Nexus Deep

Chapter 16

The attack in the north would come like two great waves, a tsunami of steel and fire. Gorodov’s 21st Army, now renamed 6th Guards, would provide the infantry shock aimed at retaking Tomarovka. To the east was Chiukov’s 8th Guards Army, which would bypass Belgorod. That town would then be assaulted by the 5th Guards Army, the only formation still intact and with good combat power from the old 5th Shock Group.

Behind these three strong infantry armies, was Mikhail Katukov’s 1st Tank Army, to make the breakthrough and initial exploitation. He would retain his 6th and 31st Tank Corps, but take for himself the newly arriving 5th Guards Mech Corps. For the newly forming 5th Guard Tank Army, he relinquished his 3rd Mech Corps, which would join the 29th Tank Corps. To bring this new army up to strength, STAVKA released the newly rebuilt 17th Tank Corps, now renamed 4th Guards, and it was one of the new structures that would have its motorized infantry regiment converted to the ZIS-42 Halftracks.

Katukov was very eager to get into action and see what 5th Guard Mech Corps could do with the new B.M.P. infantry fighting vehicles. They were the only formation on the field to have that carrier, and this battle would be a good test of its capabilities. Yet 5th Guards Tank Army was still organizing, and so he would wait until June 1st to begin his attack in the north.

While the Russians were planning this new attack, Manstein was busy in the south near Kharkov. He was slowly building up a considerable force capable of stopping the enemy offensive, but he was unaware of the threat looming in the north. The Germans thought they had taken the measure of the foe in that sector. Knobelsdorff’s 9th and 6th Panzer Divisions had a rough time against Katukov, but they were able to conduct a fighting retreat in good order. Then he got a call from Manstein again, asking him to detach Balck’s 11th Panzer Division.

“What will I hold with here?” Knobelsdorff protested. “Balck’s Division is still near full strength. That was my ace in the hole.”

“I know, but we gave them a hard blow up there. I do not think they will be able to do anything more on your front for some weeks. We have pulled Salmuth’s 10th Korps off the line, and General Kempf will send you the 167th and 168th Divisions in return. Use them to build a second line behind your main front, and then you can rest those two remaining panzer divisions for a few days.”

What Manstein did not reveal was the fact that Salmuth’s Korps had been in action against the Soviet 3rd Shock Group, and both his divisions had been worn down. Manstein knew they would have little offensive capability, but they could still hold on defense. 11th Panzer would make a nice addition to his armored grouping in the south, and he got the much better end of the deal he had brokered with Knobelsdorff.

Now things were looking a little better for him. The Soviet penetrations over the Donets had at least been contained. That said, the German “Donets Line,” as Hitler was now calling it, was only that in name. They only held a 30-kilometer segment of the upper Donets, from Belgorod south. The Russians were over the river to a depth of 10 to 15 kilometers from Volchansk all the way south to Chuguyev, which they had just taken. Now Manstein had to see if he could push them back while still holding on to Kharkov, and finding a way to reinforce the Donets Bend from Zimyev down through Andreyevka to Izyum.

The General drafted a terse message to OKW, covering his intentions with the thin veneer of a document in writing. It read: “Under the condition that Kharkov will be held at all costs, as Armeegruppe Commander, I am assuming freedom to operate in a manner best designed to defeat the enemy and throw him back.”

Hitler read it in silence when Zeitzler handed it to him. He watched the map updates with growing concern and an inner simmering anxiety. On the morning of May 31st, the Red Tide had again reached the village of Borovoye south of Kharkov. And there was fighting at Rodin on the main road from Chuguyev. They had reclaimed all the ground they had been driven from during Manstein’s dramatic counteroffensive in April. He could feel, and clearly see on that map, that something had changed in the war on the Ostfront. What the Soviets took, they more often than not held. What they lost, they now came to reclaim, and once again, they had their eyes fixed on Kharkov.

They were trying to envelop the city from the southwest, with a report coming in from Aleksandrovka, about 25 kilometers from the city, that a strong Soviet tank corps was now attacking in force. It was later identified as Kuznetsov’s 1st Guard Tank Corps, the most powerful in the army, and defending at Alexsandrovka, the Germans had posted Feld Ersatz Battalion-A, a ragtag band of walking wounded that acted as a replacement unit. It was the best the Soviets had against the worst the Germans could offer, and the result was a foregone conclusion.

Right behind the heavy tanks and Guardsmen of Kuznetsov’s spearhead, he had sent the 10th Tank Corps in support, so this was a very strong left hook. Yet lurking in the heart of the city, the Germans had troops of higher caliber, the Grossdeutschland Division, coiled like a steel spring and ready to strike out in any direction. Manstein ordered Hörnlein to re assemble the entire division there, with most of the heavy Ferdinands attached. He then sent KG Deckard south to shore up the flank of Sepp Dietrich’s 1st SS.

That division was now heavily engaged all along its extended front, and facing both 1st and 2nd Guards Mech Divisions. The battle for Kharkov was going to be like a clash of Titans, the hardened gladiators from either side hammering at one another all along the tight defensive perimeter that extended some 15 kilometers out from the city.

In addition to that Ace he had in hand, General Manstein still had two more cards to play. He had another high face card with the arrival of the Wiking Division from Dnipropetrovsk where it had been taking on equipment. The fighting at Alexandrovka had cut the rail line to the city, so it would be approaching the battle from the south, on Kuznetsov’s left and rear flank if he advanced on Kharkov. That was a division that would be certain to force the dogged Russian General to look over his shoulder.

The other card was a good high numbered spade, the 36th Infantry Division, which was the old 36th Motorized after converting to a leg infantry division. It would come by rail from Armeegruppe Center, and deploy just west of Kharkov to screen that flank. So Steiner’s entire Korps, five divisions including Grossdeutschland, was now assembled near the city, and it would be facing off against the equivalent of four Soviet armies.

Eicke’s 3rd SS was coming down from the north, but was diverted towards the bridgehead achieved by 7th Guards near Murom. The enemy was coming through the lines of 111th Infantry with a lot of tanks and SU’s, so the bulk of 3rd SS went into action there to stop them. They went about it with methodical efficiency, the infantry deploying from halftracks in the woods on the northern flank of their attack. They waited for the panzers to come up, and then advanced behind them in close support, crouching low.

The tank battle in the woodland was a wild affair, with tree limbs being shattered, other’s being hewn down by the high velocity rounds. A fire started, and heavy smoke rolled through the forest as the Tiger company ground its way forward. When there was not room to advance between trees, the heavy tanks simply bull-dozed them down and then rolled over the fallen trunks. The Soviets had a number of heavy SU-122’s, and soon the duel looked like herds of war elephants battling in the forest.

The Germans called a halt, seeing that the Russians had backed off several hundred yards to try and regroup. Then came the rumble of distant guns and the whooshing sound of a rounds falling. The entire division artillery pool, all four battalions, had unleashed a barrage called in by the leading SS troops. It fell like blistering death. Many of the rounds bursting in the air to shred and flay the tree limbs and send a hail of shrapnel and splinters in all directions. There wasn’t much Soviet infantry in the attack, but they would have been cut to pieces if they had been under that ironfall. An SU-122 was struck by a very near miss, the explosion enough to blow the heavy 30-ton vehicle onto its side.

Basically an armored howitzer, the SU-122 was not a match for the German tanks on its own. It was an infantry fire support weapon, but the Soviets had deployed these in mixed regiments, with platoons of SU-76 tank destroyers. Even that was not going to help, as the SU-76 only had 33mm of frontal armor, and the “Sukas,” or “little bitches” as the Russians called them, simply could not stand against the better armored Pz-IVF2’s the SS were driving, which had 50mm armor. The Russians were, quite literally, getting ‘bitch slapped.’ They began to fall back under that artillery barrage and were soon pushed out of the woodland into open fields beyond.

The Soviet heavy howitzers could kill a German tank if they could hit one with a HEAT round, but knowing this, the German tanker simply engaged at longer range. Though the SU-122 looked like a formidable armored beast, it actually had only 45mm of frontal armor, less than the German Pz-IV’s. The German tankers pulled up to the edge of the trees, and started blasting away. It was the very definition of the phrase “target rich environment,” and brought the attack by 7th Guards Army to a complete halt.

The arrival of 3rd SS, and 11th Panzer from the north had therefore done much to shore up the lines and contain the pressure from 7th Guards and 69th Army. To the south of that battle, Hausser’s 2nd SS was slugging it out with the 3rd Guards Army, which was strong enough to take on that division, and both of the Reichsführer SS Brigades at the same time, and still make headway.

Hausser’s main attack was solid, but on his southern flank, the Russians found a weaker sector held only by two companies of the recon battalion, and a pioneer company. That battalion sized KG was then hit by the whole of the 40th Guard Rifle Division, and it could not stop them. This forced Hausser to detach units from his stronger sector, and try to close that breach.

Yet it was the weary Reichsführer Brigades that were having the most difficulty. Many of their battalions were weakened by the five days of near non-stop fighting, and the Soviets found a hole between their southern flank and the lines of the Nordland SS Division. It wasn’t a serious breakthrough yet, but two brigades of Soviet cavalry had raced through, and they were causing havoc with the Werfer battalions attached to the Reichsführer Brigades in the rear.

Then Sepp Dietrich called Manstein to report on the deteriorating situation on his own front. “I’m fighting two Mech Corps and a Tank Corps just came up on my western flank. This is no good. We can’t hold them much longer.”

“Deckard’s KG wasn’t enough?”

“That helped, but he reports that another strong armored formation is flanking him to the west as well.”

“Alright, 36th Infantry has just arrived on the rail line south of the city,” said Manstein. “I’m moving it to support your flank. If you can hold out until tomorrow morning, I think we’ll have a nice little surprise for General Kuznetsov. Gille is back with his Wiking Division, and they are coming up from the south.”

“The prodigal son,” said Dietrich. “That is good news. “Alright, I’ll stand my ground. But you’d better look after that Nordland outfit. They are fighting hard, but there’s a lot of pressure on them too.”

“I’ll have Hornlein put together a KG.”

Manstein’s surprise came up on the train from the Dnieper, reaching Novaya Vodolaga, about 45 kilometers southwest of Kharkov. There the first train found a small blocking force, the recon battalion of 1st Tank Corps that had been sent to scout that sector and look for just this sort of arrival by the enemy. That would give the Russians something to think about. Then Manstein got on the radio to find Balck, learning that his 11th Panzer Division had just formed up behind 3rd Panzergrenadiers.

“I want you to roll south and relieve 2nd SS on the line. I need Hausser elsewhere.”

“Very well,” said Balck. “But I could punch right through the Russian line and go all the way to the Donets.”

“Yes, but another time. Stop 3rd Guards Army for me, and I will use Das Reich further south. We have a small breakthrough to contend with there.”

“I’ll move immediately.”

That was going to improve the situation on the road to Kharkov considerably. Balck found a battalion of heavy SU-152’s, and his tankers quickly chopped them to pieces, knocking out eight of twelve in ten minutes. The KG from Grossdeutschland ran into the enemy cavalry that had broken through, and put them to rout. There were several holes in the lines of the Nordland SS, but Manstein was confident that their brethren in Das Reich would soon arrive to stabilize the situation, allowing him to recall the Grenadier regiment to his nest in Kharkov. Grossdeutschland Division was his last reserve, and he wanted it as fresh as possible.

He was going to need it.

Far to the north, things were about to gear up another level. Mikhail Katukov had decided to send in Rodmistrov’s rebuilt 5th Guards Tank with two of its three Corps to test the enemy line west of Tomarovka. It was but a prelude to the main attack, which he had scheduled for that night, a midnight surge of two Guards armies and five tank corps against the lines of 42nd Korps, holding from Belgorod west through Tomarovka and on to Model’s right flank.

The second Phase of Operation Rumyantsev was about to begin.

Chapter 17

While this action was being fought, word came from Knobelsdorff in the north to report that the Russians were renewing their attack. There was growing pressure all along the line, mostly by the rifle divisions of 6th and 8th Guards, the former being the troops of 21st Army which had just been awarded Guards status for their defense against Zitadelle. Yet 15 kilometers northwest of Tomarovka, a strong group of mechanized infantry had swarmed through the lines of 39th Division.

Identified as 3rd Mech, the Germans thought they were being hit by the same nemesis that had stopped their attack the previous week, and reported that 1st Tank Army was attacking their sector. They were not aware that the Russians had shuffled their cards, and this was instead the new 5th Guards Tank Army under Rodmistrov. Knobelsdorff had no choice but to commit Scheller’s 9th Panzer to stop them, even though that division needed rest and refit after the grueling drive towards Kursk.

3rd Battalion of 677 Grenadiers was already surrounded and bypassed by the fast-moving halftracks, and Scheller threw the bulk of his division in to remedy the situation. The Germans drove back the troops of 1st Mech Regiment, but there was another right behind it, this time supported by the 12th Guard Tank Brigade.

A lot of the German infantry had dug into hedgehog positions, a strategy they often used against Russian offensives. It was dangerous if they were hit by too much force, for the Soviet infantry would flow around the strongpoints like French cavalry breaking on British squares. Yet in such events, it was the only way for that infantry to survive, even if it might soon find itself behind the advancing tide of the enemy attack. The men of the 39th were glad that 9th Panzer was a hand, but Scheller’s troops were now in a very difficult fight. It was not only 3rd Mech that had been sent in. The 4th Guards Tank Corps had also been added to that attack, and now Rodmistrov sought to get revenge for the death of 23rd and 24th Tank Corps, and the loss of the former 5th Tank Army Commander himself, General Rybalko.

Some 20 kilometers to the east, between Tomarovka and Belgorod, the infantry of Chiukov’s 8th Guards was hitting the German front manned by the 161st Division. Knobelsdorff had posted 6th Panzer behind that segment of the line, and it was also needing refit after Zitadelle. The initial German reaction was to move up local reserves and answer the enemy push with artillery. Thus far there had been no sign of enemy attacks, and Knobelsdorff was still laboring under the assumption that Katukov was hitting his left…. But he was wrong.

Behind Chiukov’s lines, Katukov had formed up his revitalized 1st Tank Army. 6th and 31st Tank Corps were forward, backed by the new 5th Guard Mech that he had stolen away from Rodmistrov’s army in exchange for his old 3rd Mech. He was forward with that unit, walking down the columns as they formed up, his hand running over the sleek, smooth sides of his brainchild, the new Soviet B.M.P. The three brigade columns extended many kilometers to the rear, the engines only now thrumming up and the SMG laden infantry mounted through the rear hatches. Katukov peered inside the lead vehicle, giving the men inside a smile.

“Fight hard,” he told them, his face now set and serious. “Fight for the Rodina. We stopped them in front of Tula, and by god, we stopped them here as well. Now we throw them out.”

The tip of that long deadly metal spear was the three brigades of heavy tanks assigned to this Corps, each fielding 36 of the best tank the Soviets had—the Kirov-I. This division would soon vie with Kuznetsov’s 1st Guard Tank as the best in the Army, and it was now poised like an iron bolt about to be catapulted at the German line. The 161st Infantry Division was going to have a very bad night.

Katukov had been encouraged by the news from Rotmistrov to the west. 3rd Mech had led the way, and in spite of intervention by the German 9th Panzer Division, they were breaking through. Now it was time to unleash his new war horses. Just after midnight, he strode up to the head of the column and whistled loudly, circling his finger in the air as a sign for the vehicles to start their engines. One by one, they thrummed to life, like a line of planes on the deck of a carrier readying for takeoff.

Katukov rapped on the hatch of the lead vehicle, and a Lieutenant peered out. “My old 3rd Mech Corps has just broken through to the west. I want you to beat them in the race.”

The Lieutenant smiled, and his driver gunned the engine, ready to roll. Katukov looked at his watch, the second hand ticking off to midnight. Then, precisely on schedule, he heard the loud crack of artillery beginning to fire behind him. The distinctive sound of heavy 107 and 120mm mortars joined them, followed soon after by the roaring howl of the Katyushas.

They had been called that when the troops saw the bold letter “K” painted on the trucks, which was just a marker to indicate they had been produced at the Komintern factory at Voronezh. But they soon began to sing an old favorite song called “Katyusha,” the name of a Russian woman longing for her lost love gone off to the front. It had bolstered the morale of the troops when they heard it, reminding them that they also had lovers and family waiting for them back home, and that so many had already lost their homes to the steel tide of the advancing German Army. Now their rocket launchers would sing another song, one of vengeance, retribution, reprisal.

When the Germans heard it, it had the effect that their own Jericho Horns on the diving Stukas once had on their enemies, producing a blood curdling fear. They called them “Kirov’s Organ,” and knew enough to look for any cover they could find when they heard its deep throated roar.

Katukov was coming through.

The plan was a simple one, and it had been dress rehearsed the previous month by Katukov himself. They would break through to either side of Tomarovka, bypass Belgorod, and then run down either side of the Vorskla River. In that first attempt, they had stayed well east of that river, briefly touching base at Borisovka before turning towards the Donets to try and force the withdrawal of 4th Army. Hitler’s stubborn intransigence had kept that army in place, though Heinrici’s backward steps had later resulted in his dismissal to a new post on the “Northern Front,” where Operation Downfall was still being prepared.

This time Katukov had no intention of turning. He knew if he broke through, and ran for Akythrya, the Germans would have to give up their last hold on the upper Donets. Phase one of the plan had already forced the enemy to cancel their Zitadelle offensive, and pull all of Steiner’s elite divisions south to defend Kharkov, but Katukov had no intention of making a direct approach to the city either. If he went for Akythrya, the threat would bring strong forces behind the German defense of Kharkov, and they would have to answer that threat. The only force they would have in hand to do that was Steiner, and that would then weaken the defense of Kharkov.

It was envelopment of the city by their mobile elements that the Russians really wanted, while their infantry continued to keep up strong pressure all along the front. Yet Manstein’s surprise in the south was already complicating General Kuznetsov’s envelopment operation. The recon battalion of 1st Guards Tank reported a long train arriving south of Novaya Vodolaga. The Wiking Division was now going to be a big factor on that front.

The “Heroes of Damascus” had returned to the Ostfront, and with an assortment of new equipment that no other division had seen. Porsche had been busy designing a whole new line of vehicles that they were trying to ramp up in production. They had already used the 90 chassis of their failed Tiger project to build the formidable “Ferdinand” tank-killing assault gun. Now they opened their barn doors and let out a flock of creatures that were to be found nowhere else on the front.

When the Wiking Division returned from Syria, it was needing fresh equipment, with orders to build up to a full panzer division. They would inherit some of the surviving tanks and APCs from the 24th Panzerkorps, but these new additions came directly from Germany on a train from the Porshe and Krupp factories.

Porsche had worked with the Klockner-Humboldt-Deutz Magirus AG firm in Ulm on what was now being called the “Entwicklung” series, or simply the “E-Series” standard AFV project. It had been conceived by Chief Engineer Heinrich Ernst Kniekamp, as a series meant to create improved vehicles to replace the battle tested tanks produced in the early years of the war, including many of the self-propelled guns. The idea was to use standardized parts across the whole line, greatly simplifying production.

There were a few prototypes, and a test batch run of the E-10, a new light tank with a hull mounted gun and very low profile. Its bigger cousin was the E-25, a similar design that had been meant to replace the Pz-IV tanks, and it was later envisioned as a heavy Panzerjager tank, like the “Hetzer.” Perhaps the best of the lot was the E-50, which looked very much like the tank it had been designed to replace, the Panther and Tiger series tanks, but there were only three of these. There were also some Panzerjagers, like the Waffentrager 38D, mounted with a turreted 88mm Pak 43 L/71 gun. It was given 60mm frontal armor, and that gun had real penetrating power at very long ranges.

Other designs existed, like the super heavy jagdpanzer “Krokodil,” on a chassis that would have seen it approach 100 tons in weight when fully loaded. That monster had not yet been born, but the small E-series prototypes and test batches were all released to the Wiking s.

Kuznetsov knew he had to cobble together some defense on his left flank. There was very little left in his barn, as all his primary formations had been committed to the envelopment operation. Aside from that recon battalion he had sent to Novaya Vodolaga, there was a flak unit 8 Kilometers to the northeast, and the 76th heavy SPG Regiment was another six kilometers beyond that on the main road to Kharkov. That had 10 SU-122’s, five more heavier SU-152’s, and a few armored cars with light infantry. Yet it was the heaviest unit he had in that sector, and he gave it orders to go to the town and reinforce the recon battalion.

The General knew that would not be enough, so he detached the 186th Tank Brigade from 10th Tank Corps to move southwest. Then he ordered his real defense to get ready to move, the Guardsmen of his infantry divisions. These troops had cleared the Donets bend south of Zimyev, and were now mopping up some Luftwaffe battalions west of that town. He wanted them to continue west and see if they could develop a blocking defense in case anything with real power was coming up that rail line. If he had known about the steel menagerie coming his way, and in the hands of veteran troops like the Wiking SS, he would have thought twice about trying to press his envelopment forward.

Events to the east would soon play in his favor. It was the Nordland SS Division again, now a month after its baptism of fire, and much worse for the wear. It had learned a great deal in the field since April Fool’s Day, but the 3rd Siberian Shock Army was relentless. The lines of Wagner’s troops were buckling, with more crisis points than he could manage. The Grenadiers of Grossdeutschland had gone to shore up the flagging Reichsführer Brigades, and Nordland was on its own again.

Manstein was realizing that he would simply have to fall back on Kharkov. The city was a warren of heavy concrete and brick buildings, and he had troops that could turn it into another Volgograd if the enemy wanted a street fight. Nordland was in trouble, half the reserve was off trying to shore up the line, Dietrich’s Leibstandarte was badly overextended, and he knew he had to concentrate to build a stronger defense.

The only segment of the line that was solid was the area being held by Das Reich and Balck’s 11th Panzer. The former was in a line running parallel to the main road from Stary Saltov to Kharkov, which was screened by a small minor river that flowed into the city. He quickly gave orders that the river line would now become the new main line of resistance, and told Hörnlein to pull back the Grenadiers.

“I want your hounds back in the city,” he said. “I am bringing the fight here. If the Nordland SS can get back to this river, all the better, but if they get hung up making the withdrawal, your men should lend a hand. Otherwise, I want them in the city before sunrise.”

“What news from the north?” asked Hörnlein.

“The usual. They are hitting the line between Belgorod and Tomarovka again, and Knobelsdorff’s Korps is missing 11th Panzer. They will get through again, and that will raise the whole question of 4th Army’s position on the upper Donets. Hitler will want to stand fast, but I will not order it. There will be no ‘Festung Belgorod’ this time around, for all that would do is hand the enemy another good division or two to file away with Oppenlander’s 305th that died at Prokhorovka. I foresee having to order all of 42nd Korps to withdraw in a matter of hours.”

“I thought Salmuth’s 10th Korps went north.”

“It did, and it will likely be out of the frying pan and into the fire in another few hours as well. That may buy us another day. I just received notice that 9th Panzer is disintegrating west of Tomarovka. The 6th is holding the line closer to Belgorod, but I think they will bypass that city and put the question to us. I already have given you my answer. I see the 10th Korps as nothing more than a delaying force now. I intend to get our men out of Belgorod, and start peeling back that front from the Donets in short order. As for Model, he’s going to have to fold back as well, and Hitler will have his fits.”

“This could get serious,” said Hörnlein. “You saw what happened to Heinrici.”

“Generals are Generals,” said Manstein. He was a Field Marshal, and perhaps the most highly regarded strategist in the Army. Hitler once listened to him like a school boy before the head master, but that time was long passed. The Führer would quibble with him now, as that marathon session in Zaporozhe had shown the previous month, but Manstein was not going to allow that this time. His loyalty was unquestionable, but he had to do what he knew was right, not for himself, but for the salvation of the Army.

“Papa, let me put it to you this way,” he said to Hörnlein, using the nickname he knew the men often called him. “This front is shielding the Donets Basin—the fabled ‘Donbass’ and the heart of the coal mining center of the Ukraine. That is shielding Rostov, the gateway to the Caucasus, and all of Efendi’s dreams of endless oil. If we lose here—if this front collapses, or is fatally compromised by Hitler’s nonsensical interference, then it all comes tumbling down—everything. We’ll have to pull out of the Caucasus and get Hansen and Kleist back through Rostov, and then order Paulus to fall back behind the Donets where it meets the Don near that city. This little war Hitler wanted with Volkov will be as good as over. Volkov will end up getting exactly what he wanted when he fumed at Ribbentrop. The Kuban will be his once more—until Sergei Kirov comes for it again.”

“I see….” Hörnlein could clearly hear the warning in Manstein’s voice and tone, and knew there would be a good deal of trial and travail ahead for his favored sons, the soldiers of the Grossdeutschland Division.

“It is going to be a very long year,” said Manstein. “For the first time, I am beginning to realize that we could lose this war. We broke into this farmhouse, booted out the sleeping farmer and wife, all easily accomplished. But now his sons have learned what we have done, and they are coming home to settle matters. This is not the army we beat from pillar to post in 1941, and I don’t have to remind you that even that army stopped us at Moscow, and then pushed back—very hard.”

Chapter 18

News coming to Manstein’s Headquarters was consistently bad. In the North, the enemy had already broken through west of Tomarovka, and powerful new forces were smashing their way through that second line of defense that the two remaining divisions of Salmuth’s Korps had thrown up. They had arrived just in time to be hit by the steam rolling offensive, a thankless fate. The men were weary from the long 70-kilometer march, and few battalions had time to get set up or prepare any kind of defensive positions. The enemy tanks were a new model that none of the Germans had seen before, and they watched their 50mm AT gun rounds bounce off that armor on the Kirov tanks.

Manstein drafted the orders that he knew he had to deliver, in spite of what Hitler would think. To Korps Raus holding the upper Donets and Belgorod, he signaled. “Your Korps is to withdraw from Belgorod immediately on the road through Mikoyanovka, and positions on the upper Donets are to be relinquished in good order as this movement proceeds.”

To Dostler’s 42nd Korps and Salmuth’s 10th: “You are to fall back in a fighting defensive withdrawal, while continuing to maintain as cohesive a front as possible between the Vorskla River and the Donets. Every effort should be made to maintain contact with Korps Raus on your right. In this movement, Tomarovka is to be deemed non-essential.”

To Knobelsdorff at his headquarters in Borisovka he signaled: “Your divisions are to render screening and defensive support to the infantry wherever possible, but it will be essential that 6th Panzer be extricated from the line as soon as possible.”

To General Walther Model: “Given the enemy breakthrough west of Belgorod, it is necessary to readjust your lines so as to maintain contact with our forces on your right. In doing so, Sumy is to be screened and held, but positions on the Psel should be considered disposable at your own discretion. It is imperative that you maintain the integrity of your army in the field, and use every opportunity to frustrate and wear down enemy offensive thrusts in your sector.”

Manstein hoped that note would be interpreted correctly, for Model was a very astute officer, and knew exactly what he needed to do in a situation like this. At the same time, Manstein had also passed the buck on that order, leaving the final decision up to Model as to whether he would withdraw.

In the south, Manstein had told Hollidt to pull his Korps back to the Donets and seek better defensive ground in the woodland fringing the winding river. 17th Panzer was already holding near the river and screening Balakleya. Reports came that the Russians had again seized Andreyevka, and forced their way over the river to create a small bridgehead. Whether they had any strength behind it was not known.

The only bright spot was the steady advance of the Wiking Division, which had leapt from the trains and deployed enough strength forward to quickly clear out Novaya Vodolaga. They continued northeast another eight kilometers before the sun came up on the 1st day of June, eventually meeting the 186th Tank Brigade and engaging it in that grey hour.

That morning, Manstein would cover all these exceptional orders, each one given without consultation with OKW or Hitler, with a long letter to Zeitzler:

“I have, this hour, ordered numerous adjustment to the front now being held by Army Group South in the interest of rebuilding a cohesive defense aimed at halting the current enemy counteroffensive. These orders entail the movement of certain formations, so as to maintain the army’s integrity as a fighting force in the field, and prevent any encirclement of our forces that would become a grave weakening of our general situation and overall strength.

If my intentions as Commander are frustrated by countervailing orders from OKW, or higher authority, I shall have no choice but to assume the Führer has not the necessary confidence in this Headquarters. While no commander in the field should ever be considered infallible, I must point out that this Army Group has carried out each and every assignment given to it with exemplary vigor, and when faced with difficult situations at the end of last year, and against the enemy’s previous attempt to seize Kharkov, we were able to master the situation. The orders I have issued are herewith attached, and are deemed by this Headquarters as essential prerequisites to ensure the defense of Kharkov, and prepare an appropriately timed counterattack.

If the Führer thinks he can find any Army Group Commander or headquarters staff with better nerves than we had in the past six months, with more initiative than we have showed, or with the ability to foresee the inevitable more clearly than we have done, I am fully prepared to hand over to them. As long as I remain at this post, however, I must have the chance to use my own head.”

It was a stunning and bold communication, covering the withdrawals he had ordered, and basically telling both OKW and Hitler to stay out of his affairs, or find someone else to command Army Group South. He thinly veiled his intention to tender his resignation if his present conduct of the battle was interfered with.[2]

When Zeitzler read the letter, his eyes fixed on one salient comment: “…so as to maintain the army’s integrity as a fighting force in the field.” That spoke volumes, the sum of all fears now arising in the minds of the Generals at OKW. The enemy had been able to seize the initiative on the field, and hold it, for the first time in the war. German offensives were now counteroffensives, all aimed at restoring a deteriorating position, and they seldom ended with any full recovery of territory that had been lost to the enemy. Soviet armies appeared on the front at the most inopportune time, and there seemed to be no end to them. All this was also creating a rising level of tension at OKW, for with every backward step the Army took, Hitler would become more and more irrational, more unstable, more demanding, and given to fits of anger and frustration.

As a hedge against Hitler, Manstein would have his staff update OKW on new division positions only after his orders were carried out and the units reported they were on their new assigned frontage. He knew that Hitler found any retreat inimical, unwilling to believe that the German Army could be forced off ground it was determined to hold. The long years of triumph had convinced him that the Wehrmacht was invincible, and he would then blame the loss of ground on the incompetence or weak nerves of his Generals. For him, iron will was the only solution to adversity.

The entire issue of the “adjustments” that Manstein had ordered would, however, be quickly eclipsed by new developments. The Soviets had opened yet another attack, this time aimed at Paulus and his 6th Army in the Don basin. 44th, 28th, 51st, and 2nd Guards Armies smashed through the remnants of Polsten’s 69th Korps, flanking Seydlitz-Kurzbach and compelling him to withdraw towards the Donets. This was Manstein’s greatest fear, a move that now threatened to cut off the entire position in the Caucasus. The rest of 6th Army was strung out to the east, and in danger of being cut off.

It was almost inevitable that there would be repercussions from the bold moves Manstein ordered near Kharkov, but when this news reached OKW, he was not surprised when Hitler announced that he would again fly to the scene for a direct conference, undoubtedly to prevent any further unilateral actions by Manstein. The General, and his Chief of Staff Hans Speidel, steeled themselves for the storm.

“Do you realize the pressure I am under?” said Hitler, unable to let Manstein’s transgressions pass in spite of the urgency of the hour. “When you take such sweeping actions without consultation or consent from higher authority, you compromise positions the Army has taken two long years to obtain! It was only your rank as Commanding officer of this Armeegruppe that stopped me from removing you the instant I read this letter!” Hitler threw the long teleprint that Manstein had sent earlier down on the table, his eyes like coal, a pained expression on his face. It was as if he had come to redress a personal insult, an offense directed at him more than what it was meant to be, Manstein’s insistence that he should command his Armeegruppe, and not Hitler.

“I overlooked that business with 4th Army earlier,” said Hitler, “but General Heinrici paid the price, did he not? Thank God Model stood his ground, and perhaps I should consider him for higher level command.” Hitler gave Manstein a narrow-eyed look, the implied threat being that he could easily appoint Model in his place. “I need men of iron will, and with backbone in situations like this, not officers who insist that the only solution to every crisis is a withdrawal.”

The General shrugged, then simply pointed at the letter on the table. “That was my warning shot,” he said, quite boldly. “I will not have my nerve, nor my competence in the field, questioned here, not by OKW, and not by you either, my Führer. If Heinrici had obeyed your orders to the letter as you might have wished, he would not be idling on the North Front waiting for Operation Downfall. Instead he would be encircled, along with most of 4th Army, somewhere on the Oskol River, which is now over 100 kilometers behind enemy lines. And without his troops, the center of Armeegruppe South would have collapsed. The enemy would already be in Kharkov now, and possibly half way to the Dnieper!”

Now it was Manstein who raised his voice, and Speidel, standing at his side with his hands clasped behind his back, stood frozen like a statue, amazed that his C.O. could address Hitler in that manner. Hitler had his head turned away, eyes averted, a twitch in his cheek and at the edge of his left eye. Then he turned, the well of his dark eyes so deep that it seemed endless. He regarded the General with an unflinching stare that expressed the full power of his considerable will. It was as if he wished to break Manstein with that stare, crush him, and the silence stretched between the two men like a steel cord pulled to the point of snapping.

Such a moment was often the dreadful calm before the storm, the darkening of the clouds as they towered up and up, building to an outpouring of utter rage. Yet not this time.

Manstein could feel the awful pressure of the Führer’s expression, his dissatisfaction, disappointment and more, his disdain. It was an unspoken reprimand carried entirely in the venom of those eyes. Yet behind that stern gaze there was something more, an emptiness, a yearning, an unfed infant in its crib, bawling in the night. The Field Marshall knew that if Hitler spoke next, his words could only lead him one place—into a tirade of blame, recrimination, and anger. Before the Führer could launch himself into that rage, Manstein pressed his offensive, staying objective, cool, unmoved by the emotion of the moment.

He had to impress upon the Führer the real gravity of the situation. He had to see what Manstein himself had finally come to see and believe himself, that somewhere in the long, frozen winter of early 1943, the Soviet army had changed, and dramatically so. The bear that came out of hibernation this year was bigger, meaner, fatter, and yet as hungry as ever.

“We have before us a crisis that makes the matter of Heinrici and 4th Army pale by comparison. Paulus is maneuvering to shore up his line—maneuvering —which is how a competent Army commander must fight in situations like this. Yet he has no Panzer divisions assigned to his Army, and his prospects for launching any counterattack aimed at restoring the front are very dim. In fact, there are only three divisions that could be sent—17th Panzer and 29th Motorized in Kirchner’s 57th Panzerkorps, and the 18th Panzer Division still in the Caucasus. If Kirchner must go, then I can say with equal certainty, that we will not be able to hold the line of the lower Donets either. The enemy has already seized Andreyevka and Balakleya, and will likely secure the vital crossing at Izyum as well. In this instance, the threat to Paulus will be redoubled, because if we cannot hold here, then his defense further east, no matter how competent and dogged, will be for naught. Now… All that said, I have a solution to the crisis, and yes, it will take iron will to redress this situation, but not in the manner you may think.”

Whether Hitler followed all that Manstein had said, or truly grasped the military situation he had been trying to explain, could not be known. Yet he heard one word in Manstein’s discourse, the carrot at the end of the stick—solution. That was what the Führer wanted, why he had really come all this way to see his Field Marshal. In every crisis, no matter how severe, there had been but one man who had truly prevailed, and that was Manstein. As stubborn as he was, Hitler could feel his own grip on the reins of this war slowly slipping from his grasp, and he wanted to redress that at any cost.

“Solution?” Hitler eyed him with misgiving. “What is it you propose this time?”

“I hesitate to even offer it, as you are so averse to yielding ground to the enemy, but in this instance, I can see no other way. Paulus must restore his front on the line of the Donets. That river will present the enemy with a formidable barrier, and in doing so, his left flank will again be in contact with that of General Hollidt’s forces defending the crossings at Izyum and Krasny Liman.”

“Can this line then be held?”

“Yes. I am certain that we can prevail, but we must act quickly. Since the Italian 8th Army has been withdrawn to Italy, we no longer have to worry about upsetting Mussolini, and I can see no economic or political benefit in holding the Don basin. Paulus presently has the crossing at Belaya Kalivta available, but if he is cut off, then his situation gets very serious. He would have to cross at Tormosin, and this could expose Rostov, as he would have to move his troops south of the Don to then reach that city.”

Hitler studied the map, taking the time to master his own emotions in the situation. “If you can assure me that the Donets line can be held, then I will agree to such a proposal.”

For a moment, Manstein was thrown off balance. He had expected a litany of reasons why the Don basin must be held, and did not think Hitler would acquiesce so easily to this request. He turned to Speidel, giving him a quiet nod of his head, and seeing that he had made somewhat of a breakthrough of his own, he decided to press his luck.

“Excellent,” he said. “It’s clear you appreciate the situation correctly. In that light, I will now ask you to consider our present position in the Caucasus. This move by Paulus will make it prudent to tighten our line this way…” He pointed at the map. The Hungarians are presently here at Kotelnikovo, and I recommend that they move to Zimovinki. They are not opposed by Soviet troops, as that area south of the Don is Volkov’s territory. However, the moves we now make do several things. In addition to consolidating our position, the Soviets will undoubtedly move to occupy the Don basin. When they do so, the river then becomes a border zone between their forces and those of Ivan Volkov, and they will have to garrison that line—the entire line of the Don, from Volgograd to our position.”

“Agreed,” said Hitler. He had, himself, come to see the Don Basin as a liability, and so this minor adjustment was nothing that concerned him. But he perceived there was something more behind Manstein’s request, and he soon flushed that bird out of the scrub.

“What about the Caucasus?” he asked directly. “Will our position there remain secure?”

Manstein hesitated briefly, for this was the real heart of the matter. The Donets line screened Rostov, which in turn provided Kleist and Hansen their line of communications back to the heart of Armeegruppe South.

“For the moment,” he said, a warning implicit in that remark.