This book is the first detailed and comprehensive account of the Kharkov counteroffensive, the operations of the SS divisions and the supporting actions of Armeeabteilung Fretter-Pico and 1. Panzerarmee, and is supported by over 210 photographs and maps. By the end of January of 1943, Hitlers armies had been dealt a series of defeats by the Russians, beginning with the disaster at Stalingrad. Successive Soviet offensives had destroyed the German 6. Armee and annihilated the armies of Germanys Axis allies, Italy, Rumania and Hungary. Germany teetered on the brink of defeat in World War II because the Soviet advance threatened to drive to the Dnepr River and encircle the remaining Germans armies in southern Russia. Stalin and the Russian high command believed that the war could be won with just one more great effort. Accordingly, they planned and launched two offensives, designated Operations Star and Gallop. The focal points of the two offensives included the recapture of Kharkov, the industrial heart of the Ukraine and the destruction of Armeeabteilung Hollidt, 4. Panzerarmee and 2. Armee. Feldmarschall Erich von Manstein entered the picture in late 1942 when he was appointed commander of Heeresgruppe Don. Beginning in February he engineered a remarkable operation that changed the course of the war in Russia. Mansteins counteroffensive destroyed or severely damaged four Russian armies and regained much of the territory lost in January. The troops that played the most important role in the offensive were three divisions of the Waffen-SS. Leibstandarte, Das Reich and Totenkopf were combined for the first time into a corps, which was commanded by SS-Obergruppenfhrer Paul Hausser, the senior commander of the Waffen-SS. Leibstandarte and Das Reich participated in the defense of Kharkov, along with the elite Army division ?Grossdeutschland supported by three weak infantry divisions. This handful of divisions was attacked by four Soviet armies, but under command of Armeeabteilung Lanz, was able to hold the city for two weeks. On 14 February, 1943 the SS-Panzerkorps and the rest of Armeeabteilung Lanz withdrew from Kharkov under disputed circumstances that involved Hausser and his violation of a direct order from Hitler. Almost exactly a month later, the Germans had recaptured Kharkov and destroyed or crippled the four Soviet armies that had driven them out of the city in February. The divisions that played the key role in Mansteins counteroffensive were the three divisions of the Waffen-SS. While Leibstandarte defended the supply base of the SS-Panzerkorps from the entire Soviet 3rd Tank Army, Das Reich and Totenkopf conducted a complex series of operations that began with a 100 kilometer thrust to the south which saved the Dnepr bridges, thus securing supply lines for the armies of Heeresgruppe Don/Sd. Subsequent operations by the SS divisions drove the Russians away from the rail net south of Kharkov and wrested Kharkov from the Russians once again. During the recapture of the city, there was controversy regarding Haussers command decisions. Hausser has been accused of disregarding his instructions from superior officers and throwing his divisions into costly combat in the city for reasons of personal and SS prestige, in order to regain Hitlers favor. This study has found that the records of the SS-Panzerkorps and 4. Panzerarmee provide a different explanation for Haussers actions.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping,
By KH "tcjournal@hotmail.com" (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Last Victory in Russia: The SS-Panzerkorps and Manstein's Kharkov Counteroffensive - February-March 1943 (Hardcover)
Last Victory in Russia is a well written detail-oriented look at the last great achievement of the German Armed Forces in World War Two the defense and retaking of the Eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov. *A battle so vicious it produced more casualties than all American losses during the entire Vietnam war *. Knowing how badly he was outnumbered, outgunned and outsupplied, General Manstein assembled 4 of the most battle-worthy and prestigious combat divisions the German Wermacht could field for his operation the SS divisions Leibstandarte, Das Reich, and Totenkopf, and the elite Army division Grossdeutschland. In February of 1943 General Manstein unleashed the fury of his SS divisions on the 4 massive Russian armies defending the recently captured city of Kharkov. Employing the same rapid-fire, encirclement tactics used to such stunning success in the early stages of the Barbarossa campaign in 1941, Manstein and Haussers SS divisions slashed, stomped and sliced their way through the ocean of Russian defensive works and retook Kharkov. Once the pincer movement of the mechanized battle groups on the outskirts of the battle zone were complete, Hausers SS divisions slowly ground the stunned Russian armies against the waiting Grossdeutschland and Leibstandarte divisions, which acted as an anvil. So complete was the defeat, and carried out with such ferocity, the Soviet high command re-thought the way it conducted both offensive and defensive maneuvers for the entire remainder of the war. The author of Last Victory in Russia, George Nipe, does a brilliant job of detailing the monumental task that faced Manstein and Hausser when it came to organizing the German offensive aimed at retaking Kharkov. With a flare for recreating the moment, Nipe reveals the logistical nightmare that Kharkov was for the Germans, and just how determined the German High Command was to retake the city. Nipes work is at once analytical and detail-oriented, but not so much so that the average history buff will drown in statistics. Nipe brings forth the human element in his work something many other books in the WWII genre seem to lack. For the battle of Kharkov is really about men, hundreds of thousands of men. The definitive work on this important battle, and absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in military history. The book takes a while to be delivered and is printed in limited numbers, but its worth the wait if Amazon can track down a copy for you!
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
3rd battle of Kharkov,
By
This review is from: Last Victory in Russia: The SS-Panzerkorps and Manstein's Kharkov Counteroffensive - February-March 1943 (Hardcover)
I'm great fan of Nipe's book. His "Decision in the Ukraine" is another good read.
This is book for WWII buffs, casual reader do not have a chance to finish it ;-) But those interested in history of great struggle in the Donbas and around Kharkow in January-March 1943 won't be disappointed. The main stress is laid on SS PanzerKorps and its achievements. Soviets and Wehrmacht have been devoted less space , thou it is still unbelivably detailed. The main weakness of this book (apart from price) is lack of good maps. What we get is reproduction of original german maps. This is unfortunately not enough. All in all very good book.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A rebuttal to the Soviet apologists (Glanz et al.),
By
This review is from: Last Victory in Russia: The SS-Panzerkorps and Manstein's Kharkov Counteroffensive - February-March 1943 (Hardcover)
Look, the Wehrmacht did win a huge, improbable victory here. I'd suggest getting over it, folks. I also think it's laughable that people consider Soviet sources to be, in any way, reliable. The simple fact is that, division for division, the Wehrmacht was many times more effective than the Soviets ever were.
I consider Glantz to be a historical revisionist with an agenda to "correct" our lack of appreciation of Soviet military prowess. And yet, look at the facts. 1. The Soviets had exactly one enemy to defeat. The Germans: America, Britain, France, Russia. The Germans were fighting a sprawling global conflict and were being bombed day and night. No Lend-Lease. Hugely outnumbered and out-resourced. 2. It took the Soviets from Jan 43 to Mar 45 to accomplish what the Wehrmacht did in 4 months. It would have taken much longer but for the madman Hitler's interference in operational - even tactical - affairs. 3. No amount of propaganda can conceal the facts and figures of the conflict. The Take-Home: The Germans did a lot more with a lot less. Just because that doesn't comply with your version of political correctness ("fairness to the Soviets") doesn't mean I have to suspend my ability to analyze the situation. 4. While the SS officers fit the Nazi stereotype, the enlisted were usually deluded-but-enthusiastic foreign volunteers (since the Heer forbade the SS from recruiting within Germany itself). 5. The Waffen SS was skilled and valorous. Get over it. So was Shaka Zulu, and he was an insane murderer. You don't have to like something to respect it - and most importantly, learn from it. 6. BTW, this is a great book. :-) Lastly, two quotes: Fas est et ab hoste doceri (It is right to learn, even from the enemy). - Ovid There are two differences between the IDF and the Wehrmacht: We will not persecute Jews, and we will not lose. - Ariel Sharon
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