Decision In the Ukraine, Summer 1943, II. SS and III. Panzerkorps [Hardcover]

George M., Jr. Nipe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1996

Decision in the Ukraine (George M. Nipe, Jr.) Hard cover, small format (9"x6"), 390 pages, 75 photographs and 29 maps and orders of battle. For the first time in English, the full story of the crucial battles on the Mius River by the 6. Armee and the successful counterattack spearheaded by the II. SS-Panzer-Korps, consisting of "Das Reich" and "Totenkopf". Also covered in detail are the offensives after Kursk in July/August 1943. The author uses many primary sources and conveys the action in vivid detail.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 390 pages
• Publisher: Fedorowicz (J.J.),Canada; First edition (December 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0921991355
• ISBN-13: 978-0921991359
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,310,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Debunking Myths, May 14, 2004

By 

Joseph Burgard "Joe Burgard" (Lombard, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Decision In the Ukraine, Summer 1943, II. SS and III. Panzerkorps (Hardcover)

I bought this book after I had bought George Nipe's other book "Last Victory in Russia." Why? It's simple, this author mostly uses primary documents of the period from the micro-filmed German records in the National Archives in Washington D.C. He also uses secondary sources written by former Waffen-SS or German Army soldiers, like Wolfgang Vopersal's 8 volume history of the 3. SS Panzer Division 'Totenkopf' and Otto Weidinger's history of the 2. SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich.'

This book tells the story of the German attempts in the summer of 1943 to try and force a favorable outcome on the Eastern Front. After von Manstein's brilliant counterstroke at Kharkov in March, 1943, the logical choice of a major summer offensive was Operation "Citadel." While the battle of Kursk is not the main focus of the book, it is covered and destroys myths about it, particularly the battle at Prochorovka. Most notable are the myths about how many German tanks were destroyed and the destruction of the three Waffen-SS divisions of II. SS Panzerkorps, which the auther shows isn't true given the combat effectiveness of the Waffen-SS divisions later in the summer. Postwar literature accepted the Soviet account of the losses and the historians copied each other furthering the misinformation. For example, many other studies of the battle of Kursk claim the SS divisions lost 70 to 100 'Tiger' tanks in the battle at Prochorovka. However, the SS divisions only had 35 'Tigers' on the day before 'Citadel' began. Also the SS divisions had no 'Panther' tanks at all despite Soviet claims of destroying dozens of them, the SS divisions only received those tanks later in 1943 or early 1944.

The author delves into the other interrelated battles on the Mius River and at Bogodukhov. One of Nipe's objectives is to study the combat operations of and correct misconceptios about the SS divisions "Das Reich" and "Totenkopf," both of which fought at all three battles studied in the book. An aspect not covered well in other books is well covered here, and that is Soviet deception to distract the Germans. The battle at the Mius River is the best example of this because when the Soviets gained a bridgehead over the river, it caused Hitler to cancel "Citadel" and rush the two SS divisions to counter the threat in that area. As usual Hitler tried to defend everything all at once, and in the end lost everything. Another characteristic of Hitler's brought out is that he constantly tried to gain too much with too little, and in the end he gained nothing.

George Nipe did an excellent job with this book. His writing style flows well, even though he includes a lot of information. This book did help my understanding of the battles on the Eastern Front in 1943. Most notably by showing how the battles discussed were interrelated and the strategies used by both sides. Thanks.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Study, July 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Decision In the Ukraine, Summer 1943, II. SS and III. Panzerkorps (Hardcover)

This book is a serious, military study of the fighting in the Ukraine during the summer of 1943. When I first purchased the book, I thought it was yet another account of the battle of Kursk. While the Kursk battle is covered, the book's primary focus is on the battles which occurred immediately after the Kursk offensive was called off by Hitler -- namely, the fighting along the Mius river in late July and early August and the fighting in the area west of Kharkov in August. The maps are excellent, allowing the reader to follow the action day by day. The book is also well-written, apparently originally in English (not translated from German) which makes for an easier read. I am definitely looking forward to the author's next book. .........

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book., February 8, 2005

By 

Lukasz Przybylo (Warsaw, Poland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Decision In the Ukraine, Summer 1943, II. SS and III. Panzerkorps (Hardcover)

I think that this is very good book.
1. Author style is really good, the narrative is gripping.
2. There a lots of maps, which is so material in such type of books that even rather poor quality of them almost isn't a problem.
3. Operations described in "Decision..." are very important in eastern conflict - Nipe did a great job in describing them without all that propaganda stuff met elsewhere.
4. Photos are great.

Now, the dark side (or why I subtracted one star):
1. Maps are of low quality
2. Russians are shown as amorphous mass - which is not true - and sources for them are easily accessible (Glantz, Ericsson etc)
3. Appendices are of no value. I expected some real data, tables, OdBs unfortunately I found almost none. This is I think main weakness of the book. With such effort put in writing "Decision..." I hoped that Nipe would give the reader some hard data in the form of appendicies.