Then the thunder rolled, and Jupiter began to awaken from his long slumber. A huge segment of the German line, from Serpukhov all the way south to Rossosh, now saw a sudden buildup of enemy activity. The kicker that something very unusual was up came when the first Guard Airborne was airlifted over the front south of Tula, to drop on Plavsk and cut the rail line there.
Shortly thereafter, telephones were ringing in the headquarters of 2nd Panzer Armee at Voronezh, Army Group Center at Kirov, and at Army Group Don at Morozovsk. The enemy had crossed the Don south of Rossosh, and the bridgehead at Boguchar had launched what looked to be a pinning attack against the 44th Infantry Division there. 168th and 56th Infantry to the north on the river east of Rossosh reported a considerable buildup, including numerous tank formations and bridging equipment. Then the two newly arrived infantry divisions, the 208th and 218th, both reported they had come under sudden heavy artillery bombardment, followed by a strong attack.
The 707th Reserve Division had just arrived from Kursk, badly under strength. It was nonetheless sent forward, and the men of 10th Panzergrenadier had only just settled into their reserve posting when the orders came that the division was returning to the front line. The other division that had been relieved, 3rd Panzer, was also back in action within the hour.
The initial assessment was that these were spoiling attacks, aimed at harassing the Germans and hindering their scheduled redeployments, but that river crossing operation near Rossosh got Manstein’s attention. He wanted to know more, and got on the phone to OKH to see what Halder knew.
“What word from that attack near Rossosh?”
“Keitel suggests it is no more than an attempt to enlarge their Bridgehead at Boguchar. At the moment, it is contained.”
“Contained by what?”
“360th Security Division is in Rossosh itself, and reports no enemy activity. 4th Luftwaffe Field Division has moved south of the town. That’s where the trouble is.”
“4th Luftwaffe Field Division? They can’t contain anything, particularly a heavy infantry attack.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve ordered the 167th Infantry up from Kharkov. It will be there late tomorrow.”
“Well isn’t there a panzer division available?”
“The nearest would be 17th Panzer, a hundred kilometers north and east of the Don.”
“Good lord,” said Manstein.
“Well don’t you have something at Millerovo?” Halder sounded like he was fishing.
“22nd Panzer is there, but again, that is nearly 150 kilometers to the south.”
“47th Panzer Korps has their 29th Motorized Division in reserve,” Halder replied. “General Lemelsen was going to send them out on an anti-partisan sweep. I could call them, that is unless you prefer to send the 22nd.”
“I think we had better send both divisions.” Manstein sounded concerned. “If it’s a spoiling attack, then all we do is waste a little gasoline. Yet they are crossing the river at a most unusual place, right at the seam between my command and Model’s. If it is something more….”
“Very well. I will get orders off to Model, and then the two of you can coordinate things. How is the Donets Basin Operation?”
“Coming along nicely. We’ll take Donetsk today. Steiner is outside Rostov now, and it is not as heavily defended as Volgograd was. I have ordered him to take the city, and we already have infantry over the Donets to the east.”
“The Führer will be pleased. You are two weeks ahead of schedule.”
“I’m sure he will. But Halder… Keep an eye on this. Things have been quiet, and we presumed they had played out all their trump cards in that Chir operation. They pulled out those Shock Armies, and things got even quieter.”
“We received intelligence that they are being moved up around Moscow to the Kalinin sector,” said Halder.
“Yes… I read that too. But what if they aren’t going there? What if they rolled them into a new offensive plan? We will speak again on this. Notify me if you learn anything more.”
Three hours after that phone call the entire front in the Rossosh sector erupted. Every division on the line was under heavy attack, forced into hedgehog defense and calling frantically for armor support. The ‘something more’ Manstein could smell on the cold December wind was becoming much bigger than anyone imagined.
In the sector that had been fought over so bitterly since Guderian’s offensive of 1941, the Soviets threw 16th and 38th Armies supported by two tank corps at Tula. There the German 110th Infantry was overrun, the 183rd shattered and falling back with the 197th retreating on its right. Tula fell late on the 16th, and the Soviet armor surged through openings created by the retreating German infantry and raced for the Oka River. There the 214th Tank Brigade forced a crossing at Alexin, where nothing more than a small contingent of German military police barred the way.
Just beyond the bridge, a train had arrived from the Kalinin sector, and the men of the 389th infantry disembarked as the enemy tanks appeared. The infantry rushed forward, panzerfaust teams being the only immediate AT defense, and bravely engaged the enemy armor while the engineers desperately backed the train off to avoid having the rolling stock shot to pieces. The 387th division had disembarked some miles back, and it was now coming up on the right, which gave the Germans a critical mass of decent infantry to stop that enemy thrust and organize a counterattack to try and eliminate this bridgehead. Everything else east of the Oka was ordered back over the river.
Further south, the Russians took Plavsk, and had a fast moving cavalry division approaching Mtsensk by the 18th. Behind it, a long column of tanks and AFVs in the 3rd Guard Mech Corps was pushing for Orel. That was there the water was spilling over the top of the dam, for far to the east, the German line stretched in a wide arc like a great shield, down to the upper Don, to the position beyond Voronezh, and then down to the Don Bend area near Rossosh and the enemy Boguchar Bridgehead. It was all the hard won territory Rundstedt had taken in the Summer Offensive, and now the question arose as to whether any of that ground could be held.
The stubborn defense of the German 12th Infantry Korps had held Lipetsk for three days, completely throwing off Zhukov’s timetable for a crossing of the Don there. He had a lot of force on the roads stretching all the way back to Tambov. To the south, Model’s defense in front of Voronezh was masterful, with the 24th Panzer Korps mounting timely counterattacks in a very active battle. 3rd Panzer held onto Anna until the 18th, when Model consolidated his positions, ordering it back.
Model notified Halder that Voronezh was in no immediate danger, but requested more mobile support. “This is what happens when you pull nine divisions out of the army and leave us with the bare necessity. I had to put all six panzer divisions on the line. Where did all that infantry go after we took Voronezh?”
“Ten divisions went to Manstein. The Führer is goggle eyed to smash the last of the enemy resistance in the south, particularly at Volgograd. And you know very well that the panzers were shifted to Armeegruppe Nord.”
“Volgograd? That’s useless! We don’t need it.”
“From a military standpoint, you are certainly correct, but there are political considerations. Hitler wants it, Volkov wants it even more.”
“Well it is no concern of mine,” said Model. “Aside from the fact that all that infantry could be put to better use elsewhere.”
“Particularly in the north,” said Halder. “They are rolling us back to the Oka, so your northern flank will be turned in a matter of days. Screen Voronezh as long as you can. I have sent the three divisions of 46th Panzer Korps, and three more infantry divisions, to see if we can at least slow them down in the north, but they are already approaching Mtsensk.”
“Do you know the price in blood we paid for that sector? What about Tula?”
“It was occupied two days ago. Your army is the only segment of the front still intact. The Führer is counting on you, but you should know there is a big breakthrough at Rossosh to the south, so t
hey may be contemplating a pincer operation, with your forces in the middle.”
“I can’t do anything about that,” said Model. “Frankly, if they break through there, then I think they want Kharkov.”
“Manstein isn’t sure about that, but it will be his problem. In the meantime, stand firm. I’ll get you all the support I can.”
For once Manstein was inwardly glad that it was Halder scrimping for infantry and other reserves. He had raided the cupboard fairly well in recent months, pulling Steiner’s SS out of Volgograd and collecting ten infantry divisions there. Now the earlier theft of 14th Panzer Korps also paid him good dividends. It was his first reaction force against the Boguchar bridgehead attack, stabilizing and shoring up the southern shoulder. Yet the enemy did not want to turn in his direction, and he inwardly sensed that.
They tried me in those earlier offensives, he thought, and they know I have all of Steiner’s divisions at hand to stop any further attempt they make against the lines of communication to Volgograd. Here I am, securing that ground when it is needless to do so. We should have just yielded the city to Volkov and let him deal with it, but I think Hitler is thinking beyond this battle to the end of the war. The political reasons he mentions involve our control of the lower Volga after the war, and that is why Volkov want that city.
The campaign in the Donets Basin is now concluded. Donetsk fell last night, which leaves me ten more divisions in the 17th Armee that will be looking for work. Hitler’s expectation was that I would take Steiner’s Korps into the Kuban, but I wonder if that would be wise given the scope of this big enemy offensive. I think Hitler wants the Kuban for the same reasons he wanted Volgograd. If he can get direct control of the oil there, all the better, and he knows Volkov is waiting to occupy that entire area after we break the enemy defense. Steiner would get the job done faster, but I could just as easily send Rouff’s 17th Army into the Kuban. It has the mountain divisions, and good artillery. So I have decided. Steiner moves north, Rouff south.
As for this offensive, what exactly are the Russians up to here? This drive out of Boguchar looks like they want Kharkov, but they still would have two rivers to get over before they could threaten that city. Turning north and aiming for Kursk might serve them better. Those same rivers would cover their left flank, and such a thrust would be the southern pincer against Model’s 2nd Panzer Armee. This is what I think they are doing, which means Kharkov must be occupied by a strong Knight.
Manstein was already looking several moves ahead, beyond the winter, to the spring counteroffensive that would surely answer this impudent attack by the enemy. It would not take him long before he determined just where he would find that strong Knight. He turned to a staffer, waving him over.
“Herr General?”
“Get me General Steiner on the telephone. I have new orders for him.” Manstein would soon learn that Steiner had delivered Rostov as he promised, and Steiner would soon learn that in grateful thanks, his SS Panzer Korps was going into reserve for a much needed refit—at Kharkov.
Orel fell on December 19th, but strangely, the Russian mobile units then turned almost due south and did not persist west towards the large industrial center of Bryansk. While Model had skillfully refused his northern left flank, the Russian attack kept trying to flow around it. At the same time, as if on cue, the southern group of forces that had broken out of the Boguchar Bridgehead abandoned their westward drive towards Kharkov and turned northwest.
Manstein received the reports with a knowing nod of his head, for the Northern attack had forsaken Bryansk and Kirov when it turned south. Both groups were now heading for another city that had become famous in the war, where another great turning point battle had once been fought.
The Russians were heading for Kursk, and if they could meet there, all of the 2nd Panzer Armee would be sitting in the largest German pocket to form since the battle for Moscow in the winter of 1941.
Chapter 33
On the night of December 20, 1942, the leading unit in the Northern Group of Forces came to a halt just outside the frozen airstrip on the outskirts of Kursk. 20th Guard Tank Brigade was leading the 5th Guard Tank Corps south, eager to be the first to reach the assigned objective of Operation Jupiter. This northern pincer had every reason to claim bragging rights. It had broken through at Tula and then raced just over 185 miles in the first five days of the offensive, an average of 37 miles per day.
In Poland, the German Panzers had advanced at an average rate of 11 miles per day, and in Barbarossa they improved this to about 19 miles per day. So this lightning quick movement of a heavy mechanized force was quite astonishing, for both the Russians and Germans alike. By contrast, the Southern Group of Forces had advanced about 100 miles, or still a respectable 25 miles per day. They had faced defensive opposition the entire time, while the northern pincer had done little more than broken field running after the fall of Orel and that fateful turn to the south.
In spite of this achievement, the bag was far from closed on Model’s 2nd Panzer Armee. The Southern pincer was still 125 miles from Kursk, so Zhukov gave orders that the Northern Group should continue south towards Belgorod. That route would take them through an insignificant town with a name that also rang through Fedorov’s history, Prokhorovka.
Model realized the significance of what was happening, and while his inclination was to make a rapid withdrawal towards Kharkov, the volatile Adolf Hitler had exploded when he got news of the Russian offensive. With Both Tula and Orel now in enemy hands, Bryansk threatened, Voronezh and the lines north and south under heavy pressure, he issued one of his infamous stand fast orders, forbidding Model to withdraw. In effect, he was insisting that 2nd Panzer Armee stay in the trap the enemy was laboring so hard to close. For Hitler, the loss of Voronezh was unconscionable, the fruit of all that effort in the German Summer Offensive now about to be spoiled. He issued another Führerbefehl that demanded the city be defended to the last man, and the last bullet.
Model complained bitterly to von Rundstedt. “I still have nine divisions east of the Don! They will have that river behind them, no good bridges, and only two suitable crossing points where I can move in supply. The ice is thickening, but it still can’t take the weight of the tanks, and we will have to build pontoon bridges to cross that obstacle, coming or going. Beyond that, Kursk is virtually undefended, as is Kharkov. They can waltz in and take those cities for the cost of the petrol!”
“I understand everything you are saying,” said von Rundstedt. “But I cannot allow you to withdraw west of the Don. The Führer has forbidden any such movement. As for Kharkov, Manstein is seeing to that. I don’t know what is happening at Kursk yet, but it will be Halder’s problem.”
“Do you realize that if they get behind me I have nothing to send to that sector? It is all I can do to hold the line as it is. We remain under very heavy pressure.”
“They knew they had to lean on you heavily,” said von Rundstedt. “They needed to keep you engaged to prevent the exact same kind of sensible withdrawals you are now proposing.”
“Well we could have saved them the trouble,” said Model, the anger apparent in his voice. “Hitler has seen to that for them. Do you have any idea what Halder is sending for Kursk?”
“Not at the moment. There has been some discussion about returning some of the divisions that were moved to Armeegruppe Nord, but that will take some doing.”
“Then I certainly hope Manstein has something in his pocket. God help us if he doesn’t act swiftly.”
Manstein did have something in his pocket. He had General Felix Martin Julius Steiner, four SS Divisions and the Reichsführer Brigade. That was the first unit to go, but the trains did not stop at Kharkov. Manstein told them to move right on up to Belgorod. The 5th SS Wiking Division was next in line, with three infantry regiments, and another of tanks that had been inherited from the Brandenburg Division. Yet that was all that could be moved that day with the available rolling stock, including the tanks of the 502 SS
Schwerepanzer Battalion. General Gille’s Wikings were told to assemble at Volchansk, southeast of Belgorod. The only other things that moved were some massive siege guns dubbed Karl and Dora, both bound for Volgograd.
Frustrated and angry, Model took a chance and ordered the 41st Regiment of 3rd Panzergrenadier Division to go to Kursk. It arrived at dusk, just as the Russian tankers were lining up on the frozen airfield north of the city. The place would soon become a magnet for steel, with forces on every side of the compass bearing down on the city, and using every road or rail that led to that place.
Behind that leading tank brigade was a torrent of mechanized corps, formations that had been building in reserve areas for most of the second half of 1942. Zhukov had held the line with the rifle divisions, losing more and more ground to the Germans in the summer and autumn of their offensive. Operation Blue had been a great success, and with it they had largely destroyed the old Red Army they had first engaged in 1941. The survivors formed the nucleus of new divisions, like a hard nut in the center of the fruit, and new conscripts fleshed out the peach.
Now, by late 1942, it was an all-new Red Army, more heavily motorized, better equipped, and now with hordes of fast new proven tanks. They were still outclassed by the better German designs. The old T-34 shock had long since been dispelled by the arrival of the Big Cats, and by men like Kurt Knispel and Hermann Balck who knew how to use those tanks. But now the Russians finally had mass in their mobile formations, the force to challenge the German panzers on almost equal terms, though a single German division would be the equal of a Soviet Tank Corps.
Zhukov’s fast moving Guards Mech Corps reached Kursk in great strength on the morning of the 21st of December, and when Model received the report from that one Panzergrenadier regiment he had sent there, he ordered it to get out while it still could.
Halder was at his wits end. His immediate reaction to the crisis was to reach for all the divisions that had been sent to Armeegruppe Nord, but he realized that most had been badly depleted during the long summer offensive, and much of their equipment was left behind to build up the divisions Model retained. It would be at least another month before any of them were fit for combat, and to use them now would only court their complete destruction.
Thor's Anvil (Kirov Series Book 26) Page 28