, and the Red attack petered out. Peiper’s mobile group kept moving, crashing through several Soviet-occupied villages before the Russians could recover from their surprise, although they did provide some resistance to the SS following behind. Stuka dive-bombers provided Peiper with close support blasting Russian blocking positions. When Peiper’s men entered the city’s southern outskirts they were bombed by German aircraft who had not been informed that Peiper had reached Belgorod, with the grenadiers suffering heavy casualties from the friendly fire. The Russians defending the city were exhausted and badly demoralised, offering little resistance to Peiper’s storm troops, who took the town. It was a feat typical of the brave and dashing Waffen SS commander, and one which earned him the Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross.
This successfully completed Field Marshal von Manstein’s superb counteroffensive, which had saved the German Southern Front from being overwhelmed. The spring mud set in, immobilising both armies and giving their weary troops a much-needed break.
Casualties had been heavy for both sides. In the fighting around and for Kharkov, the Leibstandarte reported 167 officers and 4,373 other ranks dead, wounded or missing. Das Reich lost 102 officers and 4,396 men, while Totenkopf—which had arrived later on the scene—lost 94 officers and 2,170 men. Including corps troops lost, this totalled 365 officers and 11,154 men killed, wounded or missing. Tank losses were also great with the strongest division having only 35 operational tanks at the end of the operation.27The Russians lost 40,130 dead, with probably double that number wounded, and 12,340 captured around Kharkov. Overall their losses for the Kharkov battles were 153,500 men with 1,020 tanks and 2,100 guns.
Kharkov itself suffered grievously with 20,000 civilians killed, 4,000 of whom were killed after the Russians took the city when they executed collaborators and women who had been with, or who had worked for the Germans. Three witnesses were enough for a summary execution. Some 15,000 men and boys were sent straight to the front without training and only a rifle—which they didn’t know how to use. The lucky among them would only be wounded in the fighting. One Russian lieutenant sent his contingent of boys home as he couldn’t be party to their slaughter. He then shot himself.28
Despite the defeat and massive losses Stalin nevertheless promoted Vatutin, one of his personal favourites, for his supposed efforts. Poetic justice overtook the Ukrainian-born Vatutin when he was ambushed and killed by anti-communist Ukrainian nationalist partisans on 28 February 1944.
Hitler was generous after the German triumph. General Hörnlein was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross on 18 March 1943. Major Pössl of the tank regiment and Captains Frantz and Magold of the Assault Gun Battalion were both awarded a well-deserved Knight’s Cross. Otto Remer of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Regiment also received the Knight’s Cross for his bravery and leadership. Colonel Hyazinth Graf von Strachwitz was awarded Swords to add to his Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves on 28 March 1943, becoming the 27th recipient of this extremely rare and prestigious award. Waffen SS General Paul Hausser had to wait to get his Oak Leaves as Hitler was tardy about awarding it because of Hausser’s disobedience in holding Kharkov. He finally got his award on 28 July. General Erhard Raus also received the Oak Leaves for his efforts. It was the last major German victory in the east and the participants richly deserved the awards.29
Grossdeutschland went into reserve for rest and refitting on 23 March, enjoying a well-deserved break until 29 June. The division would need all its strength for the upcoming Operation Citadel, the Battle of Kursk.
NOTES
1. Certainly Field Marshals von Kluge and Rommel thought Manstein was the ablest strategist; at a meeting between the three field marshals, von Kluge said, “Manstein, the end will be bad, and I repeat what I told you earlier; I am prepared to serve under you.” A short while later as Rommel was preparing to leave he also said to von Manstein “I too am prepared to serve under you.” Alexander Stahlberg (trans. Patricia Crompton), Bounden Duty (Brassey’s, UK, 1990), pp.309–310.
2. Charles W. Sydnor, Jr., Soldiers of Destruction: The SS Death’s Head Division 1933–1945 (Guild Publishing, 1989). Most of the Waffen SS divisions had to increasingly rely on draftees to fill their depleted ranks as the war dragged on, the third battle of Kharkov perhaps being the high-water mark of their superbly trained and motivated volunteers.
3. Tim Ripley, The Waffen SS at War: Hitler’s Praetorians 1925–1945 (Zenith Press, 2004).
4. Hans-Joachim Jung (trans. David Johnston), The History of Panzerregiment Grossdeutschland (J. J. Fedorwicz, Canada, 2000), p.44.
5. George M. Nipe, Last Victory in Russia (Schiffer Military History Books PA, 2000).
6. Ibid. After having their retreat covered by Grossdeutschland, units of this division refused to assist Grossdeutchland’s Reconnaissance Battalion in its defence of Belgorod. Helmuth Spaeter, History of the Panzerkorps Grossdeutschland Vol 2 (J. J. Fedorwicz Publishing Canada).
7. Last Victory in Russia.
8. Ibid.
9. Dana V. Sadaranda, Beyond Stalingrad: Manstein and the Operations of Army Group Don (Stackpole Books, 2009).
10. Nipe, Last Victory in Russia.
11. Helmuth Spaeter, History of Panzer Korps Gross Deutschland Vol 2 (J. J. Fedorowicz Publishing), pp.44–45.
12. Sadaranda, Beyond Stalingrad.
13. Nipe, Last Victory in Russia.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Spaeter, The History of the Panzerkorps Grossdeutschland Vol 2.
17. Kurt Meyer (trans. Michael Mende), Grenadiers (J. J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Canada, 1994), p.108.
18. Ibid.
19. Nipe, Last Victory in Russia.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid.
22. Jung, The History of Panzerregiment Grossdeutschland.
23. Nipe, Last Victory in Russia.
24. Günther Fraschka (trans. David Johnston), Knights of the Reich (Schiffer Military History, PA, 1989).
25. Fraschka, Knights of the Reich.
26. Nipe, Last Victory in Russia.
27. Karl Ullrich (trans. Jeffrey McMullen), Like a Cliff in the Ocean: The History of the 3 SS Panzer Division Totenkopf (J. J. Fedorowicz Publishing Canada, 2002). Added to the casualties were those killed in the earlier battles of Kharkov and the Jews taken from the city and murdered by the German Einsatzgruppen.
28. Nipe, Last Victory in Russia.
29. As generous as Hitler was with his rewards he was not as lavish as Stalin. After Stalingrad the Soviet dictator created 112 Heroes of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union’s highest honour; gave 48 generals the Order of Suvorov or Kutuzov along with 10,000 other decorations for officers and men; while 700,000 participants were given campaign medals for Stalingrad’s defence.