Kharkov 1943

Between February and March 1943 Ukraine’s second town, Kharkov, was the scene of a fierce struggle between the Red Army and Axis troops. Feeling optimistic after the Stalingrad triumph, Stalin thought that his adversaries were in full flight. But Feldmarschall von Manstein kept a cool head. Thanks to the SS-Panzerkorps which had just been created, he planned a counteroffensive. In mid-February the SS army corps managed to extricate itself from Kharkov with great difficulty and a few days later launched the great counterattack. In three weeks the Red army found itself in full retreat and with great difficulty managed to get out of the grips of the enemy who demonstrated its great mastery of the war of movement.

The SS recaptured Kharkov a month after losing it but by doing so probably deprived von Manstein of an even greater victory. The situation stabilized with the thaw leaving both adversaries completely exhausted.

Although the situation had changed in favor of the Allies, the Eastern Front now included new protagonists – the Waffen-SS armored units on whom Hitler was counting to work some miracles and defeat his mortal enemy.

Philippe Naud is Professor of History and a specialist of the Eastern Front. He is the author of numerous articles in VaeVictis, Steelmasters and Tank Zone magazines.

REVIEWS

“This newest release from Casemate Publishing takes you right into to battle. With excellent maps, battle charts , Artists plates and clear pictures along with a text that brings you up to speed on the events leading up to & including Kharkov being coveted by both sides. An excellent book for historians and modelers alike. The story is told from both sides in a historic sense rather than a combat history. It's very well written & researched . All of the maps are easy to understand and give you a scope of battle. “
Scale Model Addict.com