Ironfall

Chapter 22

Hitler was clearly not happy to hear that. “But there are still four mobile divisions in the Caucasus,” he protested. “Why can’t they proceed with this operation?”

“Because two of them are here, holding the line of the Kuma River to where it meets the Manych Canal. The other two will not be sufficient, and I may need one more of those divisions north of the Don.”

“That should not be necessary,” said Hitler. “Steiner will master the situation quickly enough.” Hitler waved his hand as if dismissing the whole Soviet offensive, the four regiments Manstein had reported destroyed, all of it. Steiner had stopped Zhukov the previous year, and he would do so again. His mind remained fixed on only one thing, the oil.

“How soon will we have the fields at Groznyy?”

“A matter of days,” said Manstein; “perhaps hours. We have three bridgeheads east of the city on the Terek, and that has unhinged the defense west of Groznyy. That is the same general strategy in play with this new Soviet offensive. They want to get over the Donets, and from there, to threaten Rostov. That would put an end to all our operations in the Caucasus.”

“Nonsense,” said Hitler. “You fail to consider the political situation. Volkov has been at war with the Soviets for twenty years. I do not think they will become nice cozy bedfellows now simply because I have taken the prize they were both tussling over.”

“A moment ago, you stated this offensive was staged at the request of Volkov,” said Manstein.

“I was merely being facetious. Sergei Kirov pursues his own war aims, but I do not think they presently include considerations on the wellbeing of Ivan Volkov. The Soviets may, indeed, be trying to get over the Donets, but for reasons of their own, that should be obvious. They want to force us to yield all territory we now hold in the Don Bend, which would then threaten these more important operations in the Caucasus. But they will never get there.” Hitler put on his eyeglasses, leaning over the map. Yet his eyes were not on the ruptured lines along the Don and upper Donets, but on the far distant fields of Astrakhan and Baku.

“We have done very well up until now,” he said. “Ivan Volkov has learned that we can put steel behind the decrees I put forward. The man presumed to think he would control the oil at Baba Gurgur, but I showed him how wrong he was there with my Fallschirmjagers. Then he presumed to dictate to me concerning control of the Kuban, and all the fields at Maykop. Thankfully, our troops soon put those demented notions to rout. Now we have Groznyy within our grasp. Yet how long before we can continue the drive to Baku?”

Manstein took a deep breath, somewhat frustrated with Hitler’s obsession with these distant economic objectives. He wanted to move the session to the crisis of the hour. “My Führer,” he said. “We have the Caucasus well in hand. Volkov’s forces there have little offensive power, and we can generate sufficient mass to move them any time we choose. Even if we were sitting on Baku at this moment, it would still be months before that resource could be developed to a point where it would be useful. The pipelines have all been destroyed, and so it will need trucks to haul the oil, and rail cars. But all of that is many months away. So Volkov and his oil is not the issue here and now. As for Sergei Kirov, the Soviets are another matter. They clearly do have the potential to mount an offensive, as that situation map shows. Now, it may be necessary for me to adopt some rather sweeping redeployments to contain, and then defeat, the enemy offensives now underway. That is where our minds should be focused.”

“Sweeping redeployments?” Hitler gave him a look half akin to annoyance. “Tell me that is not just another word for retreat. My Generals are always advocating withdrawal in the face of a crisis. I certainly hope that poison has not infected your own thinking, General Manstein.”

“My Führer, have you never watched a good fencing match? The contestants thrust and parry, they move forward, and yet also withdraw. This is the art of mobile war. Consider this first prong of the enemy attack near Prokhorovka. Both Model and Heinrici have had to fold back their respective flanks, and Model is preparing a new blocking force to screen Belgorod. I am not worried about 2nd Army at the moment, but 4th Army’s position is somewhat precarious. The attack across the Oskol river on its lower right has real power, and it could go all the way to the Donets. That would cut off the entire 4th Army. I have added the 22nd Panzer Division to Model’s bag of tricks to help out. It is moving out of reserve status from Poltava.”

“That unit was scheduled to return to Germany for a refit,” said Hitler, his mind an amazing steep trap for all the divisions of his army.

“Under the circumstances, it will have to remain in theater. For that matter, if we could get the other two divisions of that Korps back, then we might easily smash this smaller northern pincer. Kharkov would seem an inviting target for the enemy, but I do not believe they can get there from the north. That drive will be lucky to just take Belgorod, but if it is then supported by this central attack from the Oskol River, things change.”

“In what way?” Hitler gave the General a look that revealed the hidden anxiety within him.

“If the two pincers do link up,” said Manstein, “then Kharkov is on the cutting board for the meat cleavers. If they get that, then they have an opportunity to go for the Dnieper. That is the real prize for the enemy now. 4th Army would do much better on the upper Donets than it would if pocketed while trying to hold the Oskol River line. This is what I mean by redeployments.”

“You want to withdraw 4th Army? What about Steiner?” It was as if Hitler had not been listening. The only thing he grasped was that Manstein was angling to move 4th Army.

“Steiner’s last two divisions are needed here at Millerovo,” Manstein reiterated. “And to really do the job quickly there, I will need to muster forces presently operating in the Caucasus. For that I have chosen Kirchner’s 57th Panzer Korps Headquarters, and to this I will add Grossdeutschland Division and 17th Panzer.”

Hitler squinted, adjusting his eyeglasses with an unsteady hand. It was clear that he was uncomfortable with any transfer of units from the Caucasus. “Why can’t Steiner deal with this situation on his own? If you move the 57th Panzer Korps, then we have no strong mobile units in the Caucasus.”

“We don’t need them there at the moment. As I have said, the operation to take Elista has been cancelled. Once I get a free hand and stop this attack in the south, I propose to move all those forces to the vicinity of Izyum, and for two reasons. First, in that position they block any attempt to cross the lower Donets. The second reason is that it places them in the perfect place to attack the flank of this second enemy thrust if it drives for Kharkov.”

“If you move 17th Panzer Division from the Caucasus, what will hold the ground they now defend?”

Manstein was quite direct in his answer, and equally truthful. He said just one word: “Nothing.”

“Nothing? Then Volkov’s Armies will simply rush through those gaps and the entire front could collapse. Then all the Generals at OKW will be pleased, won’t they? We will have your whole operation at Groznyy turn into another pocket, and then they can hound me endlessly for permission to withdraw. If I order Model to stand fast, as he should, they will say the very same thing about his army—another pocket.”

“They will not have to do so,” said Manstein, “because Heinrici’s troops will not be there if you allow me to operate as I wish. You are correct in stating that the redeployment of 17th Panzer Division creates a gap in our line in the south, but I will still have 18th Panzer on hand there as a good sheepdog, and there are army assets that can help out as well. Volkov will not attack. It is all he can do to hold the line. As for Heinrici, no one eats dinner alone at this table. The Army is a family, and when it moves, it must do so as a whole. So when I maneuver Steiner and 57th Panzer Korps into position, Heinrici goes with them. I propose that he move to a new line here, and anchor his left on Belgorod. That joins hands with Model and restores the front. There is heavily wooded country due east of that city, and look how it is broken by all these river tributaries flowing into the Donets. That is a very good place for our infantry. The northern pincer will try to use that ground for defensive purposes. Their real hopes are pinned on the central thrust. I believe they will attempt to move through Volonovka to Volchansk, then bypass that city to move on the Donets…. And Kharkov. This will leave their southern flank exposed, and when I move adequate force to Izyum, our counterattack can begin.”

“Can’t it be done without yielding all the territory 4th Army now holds?”

“It cannot. Before I can strike, I must move, and 4th Army must come along with me to prevent the formation of a pocket you were lamenting over a moment ago. So we must move Heinrici’s 10th and 12th Infantry Korps as well, and re-establish themselves on a line here, near Volchansk on the upper Donets. If they could get their quickly, they would be able to help defend Kharkov against this powerful central thrust.

“Yet another withdrawal…” Hitler shook his head.

“Quite the contrary,” said Manstein, moving to parry that thrust by Hitler as soon as possible. “If Model and Heinrici do not withdraw together, then tis invites real trouble if the enemy breaks through to Kharkov. You pointed this out yourself just a moment ago. So they must withdraw. Otherwise, this strong attack from the Oskol River Bridgehead will cut them off.”

“Yes,” said Hitler with some annoyance. “From a bridgehead that should have been eliminated!” His voice was barely controlled.

It was the first break in the icy calm that had lay upon the Führer up until that moment. He had seemed irksome when he discussed Volkov, particularly his obsession with the oil, but now the first flash of anger returned.

“Eliminated! Eliminated! You call this generalship? You propose to give them ground that they have not even had to fight for—ground that it took us weeks of hard fighting to acquire last winter. Can’t you see what they are doing? They want to push us farther from Voronezh and Kursk, and upset all the planning for our summer offensive in this sector. They want us to do exactly what you suggest and pull our best troops out of the Caucasus. That is the real aim of this offensive. And now you propose to give them everything they want, and all because a few reserve regiments were overrun south of the Don! Model and Heinrici should hold their present lines. Steiner will stop this other attack from the Don sector, and then he can turn north with Grossdeutschland to deal with the center thrust.”

“By that time the enemy could be in Kharkov,” Manstein said flatly, “or somewhere else. From the latest reports I am receiving, the forces emerging from the Oskol bridgeheads are very strong. It will take everything Steiner has left to stop them, and yes, Grossdeutschland as well. Even that may not be enough, which is why I have ordered 17th Panzer Division to prepare to entrain at Divnoye for a move north of the Don. My Führer, we simply must maneuver. We cannot sit and hold the line as you ordered during the Moscow counteroffensive.”

“Why not? We still hold Moscow, do we not? My order to stand fast saved that entire front, and I will do the very same thing here.”

“That would be most unwise.”

At that moment, a knock came at the door and an adjutant came in, saluting stiffly as he handed off a message. Manstein read it, seeing there what he expected. Then he turned to the Führer and pointed at the map.

“The Don Front has collapsed south of Boguchar. Schenken’s 17th Korps is now cut off and completely surrounded—what’s left of it. The leading spearheads of two Soviet tank corps are now reported no more than 50 kilometers from Star O’blesk. If they go another fifty, they will be over the Donets. So Steiner has his work cut out for him, and at present his Korps has not even been fully assembled. As for Paulus, his 6th Army will soon be isolated. 51st Korps is already being flanked, and in my judgement, the entire Army should also move west immediately. Otherwise that infantry will be useless to us in the ensuing counterattack. Steiner might be many days dealing with this, but the whole situation would be greatly relieved if you allow me to order Paulus west to the Donets. That is good ground for defense, and he has sufficient force to prevent any enemy crossing and cover Rostov. Steiner will need infantry to cover his right flank, and that can only come from Paulus.”

“So now you propose we yield the entire Don Bend?”

“We don’t need it. It is nothing more than empty steppe land. There is no oil there, My Führer.” There was just the hint of sarcasm in the General’s tone. “Their intentions here are very clear. They are hoping to cut off the entire 6th Army. If left where it is, a stand fast order would play directly into the enemy’s hands. The only answer to this offensive is maneuver. It will take some doing, but it is a fine art our troops are more than capable of pulling off. Yes, it will mean we yield hard fought ground as well, for the moment, but that is the only way I can assemble the mass required to smash this attack, and mark my words, if given freedom of action here, that is exactly what I will do. You trusted to my instincts last winter when Zhukov pounded on the Don Front for a long month. Trust me now.”

“We prevailed in the winter because we stood firm, and refused to yield,” said Hitler with a wag of his finger. “Steiner fought for Oblivskaya, and for Morozovsk. He fought like a tiger! His men would not take one backward step!”

“My Führer, we barely contained those offensives, and I did so only because Steiner had all four SS divisions, and to that I added Grossdeutschland and Hermann Balck’s 11th Panzer Division. It took the finest troops in the entire army to stop Zhukov, and we no longer hold that sword. Leibstandarte will be hundreds of kilometers to the west, containing what I believe was merely a spoiling attack, intended to bring our reserves there. The Wiking Division is in Syria. Balck’s 11th Panzer is in Army Group Center, defending on the Bryansk Front. Now… I need to move Model and Heinrici, and quickly. Paulus goes west at the same time. Give me this freedom of action.”

Hitler seemed hunched and withered, the quiver in his hand more noticeable, the stress apparent in every line on his face. He slowly removed his eyeglasses and then started to rattle off a litany of unrelated political and economic reasons as to why he wanted the army to hold. “If Paulus goes west, then what about the Italians south of the Don? Then they will be exposed, and that river offers only so much of a barrier. The enemy can build bridges, can they not? Mussolini has been whining over the loss of Libya for months! Can you imagine what he will say if his expeditionary army here in the east is destroyed?”

“The Don is too deep and wide there,” said Manstein, “its banks too marshy for a crossing behind the Italians. The enemy can only cross south of Tormosin, and that can easily be defended.”

“Just as the Don Front was defended?” Hitler gave him a challenging look. “If the Soviets do cross, do you think the Italians will do better than our troops? If they go, then the Rumanians go right along with them, and then we lose everything as far south as the Manych! Of course, if you had been more deliberate in launching that offensive against Elista, this would not be a problem. There would be good German troops there to stop such a move by the Soviets. Losing those allied armies could also lose me Allies. Understand?”

Manstein had to smile inwardly at that, for his troops were in the Caucasus only to wage war on a former “Ally,” and all for oil that might have been easily obtained by negotiation. Hitler was back on his old rhyme again.

“There are political considerations here beyond the military realm,” he said waving his arm. “There are economic considerations as well. If you let the Russians into the vacuum left behind by removing Paulus to the west, and if they cross the Don as I have described, then it will be all the more difficult to get to Astrakhan. That is where the really good fields are now. Astrakhan and beyond.”

The discussion had just come full circle and was back where it began, with Hitler eyeing those distant economic objectives. Nothing he had in hand would satisfy, and yet he wanted to hold on to it with all his might. The solution to his war was ever just beyond his reach. First it was Moscow, then Volgograd, and now he had substituted Astrakhan and Baku for the fruit too high on the tree. When would it end?

Chapter 23

“This cloud has a little silver in it,” said Manstein, pointing at the message he had received. “The good news in this dispatch is that Hansen has taken the oil fields at Groznyy, and largely intact. There is your oil in the short run. With Maykop, Baba Gurgur and Groznyy, we will have all the oil we need. So now will you kindly let me take charge of this battle and win it?”

“Not if you wish to yield the entire Don bend! Some other strategy must be devised.”

Manstein sighed. He had come to know Hitler as a tenacious defender of his own ideas and viewpoints on strategy, but he also knew the one time Corporal, that he had privately come to call “Effendi,” had no conception of the art of elastic defense and battle of maneuver. In Hitler’s mind, all attacks were to be defeated by stalwart defense. The army had to stand firm, and he would substitute his own iron willpower for the lack of anything needed by way of divisions on the ground. Discussions of this nature could go on for hours on end. Halder had been at his wits end, eventually resigning in utter frustration over Hitler’s interference. Now Zeitzler would spend days trying to convince Hitler on the real military requirements for all the new offensives he had concocted in the last several months. This was only round one, Manstein knew, and he had to do a little dancing and jabbing himself.

“My Führer,” he began again. “What I propose is just a temporary maneuver intended to provide me with the infantry necessary to make my counterattack. I want Paulus to move his 8th Korps here, screening Morozovsk, with Strecker’s 9th Korps on his left. Seydiltz-Kurzbach’s 51st Corps is the largest, but it is now being flanked by this Boguchar offensive on the left. So I want to move it here, to Bolshinka. Then, when Steiner finishes concentrating at Millerovo, both those Korps strike north.”

“North? Not northwest? How can they stop the enemy attack if they do not confront it directly? This counterattack makes no sense.”

“On the contrary, it makes perfect sense. A small thrust can be blocked and then rolled back. Yet an attack on the scale of this one in the south must be defeated by an indirect approach. If Steiner tries to block this attack, he only becomes embroiled in a static grind. I have selected Millerovo as Steiner’s assembly point because the terrain around it makes it very defensible. So I expect the enemy will bypass it to the north and west, most likely through Belovodsk, between Millerovo and Star Oblesk. They want to cross the Donets near Voroshilovgrad. I propose to let them try.”

“What? A moment ago, you claimed this could not be permitted. From there they can go to Rostov.”

“Only if they can cross in force, and stay there,” said Manstein calmly. “This is why my counterattack will swing around the enemy advance and cut it off, and to do that, I move north before I turn northwest. I would have preferred to concentrate three strong mobile divisions at Millerovo, but there wasn’t sufficient rolling stock to move them all at once. Kruger had to move Das Reich overland on the roads, and it is presently here, at Star O’blesk. So it will attack towards Kantirmirovka, to the northeast, while Steiner takes the other two divisions right up this road. That is why I need 51st Infantry Korps on the right, to cover that thrust. We defeat this attack by striking through its communications zone, not by trying to block its advance on objectives. They want to get over the Donets, but that will be their undoing if they go there now.”

“Shouldn’t Steiner attack immediately?” asked Hitler, “before the enemy gets anywhere near the Donets?” It was as if he had not heard a word Manstein had uttered.

“An attack now would be premature,” said Manstein. “He would have to make a frontal counterattack, which is a tactic normally employed against minor breakthrough where the shoulders of the penetration are still strong. In this case, the breakthrough is too wide, and the shoulders too weak because of your insistence that Paulus must defend in place. Instead, I want to let them advance, and stick their head right in the noose I am knotting up. When they have extended themselves, then we strike at their line of communications, and cut them off. That approach stops their advance without having to confront it directly as you propose. It also offers us the opportunity to destroy the forces they advance, because they will be unable to retreat. And once I do so, then you have back again all the ground you moan about losing while we maneuver.”

“Why not simply crush their spearheads as they advance?” Hitler persisted, completely overlooking everything Manstein had said about frontal counterattacks.

“Because the enemy is strongest at the outset of any breakthrough. A frontal counterattack can only be launched after the advance had dissipated and exhausted itself.”

On and on it went, for two long hours. Hitler tacked from his own ill-advised military assessments, then back to the necessity for protecting the Donets Basin, the coal mining region, the thick web of rail lines there. Manstein would argue that any enemy incursion there would only be temporary, subject to imminent destruction, and that rail lines could be repaired easily enough. Hitler wanted to stand in the center of the ring and punch from the clinch. Manstein wanted to move and dance, jabbing all the while, and then deliver his blistering right cross. Hitler could simply not understand that you could win by giving the enemy what he wanted. He could not see the series of intricate maneuvers Manstein wanted to conduct, where timing was essential to coordinate the plan. The two men would discuss and argue the matter until the break for supper, and then on into the late evening, whereupon a new and unexpected arrival would come on the scene the following morning.

In walked Himmler, his uniform fresh and well pressed, black leather gloves tight on his fists where he clutched a riding crop, and shining boots hard on the wood floors of the dining room. He snapped his heels together and offered a stiff-armed salute as Hitler turned, very surprised to see him.

“My Führer,” said Himmler. “It has come to my attention that troops are needed for an emergency situation on the front. Troops from my 3rd SS Korps can be made available, and I have come to offer their services.”

Manstein turned, a puzzled look on his face. “3rd SS Korps? I have heard nothing of this.”

“That is because the headquarters itself has only recently been established under command of Gruppenführer Jurgen Wagner—a good man. He had a battalion in the Leibstandarte before moving on to command regiments in both Das Reich and the Wiking Division, and he comes highly recommended by Steiner himself.”

“I see,” said Manstein. “What, pray tell, does he command, Herr Himmler?”

“I am moving several of the SS formations assembling for the Leningrad operation into KG Wagner to form a fire brigade unit for this situation. At the moment, this will be the Nordland Panzer Division, and one more motorized infantry brigade, the Wallonian.”

“Nordland Panzer Division?” Manstein was still nonplussed.

“It consists of two Panzergrenadier regiments, only with three battalions each, like a proper SS division. To that I have added Panzer Regiment Nord. While I have had to equip it with the F2 Panzer IV model tanks, as soon as more Panthers are available, it will transition to that model.”

“I see…. Most enterprising,” said Manstein. “But these troops have no experience, and I daresay little training for a situation like this.”

“I have corrected that. The men have been training for the last six months, and I have seen that they have adequate equipment. Now what they need is experience, correct, my Führer?” He turned to Hitler to bypass what he perceived as a stack of objections forming in Manstein’s mind. Hitler was the one man he needed to convince here, but the Führer frowned.

“I was very pleased when you came to me with the news of these new divisions,” he began, “but I thought it was clear that these troops were to be assigned to the Leningrad Operation, and remain with Armeegruppe Nord.”

“That operation is still months away,” said Himmler. “Don’t you sharpen a good knife before you use it? You saw what my men did in Spain when they were needed there. If the army had provided a few more divisions, I have no doubt they would still be there, instead of the British. This division is fully formed, and what these men need is real live training, the kind that can only come from actual combat in the field. This is a perfect situation for that, so let us kill two birds here with one stone. Let my men help stop this Russian drive on Kharkov, and they will become fanatical veterans in the process. Then, when the really big operation begins in the Summer, they will be honed sharp as a razor’s edge, and ready for that action. I am told that Dietrich has already stopped this drive towards Kharkov. Now let Wagner deal with the other pincer. It is just the perfect situation for them to prove themselves on the field.”

Hitler raised an eyebrow. “Interesting,” he said, always pleased to find new units he could pencil onto the map. He had been sleepless with worry over this Russian offensive, inwardly railing at his Generals for their perceived incompetence, though he never used that word with Manstein. Yet where Steiner went, the situation soon became stable thereafter. The SS had broken through to Volgograd, linked up with Volkov as planned. They had stopped the Russian Uranus and Saturn offensives, then moved to take Rostov before coming north to intervene at a crucial moment and halt the enemy advance on Kharkov, and they saved Model. The thought that he now had another SS unit on the scene to move about like a good chess piece was very appealing.

“My Führer,” Himmler pressed his argument when he saw Hitler thinking. “With Steiner on one side, and KG Wagner on the other, we will smash the last of this enemy offensive and certainly restore order. I beg you—let me send these men. They are the SS! They will not let you down, nor will they yield any ground you ever order them to hold. Rest assured of that.”

Hitler’s eyes moved about the map table. “Move them here,” he said with an air of finality, tapping the map at Kharkov. “Stop this second enemy pincer, and then push it back where it came from. If you can do that, Herr Himmler, then you will have proved your worth here again. You may give the orders immediately.”

Hitler had just ordered this new, untried division to stop six Soviet Armies! Himmler smiled, saluting again, for he had already ordered his men onto the trains, confident that he could persuade the Führer. Now he was glad he would not have to countermand those orders, and that his Waffen SS would continue to be the last ditch defenders of the Reich, and earn the lavish allocations of equipment that he could demand for his new full scale divisions building in France and Germany. It was all in a day’s work for Himmler, but this was the easy part. Now, he had another problem.

His men had to stop the Russians.

Manstein wanted to again point out that these troops had little experience, and a black SS uniform and six months training would not make them soldiers tough enough for a situation like this. He had a fist full of reports from that front, identifying all the enemy units being poured into that sector. Himmler had no idea what his men would soon be facing, then again, Manstein had nothing he could send there himself, so this was at least a stopgap measure that he could welcome. He had been pulling in Military Police battalions and rear area flak units to try and fill holes in the lines, and desperately needed troops, frustrated to no end over the fact that there were 20 infantry divisions and four mobile divisions in the Caucasus that were now sorely missed on the Don Front. So he said nothing. It was either this, or nothing, and the latter option would mean Kharkov would likely fall within a matter of days. If Himmler’s new Kampfgruppe could at least slow the enemy down, or forestall that, it would at least be something.

So the trains would soon deliver this most unexpected reinforcement, which he could further augment by moving up his last reserve, Korps Raus, with two good infantry divisions. Himmler’s new men in black would get their chance to learn how to fight. Over 70% of them were foreign volunteers, from rebellious former members of the French Foreign Legion, to surly Poles, dissident Czechs, and even some Hungarians. Himmler had looked for the tough and brutish sort, many with criminal backgrounds, all looking for some place to direct their anger and ill-mannered ways. It had taken the six months in training just to forge them into units where discipline from Waffen SS veterans and small groups of experienced German troops seeded in each battalion would build cohesion. One thing was certain about them—they were men that could fight, and now all that was needed was the proper technique.

“These new troops change everything,” Hitler began, finding fresh wind in his sails.

“But it is only one division,” said Manstein, “even if it is well padded.”

“It is an SS division,” Himmler reminded him.

“In name only,” said Manstein. “I propose that this new Kampfgruppe be sent to relieve Dietrich, and then I can use a real SS division to check the central pincer.”

Himmler had no objection. “How the troops are used is an operational matter I will leave up to you.”

“Good,” said Manstein, his eyes looking over the map. Now he had to recompute a new firing solution on the fly, for it was clear that Hitler had seized upon this unexpected reinforcement as a reason to buttress his insistence that Model and Heinrici should hold their ground. That could soon spill over to Paulus, so Manstein had to press his attack here before he could ever hope to do so on the field.

“In light of this new development, this is what I now propose. Do not send KG Wagner to Kharkov, but instead send it here, to Chuguyev. That is where they must cross the Donets if they want Kharkov. Very well, let Model stand his ground. I will use Leibstandarte for the counterattack if it can be freed up, but I will still need to have General Heinrici adjust the lines of his 4th Army to do what I plan. He should consolidate his line in this heavy wooded country around Volchansk. Dietrich cannot stop that second pincer alone, not even with the assistance of the Reichsführer Brigades and this new division from Himmler.”

“Then I will get you more panzers,” said Hitler, prompting the general to raise an eyebrow.”

“More panzers? From where?”

“Armeegruppe A will be a good start. OKW tells me the situation near Bryansk has stabilized. I have allowed them to move in infantry from Armeegruppe Nord as a temporary holding measure. So I will detach the 48th Panzer Korps and send it along with this new SS division from Himmler.”

“Knobelsdorff? That is a very good start,” said Manstein.

“He has several divisions,” said Hitler, “but OKW insists that only two can be sent. Do you have a recommendation?”

“11th Panzer.” Manstein did not hesitate one moment. These were resources from Armeegruppe Mitte that he had not expected to be available. “Balck would be just the man I need here, and any of the other divisions will do well enough. Send the 9th under Scheller. Those two fought well together in the Don region last winter.”

“Very well,” said Hitler. “I will see that the orders are given immediately, and I have already done one more thing. The 6th Panzer Division has been in Germany for the last two months refitting, but it is now ready for operations. I was going to add it to Armeegruppe Nord, but it would seem the need is greater here at the moment. It is very strong, with all the new Lions and Panthers, and I gave it orders to move here before I left OKW.”

Hitler had come with things in his pockets. His position as Commander of the entire Army meant that he could place these new chips on the table any time he chose, and he would use them to spin the wheel and get his way in the arguments he had been having with Manstein. Model and Heinrici could then be ordered to stand fast, as he wished.

Chapter 24

Manstein was elated—Knobelsdorff, and with two good Panzer Divisions, and now a fresh unit from Germany! Now he had his sword back for the left flank. Counting 1st SS and Himmler’s new division, that would make five mobile divisions at his command there—six with the 22dn Panzer—and Steiner would bring three more after the Lower Don operation. It was nothing like the real history of this battle, where the Germans could barely scrape up the troops to hold the line and the Russians nearly went all the way to the Dnieper before Manstein’s counterattack.

The discussion would go on another two hours that morning, mostly fiddling over timetables, the lines Manstein wanted to assume with Henrici’s troops, and Hitler’s meddling right down to the Division and sometimes even the battalion level. The Führer’s surprise gift would end the arguments over Model’s situation, and there would now be no more talk of any major withdrawals by the 2nd Army. Heinrici would be permitted to adjust his lines as Manstein wanted to allow him to screen Belgorod and help defend Volchansk. The Reichsführer Brigades would be used in conjunction with Leibstandarte as a defensive foil until Knobelsdorff could arrive.

Hitler eventually relented, allowing Manstein freedom to move Paulus and his 6th Army to facilitate his planned counteroffensive with Steiner. It was a compromise that promised to save the front in the south while actually losing all the territory it had been screening and defending, but it promised to stabilize that sector quickly, and with that, to free up the divisions needed to save Kharkov. This was uppermost on Hitler’s mind. Manstein had only won half the battle in this long conference. Time was flying, and now he had to get back to his headquarters at Rostov and win the real battle on the field.

His prospects were darkening by the hour. When the last remnants of the trapped 17th Korps finally retreated towards Millerovo, there was nothing but artillery. It’s rear area posting had enabled it to escape the trap that savaged the rest of the Korps. By the time he reached his headquarters again, he had Grossdeutschland and Totenkopf finally assembled at Millerovo, and Das Reich was about 25 kilometers northeast of Star O’blesk. He had hoped to have all three of those divisions together at Millerovo, but the lack of train transport had forced 2nd SS to move by road, and with that time lost, the Soviets got between the two German groups. So now instead of the scythe like attack he had planned to launch, the best he could do was a pincer operation against the enemy spearhead formations, the mobile corps of Katukov’s 1st Tank Army.

Furthermore, 51st Korps had been slow to withdraw, and though it reached Bolshinka, it was in no shape to turn about and attack north as planned. As an expedient measure, he called General Hollidt at Novorossiysk, and canceled any planned attack along the coast towards Sukhumi. He needed infantry, and Hollidt had four good divisions available, so he ordered him to send three divisions north through Rostov to Voroshilovgrad. His Chief of Staff was told not to send the position update to OKW for 48 hours. Manstein was taking no chance on Hitler intervening again and meddling with his plans. The question now was whether to attack, or wait? How strong was the enemy? Could the three strong mobile divisions he had do the job?

That afternoon he finally gave the order, telephoning General Hausser of the 2nd SS at Star O’blesk and telling him to move. “Meet me at G7,” he finished, “if you can get there.” That was the grid map designation for the village of Kantimirovka, about 85 kilometers northeast of Star O’blesk. Then he got on the radio to Papa Hörnlein and said simply: “Stage One. Move now.”

Operation Unterhöhlen (Undercut) had begun, but it was just a sideshow, intended by Zhukov to do exactly what it had accomplished. It had forced Manstein to move three of his best divisions to the scene, and well away from the main attack he had pushed across the Oskol River. The Germans would find the Russians beginning to fall back even as they mustered for the attack, a game of cat and mouse played by Zhukov on the Don Front.

He had smashed a small segment of the line, creating the appearance of a dangerous threat to Rostov that Manstein simply had to answer. His divisions had halted their advance and started to withdraw, sending out delaying groups to draw in the German attack. In fact, he wanted to make it seem like his troops were taken by surprise and on the run, but he had planned this operation to punch and fade long ago. Mikhail Katukov had become a master of hit and run tactics at Mtsensk against Guderian’s drive for Tula. Now he seemed to simply vanish, taking his 1st Tank Army with him, because Zhukov had no intention of pushing for Rostov, at least not with this offensive. He had bigger fish to fry.

He wanted Kharkov…. And all that lay beyond.

No matter how strong, an offensive dissipates with each successive hour it rolls forward. Even the greatest waves break upon the shoreline and race inland, to eventually slow and fade into the sand. In military parlance, this was known as the Law of Overstretch. As the offensive forces move forward, they create new flanks which must be screened and guarded while the spearheads proceed. This slowly pulled offensive units into defensive roles, weakening the strength of the attack. Units also become scattered and spaced out, some racing ahead, others slower and more cumbersome in the advance.

Manstein knew this well enough, and so his principle strategy on defense was to simply assemble his counterattack force somewhere on the flank of the enemy advance, and then let them push forward into thin air, showing him what they really wanted, and where their terminal objective was. The terrain involved meant nothing, except in key areas like Rostov, or other major communications centers the Army relied upon for its supplies. Otherwise, the whole of the Donbass meant nothing, nor did he see any value in the Donets Basin, aside from the vital rail lines that passed through that sector to cross the Donets and feed his troops.

Where Hitler was obsessed with holding hard won ground, Manstein would hand it back to the enemy without a moment’s hesitation, and then lay a carefully planned ambush to tear into his scattered flank and roll up the offensive in a sweeping counterattack. In doing so, he would eventually get back all the terrain he had yielded, restoring the front as he had already done several times. This “Elastic Defense” was something simply beyond the grasp of Hitler’s mind, which was why Heinrici would see his army slowly exposed to the danger of being pocketed.

Yet Hitler’s intransigence concerning Model and the holding of Prokhorovka had a good deal to do with the dissipation of 5th Shock Group in the northern pincer. 5th Shock Army had to leave its 87th, 300th and 315th Rifle divisions behind. Zhadov also detached his 39th Guards Division, and these forces had invested Prokhorovka, where Oppenländer’s 305th Division sat in a walnut shaped pocket, completely cut off. Then, on the western shoulder of the northern pincer, the remainder of Zhadov’s 5th Guards army had been deployed to hold that flank. This removed eight divisions that had been in the breakthrough attack, leaving only four rifle divisions and the mobile forces of 5th Tank Army to continue the drive south.

Those troops were 12 kilometers north of Belgorod when they ran into Model’s hastily deployed defensive screen near the village of Ternovka. Model now had the whole of Friesner’s 102nd Division, and he had scraped together every Sturm and Panzerjager battalion he could find from Korps and Army level units. The three Soviet Tank Corps built up like water behind a thin dam, taking some time to reorganize after the drive south and start their attack. Just as it seemed that that levee would be breached, Model got news that his 22nd Panzer Division was finally arriving by rail at Belgorod.

“So, one of my lost sheep returns to the fold,” he said. “A most timely arrival. Now I have the strength to hold here, and save both Belgorod and Tomarovka.” Both were supply depot cities for the Germans, and the rail line from Belgorod also ran northwest to support the rest of 2nd Army. He did not want that rail line cut, for then he would have to rely on the rails through Lebedin and Sumy to feed the western portion of his position.

By contrast, the withdrawal of Heinrici’s 4th Army towards the Donets and Volchansk had allowed the string of Soviet Field Armies that had been opposing him to also advance. The Soviets were cracking the whip, slowly jogging west to try and create some snap near the spearheads of the northern pincer. As their line rippled west, it eventually freed up elements of the 5th Shock Army that had been watching that flank of the advance, allowing them to move west to the fight developing north of Belgorod.

Meanwhile, the attack over the Oskol River had completely overrun the Luftwaffe Korps and Osttruppen units, and it was surging southwest like a great tide, unopposed. The long columns of men and machines darkened the steppe and farmland east of the Donets. The whole region between that river and the Oskol was empty space, and the Soviet attack was flowing into it like a great waterfall of iron. The only obstacle between Zhukov’s troops and the city of Kharkov was the swollen course of the Donets, and to that barrier the Germans were rushing every available unit they could find.

KG Wagner and his new Nordland Panzer Division had disembarked from the trains west of Kharkov, and on the morning of April 12 they were marching proudly through the sullen grey streets of the city. Hermann Balck’s vaunted 11th Panzer Division was scheduled to arrive there the following morning. To the north, the Stone Man, Sepp Dietrich, had his 1st SS Division dug in east of the river, carving out a sizeable bridgehead between Volchansk and Stary Saltov. Heinrici’s 4th Army continued its withdrawal, and was now arriving at the heavily wooded zone east of Belgorod. Model’s line in the north was still on its old front, but it fish-hooked at Oboyan, bending almost due south. He made several requests to Manstein for permission to pull out of that city, which would allow him to close a big gap in the front northwest of Belgorod. If the enemy had another army, they might have swept right into 2nd Army’s communications and supply zone, but the Russians had only one more Army in reserve, and it was not in that sector.

The quiet that evening belied the storm that was coming, but with the arrival of all these new Panzer Divisions, the Germans were more than ready for a fight. The question was whether to launch an immediate counterattack, or to wait and assume defensive positions.

Sepp Dietrich had moved his 1st SS Division into the woodland south of Volchansk along the river. It was an old town, dating back to 1684 when it became the stronghold of Cossack leader Vovchi Vody, and in modern times it was called Vovchanck, partly for after its founder, and also for the river Vovcha that ran through its domain.

48th Panzer Korps Commander Otto Knobelsdorff arrived there to confer with Dietrich, the rain heavy that night on the roof of the hotel chosen for the HQ.

“So, we finally have some clout,” said Dietrich as he shook Knobelsdorff’s hand.

“What’s the situation?” asked Knobelsdorff.

“Manstein sent me Rodt’s 22nd Panzer, and it arrived this morning. I asked them to get up north and screen Belgorod. I assume you’re coming with some steel in hand.”

“Balck will be at Kharkov in the morning.”

Hermann Balck and his 11th Panzer Division was fast earning a reputation as a fire Brigade for any crisis on the front. His division moved through Bogodukhov on the trains that night, intending to stop at Kharkov and use the bigger rail yards there to unload the heavy equipment and tanks.

“Balck is a life saver,” said Dietrich. Now that his division is on hand, we have a real Panzer Korps here. Manstein has placed my division under your general control.” Dietrich smiled, preferring a slight bow of his head.

“What’s this talk about another SS Division coming in?” asked Knobelsdorff.

“Himmler’s little legion,” said Dietrich. “He’s thrown together a makeshift Panzer division he calls Nordland. It has a lot of volunteers from the Low Countries and Belgium, and to that he added the Wallonian Regiment. He got his hands on some IV-F2’s, and so now he’s calling it a panzer division. Good for him. I’m not sure when they arrive, but I expect we’ll hear about it. Himmler flew all the way to Army Group South and horned in on the Führer’s meeting with Manstein to get permission to send us his latest creation. I’m told some of the men from the Wiking Division went over to seed the regiments. If they can fight half as good as Gille’s Division, all the better for us here.”

“And the Russians?”

“Oh, they’ll be here soon too. They pocketed the 305th at Prokhorovka and drove for Belgorod, but Model had stopped them. They may be no more than 25 kilometers north of our lines now, but it’s the attack coming from the east that we need to worry about.”

“How strong are they up north?”

“Model tells me it’s a Shock Army backed by several tank corps. Siebert folded his lines back, opening the gate for the bull. Now we just have to find a way to skewer the damn thing.”

Knobelsdorff was quiet for a moment, nodding his head as he took off his gloves. He had spent the last months of that severe winter beating off a strong Soviet offensive aimed at Bryansk. Now he had another one on his hands.

“And this attack from the east?”

“They blew through the Oskol River line between Novyy Oskol and Valuki—four or five armies. They’ll be here in a day or two.”

“Five armies?”

“At least that many, and first line troops. There are two shock armies, Guards thick as fleas on a mule, and at least four or five mobile formations have been spotted.”

“Good lord… It seems I’m out of the frying pan and into the fire here. I’d better get word to Balck to work quickly. We’ll also get 9th Panzer, but it may be another day getting here from Bryansk. If they hit us with five armies, they mean business.”

“Manstein thinks they want Kharkov.”

“Apparently….”

“Anything more I should know?”

“Only that the Führer wants Kharkov too, so we’re here to restore order and make sure he keeps it.”

“Very well,” said Knobelsdorff. “Are your men in good positions?”

“Of course.”

“Then we’ll wait and see what they throw at us. But be ready to move to a fast operational counterattack on my order. Will we have any infantry freed up?”

“The Luftwaffe Korps that was hit on the Oskol River line has all but evaporated, and most of the Osttruppen as well. Raus is at Poltava with two divisions, and he’s been told to get his men ready to move by rail, but I’ve heard nothing further about that.”

“Then no infantry.” Knobelsdorff cocked his head to one side. “I suppose we should get used to that. What about Model?”

“The Führer has ordered him to hold his front. Heinrici is refusing his right and moving troops back to screen Belgorod. Manstein is trying to get permission to withdraw the entire 4th Army, but who knows how long that will take. At the moment, the only other units in theater are the two Reichsführer Brigades at Volchansk. They’ll be watching our back, but Manstein has it in his mind to send my division east after we stop this pincer. With Balck coming to Kharkov, it would be nice if he came along too. That attack over the Oskol river is their main push.”

“Then we’d better get busy.” Knobelsdorff pulled off his gloves, tugging slowly at them, finger by finger. “With my two panzer Divisions, and the two SS units, it seems I’m more than a Korps now.”

“Herr General,” said Dietrich, “You’re a full Panzer Armee!”

“It not going to be mine,” said Knobelsdorff. “It belongs to Hoth—4th Panzer Armee. The only question is what will we do with it once we have it assembled?”

“Do you want me to send out a reconnaissance in force?”

“No I think we’ll wait tonight. Balck will be all morning getting off the train at Kharkov. Let them come. Things get strung out in an advance like this, and well scattered. When they get here, they’ll find we’re well concentrated and ready for action.”

“You plan to attack?”

“That remains to be seen. We’ve got the river, and that will serve for the lack of infantry here for a time. I’ll put my word in on Manstein’s behalf and make the same request to OKW that Heinrici should withdraw. Until we know more, we’ll just lie on the ropes, but be prepared to counterpunch.”

“This city is a sore thumb,” said Dietrich. “Yes, it’s a good place to defend, but a pity it’s east of the Donets. Heinrici is pulling back fast, whether he has permission or not, and he promises me the 168th Infantry will watch the north flank. Another division will probably reach the Donets and cross late tomorrow. The thing is this—there isn’t a bridge behind us here. I had to throw up pontoons to get supply in, and it wasn’t easy. The river is receding, but this is the confluence of several tributaries, and it is still very wide in places. Frankly, I’d just as soon give them the city and retire behind the river, but I thought we might need a bridgehead. I’ve used all the bridging equipment I have, and I could use more pontoons if Model has them.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Knobelsdorff was taking all of this in, his mind working as he considered the situation. “Sepp,” he said quietly, never moving his eyes from the map. “This is going to get worse before it gets better. Make sure you build good bridges.”