Nexus Deep (Kirov Series Book 31)

by Schettler, John

  “I am gratified to hear that,” said Manstein. “Yet realize that all I have done, in every situation, was for the preservation of the Army I command. 4th Army would be dead now if I had not acted earlier. 5th Panzerarmee is already dead, and now 6th Army is dying. Let me save it. May I order Paulus to move as I have requested?”

  “You may do so, as long as you hold the line of the lower Donets, and Rostov as well. I will get you the troops you need, and then I expect you to use them. Push the enemy back, General Manstein. It is not enough to simply stop them. You must push them back—crush them, and show them the futility of these offensives. Then we can return to plans for our own summer offensive in earnest. It was abundantly clear that Zitadelle was hastily mounted, premature, and ill-conceived.”

  “I argued against it,” said Manstein. “It had no hope of succeeding without a strong pincer on the northern segment.

  “Indeed,” said Hitler. “That is now quite apparent, and I will also admit to you that had we heeded your advice and dealt with this concentration of enemy forces in the south first, then we might not be having this discussion here today. So now we correct that situation. I want you to use this opportunity to destroy these armies reaching for Kharkov. I have restored Steiner’s Korps to full power. Use it!”

  Chapter 20

  One other thing was ‘abundantly clear’ to Manstein after this exchange. In spite of every effort to clarify the situation the Army now faced, Hitler did not grasp what he had tried to convey. There he was talking of the enemy offensives as if they were mere spoiling attacks, a nuisance that interfered with his plans for further summer offensives that had not even been discussed. It was one thing to make such grandiose and sweeping statements, but quite another to see them carried through on the field of battle.

  A feeling of quiet despair settled on the Field Marshal, for he knew that he would soon be placed in situations that would force him to make very difficult choices and decisions. He might have to choose between saving the army, the real army in the field, or preserving Hitler’s fanciful notion of that army by loyally acceding to his commands. Would it take a disaster greater than the loss of 5th Panzer Army to shake some sense into the Führer?

  For his part, Hitler had been unwilling to take Manstein’s head, and he had pardoned his transgressions with an uncharacteristic willingness to compromise. This was born of the fact that he had come to many of the same conclusions concerning his foray into Syria and Iraq. It had seemed such a clear and vital plan at the outset, and the stunning success of Guderian’s Operation Phoenix was thrilling. Yet for what? The reality was that all the economic objectives were fruitless. Only the Maykop operation had delivered anything that could be used. In that, the Führer knew in his bones that his Field Marshal was correct.

  Something in him took solace in the suggestion that the fields at Groznyy and Baba Gurgur be completely destroyed. He gave the order to Guderian to do that in his theater, and then to transfer both 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions to the general reserve on the Ostfront . He would also pull 2nd and 16th Panzers out of Syria, and begin to move Kubler’s Mountain troops to Italy. Plan Orient, rising from its ashes as Operation Phoenix , would now come to an end, for even Hitler could also perceive the growing threat in the east, and the grave danger the revitalized Soviet Army now represented.

  That was where the war would be won or lost, and the Führer knew it as a man knows impending death when it stalks him. Yes, now he would war on death itself.

  In spite of this awareness growing in the darkness of his mind, there was still a certain sloth in the way he would give consideration to requests made by his Generals. He remained stingy with his permission to make withdrawals, and while he made many promises, procrastination would become his weakness now. Hitler would consider all that Manstein had told him, but he would take his time.

  In the short run, he would take one infantry division from Armeegruppe Center, the 7th, and allow Manstein to transfer two divisions from Hansen’s Army in the Caucasus, the 24th and 68th, which were formed into 44th Korps under General Maximilian de Angelis. That would still leave seven Line Infantry, four Light Infantry and two Security Divisions in the Caucasus, along with the 18th Panzer Division. While Hitler would give orders to shift all Oil Brigades to Maykop and the pipeline project effort to Tuapse, he did not yet order the destruction of the Groznyy fields, nor any withdrawal to consolidate the front closer to Maykop.

  Volkov had to be left to stew for a while longer. Hitler wanted him to think that the cessation of operations there was merely a pause while the Army dealt with the Soviets. As for Operation Untergang , it was only mentioned in passing during the conference. Hitler continued to tie up much needed troops there, as the Russians stolidly dug in to await any attack that might come their way. The Führer continued to believe that Zitadelle was simply a cake that had been pulled out of the oven too soon, and inwardly blamed Manstein for cancelling it without his permission, though he never voiced that to the Field Marshal directly.

  As for Manstein himself, Hitler began to feel that he was as much of a problem for him as an asset. The Field Marshal had just enough capital in the bank to preserve his post and allow his decisions to stand, but the Führer was quietly eying General Model as a possible replacement, again something he kept to himself. He would wait and see what developed around Kharkov. Perhaps the old miracle worker would prevail yet again.

  And perhaps not…. There was a good deal that men like Mikhail Katukov, Vasily Kuznetsov, Rokossovsky, Vatutin, Konev and others would have to say about the matter, for words and promises do not stop the cold steel of enemy tanks, and procrastination in the face of a determined enemy was never wise.

  * * *

  The telephone rang at Manstein’s headquarters in Kharkov, and Speidel answered. It was General Model, and he had some very welcome news.

  “The Führer has approved a transfer of two divisions to your sector,” he began. “So I have ordered General Siebert to take his 5th Korps to a position forward of Akythrya. If nothing else, you can know that you will have something in reserve.”

  “That is very good news,” said Speidel. “Please tell me these are not hand me downs.”

  “The Corps is composed of the 102nd and 294th. Both saw action last month, but they have been rested.”

  “Any new infantry matters a great deal,” said Speidel. “The units on the front are wearing very thin, at least at the point of the enemy attack. I will see that the Field Marshal is informed immediately. His conference with the Führer has ended.”

  “I hope it went well,” said Model. “Kluge tells me that there may be more coming from 9th Army. Whatever was discussed, it seems to have broken the logjam where Hitler’s use of reserve divisions is concerned. These were all troops he had insisted we hold for an offensive aimed at Orel. Needless to say, that is not in the works.”

  “What is coming from 9th Army?”

  “One division, the 82nd, and another Kampfgruppe. I’m afraid that may be all we can send. Tell Manstein that I have redeployed my right wing as he requested. If necessary, I can pivot that front towards Akythrya. That has to be where they are headed now. They want to envelop Kharkov.”

  “Things are difficult,” said Speidel. “They are on the outskirts of the city as we speak. Every time I look at the map, all I can see is one massive pocket forming. If that northern pincer gets out of control, and moves due south, we could be in the stew. Hitler will see these division transfers as blood money, and he will not want us to withdraw.”

  “My infantry should help,” said Model, understanding all too well what Speidel was saying.

  “They will, but your Army had only eight divisions if I recall. This doesn’t leave you with very much.”

  “It is not my Army any longer,” said Model. “Hitler has given me the 9th Army, the largest in Armeegruppe Center. Weichs is taking over 2nd Army. Unfortunately, a good many of the divisions assigned to my roster are somewhere else. You already have m
y 7th and 82nd Infantry Divisions and 9th Panzer. My 18th Panzer is in the Caucasus, the 78th Sturm is still in Iraq, 2nd Panzer is in Syria, though I’m told it will be returning soon. So the 44th Panzerkorps is now reduced to two infantry divisions. What a misnomer!”

  “Don’t complain,” said Speidel. “It is the same everywhere, and I think it will only get worse. The Soviets are already over the Middle Donets at Andreyevka again. Manstein has ordered Kirchner to pull both his divisions off the line and move to that sector. Hopefully, we can discourage them if they have any notion to exploit the gap there.”

  “A difficult situation,” said Model. “Very well, give my regards to the Field Marshal.”

  * * *

  So, Model is feeding a little higher on the Lamb, thought Manstein. 9th Army once had 26 divisions, the heart of Armeegruppe Center. It had held the line west of Orel, covering Bryansk, and fought well. Model will only make it better.

  As for Hitler, I think both Speidel and I were shocked that things went as well as they did. His remarks at the end were quite telling. Even though his frustration would lead him here to remove me from command, he could not do so, because I think, deep down, he knows that he could not master this situation. The tension between my loyalty to him as Germany’s leader, and my deference to his command, is always in play against my duty to the army, and military common sense.

  In his mind, Hitler is still fighting the last war. These battle lines are merely trench lines to him. He would just have our troops sit there behind wire and machineguns, but he has forgotten what happened when the tanks came on the scene. If one position is overrun and taken by the enemy, he thinks only of mounting a charge to retake that trench.

  At least Hitler kept his promises. Thus far he has not rescinded my orders to consolidate the front. He is getting me some infantry, and I will soon have two more infantry divisions from Hansen to help shore up the Middle Donets. I have tightened up my line near Kharkov, and the enemy has tightened his noose. What I would like to do now is counterpunch off the ropes. I think I can recall 3rd SS to the city now, and Grossdeutschland Division is ready to fight. What I would like to do is strike Kuznetsov with those two divisions, right through the lines of Sepp Dietrich’s 1st SS. My only concern is the north, so I have ordered Balck to take 11th Panzer back to Knobelsdorff as a fire brigade.

  As to the situation near Andreyevka, Kirchner has his troops in position now, and he will deliver a counterblow in conjunction with my attack out of Kharkov. So, it is time for the knights to sally forth out of the castle. The attack begins at dusk, a nice night action that will hopefully catch the enemy napping.

  But that was not to be.

  Kuznetsov had plans of his own. He had spoken with Leylushenko of the 3rd Guards Army, and Galitskiy of 3rd Shock. That group was on his right, and he wanted both armies to begin a big push to break through to the city that very same night, while he organized his own attack. The two sides would soon be like a pair of bull rams, butting their steel antlers against one another in a battle that could decide the fate of the city.

  Just as Kirchner was forming up south of Andreyevka, the Soviets were also busy reinforcing their bridgehead. Inheriting the trucks once used by the Soviets when they converted more units to mech infantry, the two Siberian Armies (1st and 2nd Shock), had been reinforced by a pair of nine battalion Motor Rifle Corps. The 1st Siberian Motor Rifle Corps had established the bridgehead, and now it was being reinforced by the division from 2nd Shock Army, detached for this purpose.

  They were just the leading edge of forces Zhukov now planned to move south of the Donets. Behind them was the entire 27th Steppe Army from Vatutin’s front with six more rifle divisions. Further north, the Wiking Division had been forced to halt its advance towards Kharkov by the appearance of strong infantry forces on its right. Those were the Guards Rifle Divisions, six in all, that made up Kuznetsov’s infantry support, and they would not be alone.

  3rd Guards Tank Corps, a unit meant for Leylushenko, had been detached to provide more armor in that sector, and now Zhukov was doubling down by committing the entire 4th Guards Army, six more Guards Rifle Divisions organized into two Corps. This was the old 24th Army, pulled off the line and reorganized with fresh recruits filling out the veteran divisions, and a new name. It was just as Manstein had explained it to Hitler. The enemy was attacking with new Armies that had never been heard of before.

  That night Kirchner opened his attack in the south with 17th Panzer, 29th Motorized and the 501st Schwerepanzer battalion. It caught the 2nd Siberian Motor Rifle Corps by surprise, as half of that division was further west assisting the attack being made by their brothers in 1st Siberian. Kirchner was going to be attacking into the flank of that operation, and he hoped he could stop it completely.

  It was but one small part of the great flow of troops and equipment over the Middle Donets. The 1st Guards Cavalry Corps had come over the river using a small bridge at Bishkin, and they were moving in three divisions through the thick woodland south of Zimyev. Above those same woods, 4th Guards army was marching in behind the slowly expanding perimeter of the 1st Guards Army, which had pushed through Taranovka southwest of Kharkov. They eventually found the right flank of the Wiking Division, which had stopped Kuznetsov’s 10th Tank Corps. Active reconnaissance soon discovered that there was nothing beyond that flank, and so the Guards infantry began to maneuver to enfilade the Wiking s. When 7th Tank Corps began to probe the left flank of Gille’s division, he realized that he was going to have to withdraw.

  This was not Damascus….

  Near Kharkov, both sides met like two lines of armored cavalry, with fighting more intense than the night of the Zitadelle offensive. Grossdeutschland Division sallied forth, recapturing the village of Oshovka, only to find the Russians reorganizing for an immediate counterattack. 51st Panther Battalion surged into the enemy line, and ran right into the oncoming attack by 17th Heavy Tank Brigade. That action would pit a massed formation of 72 new Panthers against 24 Kirov-I heavy tanks, 18 KV-II’s, 11 T-34/85’s and 12 T-34/76 medium tanks. With 12 more assault guns on the Soviet side, the numbers were just about equal.

  It was a stunning duel, the thunder of the guns and growl of the tanks ripping the night apart. The one advantage the soviets had was a preponderance of infantry support when two battalions of 1st Guard Mech joined the action.

  The battle rippled all along the line extending to the northeast, lighting up the night with fire. 3rd SS gained a kilometer only to find itself under attack by two fresh Siberian divisions from 3rd Shock Army. 2nd Reichsführer Brigade smashed through one rifle division only to find itself in a life and death struggle with the newly arriving 3rd Guards Mech Division.

  Yet the most dramatic event that night was the relentless advance of Mikhail Katukov’s new 5th Guards Mech Corps in the north. It struck the German 167th Infantry Division, smashing one battalion after another. The Germans stared in awe at the new fast moving infantry carrier, which they first thought was a new light tank, until swarms of infantry suddenly emerged from the shadows, submachineguns blazing. The Russians went right through the German line, the fast moving BMPs sweeping south and west towards Grayvorn.

  6th Panzer rushed to the aid of the 167th, grinding through the town of Trosnoye to engage the enemy recon battalion. Behind the front, Hermann Balck was listening to the radio traffic, his curiosity up with many reports of a “new” Russian infantry carrier that was wreaking havoc as it came through the lines. He found the nearest radio, and called his ‘Incomparable Hauser.’

  “I’m hearing a lot about a new Russian AFV in the mech battalions. Find me one. I want to have a close look at it.”

  What the General ordered, Hauser would deliver. He took his fast-moving recon battalion out into the thick of the night, the sounds of battle rumbling in from the north like an unseen thunder storm. He swung wide around the left flank, and out into the gap the enemy had created in the lines of the 167th. There he found stragglers from a shattere
d battalion, who were very glad to see their own Panzer troops at hand.

  He opened the hatch of his SdKfz-233 armored car, leaning out and waving the men over to him. His radio headset framed his face under a dark wool officers cap. “I’m looking for this new Russian infantry carrier. Have you seen them?”

  “Seen them? They smashed our battalion twenty minutes ago.”

  “Where? What do they look like?”

  The man hesitated, his eyes dark, and holding fear in them. “A very low profile,” he began, “and with an angled hull—only forward, not back. There’s a small turret forward, but beware. It packs a punch with a 76mm main gun, and by god, the damn thing is very fast—fully tracked. We thought they were new light tanks, but then they deployed infantry from a rear hatch. They’ll only stop to do that if they have to. Otherwise, they just shoot from the firing ports along either side of the chassis. This is one wicked infantry carrier, and every battalion has them. They make our own Panzer SPWs look like goat carts by comparison. Be careful!”

  “Where did you last see them?”

  “Out there…” The man pointed out in to the black night, toward the gap Hauser had selected as his hunting ground. “We were posted along the stream bed, but they went right through. The damn thing is amphibious too! They’ll be well south of that by now at the rate they were moving. Good hunting… and good luck if you find them.”

  Hauser would not need that good luck, and he would find them. By his latest count, his recon battalion had 44 armored cars left, eight Marder-II’s, and six towed 75mm AT Guns. He also had fast moving mobile flak guns with him, and good Panzergrenadiers. He turned, going where he would go if he was the enemy, the thrill of the hunt on him now.

  Chapter 21

  Hauser always moved with a recovery team, several heavy SdKfz-7 and SdKfz-9 prime movers, among the best such vehicles in the war. The Germans had become masters of battlefield tank recovery, reclaiming about 75% of all tanks put out of service, and returning most of those to active duty. He did not want to get in to a chase scenario, or a running gun battle with his enemy, for the objective was to find one of these new vehicles without having to destroy it with gunfire. His instincts told him to look for a place where he might catch a straggler.