I have been chasing a black cat in a dark room with this maneuver. Now I fear there is no cat…. I must look to the ground between the Donets and Dnieper, for when this battle ends, their next move will try our defense there, either on the road to Poltava, or to Krasnograd.
Those were roads sure to command the attention of generals and fighting men on either side, but not this night. Tonight, there was another road, and one of much greater importance, not for any battle that would be fought along its winding way, but for the silence that would settle over it that night.
“Speidel,” he said, calling his Chief of Staff.
“Sir?”
“Dietrich has been stopped. What is the situation with Grossdeutschland?”
“They are still pushing northeast, very near the road to Taranovka.”
“Well, I do not think they can get there on their own,” said Manstein with a shrug as he eyed the location on the map. There was nothing special about the town, other than the fact that a road and rail line met there, kissed briefly, and then ran off on their disparate ways. It was not the beating heart of the northern Ukraine, like the slate grey city of Kharkov that the Russians had been so keen to grasp. No, it was an outlier, one of many small towns in the orbit of that great metropolis. It was a road less traveled….
It was not chosen by Zhukov and his planners when they started their offensive. It just happened to be the center point in the region where the Soviets had achieved their greatest penetration into the German defensive front, and that fact alone made it important, as is any still point at the center of a circle, silently regarding the distant perimeter, and anchoring its radius as it expanded outward.
It became important when Kuznetsov chose it as a good place to begin setting up a supply depot. And it became even more important; endowed with a special, yet unspoken significance, when it first entered Manstein’s mind as a target of his counteroffensive. Now it would claim one more laurel, not for the fighting that took place there, for that night it sat in relative calm under the cold, unfeeling sky. No, instead it would join the much more prominent city of Kursk that spring, as a place the Germans could not reach. ‘The Road to Taranovka,’ had become a road to nowhere, and a realization in Manstein’s mind that this war was now a lost cause.
Lost victories, he thought grimly. Twenty kilometers from our line to that place, a distance I could walk on a night like this. But we cannot go there. I cannot take it, and that means much.
“Tell Hörnlein he is to disengage, swing to his left and support Dietrich. We must deal with their 1st Guard Tank Army. There is still a gap that can take them all the way to Poltava, and that is the force they will use to exploit it. I want to hurt them.”
“What about 3rd and 5th SS?”
“Let them keep pushing 4th Guards, particularly any mobile units they are fighting. As for Kirchner, if he thinks he can take Velikaya Bereka, have him do so. Otherwise, he is to break off his attack and move at least one division here, to cover this railhead spur off the line coming up from Lozovaya. Any word from Hausser?”
“He’s pulled Das Reich out of the city, and the division is moving to cover the road to Poltava.”
“Well enough. That sector is weak. If he can cut the road between Novaya Vodolaga and Alexsandrovka, all the better. Hausser will know what to do.”
“We’re going on the defensive?”
“Active defense,” said Manstein. “I see no point in trying to push them back over the Donets. We haven’t got the strength in any case.”
“What about Hitler? He most likely expected great things from Donnershlag ,” said Speidel.
“I did as well, but there are now at least four armies holding that bridgehead. Pulling Steiner out of the city was the right thing to do. It allowed us to put some credible defense into that gap in the front. So now we will dance with them a while and see whose feet give out first. Tell Hitler we have stopped the enemy advance and restored the front. Tell him anything, but make it sound good.”
“This means Steiner will be on the line,” said Speidel.
“It can’t be helped. Until we get up more infantry, that is where he must stay. The same for Knobelsdorff. We’ve stopped their offensive and restored the front, but it is the best we can do—a stalemate. Hitler will be expecting another miracle, but I don’t have any more tricks in my bag this time around. We need more infantry, and we will need it quickly. The only place I can get it is either from Hansen or from the forces being held for Operation Untergang .”
“Does Hitler really think we can go to Leningrad now?” asked Speidel.
“God only knows,” said Manstein. “I think I must pay a visit to OKW, and I’ll be leaving tonight.”
General Sviridov and the 2nd Guard Mech was only 20 kilometers north of Kirchner’s objective, and he would make a night march, getting to the town before Kirchner could push through to take it. Steiner would never get to Teranovka either, not on that day, nor any other. It would become ‘The Road Not Taken’ for Manstein and the German Army in 1943, and like the final line of that famous poem by Robert Frost, that would make all the difference.
Part IX
Twenty Divisions
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure…and one man’s pleasure is another man’s pain”
—17th Century Idiom
Chapter 25
“The front has been largely restored,” said Manstein. “Yet there remains one segment, a gap of about 25 kilometers west of Novaya Vodolaga, that is now held by nothing more than a few Panzerjager companies.”
He had flown all that night, and most of the following day to reach OKW headquarters. Keitel knew he was coming, and informed Hitler, but the Führer was in a sour mood. “Have you come all this way to ask for yet another withdrawal?”
Manstein was not pleased with the remark, and his tone clearly communicated that. “When I order a redeployment of forces under my command, and one that might entail a tactical withdrawal, it is done for a sound military reason. You will note that Katukov is not in Akythrya, which is where he would surely be if I had not ordered Kempf’s 4th Army to shorten its lines, and sent Raus to Kharkov. That freed up Steiner, and allowed me to at least contest the expansion of the enemy bridgehead over the Donets. It also freed up 3rd Panzergrenadier Division to reinforce Knobelsdorff, and with four divisions, he was able to stop Katukov. As for Steiner, his Korps now holds a front of 40 kilometers with four divisions, yet his left flank is hanging in thin air, on the road to Krasnograd.”
“Yes, yes, I have heard all your so called military imperatives,” said Hitler, “but when will you drive the enemy back and regain the ground you gave him to make these redeployments? When will you throw him back over the Donets?”
Manstein gave Zeitzler a frustrated look. “I am here, in part, to tell you personally that is no longer possible, at least not with the forces I presently command.”
That brought a moment of uncomfortable silence to all around the map table. Kluge of Armeegruppe Center, waited without saying a word, for he could see that Hitler was very displeased.
“Not possible?”
“Correct,” said Manstein tersely. “You are the supreme commander here. Look at that map. Surely you can see that if Steiner is holding a frontage of 40 kilometers, he cannot concentrate to attack with any real power.”
“Yet you were responsible for these deployments,” said Hitler. “You were the one who dispersed Steiner on such a broad front.”
“Correct again, and that was also necessary. If I had concentrated to a much narrower front, I would have had a stronger attack, but there would have been nothing to hold either flank as Steiner advanced. I will say again—we do not have enough infantry. He would have had to hold the shoulders of any penetration with his own troops, and that would weaken the power of his attack with every kilometer he gained. If we had been facing a single Soviet army, even two, that may not have mattered. But we were facing four , and three of those were Guards.”
“I sent you three infantry divisions from Armeegruppe Center,” Hitler reminded him, “and two more from the Caucasus.”
“That is so, and they helped me stabilize the north, but we needed ten, twelve divisions if possible. I discussed this with you at our last meeting, and told you exactly how they could be found.”
“Yes, by giving up everything we have taken from Ivan Volkov,” said Hitler. “That would certainly satisfy him, would it not? Just throw the Caucasus to the wind—is that your sound military advice now?”
“My Führer, I have given you my reasoning on that earlier as well. Astrakhan and Baku cannot be reached, and Groznyy is useless to us for at least a year. The only objective worth holding there is Maykop. At present, Kleist now has twelve infantry and one Panzer division in the Caucasus. If we reduced our position there to simply hold the Kuban, that could be done with six or seven divisions, because we still have the Rumanian 3rd Army available. That frees up six good German divisions that could be used to hold that enemy bridgehead over the Donets, and then I could pull Steiner off the line, concentrate, and plan a real counterattack. Donnerschlag was a surprise move that caught the enemy off guard, and it worked as planned. Unfortunately, we discovered they had moved four armies into that bridgehead—four armies. Steiner’s troops have performed in an exemplary manner, but three divisions cannot move an enemy force of that size.”
Hitler fidgeted, his lips pursed, eyes shifting about, clearly ill at ease. He could hear the logic of what Manstein was saying, but it was something he did not want to accept. Steiner had been stopped. His enemy had taken ground from him, and Manstein was telling him it could not be regained—not without relinquishing yet more ground taken in the Caucasus, terrain that led him to the oil wells of Groznyy and Baku. Then Manstein riveted home his point by other means.
“I must point out again that if our positions between Kharkov and Izyum are not strengthened, and very soon, then you risk that entire flank. It will compel Paulus to withdraw his 6th Army and yield the entire Donets Basin. Otherwise he will be cut off, along with everything in the Caucasus. So, you must now choose what is most essential. We either relinquish the Terek Region, and fall back on Maykop as I suggest, or you will soon see us struggling to save the Donets Basin. I have stopped them, but they will reorganize. We must do the same before they renew offensive operations. You must do this now, or find some other means of reinforcing Armeegruppe South. Half measures will no longer suffice.”
“All my Generals want more divisions,” said Hitler. “You must understand that this is not the only front needing reinforcement. General Kluge tells me he cannot advance on Orel because he has already sent so many divisions to your command. General Kuchler of Armeegruppe North tells me he cannot launch Operation Untergang until all the units he has given up are returned. And you must also remember that Italy is now a weak sister, and I must provide for the possibility of Allied operations against the Balkans, Greece, or Italy.”
“I have already told you how Italy can be reinforced,” said Manstein. “Kübler should be moved out of Syria, and Guderian should also destroy Baba Gurgur and leave Iraq.”
“These things have been under consideration,” said Hitler, “but the movement of forces takes time.”
“Correct me if I am wrong, but has this redeployment even been ordered? Equivocation and procrastination will not serve us now. We need your decisive leadership, timely orders. Otherwise the enemy steals a march on us while we take things ‘under consideration.’ Which brings us to one last point of discussion, and the real reason I came here today. I must tell you, and I believe that both General Kluge and Zeitzler here are in agreement, that until we stabilize the Southern wing of the army, Operation Untergang is completely out of the question. If you cannot now find troops to save the Donets Basin, then you will most certainly not find them to bring Operation Untergang up to its planned strength before the July 1st launch date. It must either be postponed, or cancelled.”
Hitler had taken one barrage after another, the towers and walls of his fortress collapsing with each passing minute. Now he simply closed his eyes and began speaking, as if to himself more than anyone in the room, and with each word he uttered, his tone grew harder, darker, until his famous anger sallied forth in his defense.
“Cancelled… cancelled. My Field Marshal is oh so fond of cancelling offensives. He had the temerity to suspend Operation Zitadelle , and now he tells me I must cancel Untergang as well! Then I must return the Terek to Ivan Volkov, and all to serve his defense of Armeegruppe South! There are 30 infantry divisions in Armeegruppe North, along with six mobile divisions. That should be more than enough to crush enemy resistance, and do the job. That operation will not be cancelled, nor will it be postponed! You will return to your command and fight! Fight!”
The Führer struggled to compose himself, brushing the hair from his white brow. “The time for all these clever ‘Operations’ is long past. This situation simply requires backbone—staying power. It can be mastered and this army has the means. I am tired of hearing one excuse after another as to why things cannot be done and why we must give the enemy back everything we have taken from him. Very well… I will get you the infantry you request, because I have already taken the decision to leave the Syrian desert behind. Do not think I idle away my days and hours, Herr Manstein. I have more on my mind than you can possible imagine. So, I am done with deserts, and fruitless promises, and adventures in the Middle East. I have already recalled the Brandenburg Division, Guderian and Kübler will also be recalled. Cyprus will be evacuated and the troops there sent to Rhodes. All the mountain and Jager divisions will be distributed between Italy, Greece and the Balkans. All the regular infantry divisions and the Panzers, will be moved to the Dnieper depots and prepare for service as required. This will include both 2nd and 16th Panzer Divisions in Hube’s Korps, and 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions from Iraq. The Brandenburgers will be sent to Germany to refit as a Panzer Division again.”
Hitler had been leaning on the map table with both hands, staring at the dents and bulges in the front, his eyes unmoving. Now he stood up, clasping his hands behind his back, and staring at Manstein.
“There,” he said sharply. “The decision has been made, and it will not be questioned. The turkey is on the table, and I will now leave the three of you to decide how to carve it up. I use such a metaphor for good reason, for that is what I have had to sacrifice to clean up the mess on the southern front. Turkey! This movement out of Iraq and Syria will have political ramifications. It exposes Turkey’s southern border to the enemy, and it could weaken the resolve of the Turks to remain neutral. Churchill and Roosevelt have been pressuring the Turks to close their borders and cut our supplies to Syria and Iraq. Now they will begin courting favors, but there must be no movement of British forces through Turkey. All the key rail depots and bridges the Todt Organizations built will be destroyed as we evacuate. We will no longer need those rail lines, but neither will we leave them for the enemy to use. It is a moot issue now. Operation Phoenix , as well as Eisenfall have been cancelled. Plan Orient is dead. As for Untergang , that operation will not be cancelled, and it will proceed as scheduled on July 1st.”
The three Generals took all this in, surprised that Hitler would make such sweeping changes all at once. He had invested all his energy and hopes for some great economic boon to come out of his Middle East adventures, but they knew changes were in order once the Führer recalled Rommel from Syria. The defeat in Tunisia changed everything, and now Hitler was closing his ranks, and looking for a certain and sure set of borders that he could defend. He was not going to defeat the British in Syria and Iraq, and had finally come to see that he had weakened the Ostfront entirely too much to pursue those distant objectives, just as he had done so in North Africa. The ill-fated Operation Zitadelle , suspended before it could truly prove itself, still festered. He wanted no more excuses. Then he turned to Manstein, his manner softening.
“What yo
u have done in restoring the front has not gone unnoticed.”
At first, Manstein did not know quite how to take that. Was Hitler praising him, or suggesting that he was aware that he had done things the Führer did not approve.
“I understand fully what you have said concerning that bridgehead. If the enemy has reinforced it so heavily, then we must do the same if we are to have any chance of throwing him back. You may have the pick of the litter when these forces reach the Dnieper, but I will expect results. When you return to the front, tell Steiner that I am very pleased with his performance, and that of all his troops. As for the decision regarding the Caucasus, the Mykop-Tuapse pipeline is the only thing that matters now south of the Don, and the Army will stay where it is to give us a strong buffer zone to defend. Keep a wary eye on Volkov, Herr General. He may seem weak now, but he will do everything possible to take his revenge upon us. Be wary.”
With that, Hitler turned and walked slowly toward the door, the guards stiffening to salute as he passed. Manstein watched him go, a plaintive figure in so many ways. He could see the disappointment in his eyes, the reluctance to yield anything, the irrational logic fed by his stubborn will.
“Well,” he said, when Hitler had departed, “I did not get quite the decision I wanted, but this will have to do. He has given up on Iraq, Syria, and Turkey in one throw, but yet he will not budge on the Caucasus.”
Nexus Deep (Kirov Series Book 31) Page 21