Ironfall

Chapter 28

In the early hours of April 16th, General Markian Mikhailovich Popov smelled the clean, rain swept air that he knew so well, and he smiled. The Ukraine. It is high time that we returned here. We have missed the wheat, the endless fields to feed our people, the breadbasket of the Rodina.

His spearheads had reached their first objective, seizing a good bridgehead over the Middle Donets. The 2nd Shock Army under Vlasov was on his left, its lines now screening Balakleya and points east along the river. His own 7th and 10th Tank Corps were in the Andreyevka Bridgehead, reorganizing after the long march from the Oskol, and waiting for word from Zhukov.

He had pushed out a recon battalion as far south as Mikhaylovka, about 25 kilometers from his crossing point on the river. It was completely empty, save for a few families of peasant farmers who eagerly embraced the visitors as liberators. He had used the time to resupply and refuel his tanks, though they had seen little fighting. His was an exploitation force, meant to find the holes in the lines and push through to gain ground. Far off in his mind, he could see the wide deep bend of the Dnieper River, and it was his hope that one day soon he would see it with his eyes again. And all he had to do was go there. Nothing was opposing him or barring his way. All he needed was the order to move from Zhukov, and the fuel

He sat, content for the moment to consolidate his Shock Group, and indulged himself in a good cigar for reaching his primary objective. By mid-day, word came that there was a German recon company 15 kilometers to his south at Lozovenka. Aerial reconnaissance had also spotted a stronger German force near the twisting bend in the river west of Izyum. It was reported to be at least regimental strength, with tanks and APCs; undoubtedly sent there to protect the flank of the light German infantry division still holding above that large river bend.

That was all in the domain of 2nd Shock Army, except for that single company spotted to his south. Yet he was curious. He had his own recon troops at Mikhaylovka, and he sent word for them to take the road to Lozovenka and see what was there.

Meanwhile, 2nd Shock Army was making preparations to engage that light infantry force above the bend. It was never intended that they would cross the Donets, and so they were woefully short on bridging engineers, having to borrow two battalions from the adjacent 63rd Army to the east. One was trying to repair the blown bridge at Balakleya, which was now under 2nd Shock Army’s command.

At Popov’s urging, Vlasov had ordered two cavalry divisions and the 327th Rifle Division over the river at Balakleya to extend the bridgehead and allow the mobile units to move west. So Vlasov’s 2nd Shock Army was split. Those three divisions were south of the Donets in the western segment of his front, and the remainder of his forces were still north of the river to the east of Balakleya.

Popov waited, growing more impatient, until orders were finally received in the late afternoon. “Consolidate bridgehead, conduct local recon operations, which may include reconnaissance in force to cut the railway line linking Kharkov and Pavlograd. Report any concentration of enemy forces encountered.”

I have already completed the first two items on this list, so now I will cut that rail line. It was no more than 20 kilometers to the west, just beyond the town of Alexeyevskoye, and he already knew that road was open. So he tapped General Burkov’s shoulder, the commander of 10th Tank Corps, and ordered him to proceed with that recon in force.

“Take your entire Corps,” he said, perceiving no real threat to his position at the moment. Now all he had to do was report that regiment spotted to his south, and his orders for the day would stand fulfilled. He was feeling good that day, even though he was still somewhat eager to get on with his war. The rest of 2nd Shock Group, a motorized Rifle Division and a good Mech Corps, was only 30 kilometers to his northwest. So Popov was feeling fat and sassy that day, and did not yet perceive the peril that was so very close at hand.

The “regiment” spotted that day was actually part of General Paul Hausser’s 2nd SS Division. The entire division was there, all formed up for operations, and the “recon company” Popov was now investigating belonged to Eicke’s 3rd SS Totenkopf just a little southwest of Hausser’s Das Reich. Steiner had his full Korps assembled, well fueled, and ready to rampage north at Manstein’s next word.

That word would come as the sunlight faded on the 16th of April. The third division now assigned to Steiner’s Korps was Grossdeutschland, which Manstein had sent by rail to Izyum, where it then moved up behind the lines of Hollidt’s 50th Infantry Division. The river split this force, with the SS on the left and Grossdeutschland on the right, but there was a convenient bridge that would allow Manstein to shift forces in either direction, and these moves would be well concealed by heavy woods.

The move to concentrate the Korps had been lightning swift, a combination of fast rail moves and night marches, with the divisions taking rest in well screened terrain in the daylight hours. The troops were well rested, and ready to fight, and the power those three divisions represented could not be underestimated.

Manstein launched his counterattack with Steiner’s SS Korps on the left. Supported by all the Korps artillery, including heavy Nebelwerfers, the thunder of that opening barrage in the darkness was just the opening round. Behind it came Das Reich and Totenkopf, in a tightly concentrated attack sweeping north and west towards the enemy bridgeheads. The sudden appearance of a force this large, with two full SS divisions in their prime moving side by side, was a shock akin to that delivered by Stonewall Jackson after his famous night move around the Union flank to attack on May 2nd of 1863 at Chancellorsville.

The attack would fall heavily on those two Cavalry Corps that had moved south from Balakleya to screen the bridgehead, and the steel chariots the SS were riding in were a little more than the Russians could handle. To make matters worse, Manstein had also moved all four of the Schwerepanzer Battalions in Armeegruppe South to support these attack, with two on each side of the river.

On the right, Manstein waited two hours, and then he would throw the power of Grossdeutschland Division right on the seam between 63rd and 2nd Shock Armies, very close to a sharp bend in the Donets. That attack would also be spearheaded by the 501st and 502nd Schwerepanzer battalions, each having 36 new Lions with the 88mm main gun.

As a feint, he ordered the division artillery to fire due north at the lines of 63rd Army, to deceive the enemy into thinking that would be the point of imminent attack. It was well away from the river, which was where he wanted to make his Schwerpunkt with the bulk of the division. Hörnlein would take his division around that river bend, and push northwest to Balakleya, severing that communications link to the troops south of the Donets. In so doing, he would essentially be the right flank of Steiner’s attack, and all three of these powerful divisions would move to crush Popov’s deep incursion south of the Donets.

Two regiments of the 346th Rifle division bore the brunt of the initial attack, and they were driven back, rallying with their HQ when two reserve tank battalions came up in support. They each had about 16 T-34’s and nine T-60’s, with a few more 57mm SP AT guns, but they had not yet made the acquaintance of the Lions. 346th Rifle Division fell back and tried to re-establish the front, and the Army artillery pool was beating a hasty retreat.

28 kilometers to the northwest, at Balakleya, Popov was chafing at the bit to continue his advance over the Donets. Now he knew why Zhukov had reined him in. He reported that there was an attack in progress, but initial reports did not indicate that there was anything more than a strong regimental scale attack. That was Das Reich, leading with the regiment on its left. The full weight of that division, and all of 3rd SS had not yet engaged. So Popov decided to surprise the upstart German regiment he thought he had in front of him, and ordered his two tank corps to sweep south and east, thinking to pin whatever the Germans had out there against the river and annihilate it. He was soon about to learn just exactly what the Germans had out there.

Higher command must have gotten wind of something Popov did not yet know, for he received an order near midnight to consolidate and defend his bridgehead, but to prepare to withdraw the bulk of his force back north of the Donets if so ordered. That was all the message said, with no mention of the German counterattack already underway north of Izyum. Popov was confused. He scratched his head at the message, for he was now doing the exact opposite, swinging his Shock Group into the attack.

Why does Zhukov want me to sit here, he thought? I have already given him Balakleya and Andreyevka? He reluctantly sent a staff officer out to draft an order that would halt his attack, but not yet knowing the full scope of what was happening, he was in no great hurry. In his mind, he could crush this German regiment first, and then make his preparations to consolidate the bridgehead again.

General Zeitzler had always been a very energetic man, so much so that he had been called “General Fireball” in the early years of the war when he laid the planning for Fall Grun in Czechoslovakia and took over Army Group D in the low countries. Many thought he would become just another yes man at OKW when he was appointed there, but he had finally come to see the misery that Halder had to put up with in Hitler’s intransigence and the nonsensical way in which he tried to interfere with daily operations on the front.

In a fast moving battle like this, the ability of improvise, make snap decisions based on sound military principles, account for the necessary supply to allow the army to maneuver, were all qualities entirely missing in Adolf Hitler. He never gave a thought to logistics. His troops needed no fuel to move when all they had to do was sit in static positions and defend as in the last war.

Yet now the deep thrust made by Mikhail Katukov simply had to be answered. His spearheads and forward patrols had moved as far south as Trosnoye, 40 kilometers south of Tomarovka where Model was slowly building up infantry freed up by his withdrawal to the Pena River line. In making adjustments intended to free up 1st SS, General Heinrici had freed up a full infantry division, the 167th, but this is when the hand of fate intervened.

Katukov turned east.

He had taken Bessonovka, and now he was swinging his mechanized forces south and east around that town, pushing for the main road and rail line that led to Belgorod from Kharkov. Heinrici’s own HQ was now right in Katukov’s path, along with the entire logistical train for the 4th Army. Something had to be done, and because the 167th Infantry Division was 25 kilometers closer to the threat than Dietrich’s troops, it was immediately ordered to move towards the Udy River, one of three watercourses that flowed south to the vicinity of Kharkov.

There was a village with the impossible name of Shchetinovka there, which the Germans simply called “Shetovka”, and that is where Katukov’s 6th Tank Corps encountered the arriving German infantry. If the Russian tanks could move another 10 kilometers, they would sever the jugular for Heinrici’s 4th Army.

Zeitzler then did something that was very uncharacteristic. He had been a loyal Nazi, properly awed by the Führer for some months. Now he was seeing the reality, and knew he had to do more than make persuasive arguments at the map table. So he made a private call to Colonel-General Heinrici.

“What is your situation?” he began.

“The line is holding. Belgorod is strongly defended as ordered, though I cannot see why I must hold that city when the enemy is about to kick me in the backside.”

“De Führer,” said Zeitzler, and he did not need to say anything more. Then he made plain the reason for his call. “If you stay put, there is a good chance that the entire northern half of your army will be cut off in another day or so. The 167th may not be able to stop what’s happening behind you. Furthermore, Korps Raus cannot hold much longer. This could all be academic soon. The Russians are pushing very hard for Kharkov, and they are now only 15 kilometers from the city. That too, would cut your entire army off and make a withdrawal an absolute necessity—one the Fuhrer would simply ignore. Understand? Now… I have freed up the Reichsführer Brigades to try and clear your lines of communication, but you will remain in a dangerous position if you stay where you are.”

“Well, if I could simply pull back we could stop this entire northern offensive! Model and I could pinch it off easily enough. Stuck where I am, with my troops anchored on the Donets, we can do very little. This is ridiculous!”

“Agreed,” said Zeitzler. “Getting the Führer to agree is the problem. And yet…. If you found that enemy pressure on your lines was so great that the troops simply could not hold….” He let that hang in the silence, the meaning of his suggestion evident to Heinrici.

“I see… You propose we hand the Führer a fait accompli, and then blame it on the Russians. Heads could roll if Hitler ever found out we had this discussion.”

“I am prepared to lose mine, if you are prepared to lose yours,” said Zeitzler. “What I am not prepared to lose if the 4th Army. General, I think you should send me a report that strong enemy attacks have developed all along your front, and the line is simply too thin to hold…. But do so only after you have made some judicious redeployments. I can keep things off the situation map at OKW for 48 hours, but no longer.”

“I understand,” said Heinrici. What about Festung Belgorod?”

“Who is there?”

“Ludecke and the 56th”

“Gekreuzte Säbel,” said Zeitzler, Crossed Sabres, the Divisional insignia. It was fated to be dissolved in September of 1943 in the real history after suffering heavy losses, and would not be rebuilt for another year. “If we throw the dog a bone, it will likely sit like the 305th in Prokhorovka. This is a lot to get done, General. I will place 22nd Panzer under your direction as well, and do what I can to stop that attack behind you. Good luck….”

This little conspiracy was going to reshape the front, and cause a major row at OKW when it was finally clear that the line of the upper Donets had been lost. But it was the only chance the Germans had to save that army, and both Zeitzler and Heinrici knew that, even if Hitler would have to accept the agony of yet another “withdrawal,” undertaken by his unreliable Generals.

Heinrici ordered the 56th Infantry Division to adopt hedgehog defense around Belgorod, then he folded back the two divisions on either side of that city to build a new line about 12 kilometers to the south. His plan was to slowly peel his divisions away from the Donets, sliding them west as he did so, to build up strength near the farthest point of Katukov’s advance.

As the Reichsführer Brigades moved toward the Udy River as Zeitzler had promised, they ran into trouble immediately. The enemy had already slipped south of Shetovka where the 167th had deployed, and they were 15 Kilometers southeast of the Udy River, now crossing the next minor river barrier, the Lopan, at the town of Kazeya Lopan. Katukov’s 3rd Mech Corps was there, with heavy tank support from the 6th Tank Corps. They had already cut the rail line to Belgorod, and were just two kilometers from the main supply road as well. Heinrici’s little conspiracy with Zeitzler was enacted just in time to stave off disaster.

Chapter 29

Balck ordered his 11th Panzer Division to pull out and move north when he learned that Knobelsdorff himself had to use his Headquarters company to aid in the defense of Kharkov. The situation at Borovoye south of Kharkov was now stable, and he could not see his division sitting there head butting Kuznetzov’s 1st Tank Army for very much longer. So he got with Scheller and they conspired to have his 9th Panzer take over defensive positions, ending the combined offensive the two divisions had been engaged in. The 11th was needed elsewhere.

“Hauser!” Balck got hold of his Recon Battalion. “I need you to pull out fast and get up north to the main road into Kharkov from Chuguyev. A Soviet tank brigade has broken through and Knobelsdorff has been using his Korps assets to try and stop it. Be aggressive. I’m bringing up the rest of the division right behind you.”

“Very good, General,” said Hauser. “I’ll move immediately.”

And he did.

His battalion was quite strong, with an armored car company, a second company in halftracks, and a heavy recon company, also mechanized. They could move fast and hit hard, which is exactly what Hauser did, arriving to find the 48th Korps Pioneers trying to stop 15th Guards Tank Brigade. It had slipped through a hole in the line like a good running back and boldly raced another 10 kilometers up the road from the village of Rogan to Kharkov. That has sent off alarm bells in the city, and the reaction was now bringing one of Germany’s best Panzer Divisions into that action. But by the time Balck arrived on the scene, Hauser had smashed that brigade, the 75mm guns on his armored cars just good enough to do the job, particularly when he caught them from behind.

Balck was also moving north because the 3rd Shock Army was making increasing inroads in the lines of Korps Raus. It was now only 16 kilometers due east of the city, and Wagner’s Nordland SS Division had to fall back to straighten its lines and free up units to send in support.

This crisis so near the city had the effect of fixating Hitler’s attention, and Zeitzler seized upon it to focus the Führer’s attention, personally intercepting position reports concerning his little conspiracy with Heinrici. The net effect was that the belated arrival of 6th Panzer Division was finally resolved. Hitler had equivocated over actually sending the division from Berlin, now he ordered it to Kharkov with all haste.

Then word came from Manstein: “Beginning counteroffensive operations, effective 04:00.”

While General Popov was contemplating the meaning of his orders, and equivocating, the west wing of 63rd Army was being ground under the heavy steel tracks of Grossdeutschland Division. The 346th Division was mauled and pushed back, reorganizing its defense as close to the river as possible to try and prevent a breakthrough. The 266th Rifle Division on its eastern flank was also giving up ground, along with the 203rd. General Shurkin of the 63rd Army began shifting units west to try and reinforce the threatened sector, but Grossdeutschland Division was not going to be stopped.

Behind it, Kirchner’s 57th Panzer Korps was finally arriving from the Caucasus. The lead unit was the 17th Panzer Division, followed by 3rd Panzergrenadier. The 29th Motorized was coming as well, for after the fall of Groznyy, Volkov’s forces retreated to Makhachkala, and the line was compressed considerably. This allowed Kleist to order 17th Army to that sector, freeing up Hansen’s entire 11th Army. Some divisions would be used to relieve those two mobile divisions, and other would also be made available to send north.

Kirchner would throw his two divisions in to the right of Grossdeutschland, and Shurkin soon found his line was being stormed along an 18-kilometer front, with numerous regiments already surrounded by the fast moving German forces, surging through any gap to envelop the defenders. The smoke and fire of the battle obscured the sun and made for a blood red dawn on the 17th, an ominous portent of what was now happening.

It was Manstein’s Backhand Blow.

General Shurkin of the 63rd Army was in a state of shock. The two tank brigades he had rushed to backstop his infantry had been destroyed, the heavy German Tigers grinding through the muddy fields and simply chopping them to pieces, firing at ranges out to 2000 meters. Nothing remained but the smoking wrecks of gutted, burning tanks. 346th Rifle Division had been overrun, with two regiments crushed and the last in a desperate retreat. 266th and 203rd Rifle Divisions had been hit just as hard, and his 1st Rifle Division had been surrounded and then completely destroyed.

63rd AT tried to throw up a Pakfront, but it was simply overwhelmed before the gunners to get properly positioned. His army had fielded 15 rifle regiments among its five divisions, and seven were destroyed or completely routed. Shurkin ordered a general retreat, which would soon become a cascading rout of his entire army.

While this carnage was underway, 57th Army heard the frantic reports and realized big trouble was rolling like thunder to the west. General Gagan’s army was east of the Oskol River where it flowed down to the Donets near Izyum, and he immediately began issuing orders to fold back his line. This army was better organized, with many of its regiments dug in, but when word came that the 63rd Army was in full retreat on their right, Gagen’s 57th had no recourse other than to withdraw north.

Popov was listening to his radio, and heard those same frantic calls of one colonel and lieutenant screaming orders or asking for help. He now surmised that the German Grossdeutschland Division was emerging from the Izyum Bend, smashing its way through 63rd Army, and heading for Balakleya, where the hapless bridging engineers had just finished repairing the bridge there, only to find demolition engineers come rushing in to set charges in case the Germans broke through. The cacophony on the radio was deeply disturbing, for he had heard all this before, over the first two long years of the war, and he knew what it meant—chaos was coming his way, a threat well behind his bridgehead over the Donets if it reached Balakleya. Now he realized that his impudent order to sweep away what he thought was a single reinforced German regiment had suddenly become two full SS Panzer Divisions!

It was Steiner, and Das Reich was going right through those three cavalry divisions that had been screening the eastern face of his bridgehead. He realized he was in serious trouble, but he knew what he had to do to save his command.

“Order all units to break off their attack to the southwest and retire north immediately! They are to reassemble south of the bridge at Andreyevka.”

“Not at Balakleya sir?”

“Are you deaf? I said Andreyevka! Now move!”

He still had time.

Vlasov’s 2nd Shock Army would be falling back over the bridge at Balakleya, and the rest of it was strung out along the north bank of the Donets to the southeast. There was nothing he could do to save the 63rd Army, but he could save his own Shock Group if he acted quickly.

If he had the privilege of reading the books shared by Sergei Kirov and Berzin, he would have seen how badly he was treated in this battle, though the situation now was not as grievous as in was in the old history. There, Popov had pushed out nearly all the way to the Dnieper, his lines and columns very overextended and ripe for the counterattack that Manstein delivered. Here Zhukov had wisely reined Popov in at his Donets Bridgeheads, and this was largely because the plan did not call for any concerted push over the Donets until Kharkov had been captured. If Popov perceived he was in danger, it was peril of his own making with that brash attack contrary to Zhukov’s written orders. That said, his tank corps here were better provisioned, and a more cohesive force than in Fedorov’s history. Now it remained to be seen whether they could measure up to the task and redeploy as he wanted. The Popov group had been all but destroyed in Manstein’s counterattack, and its fate here was as yet undecided.

The General then sent a message to Zhukov indicating he was under aggressive attack by two SS divisions, and moving to secure his easternmost bridgehead and possibly retire north of the river—and he requested support. That would soon come from a man who was well up to the task General Rodion Malinovsky, commander of the 2nd Shock Group that had been slowly following in Popov’s wake.

The big, broad chested man with the dour face receive the news with studied calm. Then he gruffly issued orders for his forces to prepare to move out.

Malinovsky’s Group had been Zhukov’s last mobile reserve, the Knight in the center of the board ready to leap off to any threatened corner. Oddly enough, Malinovsky’s central square was in a town called Volkov Yar, one of the few that still retained the name of the renegade leader of the Orenburg Republic. A good chess player, Zhukov now looked at the situation as if he were studying a complex position on the board.

2nd Shock Army was now to be the front most directly engaged with the enemy, both north and south of the river. Those were his pawns, and some were too far into the enemy camp to be protected now, particularly since he had to withdraw his Bishop, General Popov.

East of the Oskol River, Gagen’s 57th Army was still secure for the moment, so he would not worry about that side of the board. His Knight, Malinovsky, had 2nd Guards Mech Corps and the 2nd Motor Rifle Division in hand, with strong artillery. That piece had to move—or should it stay right where it was, guarding the center of the board? Zhukov needed to look several moves ahead to see what the enemy was up to here.

Manstein has castled, he thought, and Steiner has finally reappeared. So here comes his Queen and a strong Rook, looking to cut off all the forces exposed south of the Donets. Steiner will get north of the river in time, and he will then make one concerted push north, most likely towards Chuguyev, and that will cut off Kuznetsov and all of 1st Guards Army. So I have to stop him…. Somewhere. To do that I will need everything Popov has, and Malinovsky as well. That will give me two Tank Corps, a Mech Corps, and two Motorized Divisions. Malinovsky soon received the news: Deploy for combat but maintain your present position until further orders.

The plight of the 63rd Army worsened by the minute. 60% of the army would cease to exist that afternoon. When the stragglers found their way to Malinovsky’s line, a Lieutenant asked whether the rest of the 63rd Army was coming this way or not. A haggard Sergeant replied: “We are the 63rd Army, and there’s very little left behind us.” The Sergeant exaggerated, but the truth was just as grim. General Shurkin’s the 63rd Army would be left with no more than five regiments.

Manstein’s attack had already had a dramatic effect on the Soviet offensive as a whole. It had shattered one army and put it to rout, then prevented Popov from moving any further over the Donets. The commitment of Malinovsky’s reserve also had an effect on the battle for Kharkov. The attack by Kuznetsov’s 1st Guards Army had pushed over the Donets bend near Zimyev and was half way to the city before it was checked by the sudden appearance of the 9th and 11th German Panzer Divisions.

Scheller’s division had come in by rail the previous day, intending to join Knobelsdorff’s Korps, but the situation at Zimyev was so bad that it had to be diverted there. The Soviets had crossed the river and advanced another 20 kilometers, half way to Kharkov, before Knobelsdorff stopped them near the small village of Borovoye.

Kuznetsov informed Zhukov of the situation, requesting Malinovsky be sent to get his attack moving again, but that was not to be. For the first time, the Soviets were being forced to react to German countermoves.

The only front where the Soviets still held all the momentum was in the north, where Heinrici had been forced to order the creation of “Festung Belgorod” under Hitler’s direct order, abandoning the 56th Division. Mikhail Katukov’s stunning march and sudden breakthrough had gone nearly half way to Kharkov, threatening the entire rear communications Zone of 4th Army and prompting Zeitzler’s conspiracy to try and save those troops.

Katukov had punched a big hole in the line between Model and Heinrici, and he was going right through it like a cold north wind. The two German Generals had been struggling to close it for the last four days, but that was not to be. Even though Model built up forces near Tomarovka, they were countered by the growing commitment of 5th Guards Army. Models flank was still hanging in the air, but now long promised reinforcements from Army Group Center were finally arriving, the 42nd Infantry Korps under Dostler, with two more infantry divisions.

On the other side of that hole, was Heinrici, struggling to free up enough troops to stop Katukov’s sudden left turn against his communications. The Reichsführer Brigades had halted 3rd Mech Corps at their bridgehead over the Lopan River, but all of 5th Tank Corps was still at large. One spearhead was 36 kilometers north of Kharkov, but when 6th Panzer finally arrived from Germany, Knobelsdorff ordered it to detrain at Kharkov and prepare to join Hermann Balck. Now only 15 kilometers west of the city, the 3rd Shock Army had to be stopped.

Balck decided to attack immediately, throwing his entire division astride the main road from Chuguyev. His troops moved forward with grim determination. Their enemies had driven over 125 kilometers from their Oskol River bridgeheads, and now were within 15 kilometers of grasping their prize.

They would go no further.

Chapter 30

The timely arrival of German Panzer reserves was slowly changing the tide of the battle. The sudden appearance Balck’s division at the point of 3rd Shock Army’s attack was a stunning blow, but Balck soon found out what others before him knew only too well. He was up against at least four rifle divisions and the entire 1st Guards Tank Corps, backed by three breakthrough artillery regiments three Katyusha regiments, and two more artillery regiments from 3rd Shock. The enemy response to his sudden attack was to unleash a barrage of over 300 guns all along the lines of his division.

The iron fell heavily all along the line, and the PzJager Battalion of Korps Raus got the worst of it, the guns particularly vulnerable to the artillery fire. There were casualties, but the division weathered the storm. The Russians then thought the Germans had had enough, for they saw the panzers and halftracks pulling back, but Balck was only maneuvering. He had delivered his first hard punch; now he was going to roll his division south to make room for Hunersdorff’s 6th Panzer Division.

General Hunersdorff brought up 6th Panzer as close to the front as he could by rail, and after assembling, he began an advance. His division would come onto the line just north of Balck’s and with all new tanks fresh from the factories in Germany.

The German tankers saw what they thought were a group of T-34s, and they were correct, but when the enemy tanks fired, the crack of the main guns sounded distinctly different. They were T-34 85’s with an all new main gun that had much better range and hitting power. The arrival of 6th Panzer was the tonic, with all new VK-75 Lions, and a platoon of the better VK-88’s in each battalion. It became a mini-battle of Kursk, with the best new tanks on each side hammering away at each other, and largely bringing both sides to a standstill.

Further south, the rest of General Kuznetsov’s 1st Guards Army was still frustrated by the stalwart defense of 9th Panzer. His attack had been brought to a complete halt. The Udy River flowed down through Kharkov to join the Donets near Chuguyev, and the Germans had been trying to hold that line. Kuznetsov’s troops had fought hard the previous day to gain a small bridgehead over that river, the Germans counterattacked to push him back. He reported the situation to Zhukov, who was getting more news along the same lines with each passing hour.

All his shock groups were slowly being stopped, and Popov in the south had not even waited for the order to move north of the Donets. He crossed near dusk on the 17th, preferring the safety of Andreyevka and a good river behind him rather than having his back to that same river during a possible night attack against his position. 3rd SS had pursued him, nipping at his heels, and then suddenly vanished. The darkness was the German’s friend, and it was time for another stunning night move by Steiner.

Das Reich led the way, its bridging battalions already at the river in a pre-arranged plan to lay a pontoon bridge. They would cross that night, screened by the woods southeast of Balakleya, which would put them behind the line of resistance 2nd Shock Army was trying to build along a wooded stream further east. As dusk fell the sounds of battle continued, rumbling over the steppe as Grossdeutschland Division ploughed into a line of three NKVD machinegun units that had thought to halt the Germans that day. Hörnlein would smash that line in a matter of two hours, his heavy tanks simply unstoppable. The roar of the Lions could be heard far away, and little by little, the morale of Vlasov’s army was ebbing away with the coming of night.

Katukov may have been stopped, but he was not deterred, believing he could maneuver and find a weaker point in the enemy line. In fact, the gap he had driven into the German lines was now 50 kilometers wide, a huge gaping hole that he could move into at any time, and it was completely undefended. but that attack was now of secondary importance. On his right, and behind his position, Rybalko’s 5th Tank Army had probing columns no more than 40 kilometers from Kharkov, steel fingers groping into that emptiness, reaching for their distant objective. Yet even if he did move south, Katukov knew it could still take a very long time to get to the city from his present position.

The Germans had reacted by folding back their lines along the upper Donets, peeling away from the river and then moving to concentrate forces near his spearheads. The same had been done by the enemy 2nd Army on the other side of the breach, where 5th Guards Army was tasked with holding that shoulder. They now reported a growing buildup of German infantry.

They are planning to try and pinch this salient off, he thought, but they won’t get through my troops easily. Yet with all this strength building up on this flank, I cannot move south without taking a great risk that I might not be able to get back again. If we had another army behind me, moving into that gap, things might be different. But those troops are now investing the two German strongpoints at Prokhorovka and Belgorod. I could still move, with Rybalko, but by the time we got to Kharkov, our tanks would be bone dry, and the fuel trucks 50 kilometers behind us…. He went to his signals unit. It was time to inform General Zhukov of the situation, and see what might be done.

East of the city, the big inroad achieved by 3rd Shock Group had finally been brought to a halt. The combination of 11th and 6th Panzer divisions, had brought that attack to a standstill. 3rd Guards Army north of Chuguyev could not be driven back, and it was still pushing hard against the Nordland SS Division, but now Dietrich was sending strong Kampfgruppes to help shore up that line, and beginning to counterpunch. With the appearance of these tough, battle-savvy troops, Nordland Division finally found its backbone, fighting side by side with the senior SS division in the army.

Hitler had raged about the withdrawals on the upper Donets when that situation finally became apparent, but seeing these counterattacks slowly halting the enemy offensive, he had begun to recover his composure.

So all Zhukov’s attacks had been stopped or contained, and in the south, where there was still gaping hole along the Donets, he did not dare to move any further to exploit the situation. Popov had moved back north of the Donets when 63rd Army was routed, and now Malinovsky was shoulder to shoulder with him, the two groups waiting while Steiner and the Grossdeutschland Division battled against 2nd Shock Army.

“Should we move now to support Vlasov?” Popov had asked in a terse signal.

“Stand fast with Malinovsky,” came the reply.

Even Zhukov had men he had to answer to, and this was such a time. He left his front HQ and flew to Leningrad that night to make his report and consider how to proceed. Weary from the long journey, he greeted Sergei Kirov and Intelligence Chief Berzin on the grey morning of the 18th of April. He unrolled the battle map with grave silence, then adjusted his hat and spoke.

“I regret to inform you that Operation Red Star had not been able to achieve its primary objective. Our troops fought bravely, and fought well, but there was sufficient resiliency on the other side to bring this offensive to a halt.”

“But Popov was over the Donets,” said Kirov. “He had open roads all the way to the Dnieper.”

“I stopped him,” said Zhukov, “and that was fortunate. This attack the enemy threw at 63rd Army was very strong. I have had to commit my last mobile reserve and then recall Popov to create a force sufficiently powerful to have some chance of contesting it. 63rd Army has been routed, and 2nd Shock Army is now heavily engaged. It will not hold much longer, and then I expect this strong enemy counterattack will begin moving towards Chuguyev.”

“Steiner?”

“Who else…. And he has their elite Guards division on his right, with fresh units arriving from the Caucasus. The fighting with 2nd Shock Army is still underway, but there are now five enemy mobile divisions reported in action there. The initiative had passed to the enemy, so now we must decide how to proceed. We have two options. The first is to use our mobile reserves, combined with the Popov Shock Group, and counterattack. The advantage would be that we protect Kuznetsov’s position south of Kharkov, and that of the 3rd Shock Group as well. The disadvantage is that we expend our last reserve. If our attack is defeated, then we have no further mobile reserves in this entire theater.

“The second option?” asked Berzin.

“To take what we have gained and consolidate our position.”

“Then we will not get Kharkov?” Kirov folded his arms.

“Not immediately as planned. We are very close south of the city, and now we must do what we can to preserve that position.”

“Can a counterattack with Popov and Malinovsky succeed?”

“We might, but there will be heavy losses to those armored formations. We may have enough to stop this attack, but that is not certain.”

“I see….” Kirov nodded gravely. “What do you propose?”

“The situation in the south is the danger zone for us now. We reached the Donets, but I do not think we can stay there—not with this hole between Kuznetsov’s position and Andreyevka. If we counterattack, then Kuznetsov should pull back and extend his lines to cover that gap. He might even be able to send one of his mobile corps to stand as a small reserve. Then it’s up to Popov and Malinovsky.”

“Is this what you wish to do?”

“The safer play is to pull out, give up the Middle-Donets, and withdraw here, to a line between Chuguyev and Kupyansk on the Oskol River. We will try to retain the Chuguyev Bridgehead with 3rd Shock Army, but Kuznetsov, Popov and Malinovsky must all fall back and consolidate. Otherwise we invite a good deal of trouble. This General Manstein wants to roll us up from behind, and Steiner gives him the strength to do so.”

“I agree,” said Kirov. “That is the danger zone.”

“Katukov still has a deep penetration in the north. He might be able to gain more ground if I let him continue, yet that may also be trying to reach what we cannot fully grasp. In my opinion, I would pull him out as well. The Germans are building up too much strength on either side of his salient.”

“So close,” said Kirov, “and yet so far. We are 15 kilometers from the city, and cannot take it! We have driven all the way to the Donets, and cannot cross it!”

“Then let us fight to stay as close as possible,” said Zhukov. “Let us fight, and if they prevail, then we retreat if we must. But I am willing to do everything possible to preserve the gains we have achieved.”

Kirov hesitated, ever so briefly, and then decided.

“Attack,” he said. “Use Kuznetsov’s mobile units if his infantry can hold, but do anything to hang on to the Middle Donets. Pull Katukov’s 1st Tank Army and Rybalko’s 5th Tank Army out of that big penetration in the north if you think it best. Then perhaps they can become our new mobile reserve.”

“Very well,” said Zhukov. “I am sorry we could not achieve our purpose in taking Kharkov, but we will fight as best we can to hold everything else we have taken from them.”

Kirov put his hand on Zhukov’s shoulder. “Have no regrets,” he said. “This has been a solid victory. We have pushed back their 4th Army, carved up their 2nd Army, and come within a whisker of taking Kharkov. We ran all the way to the Donets! Yet as you point out, the enemy was not without resources. I consider Red Star a success, even if we could not take the city. Don’t worry, we’re that much closer, and we’ll take it this summer.”

It was not the reaction that Zhukov expected, and he felt gratified that Sergei Kirov chose only to see the good in what his armies had accomplished.

“You have my permission to start your battle in the south,” said Kirov. “Yes, hold that southern flank. I want Steiner stopped.”

Red Star had achieved much, as Walther Model would be the first to admit. He realized that the divisions left in the fortress cities at Hitler’s insistence were now as good as lost. Kharkov had been saved, but the Russians had gone far, from the Oskol to the Donets, and with good prospects to advance further until they were given pause by Manstein’s counterattack in the south. Zhukov’s caution had avoided the debacle this battle had become in the real history, and he had wisely opted to consolidate his gains instead of reaching too high on the tree for the sweeter fruit. Now the battle to see if he could hold the Middle Donets was about to be engaged.

“You see,” said Berzin when Zhukov had departed for the front again. “He avoided the trap by stopping Popov near the Donets. Manstein will not get his famous backhand blow this time around.”

“That remains to be seen,” said Kirov. “We are sending Popov into battle. Ah… but what if Zhukov had let Popov go? When he crossed at Balakleya, even I was so bedazzled by the thought that we could reach the Dnieper, that I all but forgot the outcome of that choice in the Material.”

“So we take things slowly,” said Berzin. “Small bites will still finish the beef. Zhukov was correct to stop this attack and consolidate. This further fighting in the south could be a mistake. We may lose a lot of tanks, and this summer, we could always try again.”

“You know they’ll also be planning a big offensive,” said Kirov. “In the Material, it was at Kursk, but that bulge has all but been eliminated with this attack. Assuming we can hold the Middle Donets, that may end up being the next critical sector. So why not fight for it now?”

“Then there will be no battle of Kursk,” said Berzin.

“Perhaps not,” said Kirov. “Their Counterattack went all the way to Belgorod in the Material, and it is not finished. We may still have to give ground here if Popov and Malinovsky can’t stop Steiner. If the battle this summer isn’t fought at Kursk, then it will be somewhere close by, somewhere on that same map Zhukov rolled out for us here. In fact, it may be this very fight we have ordained! So we must be prepared. I’ll want your best effort at intelligence in the months ahead.”

“Don’t worry,” said Berzin. “Once things settle down here, I will find out what they are planning. Rest assured.”