Nexus Deep

Chapter 22

By the early morning of June 3, the front had stabilized. The Germans had given up a good deal of ground, all in the effort to shorten their lines, and the arrival of six new Infantry Divisions had filled in the line where the 10th Korps had been smashed in the north. It’s 167th and 168th Divisions now had to combine their remaining troops into one formation, and even that was weaker than a single line infantry division should have been. Knobelsdorff had been informed that 3rd Panzergrenadier Division was being sent to him, and now he might do even more to stop Katukov from regaining any momentum.

Balck had stopped the powerful 5th Mech Corps, skillfully using both 11th and 6th Panzer Divisions in the two-day battle. In the center, there were places where the advancing Soviet troops in 5th and 8th Guards Armies had simply lost contact with the retreating German infantry of 4th Army. North of Kharkov, there was heavily wooded terrain, and Kempf was wise enough to fall back on that natural defensive advantage to strengthen his lines.

Closer to the city, Das Reich was still under heavy pressure from 3rd Guards Army, and so Manstein lined up 32 heavy Lions in the 502 Schwerepanzer Battalion as a defensive screen, and pulled 2nd SS off the line. 3rd SS had already concentrated in the city, ready to move at first light. Grossdeutschland Division and Leibstandarte were still on the line south of the city, buying time for Korps Raus to get into good defensive positions. Just before sunrise, the SS would begin pulling out under the cover of heavy grey skies.

With a wave of his cape, the wily master strategist of the Wehrmacht had pulled off his sleight of hand, and deftly extricated Steiner’s divisions all along the front. The cost had been three kilometers, as Raus had to form his line up right at the edge of the city behind the SS. The Russians would gain this extra thin slice of the apple, advancing towards the shadowy grey city that morning, and wondering whether the Germans had given it up. They would be quite mistaken. Korps Raus, which had once been holding a frontage over twenty kilometers with its two divisions, was now nicely concentrated on an eight-kilometer line that ran all along the southeast edge of the city. Furthermore, it was reinforced with the addition of the 7th Infantry Division.

The only SS units that would be left behind were Wagner’s Nordland Division, because of its preponderance of useful infantry, and the two Reichsführer brigades. Both Ferdinand battalions would remain for AT support, but Manstein ordered the faster moving Panthers of the 51st and 52nd Battalions to move out with Grossdeutschland.

That morning, he took the main road west, which passed just north of Yubotin, and then swung around a large woodland, following the rail line to Poltava. After a time, it diverged southwest towards Valki, eventually reaching Poltava by running south of the Komag River, while the rail line ran north of that watercourse.

German defensive tactics against Russian breakthroughs of this scale usually mandated an attack on the flank of the enemy advance. This was what Manstein had tried to do when he launched Steiner from Kharkov, and 57th Panzer Korps towards Andreyevka, but in both cases, the attacks encountered enemy strength too thick to penetrate. In effect, the shoulders of the breakthrough were too secure, and were, in fact, zones where the enemy was still concentrating the bulk of his offensive forces. The Russians were not pushing aggressively in the center of the breakthrough, where the roads to Poltava beckoned them to advance. Instead they were fixated on Kharkov, attacking it from the northern shoulder with 1st Guard Tank Army, and then busy reinforcing their crossing at Andreyevka with the two Siberian Motor Rifle Corps.

“If they really had the strength to do so,” said Speidel, “then they would have advanced towards Poltava.”

“Not while Steiner was at Kharkov,” said Manstein. “Kuznetsov could not push on with a force that strong on his right shoulder. This is why he tried to envelop the city from the south, but he could not even do that while Steiner was heavily concentrated. The risk of a counterattack, just as we tried on the 1st, was simply too great. So he had no choice but to turn for the city early, and see if he could win the battle against Steiner.”

“Well, we stopped him,” said Speidel. “A pity Kirchner could not make any progress against the southern shoulder.”

“The arrival of their 27th Army doomed that attack,” said Manstein.

“Yes,” said Speidel. “What is strange here is that they sent their Guards infantry divisions out into the center of the breakthrough. They are strong, but slow moving, and that is not the kind of force I would have expected to see there.”

“I think it was happenstance,” said Manstein. “When the Wiking Division appeared there, it challenged the advance they were making with their 10th Mech Corps. I think they got a bit edgy. The Wiking Division came up very quickly by rail from the Dnieper, and they were not certain what else we had in the cupboard. Their Guardsmen were clearing the Luftwaffe out of the Zimyev area, and they were the closest reserve to call in when the Wiking Division made their spoiling attack. So yes, now that Guards infantry force is holding the center of their breakthrough, and Kuznetsov has not moved all his mobile forces there.”

“What do we do now?” Speidel’s eyes played over the map.

“We could do nothing in the clinch near Kharkov,” said Manstein, but now, with Raus in position to hold the city, we can maneuver again. Even though it violates doctrine, I’m going to swing Steiner southwest and then hit the center of their breakthrough. We must not turn too early, because they have interior lines, and fast moving Mech units that could react. Then we would just have the battle we were fighting near the city back again. As we move southwest, the Guards infantry will not be fast enough to interfere, so we can choose any point of attack we might wish.”

“What if he realizes his dilemma and pulls 1st Guard Tank out to come after us.”

“That is what he should do, but it would mean he must end his attack on Kharkov from the south.”

“He could withdraw his guardsmen for that,” said Speidel.

“True, but that would take them two days, and it’s rather tricky to pull off, especially when facing an aggressive attack by the enemy. In any case, if Kuznetsov attempts that, he is dancing to our tune. Don’t you see? This move by Steiner gives us back the initiative. I will stop his attack on the southern segment of the city, not by fighting to the last man with Steiner, as Efendi might order, but by maneuver, and the indirect approach. This is what we are best at, and how we must fight now.”

“If we move southwest, where will we turn?”

“I think we will move through Valki, and them perhaps we can make a push for Novaya Vologda. After that, the ground is better, and note how all the watercourses move southeast, so they will not be obstacles. That will be the direction of our counterattack—to this place, Taranovka. If we get that far, we will have popped their balloon. From there we can threaten Zimyev from the southwest, or simply turn south and smash these forces facing off against the Wiking Division. This maneuver rides roughshod right through the heart of their breakthrough, and challenges Kuznetsov to break off his attack and come down to try and stop us.”

“What if he does something unexpected? He could attack through Yubotin after we have moved southwest, and continue his envelopment operation.”

“Let him try. This is why I think we must leave Das Reich behind in the city. It needs rest, and it could stand as a good mobile reserve. I’ll take Grossdeutschland, Leibstandarte and Totenkopf for this operation. Then we will see if they can dance.”

General Kuznetsov could see that something was amiss. The dark uniforms and distinctive insignia of the 1st SS Division he had been battling for days was now replaced with a fresh infantry division, the 7th. They have also pulled many other SS formations off the line and replaced them with infantry they brought down from the north. Wounded or not, this is still a dangerous bear, he thought.

“Some reconnaissance reports,” said a staff officer. “Artillery, a few tanks, and some recon elements a few kilometers north of Yubotin.”

“Any units identified?”

“No sir, the cloud cover is very thick this morning and this was all the air recon reported.”

“It could be a reinforcement, but I doubt that,” said Kuznetsov. The only rail movement spotted was the arrival of this infantry division. I think they need to rest their SS units in the city.”

“Yes sir, we do know that their 2nd SS is there. That unit was seen clear enough in these photographs. It could not be any other formation.” The officer pointed out the position, showing columns of AFVs moving towards the city from the northeast, and Kuznetsov nodded. He was a heavy-set man, thick cheeked, with short cropped grey hair, receding.

“General Burkov with 10th Tank Corps has come north,” said the officer, “but there is still nothing in front of him. He reached Fedorovka last night, and wants to know if he should push on to Valki and cut the road.”

Kuznetsov looked at the map. “He could not do so with any strength. Look—his Corps is spread out on too wide a front. Besides, they are not using that road. All their supplies and reinforcements are coming in by rail, which is something the air force should get after. No, just tell Burkov to watch these three roads as he is now.”

“Very good, sir.”

“What is 7th Tank Corps doing?” asked Kuznetzov.

“Still cleaning up the flank on the left. Their infantry line goes as far as these woods south of Yubotin.”

“They have been trying to keep this rail line open,” said Kuznetsov. “Otherwise anything coming from Poltava must take this junction west of Yubotin, and go all the way around through Dergachi. Let 7th Corps continue to clean up that flank, and then we will see about pushing on to Yubotin. As for today, we keep hammering their line at the edge of the city. Has the artillery been resupplied?”

“Two truck columns arrived last night under cover of darkness. More will be expected tomorrow.”

“Good. Tell them to use it. Let Steiner hear our guns again, even if he is resting in the city.”

“Will we take it sir? These infantry divisions make for a strong reinforcement.”

“They do, but don’t forget Katukov in the north. Is he advancing again?”

“Not yet, sir. He’s still engaged with their 11th Panzer Division.”

Kuznetsov inclined his head, thinking. He knew that division. It always seemed to turn up at any point of real crisis. Well, he thought, let Katukov worry about it.

Steiner was long gone, but General Kuznetsov did not know that. The thick cloud cover had hindered Soviet aerial recon missions, and the few units they had spotted were dismissed as minor rear area detachments. So taking every advantage of the heavy grey skies, Manstein ordered Steiner to move on the very road, through Valki, that Kuznetsov had dismissed as irrelevant. 3rd SS was through that afternoon. Grossdeutschland Division was moving on a parallel track, overland just a few kilometers to the north. They found the mud had dried up, and the ground was nice and firm for fast cross-country movement.

General Burkov was very lucky he got those orders to stay put, for if he had pushed out to Valki, he would have discovered what was happening, but much like a bear sticking its paw into a hornet’s nest. Manstein had requested heavy air cover from the Luftwaffe, and their aim was to keep prying eyes from seeing the movement. The column was now 20 kilometers long, three full divisions moving in daylight.

That afternoon, only a very few low-level recon missions got through, spotting recon vehicles, a company of motorcycle infantry, a regimental sized unit of mechanized grenadiers, and some bridging units. They were all on the main road to Valki, and late in the day, Burkov gave an order to fire off a salvo from his 10th Rocket Regiment, just for harassment. His widely scattered 10th Tank Corps was sitting no more than seven or eight kilometers from that road, but the lay of the land, with thick intervening woodland, masked the German movement. The distant sound of the Army artillery firing against the southern edge of Kharkov also muffled the movement of the long German column.

Kuznetsov continued to hammer at the city defenses, knowing that the strong 3rd Guards was making slow but steady progress to the north. When troops from the 2nd SS Division had to be sent in to shore up the line again, it only confirmed his assumption that Steiner was still there, his SS waiting unseen behind the infantry front to deliver these well-timed counterpunches. He had what he wanted, a battle of attrition, and was counting on Katukov solving his problem in the north and continuing his advance.

But he was wrong….

3rd Panzergrenadier Division had just arrived to bring Knobelsdorff up to proper strength. With that division, and the infantry Model had sent, the Germans had sewn together their shattered front, and had continuous lines again, all the way back to Kharkov.

Hitler came to the map room at OKW for a situation report late in the day, still weary from his travel. Zeitzler had good news for him.

“My Führer,” he said. “This is the latest situation report, and as you can see, the redisposition of forces ordered by General Manstein has closed the front up and eliminated the gap in the north.”

“What about this!” Hitler could not help but see the massive gap in the center. “What is to stop them from going all the way to Poltava?”

“Steiner,” said Zeitzler.

“What? Steiner is defending Kharkov. What are you saying?”

“No longer,” said Zeitzler. “Korps Raus has taken over the outer defense, and that line is holding. Steiner began pulling out last night. His divisions should be about here, passing through Valki.”

“Steiner has been sent to defend that frontage? What if they get through the infantry. Kharkov would be lost, and that must not happen!”

“Das Reich remains in the city on reserve. They will not get through, and Steiner has not gone to take up defensive positions. He is attacking.” Zeitzler looked at his watch. “It will be dark there soon, and Steiner will make good use of that. We believe his movement has largely gone undetected thus far. Manstein now has three strong divisions, and we believe he is bringing the Korps here, to attack the enemy breakthrough south of Novaya Vologda into this gap. My Führer, Operation Donnerschlag should begin at tonight.”

“Operation Donnerschlag?” It was obvious that Hitler liked the sound of that—Thunderclap —and it would come with thunderclap surprise to Vasily Kuznetsov, a major counterattack, prepared and assembled without detection, and aimed at his widely expanded breakthrough zone, but 50 kilometers south of all his principle mobile assets.

The miracle worker had performed one more strategic trick, and now it remained for his troops to do the job they had before them. If one had to give such a mission to any three divisions in the army, Grossdeutschland, Leibstandarte, and Totenkopf would be excellent choices, and they would be driving into the operational zone of one more fabled division, the 5th SS Wiking.

Chapter 23

Kuznetsov was awakened at 04:00 with the news. The recon battalion and assault gun regiment of 10th Tank Corps had been hit near midnight by German Panzer troops.

“Panzers? What division? Has anything been identified?”

“Yes sir,” the staff officer looked confused. “It says they were SS troops from the 1st Division, and others from their Guards Division. How did they get there? We thought they were still in the city.”

“Apparently not,” said the General, leaning heavily as he got up off the bed in the burnt-out hotel at Zimyev. He had set up his headquarters there to avoid German Stukas, finding a few rooms on the lower floors still intact. Minutes later he was heading for the radio, needing to know more. He soon learned that Burkov had reacted to the incident by pulling his tank corps together and moving through the village of Fedorovka, where he ran into SS troops from the 1st Division, confirming the reports.

There were still too many unanswered questions in his mind. Troops from two German mobile divisions had been identified, but soon he had a report from the 60th Guards Rifle Division. It had been posted on the extreme left of his infantry in the breakthrough zone, and it had moved one regiment to the sound of the fighting that night. The only thing they found were a few companies of German recon units, with some engineers. Tanks had been reported moving further northwest, but no one had encountered them.

What was going on here? Was this what it seemed to be, a movement of two German mobile divisions to his flank? Was it merely a feint, a spoiling attack? Then he got news that small detachments of German troops had been harassing the lines of his infantry much further south, and that the German Wiking Division had suddenly pulled out if its defensive positions and moved into a night action against 4th Guard Army further south. The 3rd Guard Tank Corps reported heavy casualties, and they had pulled back two kilometers to regroup. He would be making a good many calls that morning.

A tickle here, a punch there, he thought. The Germans have finally realized we have been slowly expanding that bridgehead, and now they are trying to do something about it. But how strong will this counterattack be if one comes. I will likely not learn enough about the situation until morning. In the meantime, it may be wise to create a mobile reserve, but with what? Everything at hand is on the line. If I pull anything off, it would have to come from my left, otherwise I will weaken my attack on the city.

Seleikov’s 7th Tank Corps is there, and it is just screening that sector. I could detach it and send it south to join Burkov…. That will be the order.

It was a logical first response to a situation that was not yet understood, but it would not be enough. Two hours later Kuznetsov learned that Burkov’s probing maneuver through Fedorovka had run into fire and brimstone, and the leading half of his corps was suddenly attacked by the entire 1st SS Division. At the same time, the 60th Guards, a few kilometers to the south, were swarmed over by the fast moving Grossdeutschland Division. Still farther south, 44th Guards was being hit by 3rd SS.

Three divisions, he thought with great alarm, and the sudden realization of what his crafty enemy had done. They must have pulled out completely, and marched all day and night to reach those positions. Now they are smashing into the outer frontier of our breakthrough along a 20-kilometer front. All this other action in the south is meant only to tie up those forces and prevent them from reacting to this counterattack. 10th Tank Corps is unsupported. I must get a mobile force together at once, and the 7th Tank Corps will not do the job by itself. All my good infantry is spread out on a wide front. We must fall back and concentrate!

Reports that the Germans had launched a spoiling attack against his near left flank were more frustrating than serious. The German 36th Infantry division, which had been on defense for days, suddenly advanced against that flank, and some fast-moving Luftwaffe flak units actually made it as far as the main road and rail line leading southwest to Alexandrovka and on to Novaya Vodolaga. This meant that the assault on Kharkov could not be continued that morning, as it was now necessary to secure that flank. 2nd Mech would have to go defensive, and allow 1st Mech to intervene, with 1st Guards Tank providing the necessary muscle.

The General would get no breakfast that morning, nor would a good many men of the 1st Guards Army. Before the sun would rise, the 60th Guards Rifle division would sustain 70% casualties, and virtually cease to exist.

So it has begun, thought Manstein, a cold lump of fear in his chest in spite of his outer air of confidence. The movement was superb, the timing perfect, and we have achieved complete surprise. Yet they are only three divisions, which is why Kirchner must jog left and the Wiking Division must punch hard as well. Their Guards infantry will fight, and I have no doubt that they will fall back to consolidate and strengthen their lines. They will be the first hard shield to crack, but our lances are still sharp.

Steiner relayed reports in a flurry back to Manstein at his HQ in Kharkov. Totenkopf had smashed the 60th Guards, but was still fighting through remnants and small pockets of resistance. Grossdeutschland had engaged 44th Guards, driven it back and surrounded a brigade, but enemy tanks had appeared and they were trying to break through to rescue the trapped Guardsmen. Now third in the column as the attack swung south, Leibstandarte also reported the enemy was counterattacking with massed armored brigades.

The 7th and 10th Tank Corps had finally moved down through Novaya Vodolaga and charged to the attack. Kuznetsov had pulled his shield in tight, and now he struck out with a sword. Manstein did not want his attack to broaden out too much and loose concentration, and he radioed Steiner to maneuver, reform, and hit along a narrower front further south. He wanted to get the SS Korps closer to Kirchner’s 57th, where the two mobile groups could support one another and become one massive counterpunch. The breakthrough was too large to attempt a pincer operation. He had to hit, move, hit again, and slowly beat the Soviet incursion back.

Near dusk stragglers from a lost battalion of the 60th Guards reached the area where 10th Tank Corps was operating, with tales of woe. This prompted Burkov to post two battalions of motor rifle infantry on that flank, and he sent out patrols to make certain he would not be ambushed from that direction in the coming darkness.

After sunset, the Germans seemed to vanish. They were only found on the main road to Krasnograd, where a sharp engagement was underway with the 1st SS, but that was only a rearguard. Steiner had pulled everything out and was rolling south under cover of darkness. In the morning, he wanted to appear somewhere else and regain the momentum afforded by surprise. With a wolf like that prowling in the dark, Manstein knew the Russians would not make any aggressive moves, or ever contemplate a movement towards Poltava. They would hunker down, consolidate, and seek information on the enemy movements.

Kuznetsov was taking no chances with this situation. He had pulled his best unit, the 1st Guards Tank, out of the attack on Kharkov, and that night it would move south to Novaya Vodolaga. This would give him his entire 1st Guard Tank Army to operate against the flank of any German offensive. Given the axis of attack the previous day, he was expecting the Germans to continue to drive east towards Taranovka, and the engagement on the Krasnograd road reinforced this belief.

Elsewhere, a stony silence had settled over the front. After five days of fighting, Rumyantsev had been brought to a halt. The only real progress that had been made in the last two days was a minor bridgehead near the twisting course of the Donets northwest of Izyum. The 2nd Shock Army had crossed at Zaliman, and slowly carved out a nest in the bend of the river, pressing against the left flank of Hollidt’s 50th Infantry Division. The Siberians could only move in one direction, west, for the river made a big U-turn, doubling back on itself and the way south was now blocked by that water barrier and thick, heavily wooded hills. Otherwise, a calm settled over the front. Even Katukov had been forced to accept a stalemate in his duel with Knobelsdorff’s four mobile divisions in the north.

The action was in the center, and both Manstein and Kuznetsov knew that the outcome of the battle rested there. That bridgehead was the major strategic advantage obtained by the Russians. The advance on Kharkov had been the magnet to pull in German forces, but the lodgment south of the Donets could deliver far more than that single city. It had opened the way to the Dnieper. Now Manstein was battling to destroy it, and Kuznetsov realized he must do everything possible to prevent that from happening.

To that end, he called General Leylushenko of the 3rd Guards Army, the sledgehammer that was operating north of Kharkov. That army had been reinforced with the addition of Mostrovenko’s 3rd Tank Corps, and Obukhov’s 3rd Guard Mech. He wanted them both, and was willing to accept a draw in the battle for the city until the issue was settled in the breakthrough zone.

The engagement on the road was only Steiner’s rearguard, meant to do exactly what it had accomplished and draw in the Soviet mobile units to that sector. All that night, Totenkopf and Grossdeutschland moved south, reaching the Brerstovaya River flowing southwest to Krasnograd, and then turning northeast at midnight. That watercourse ran parallel to a secondary road that led through a series of small towns, Melekhova, Okhochaye, and finally Manstein’s objective, Taranovka. In doing so they had joined up with the Wiking Division, and by 03:00 they would be close enough to support the attack of Kirchner’s 57th Panzer Korps, which was pushing due north toward that same target.

Manstein was lining up his chariots.

Zhukov flew to the front to meet with both Rokossovsky and Vatutin and assess the situation. He praised them for the progress made, and then got down to business.

“The momentum has stalled,” he said frankly. “How can we regain it?”

“They gave ground and reformed their line,” said Rokossovsky. In fact, they deliberately allowed us to get close to the city, and now they are dug in deep. This is what allowed them to pull out most of the SS, and now they are operating against our bridgehead.”

“The city is a figurehead,” said Zhukov. “Taking it will make the headlines, but the real business at hand is protecting this bridgehead and getting to the Dnieper. I do not want to be rolled up and pushed back over the Donets. Have we been hurt there?”

“One of our bears took a bite on the front paw,” said Rokossovsky. “1st Guards Army lost a good rifle division, but they have tightened their lines, and 4th Guards Army is secure.”

“And the base of the left shoulder?” Zhukov looked at Vatutin now, and the heavy-set General nodded.

“Trefimenko’s 27th Army crossed at Andreyevka and reinforced the Siberian Motor Rifle Corps. The Siberian units can hold a lot of frontage, but they are not as strong as a field army. The German 57th Tank Corps has been very aggressive there. They pushed back Kuliev’s 1st Guard Cavalry Corps, but the arrival of the 27th allowed the Siberians to move west and relieve them. The line is still solid.”

“But it is anchored very close to the bridges at Andreyevka.”

“We have crossed further east,” said Vatutin.

“That small bridgehead might be of some use,” said Zhukov, if we only had another field army to cross there. Luckily, this 57th Tank Corps has not chosen to attack the base of your bridgehead. A push of no more than five kilometers would close that bridge.”

“True, but that would only affect 27th Army. We have depots at Taranovka in the bridgehead itself, and another behind the river east of Zimyev. The bridgehead armies would remain in supply.”

“Where is Steiner?”

“He has been very cagy,” said Vatutin. “After slipping out of Kharkov two days ago, Kuznetsov thought he was going to push for Taranovka, so he pulled out all of 1st Tank Army to block him.”

“Which ended our assault on Kharkov,” said Zhukov.

“For the moment,” said Rokossovsky.

“And what is Kuznetsov doing now?” Zhukov seemed impatient.

“There is fighting on the road to Krasnograd, and now we are getting reports of assaults all along the line of 1st Guards Army.”

Zhukov gave them a knowing nod of his head. “They are attempting to roll back our bridgehead.”

“The road to Poltava is only lightly screened,” said Rokossovsky.

“Indeed,” said Zhukov, “and that is exactly where Manstein wants us to go. Yet we cannot do so with Steiner on the loose out there. Don’t forget Popov in April, and the Fighting at Volkov Yar. He has managed to line up Steiner with this other mobile Korps in the south, and that could mean trouble. We must kill this wolf before we can count any more sheep with this offensive.”

“Kuznetsov wanted the mobile elements of 3rd Shock Group,” said Rokossovsky. “I approved the request.”

“Good.” Now Zhukov looked at the map. “Order Kuznetsov to continue his battle on the enemy left. That is the road to Krasnograd, yes? As for the mobile forces from 3rd Shock Group, send them to Taranovka. He is clenching his fist, and so we must do the same. How many divisions are in this enemy 57th Corps?”

“Three, but only one has tanks.”

“And Steiner has only three of the SS divisions,” said Vatutin.

“So that will give us five corps against his six mobile divisions.” Zhukov was thinking. “We still need more. I see that 3rd Shock Group’s front ends right at the city. Can they extend any farther south?”

“I believe they could.”

“Very well. Kuznetsov still has two Mech Corps west of the city. They are just holding the shoulder of that attempted envelopment. I want them pulled out and return to 1st Guard Tank Army. If that means we give up a little ground there, so be it. Have 3rd Shock army extend its front to cover the city. Then send the two Mech Corps to Taranovka as well. That will be the center of the wheel. We will have interior lines, and can therefore respond easily to any sector of the bridgehead defense that needs support. Once we have everything in place, then we can attack.”

Zhukov wanted every piece he could find focused on the center of the board. The pawns would have to hold on the flanks. Of course, ordering these things and seeing them carried out promptly and efficiently were two different things. Uncertain of where Steiner had moved that night, Kuznetsov decided not to blunder about in the dark, waiting for daylight to give him a better picture.

3rd Shock Army did move, for darkness was a friend when attempting to disengage from its positions close to the enemy at the edge of the city. An enormous army, it had six rifle divisions, three cavalry and six independent rifle brigades, with three supporting armored regiments. This was more than enough to extend its front southwest from the city to the Udy River, and the wooded terrain beyond. This allowed both of Kuznetsov’s mech corps to pull out of the frontage where they had been holding off the German 7th Infantry Division, and they moved south to rejoin 1st Guard Tank Army.

At the same time, the mobile elements of 3rd Shock Group started moving south towards the bridgehead as well, heading for Zimyev. If all these forces could be concentrated near Taranovka, the Soviets would have a force more than capable of taking on the German threat—a force that might finally meet and defeat the arch nemesis that had frustrated one offensive after another for the last year of the war—Steiner’s SS Korps.

Arriving at just the right time, general Georgie Zhukov had surmised the enemy’s intent and did exactly what was necessary to counter it. The Russians had their own master strategist as well, and after seeing so many of his advances stopped by Manstein, Zhukov now had something to prove.

Chapter 24

Kirchner had attacked all night, throwing 17th Panzer and his two Panzergrenadier Divisions against the 1st Siberian Motor Rifle Corps. He had beaten off the cavalry, which was regrouping to the rear, and now he ploughed right into this relieving force, hoping to make further headway before the Russians could dismount and get to good positions on the ground.

A dour faced man of 56 years at this time, Kirchner had joined the Royal Saxon Army at the age of 14, and had risen to command 1st Panzer Division at the outset of the war. Now he had the Korps that he would command for the duration of the conflict, and he had been driving for the town of Velikaya Bereka, about 5 kilometers north of his spearheads. He was slowly breaking up the enemy battalions, forcing them back, but his troops were becoming exhausted from the long three-day action without rest.

To the west of that town, Kuliev’s 1st Guard Cavalry Corps had been resting all night after losing their battle with the Germans the previous day. Now they would be called to action again. Their brigades were mixed bags; predominantly mounted cavalry, but with a company of motorcycle troops, another of T-40 light tanks, and a few Gaz 37mm AA guns on halftracks. There were nine brigades in all, and now they lined up for a charge reminiscent of the sweeping Cossack attacks in the Russian Civil War. Many in those ranks had come from Karpov’s best horsemen in Siberia, and now they would ride to the rescue of the crumbling lines of their brothers.

It would be trumpets and sabres at dawn, a rare event, for the Soviets had been re-training those troops to simply think of their horses as transportation, and to fight as dismounted infantry. Now, however, the urgency of the hour saw them mount up and charge, the rolling drumbeat of the hooves seeming an anachronism on a battlefield where it was tanks and APC’s that now ground up the turf. The Italian Savoia Cavalry had mounted a desperate charge like this in late 1942, much bigger than the British charge at Omdurman in 1898 that Churchill had seen. This one would eclipse them both, and rewrite the history on that score—the last great charge of mounted horsemen in the war. The sabres would gleam in the early light, yet it would not be those blades that would do any damage, but the grenades the soldiers would fling wildly about if they reached the German line.

First they had to get through the MG-42’s, and the fire from armored cars and tanks. They soon found that no matter how brave, mounted men on horses were no match for the steel of modern weapons. Kirchner called in his artillery, and the lethal rounds wreaked havoc on the charging cavalry, sabers and all. 17th Panzer had a full battalion of Lions, and they calmly lined up, the big turrets swiveling to bring those long barrels to bear on the enemy like a line of lethal pikes. But these pikes spit fire and death.

One gallant rider actually made it through the machineguns and when he found himself staring at the long 88mm barrel of a Lion, and with no more grenades, he beat upon that cold steel with his sabre in a gesture of futile bravery. Seconds later he was gunned down by a Panzergrenadier.

Weary or not, Kirchner ordered his men to continue their attack, for he knew that Steiner had appeared far to his left and that he was now attacking the enemy bridgehead. Hermann Balck had coined the phrase: ‘night marches are life savers,’ and perhaps that would be proved true again. Kirchner had done the job of engaging and weakening the lines of the Siberians, and now Steiner was bringing a hammer to 1st Guards Army.

That battle would prove to be much more difficult than Manstein expected. The dogged Guardsmen held on, giving ground stubbornly, and in the north of that attack, Leibstandarte found that it was tangling with both 7th and 10th Tank Corps. In the midst of this fight, up came Mikhail Panov with the whole of 1st Guards Tank Corps. It was quickly staged to join the fight, and now Dietrich found he was triple teamed on the left of the German attack.

On his right, Grossdeutschland Division had been making good progress against the enemy Guards infantry, driving them out of the woodland and back towards the winding flow of a wandering stream. The Soviets were pouring on the army artillery, three full regiments, in an effort to halt the German attack.

Zhukov suspected Steiner was moving to counterattack somewhere, but when the news came that the SS had engaged on a wide front, he was not surprised. If they had concentrated, he thought, they would have surely penetrated the outer defense of our bridgehead, but it would have been like driving a sword into mud. The reinforcements I have sent will surely stop them, and then where does Manstein go? Yet he could not help but be impressed with what Steiner’s troops had done.

The Germans had moved 150 kilometers in 2 days, the men catching any sleep they could get during that marathon march. Pausing to engage 3rd Guards Army in a sharp six-hour battle before rolling out this broad front attack. It was a move akin to Rommel’s mad dashes across the Libyan desert in 1942. The General shook his head, determined to put a stop to this enemy counterattack. His own steel chariots were not far off, concentrating at Taranovka about 25 kilometers to the north. Once that concentration was complete, he would be holding a ball of steel that he could fling in any direction, and that decision would determine the outcome of this battle.

Zhukov walked slowly to the nearest signalman. “Notify General Trefimenko of 4th Guards. Tell him his Army is being compressed from two sides, and he should pull back to shorten his line immediately. I want no encirclements.”

Zhukov had fast moving mobile units as well, and by nightfall on the 5th of June, 2nd Guards Mech reached and passed through Taranovka in the center of his bridgehead. The Germans had shocked him by marching completely around the massive bulging bridgehead, effecting a linkup with 57th Corps, and now they were attacking towards that same town.

Kuliev’s Cavalry shattered against the cold steel of those German tanks, now a disorganized mass that was merely a physical obstacle, and not much of a fighting force. The Germans had been punching through 1st Motor Rifle Corps, but the tough Siberians were counterattacking. Combat took time, he thought, and 25 kilometers is not far for a mechanized force to go. Soon he would be mounting a charge of another kind, not with horsemen and sabres, but with swift moving iron steeds, and wave after wave of tanks.

The 3rd SS Totenkopf hit the line like an iron bolt. Its main attack would fall on the 3rd Guard Tank Corps. On its left, Grossdeutschland would surge against the tank brigades of 1st Guards Army, relentless in the attack. Steiner was coming through. The Germans drove through the hamlets of Kofano and Medvedovka, buildings on fire, smoke everywhere. By nightfall they had secured both and pushed another three kilometers, finally taking a brief pause to bring up ammunition to the forward units. There could be no stopping for darkness. Manstein knew he had to ask his men to fight all night again after their long march, and Steiner’s hardened veterans were fully prepared to do so.

But on the German left, Sepp Dietrich had to report he could make no further progress. “I’m fighting the entire 1st Guard Tank Army! They must have 500 tanks here. It’s all I can do to hold the line now.”

Manstein took the report with the grim realization that his enemy was now simply too strong to sweep off the field as he had done in the past. His men were tired, the battalions worn down, though the armor was holding up well and the reliability of the Lions was superb.

We’ve pushed them back ten or fifteen kilometers, he thought, but they will not run this time. They simply straighten their lines and reform to the rear. Luftwaffe recon flights show several motorized columns coming south towards Taranovka, so they are also moving units from the Kharkov front to try and stop us…. And they will.

They’re going to stop Steiner, and I have nothing else to throw at them. If they do this, it still leaves the road to Poltava very lightly defended. I will have to pull Das Reich out of the city and send it that direction now. Dietrich is covering the road to Krasnograd, but how much longer can he hold?

He realized, with a sinking feeling, that his thoughts were now turning to the defense, the image of a grand counterblow to delight Efendi now slowly dissipating like smoke in his mind.

We have hurt them, but they will not give way. They fought for this bridgehead, and now they are going to keep it. The darker implication was now quite apparent to him—the line of the Donets had now been fatally compromised. It was still solid at the base. Hollidt was still well forward of the river between the Oskol and Andreyevka, but the Donets now belonged to the Soviets from that city all the way north to Belgorod.

Kirchner could not take that bridge, but even if he had done so, it would not matter. They have more than adequate supply from the depots they built when they tried to envelop Kharkov from the south. I might have continued this mad dash around the bulge of their bridgehead, and even taken the bridge at Andreyevka, but then what? We would have left four armies on our flank, undefeated, and if I had crossed the river, I would have to drive another 25 kilometers to pose any serious threat to their communications and supplies. And these columns now approaching Taranovka would be converging southeast of Zimyev instead. We just do not have the strength to do what must be done.

I have been chasing a black cat in a dark room with this maneuver. Now I fear there is no cat…. I must look to the ground between the Donets and Dnieper, for when this battle ends, their next move will try our defense there, either on the road to Poltava, or to Krasnograd.

Those were roads sure to command the attention of generals and fighting men on either side, but not this night. Tonight, there was another road, and one of much greater importance, not for any battle that would be fought along its winding way, but for the silence that would settle over it that night.

“Speidel,” he said, calling his Chief of Staff.

“Sir?”

“Dietrich has been stopped. What is the situation with Grossdeutschland?”

“They are still pushing northeast, very near the road to Taranovka.”

“Well, I do not think they can get there on their own,” said Manstein with a shrug as he eyed the location on the map. There was nothing special about the town, other than the fact that a road and rail line met there, kissed briefly, and then ran off on their disparate ways. It was not the beating heart of the northern Ukraine, like the slate grey city of Kharkov that the Russians had been so keen to grasp. No, it was an outlier, one of many small towns in the orbit of that great metropolis. It was a road less traveled….

It was not chosen by Zhukov and his planners when they started their offensive. It just happened to be the center point in the region where the Soviets had achieved their greatest penetration into the German defensive front, and that fact alone made it important, as is any still point at the center of a circle, silently regarding the distant perimeter, and anchoring its radius as it expanded outward.

It became important when Kuznetsov chose it as a good place to begin setting up a supply depot. And it became even more important; endowed with a special, yet unspoken significance, when it first entered Manstein’s mind as a target of his counteroffensive. Now it would claim one more laurel, not for the fighting that took place there, for that night it sat in relative calm under the cold, unfeeling sky. No, instead it would join the much more prominent city of Kursk that spring, as a place the Germans could not reach. ‘The Road to Taranovka,’ had become a road to nowhere, and a realization in Manstein’s mind that this war was now a lost cause.

Lost victories, he thought grimly. Twenty kilometers from our line to that place, a distance I could walk on a night like this. But we cannot go there. I cannot take it, and that means much.

“Tell Hörnlein he is to disengage, swing to his left and support Dietrich. We must deal with their 1st Guard Tank Army. There is still a gap that can take them all the way to Poltava, and that is the force they will use to exploit it. I want to hurt them.”

“What about 3rd and 5th SS?”

“Let them keep pushing 4th Guards, particularly any mobile units they are fighting. As for Kirchner, if he thinks he can take Velikaya Bereka, have him do so. Otherwise, he is to break off his attack and move at least one division here, to cover this railhead spur off the line coming up from Lozovaya. Any word from Hausser?”

“He’s pulled Das Reich out of the city, and the division is moving to cover the road to Poltava.”

“Well enough. That sector is weak. If he can cut the road between Novaya Vodolaga and Alexsandrovka, all the better. Hausser will know what to do.”

“We’re going on the defensive?”

“Active defense,” said Manstein. “I see no point in trying to push them back over the Donets. We haven’t got the strength in any case.”

“What about Hitler? He most likely expected great things from Donnershlag,” said Speidel.

“I did as well, but there are now at least four armies holding that bridgehead. Pulling Steiner out of the city was the right thing to do. It allowed us to put some credible defense into that gap in the front. So now we will dance with them a while and see whose feet give out first. Tell Hitler we have stopped the enemy advance and restored the front. Tell him anything, but make it sound good.”

“This means Steiner will be on the line,” said Speidel.

“It can’t be helped. Until we get up more infantry, that is where he must stay. The same for Knobelsdorff. We’ve stopped their offensive and restored the front, but it is the best we can do—a stalemate. Hitler will be expecting another miracle, but I don’t have any more tricks in my bag this time around. We need more infantry, and we will need it quickly. The only place I can get it is either from Hansen or from the forces being held for Operation Untergang.”

“Does Hitler really think we can go to Leningrad now?” asked Speidel.

“God only knows,” said Manstein. “I think I must pay a visit to OKW, and I’ll be leaving tonight.”

General Sviridov and the 2nd Guard Mech was only 20 kilometers north of Kirchner’s objective, and he would make a night march, getting to the town before Kirchner could push through to take it. Steiner would never get to Teranovka either, not on that day, nor any other. It would become ‘The Road Not Taken’ for Manstein and the German Army in 1943, and like the final line of that famous poem by Robert Frost, that would make all the difference.