3rd Battle of Kharkov in the Ukraine Pt 1 - 2nd SS Panzer Corps - Hauser - Steiner - Balck - Funck

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Episode 97

5 Part mini-series

This footage show elements of the 2. SS Pz Corps operating in the Ukraine during the last week of February in 1943. It fits in with an original 4-page report that I’ll introduce which describes combat in what is now known as the 3rd Battle for Kharkov. Included in the report are captured Soviet documents that describe the situation from their point of view. I’ll also show more combat footage from the battle so stick around, it’s worth it.

After beating off General Hoth’s attempt to relieve the trapped 6th army at Stalingrad and that army’s eventual surrender on Feb. 2, 1943, Soviet forces raced West believing that the German lines were disintegrating and that the war could be ended in 1943. In the chaos, Manstein had managed to get operational freedom for Army Group South which was significant. Hitler’s tendency to declare the creation of fortresses severely limited mobility and had lead to the disaster at Stalingrad.

In early February the powerful Soviet armored formation Popow sensing a general lack of resistance and noting that Kharkov had been abandoned, moved in which left it badly extended. But General Paul Hauser who was in command of the 2. SS Pz Group had not retreated south haphazardly forced out by a superior enemy. The maneuver had bee carefully organized and controlled; the trap had been set.

The report was written by a staff member of the 7th Panzer Division at their field headquarters on February 28. It starts by quoting general news reports as had been transmitted over the radio. I believe that the signatures to the right are from officers that read this report.

Between the Donez and Dnjepr Rivers heavy enemy forces were overrun by German armored units. The powerful attack forced them to retreat towards the Northeast in the direction of Jsjum.

The German armored wedge smashed through completely destroying the Sowjet columns of the Tank Army Popow.

2 of the Bolshevik Corps were destroyed and another

2 Soviet Corps were badly mauled

Since the 22.2.43 German army units have been been involved in offensive operations against strong Soviet formations between the Donez and Dnjepr Rivers. During the enemy’s attempt at achieving a far reaching encirclement, German units counter attacked to their rear and on their flank and managed to cause considerable damage. The 4th and 18th Russian Panzer Corps were destroyed and the 3rd and 10th Panzer Corps were severely damaged.

The core of the attacking tank formations was made up of the

11th Panzer-Division under the command of General

Balck, the

7th Panzer-Division under the command of General

Freiherr von Funck and the

SS. Panzer-Grenadier-Division “Wiking” under the command of

General Steiner

During the last days our tanks and grenadiers have carefully secured the regained territory eliminating all remnants of the enemy formations. They created a bridgehead at an important location in the river and were able to occupy further nearby towns. They pushed the enemy back in the direction of Jsjum.

What makes this combat report especially interesting is its inclusion of translated documents that were captured from the Soviets. If you’ve seen my other videos then you know that I always use multiple primary sources to give more of a holistic overview of the history and being able to integrate sources from both sides is really best.

We have to thank my Patreon supporters for this report. Without them purchasing these originals and gaining access to the film footage wouldn’t be possible. If you are not yet a Patreon supporter please consider becoming one. As a supporter you gain access to additional film footage that can’t be shown here. There’s an example clip on my website Military1945.com. Create a free account and take a look.

Getting back to the report, the German officer finishes off explaining…

In addition to a large number of destroyed tanks, over 200 vehicles and plenty of equipment was captured or destroyed.

The next two pages are translated messages sent from the Soviet divisional commander to General Popow the commander of the Group and also to General Batutin who was the commander of the Soviet South Western front explaining the situation. We’ll cover these pages in the next video so remember to hit the bell icon so that you stay informed. Thanks for watching.