Thor's Anvil (Kirov Series Book 26)

by John Schettler

  “I have had to order the withdrawal of both 9th and 11th Rifle Corps in the Don Bend,” said Rokossovsky, “so that leaves the entire lower Don open to crossing operations. They are trying to break out at Kalach as well.”

  “And they will,” said Zhukov.

  “What about Operation Saturn?”

  “It achieved a remarkable penetration, but they brought in yet another infantry division and managed to stop it four to six kilometers from Morozovsk. Now they are reinforcing that position further with elements of that damn Death’s Head Division. The question now is what to do about this development. What is your situation?”

  “I managed to pull 11th Rifle Corps back. They are deployed south of the main road to Kalach. 9th Rifle Corps is getting beat up in the fight to stop their 48th Panzer Corps. But the flank is now hanging in thin air there, and they are beginning to push out patrols to the north. I have no mobile reserve, and 1st Guard Tank is still engaged. There is now a 30 kilometer gap in the front centered on Surovinko, and I have nothing to send there.”

  There was silence for some time before Zhukov spoke again. “We have done what we could,” he said. “They have finally seen the error they made in crossing the Don with their best mobile divisions. So now our party is over. The only mobile force we presently have is 1st Tank Army near Morozovsk. I will have no choice but to suspend operations there and pull that force out. So we have driven them to the ropes, but those ribs are tougher than we thought. Now we move to the center of the ring again. As for 5th Shock Army, we will leave it where it is for the moment. That will keep a lot of forces preoccupied near Morozovsk.”

  “And Volgograd?” asked Rokossovsky.

  “The bad news is that they have taken the Volga Bridge. The good news is that they are now pulling out their better divisions, and it will be some time before they can move in significant reinforcements to replace them. Volkov’s dogs are moving up from Beketova. They have also begun reoccupying Sarpinskiy Island.”

  “Like the scavengers they are,” said Rokossovsky. “They’ll take nothing we don’t give to them first.”

  “This allows us some time to reorganize the defense of the city,” said Zhukov. “Unfortunately, with the bridge lost, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to get supplies in by river as we were doing. So now I must look to building up the 66th Army. That is the only force we can use to attempt to relieve the city.”

  “How very strange,” said Rokossovsky. “Last year Volkov’s troops were sitting right where 66th Army is now, trying to get at Volgograd from the north. Now here we sit contemplating the same thing.”

  “The tides of war become rip currents around places like that city,” said Zhukov. “Don’t worry, we will hold it again this year. I have given Sergei Kirov my word.”

  “Like we promised him we would save Moscow?”

  “That was different. That traitor, Beria, had everything to do with the difficulty there. That said, we still have a third of the city, for what it’s worth.”

  “What is Volgograd worth? We get no supplies from it. Now that it is cut off like this, all the industry there will serve only to try and keep Chuikov supplied. Why do we sacrifice two armies there? They will be much needed elsewhere. And for that matter, how long can we leave these shock armies this far south of the Don with the Germans east of Voronezh?”

  “It is winter,” said Zhukov. “Their operations will come to a halt, just as they did last year.”

  “Only this year we have little left to throw at them,” said Rokossovsky.

  “Be patient,” said Zhukov. “The factories in Leningrad are working night and day to build new tanks. There is more in the works than you realize. Everything depends on that city now—everything. Sergei Kirov has moved the government there now that Berzin has cleaned everything up after Beria’s treachery. If we can manage to hold on to Rostov and Volgograd until spring, then things will look a little different.”

  “But what did we gain from all of this?” asked Rokossovsky. “2nd Guards Rifle Corps is nothing more than a headquarters now. We lost both 24th and 25th Tank Corps as well.”

  “What did we gain?” Zhukov asked him back again. “Time, Konstanty, time. It was all about getting us to General Winter. Now we have time, and those tank corps will be replaced. Just wait and see.”

  * * *

  Things were already starting to look very different on the front as divisions began moving in all directions. A kampfgruppe from 3rd SS of four battalions and a company of tanks arrived at Morozovsk, but given the withdrawal that night of the 1st Tank Army, that front had already stabilized.

  “Thank you for coming,” said Manstein. “Rest here tonight and we will see what things look like in the morning. I may be sending you right back east to join the rest of your division, only this time I have a ride for you. There is fresh rolling stock here, and the rail line is open, at least as far as Oblivskaya. I think 48th Panzer Korps, and the backbone in this infantry we deployed here, has won the day. Soon I will have Steiner bring out the rest of your Korps. Then we do some broken field running again. I am going to continue north into the gap in the front above Surovinko, and I expect that will soon move the enemy mobile group here. Tonight I must fly to meet with Halder to plan the redisposition of forces on the front. I will personally recommend that Totenkopf gets a unit citation for exceptional valor and skill in these battles along the Chir.”

  For the Russians it was now a case of “so close but yet so far.” They had taken ground, taken losses to do so, but the premature offensive had threatened to bottle up the cream of Steiner’s SS, though Manstein was now taking steps to correct that. They had cut the rail line that had taken months for the Germans to convert, and now it would take another three weeks to a month to repair all that damage. The shuffling of forces that would soon be underway would give a much needed respite to the defenders if Volgograd. Steiner would have to swallow his pride and turn that battle over to someone else.

  Come the 1st of November Manstein was meeting with the Führer to explain what had happened, and why he had made the decisions he took. “A city fight is no place for a Panzer Division,” he lectured. “Particularly that city. The streets are piles of rubble from the bombing and shelling, and the enemy moves through that debris like rats. In fact, the troops have already coined a name for the fighting: Rattenkrieg. They are in the sewers beneath the streets, and in the cellars of every building. We will leave the Assault Gun Battalions there, as they can give the infantry excellent fire support, but that is what we need now, good infantry. In my estimation, it will take no less than ten divisions.”

  “Ten divisions?” It sounds like we will have a second Verdun there,” said Hitler.

  Halder’s eyes narrowed. Here was Manstein again, the oh so reasonable, smooth talking General come to scavenge for more troops.

  “Can’t we send in specialists trained for this type of city fighting?” he suggested.

  “Yes,” Hitler echoed. “Richthoven suggested the same thing to me days ago. What about the Pioneers, the Engineers? Are they not specially trained in demolition and urban warfare?”

  “A very good point, my Führer,” said Halder. “Such units could be combed from the ranks and assembled into a special Sturmpioneer Brigade. In fact, such a unit already exists in Steiner’s SS Panzer Korps.”

  “And it will be left behind, along with perhaps one of the Divisions presently there,” said Manstein. “My preference would be Brandenburgers, though they should be reinforced and reorganized as an infantry division. Armored vehicles are no good in that rubble, nor can we take them into the sewers. 1st and 2nd SS should be withdrawn immediately, and the entire SS Panzer Korps reassembled for mobile operations west of the Don. This brings us back to the infantry. Assault Pioneers can be the tip of the spear, but we must have men to take and hold captured ground, especially on the shoulders of salients driven into the city. At times, good divisions like Grossdeutschland had to assign fully half their combat units
to such work, limiting troops available at the Schwerpunkt of the attack. So I say again—if you must have that city, then we must have the infantry, and no less than ten divisions.”

  “How many are available in Army Group Don?” asked Hitler.

  “Nine, and they are strung out for 120 kilometers between Surovinko and Morozovsk. I presently have them in two Korps groups under Hollidt and Fetter-Pico. Initially I have earmarked one division from each to go to Stalingrad, the 305th and 336th. Four others are already there, but that leaves a shortfall of four divisions. If Halder can find them for me, then I am prepared to prosecute that battle to a successful conclusion. If not, then I question even trying. What good is the city in any case? Now that we have the Volga Bridge, nothing gets in or out of the place. Why not just allow Volkov to invest it, strengthened by a few of our own infantry divisions, and then forget about it?”

  “What?” Hitler flashed a disapproving glance. “Herr General, there are also political considerations here.”

  “Political considerations? Are they worth what it will cost us to take that pile of rubble? There are certainly no economic considerations. We have bombed and blasted all their factories. The city is nothing but a massive concrete millstone around the neck of Sergei Kirov. Why he decided to try and defend it is beyond my understanding.”

  “He decided to defend it because I decided to take it,” said Hitler, “just as I directed the Army should also take Moscow. We must show them that nothing can stop us, not their men, their steel, nor their will to resist. Once we take Volgograd, they will be completely broken in morale. You will see.”

  “My Führer,” said Manstein, and with a sidelong glance at Halder now. “The city we should be thinking about now is not Volgograd, nor even Rostov. The former is of no use to either side, and the later will fall in good time, sealing the fate of all Soviet forces in the Kuban. No, the city we should be thinking about is Leningrad. Yes, I can hear you already, General Halder. I argued strongly for the southern approach, and it will achieve all its ends in due course. Now, however, particularly for the coming spring, we must look north to Leningrad. That city is presently their arsenal and major production site. It is also the heart of the relocated Soviet Government, and the principal economic engine of their nation. Leningrad… That is where the Army should now be directed.”

  “With the Donets Basin not yet secured?” said Hitler.

  “I will see to that as soon as we resolve this nonsense concerning Volgograd—that and the Kuban, they will both be on my dance card. As for Rundstedt, serious thought should now be given to a shift in gravity to the northern front.”

  “I never thought I would hear you say such a thing,” said Halder.

  “I say it now, because the time is ripe. All things in good time, Herr General. And I will say one thing more—if they do hit us again this winter, I predict that is where they will come from, the north, against Smolensk. At present, almost every panzer and motorized division we have is east of Voronezh! Where are you going, to Saratov on the Volga to fight another battle like we already have at Volgograd? Further operations in that direction will lead us nowhere.”

  “Yet we could pocket all the forces you have been struggling with if we made such an attack,” said Halder. “We could destroy all those Siberian Shock Armies that now plague you.”

  “Pocketing them is one thing, destroying them quite another. Have you forgotten the six months we sat outside the Kirov Pocket? We have already linked up with Volkov, and now it is time we let him shoulder some of the burden in the south so we can finish the job elsewhere. The decisive battle of this war will not be fought at Volgograd—it must be fought at Leningrad.”

  Both men fell silent, for they knew that Hitler would be the one to make the decision here, and Halder could already see the stiffening of his posture, as if his inner resolve was hardening the lines of his body, his eyes narrowing, the festering anger that was always there beginning to waken.

  The Führer leaned over the map table, his eyes alight.

  Part X

  Führerbefehl

  “Volgograd is no longer a city. By day it is a cloud of burning, blinding smoke. When night arrives, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to the other bank. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long. Only men endure.”

  — German Soldier

  Chapter 28

  “Leningrad,” said Hitler, as if he were spitting out the word like some vile phlegm in his throat. “Oh, my Generals are all so clever, so reasonable. In 1941 you tell me I must take Moscow to win the war, and we burned half that city to the ground! Then, in 1942 you tell me I must take Volgograd to win the war, and now that we reach the place, you want to chew on it like a dog with a bone and then throw it to Volkov! Now you tell me I must take Leningrad to win the war in 1943. Where does it end? When will my Generals finish something they start? The Russians are still in Moscow, they are still in Volgograd, and I will see both cities completely destroyed! Understand? I will not leave them to the enemy.”

  It was really the first time Manstein had seen the rage in Hitler. In the past he had always been able to impose calm on these meetings, using a combination of flattery and reason to manage the Führer’s volatile nature. This time he could see that Hitler would not be mollified or reasoned with.

  “Leningrad,” said Hitler, coming to some inner decision. “That is all well and good for the spring. As for Volgograd, we will find the troops required to finish the job, for that city will be taken this winter. This is a Führer Order! Look how they struggle to defend it? Can’t you see? It is a point of honor for them now, just as their stand at Kirov was last year. In Volgograd, they have invested all their foolish notions of duty, and their patriotic zeal to that decrepit Soviet State, the whore they call their motherland. Well I will have that city! I will destroy it completely, if for no other reason than the fact that Sergei Kirov, desperate as his situation is, still fights to keep it from falling into our hands.” Hitler smashed his fist down onto the map table, as if to hammer and crust the stubborn enemy he detested

  He was breathing heavily now, then straightened, slowly composing himself, an unsteady hand running through the fall of dark hair on his brow. “Send for the transcribers. I will compose new orders, to be carried out immediately, and there will be no further discussion."

  * * *

  Hitler’s order was inscribed and circulated to all ranking officers, so there would be no uncertainty as to his wishes for the coming months.

  FÜHRER DIRECTIVE 46

  1 NOV 1942

  Part 1 of 2

  Redistribution of Forces

  1) The redistribution of forces involving the movement of fresh Infantry Divisions East of the Don will be carried out no later than 15 NOV 42, and involve the transfer of the following units to constitute the new Army of the Volga. General Hansen of the 11th Army HQ will assume overall command of the following forces:

  2) Infantry Divisions: 24, 75, 87, 102, 129, 170, 294, 305 and 336

  3) 3rd Motorized Infantry Division will constitute the reserve.

  4) The above forces will cooperate with units of the 4th and 5th Orenburg Armies to invest and reduce Volgograd no later than 1 JAN 43.

  5) Concurrent with this deployment, all elements of Steiner’s SS Panzer Korps presently east of the Don, with the exception of the Brandenburg Division, will be withdrawn west of the Don and remain under overall command of the Army Group Don. This Korps will now be composed of the following units: 1SS Leibstandarte, 2SS Das Reich, 3SS Totenkopf, 5SS Wiking.

  6) Division Grossdeutschland will also be withdrawn into Army Group Don Reserve and rebuild as a full strength Panzer Division.

  7) Division Brandenburg, presently structured as a Panzer Division, will remain East of the Don as an independent formation, and reorganize to the structure of a heavy Motorized Infantry Division. As such, the Panzer Regiment of the division and mechanized transport will be relinquished to Army Gr
oup Don Reserve, and the division will reform with four Motorized Infantry regiments, the last to arrive from Germany no later than 18 NOV 42. The addition of Specialized Assault Pioneers and Assault Gun Battalions will compensate for the loss of the Panzer Regiment. Division Brandenburg is to be the leading assault element for operations against Volgograd.

  8) After securing the line of the Don itself, Army Group Don under General Manstein is to crush enemy resistance in the Donets Basin no later than 1 JAN 43, and prepare the Army for further offensives aimed at occupying the Kuban as part of the overall Spring Offensive.

  9) Armeegruppe Center will temporarily suspend operations for the winter and detach 3rd and 4th Panzer Armees to the vicinity of Minsk to refit and prepare for the future operation against Leningrad.

  Instructions for Intensified Action Against Banditry in the East will follow in Part II of this Directive.

  All things considered, it was a more reasonable order than Manstein had feared. He would get his wish to withdraw Steiner’s Korps back under his overall command west of the Don, and Steiner’s failed promise to deliver the city was overlooked, if not forgotten by an increasingly brooding Führer. He would also see the fruitless drive into the hinterlands east of Voronezh halted, and plans being laid for what must surely be the coup de grace, the drive on Leningrad. Yet the onerous tasks ahead were the necessity of occupying the Donets Basin and Kuban, and Hitler would refuse to entertain any further discussion concerning Volgograd. He simply wanted the city taken, block by block.