In World War II , countless classic battles were born, including the Battle of Midway, the Battle of Kiev, the Battle of Stalingrad, and the Battle of , but if we talk about defeating the strong with the weak, we will be able to support the building to lose more than , , Kharkov counterattack , in this war, Manstein fully utilized his own advantages, and immediately pushed back the Soviet army that had just won the Battle of Stalingrad, and extended Germany for two years.
The Battle of Stalingrad failed in early 1943, the German Sixth Army surrounded by Stalingrad surrendered to the Soviet army, marking the complete failure of the German southern line plan. At this time, the Soviet army took advantage of the great victory to attack the German controlled area.
In late February, 11943, the Soviet army officially began the attack. The Soviet army sent Voronezh Front and Southwest Front with the goal of defeating the German Army B Group and seizing the industrial center Kharkov . The situation at this time is very unfavorable to Germany.
At this time, Germany was defeated in Stalingrad and the elite Sixth Army was wiped out. The entire southern line lost nearly one million troops, which can be said to be the weakest time when Germany was. But even in this situation, Manstein still won a miraculous victory.
took a step back and took two steps forward
Due to the sudden turn of the battle, Hitler, who was far away in the "wolf's den", felt worried that the German army on the Eastern Front would collapse completely. On February 17, 1943, Hitler took a special plane to the Zaporozer Front Command. He wanted to have a discussion with Manstein, the commander of the Southern Army Group.
Hitler wanted Manstein to speed up the recovery of Kharkov, but Manstein did not think so. He felt that the Soviet army is still very strong now and it was not the best time to attack.
Manstein's plan was to allow the Soviet army to continue to go deeper, and when the Soviet army was insufficient logistics, he dispatched elite troops to eat the Soviet army's vanguard Southwest Front, and then used the high mobility of the armored forces to surround the Soviet army, crippled Voronezh and Bryansk Front , and pushed the front back to the spring of 1942.
Hitler was impressed by Manstein's boldness, and then ordered the Ukrainian air force and the three aces of the SS, "First Division", " Skeleton Division ", and "Imperial Division" to send it to Manstein. The code name of this counterattack is called "Operation Donetsk". Before the war, Hitler also instructed Manstein: It is 1,000 kilometers away from Germany, but it determines Germany's future.
tank, advance
Just as the Soviet Union was advancing rapidly, Manstein was quietly organizing troops to give the Soviet army a fatal blow. killed the Soviet army but could not have imagined that the German army, which had just suffered a crushing defeat, did not want to defend, but instead wanted to attack. Excessive underestimation of the enemy and arrogance were also the reasons for the failure of the Soviet Union.
At this time, The Soviet army The Fifth Assault Army of the Southwest Front had already penetrated hundreds of kilometers, and the troops were seriously lacking in supplies. Since they had just experienced the Battle of Stalingrad, although the Soviet army won, it was also a tragic victory. The personnel vacancy was very serious. Manstein dared to attack because he saw this.
By February 19, 1943, Manstein sent the Second Armored Army to rush towards the Southwest Front. In this battle, the two tiger tanks of the Skeleton Division achieved an amazing record of 0:34 when they encountered an armored division of the Soviet army.
After the Soviet Fifth Assault Army was defeated, the Soviet Sixth Army could no longer withstand, and the Soviet Southwest Front was forced to retreat to the Donets River in March. As soon as the Southwest Front retreated, the flanks of the Voronezh Front were completely exposed.
Manstein seized the opportunity and ordered the Fourth Armored Army to go north to Kharkov. Soon the Kharkiv area became the Shura battlefield between the Soviet army and the German army. Although the Soviet army fought tenaciously, it would be useless to work harder for the Soviet army, whose logistics was cut off.
, especially the Third Panzer Army of the Soviet Union, suffered huge losses in the battle of Kharkov. It was surrounded by the 69th Army and was in danger of being surrounded and annihilated. After a brutal street fighting, on March 15, the Soviet army was forced to retreat, and the Soviet left-behind troops almost dropped all their heavy equipment before evacuating Kharkov.
The significance of victory in the Kharkov counterattack
Manstein's bold plan achieved great success, repelling the Soviet attack, causing losses of more than 100,000 Soviet troops, while his own side only lost more than 100,000 people, greatly boosting the morale of the German army on the Eastern Front.
Manstein relied on this wonderful combination of punches to re-stop the Soviet army who had just won the big victory, and the Soviet army's advantage on the southern front seemed to disappear all of a sudden. At the same time, Manstein's counterattack extended the lifespan of Nazi Germany for two years,
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