Kharkov 1942

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Kharkov 1942

Author : Robert Forczyk
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1780961596
Total Pages : 237 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis Kharkov 1942 by : Robert Forczyk

Download or read book Kharkov 1942 written by Robert Forczyk and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-04-20 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A highly illustrated account of the 1942 battle of Kharkov, one of the Red Army's largest defeats in World War II. After failing to finish off the German Army in the 1941/42 Winter Counteroffensive Stalin directed the Red Army to conduct a powerful blow in one sector of the Eastern Front in order to disrupt German plans. The sector chosen was Kharkov. Under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko, the Stavka's remaining reserves were assembled and prepared to conduct a breakthrough attack intended to encircle the German Sixth Army near Kharkov. However, Stalin was unaware that the Germans were planning their own riposte at Kharkov, known as Operation Fredericus. When Timoshenko began his offensive in May 1942, he did not realize the limitations of his own forces or the agility of the Germans to recover from setbacks, all of which contributed to one of the Red Army greatest defeats of World War II. This volume will pay particular attention to intelligence and logistics issues, as well as how this campaign served as a prelude to the battle of Stalingrad. It will also focus on the nascent development of the Red Army's tank corps and 'deep battle' tactics, as well as the revival of the German Panzertruppen after Barbarossa.

Kharkov 1942

Author : David Glantz
Publisher : Ian Allan Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9780711034686
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (346 download)

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Book Synopsis Kharkov 1942 by : David Glantz

Download or read book Kharkov 1942 written by David Glantz and published by Ian Allan Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America's foremost expert on Russian military history has written the first book in English on one of the great battles on the Eastern front during World War II. Illustrations & maps.

Battle of Kharkov

Author : Jean Restayn
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 456 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Battle of Kharkov by : Jean Restayn

Download or read book Battle of Kharkov written by Jean Restayn and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Photo coverage of the German recapture of Kharkov in early 1943 ... Most of the exceptional photos have never been published before or are rare. They showcase the German armor, uniforms or other equipment and many are full page. They take the reader through the many small actions across the Russian countryside and small villages, culminating in the street fighting for Kharkov in March of 1943. The 32 pages of artwork from Mr. Restayn reflect ... the various German and Russian vehicles and aircraft which were employed in the fighting"--Page 4 of cover

From the Don to the Dnepr

Author : David M. Glantz
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135181306
Total Pages : 447 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (351 download)

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Book Synopsis From the Don to the Dnepr by : David M. Glantz

Download or read book From the Don to the Dnepr written by David M. Glantz and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-02-04 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an in-depth study of the Soviet Army during the offensive operations that started with Battle of Stalingrad in December 1942 and went until Spring 1943. The lessons learned by the Soviet Army from these experiences helped design the military steamroller that decimated the German panzer divisions at Kursk in the Summer of 1943.

Death of the Wehrmacht

Author : Robert M. Citino
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700617914
Total Pages : 448 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

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Book Synopsis Death of the Wehrmacht by : Robert M. Citino

Download or read book Death of the Wehrmacht written by Robert M. Citino and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2007-10-22 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For Hitler and the German military, 1942 was a key turning point of World War II, as an overstretched but still lethal Wehrmacht replaced brilliant victories and huge territorial gains with stalemates and strategic retreats. In this major reevaluation of that crucial year, Robert Citino shows that the German army's emerging woes were rooted as much in its addiction to the "war of movement"-attempts to smash the enemy in "short and lively" campaigns-as they were in Hitler's deeply flawed management of the war. From the overwhelming operational victories at Kerch and Kharkov in May to the catastrophic defeats at El Alamein and Stalingrad, Death of the Wehrmacht offers an eye-opening new view of that decisive year. Building upon his widely respected critique in The German Way of War, Citino shows how the campaigns of 1942 fit within the centuries-old patterns of Prussian/German warmaking and ultimately doomed Hitler's expansionist ambitions. He examines every major campaign and battle in the Russian and North African theaters throughout the year to assess how a military geared to quick and decisive victories coped when the tide turned against it. Citino also reconstructs the German generals' view of the war and illuminates the multiple contingencies that might have produced more favorable results. In addition, he cites the fatal extreme aggressiveness of German commanders like Erwin Rommel and assesses how the German system of command and its commitment to the "independence of subordinate commanders" suffered under the thumb of Hitler and chief of staff General Franz Halder. More than the turning point of a war, 1942 marked the death of a very old and traditional pattern of warmaking, with the classic "German way of war" unable to meet the challenges of the twentieth century. Blending masterly research with a gripping narrative, Citino's remarkable work provides a fresh and revealing look at how one of history's most powerful armies began to founder in its quest for world domination.

Stalingrad 1942

Author : Peter Antill
Publisher : Osprey Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781846030284
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis Stalingrad 1942 by : Peter Antill

Download or read book Stalingrad 1942 written by Peter Antill and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 2007-06-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stalingrad has become a by-word for grim endurance and tenacity; for the refusal to give up, no matter the cost. In this book, Peter Antill takes a dispassionate look at one of the most talked about battles in history. He asks why the Germans allowed themselves to be diverted from their main objective, which was to capture the oil fields of the Caucasus, and concentrate such large resources on a secondary target. He discusses the merits of the commanders on both sides and also the relationship on the German side with Hitler as well as reviewing the ways in which the command structures influenced the battle. Apart from the overall question of German objectives, this book also unpicks the detail of unit directions, priorities and deployments, leading to a vivid account of the day-by-day war of attrition that took place in Stalingrad during World War II (1939-1945), between September 14, 1942 and February 2, 1943. Stalingrad was more than a turning point, it was the anvil on which the back of German military ambitions in the east were broken and the echoes of its death knell were heard in Berlin and indeed the world over.

Stalingrad

Author : Antony Beevor
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101153563
Total Pages : 560 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (11 download)

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Book Synopsis Stalingrad by : Antony Beevor

Download or read book Stalingrad written by Antony Beevor and published by Penguin. This book was released on 1999-05-01 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Battle of Stalingrad was not only the psychological turning point of World War II: it also changed the face of modern warfare. From Antony Beevor, the internationally bestselling author of D-Day and The Battle of Arnhem. In August 1942, Hitler's huge Sixth Army reached the city that bore Stalin's name. In the five-month siege that followed, the Russians fought to hold Stalingrad at any cost; then, in an astonishing reversal, encircled and trapped their Nazi enemy. This battle for the ruins of a city cost more than a million lives. Stalingrad conveys the experience of soldiers on both sides, fighting in inhuman conditions, and of civilians trapped on an urban battlefield. Antony Beevor has itnerviewed survivors and discovered completely new material in a wide range of German and Soviet archives, including prisoner interrogations and reports of desertions and executions. As a story of cruelty, courage, and human suffering, Stalingrad is unprecedented and unforgettable. Historians and reviewers worldwide have hailed Antony Beevor's magisterial Stalingrad as the definitive account of World War II's most harrowing battle.

The Battle for Kharkov, 1941–1943

Author : Anthony Tucker-Jones
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1473874440
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (738 download)

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Book Synopsis The Battle for Kharkov, 1941–1943 by : Anthony Tucker-Jones

Download or read book The Battle for Kharkov, 1941–1943 written by Anthony Tucker-Jones and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-06-30 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A pictorial history of a series of World War II battles between the Soviet Red Army and the Nazi Wehrmacht around a city in present-day Ukraine. The four battles fought for Kharkov during the Second World War are often overshadowed by the battles for Moscow, Leningrad, and Stalingrad, yet they were critical stages in the struggle between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army for control of the southern Soviet Union. Anthony Tucker-Jones, in this volume in the Images of War series, offers a visual record of the dramatic and bloody conflict that took place there, showing every grim aspect of the fighting. Kharkov became one of the most bitterly contested cities during the war on the Eastern Front, and this book presents a graphic overview of the atrocious conditions the soldiers on both sides had to endure. In 1941 Kharkov fell to Hitler’s Army Group South. In 1942 the Soviets tried and failed to retake it, losing 240,000 men in the Barvenkovo Bulge. Then, in 1943, the control of the battered city changed hands twice before the Soviets liberated it for good. The fate of Kharkov during the war reflects the history of the wider struggle between Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union. Praise for Battle for Kharkov “The collection of original un-published Scott Pick photos are exceptional with such quality and topic coverage that the material visually jumps off the pages. . . . Presents a hard hitting and furious review of the period. . . . The ability of the author to cover the lengthy period in a concise review is very solid, and creates a substantial quality of information versus time of reading commitment.” —Richard Wade, military historian

Smolensk 1943

Author : Robert Forczyk
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 147283075X
Total Pages : 97 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (728 download)

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Book Synopsis Smolensk 1943 by : Robert Forczyk

Download or read book Smolensk 1943 written by Robert Forczyk and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-01-24 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the German defeat at Kursk, the Soviet Stavka (high command) ordered the Western and Kalinin Fronts to launch Operation Suvorov in order to liberate the city of Smolensk. The Germans had held this city for two years and Heeresgruppe Mitte's (Army Group Centre) 4. Armee had heavily fortified the region. The Soviet offensive began in August 1943 and they quickly realized that the German defences were exceedingly tough and that the Western Front had not prepared adequately for an extended offensive. Consequently, the Soviets were forced to pause their offensive after only two weeks, in order to replenish their combat forces and then begin again. The German 4. Armee was commanded by Generaloberst Gotthard Heinrici, one of the Wehrmacht's top defensive experts. Although badly outnumbered, Heinrici's army gamely held off two Soviet fronts for seven weeks. Eventually, the 4. Armee's front was finally broken and Smolensk was liberated on 25 September 1943. However, the Western Front was too exhausted to pursue Heinrici's defeated army, which retreated to the fortified cities of Vitebsk, Orsha and Mogilev; the 4. Armee would hold these cities until the destruction of Army Group Centre in June 1944. Operation Suvorov focuses on a major offensive that is virtually unknown in the West and which set the stage for the decisive defeat of Heeresgruppe Mitte in the next summer offensive.

German Soldier vs Soviet Soldier

Author : Chris McNab
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 147282458X
Total Pages : 81 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (728 download)

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Book Synopsis German Soldier vs Soviet Soldier by : Chris McNab

Download or read book German Soldier vs Soviet Soldier written by Chris McNab and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-10-19 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the end of the first week of November 1942, the German Sixth Army held about 90 per cent of Stalingrad. Yet the Soviets stubbornly held on to the remaining parts of the city, and German casualties started to reach catastrophic levels. In an attempt to break the deadlock, Hitler decided to send additional German pioneer battalions to act as an urban warfare spearhead. These combat engineers were skilled in all aspects of city fighting, especially in the use of demolitions and small arms to overcome defended positions and in the destruction of armoured vehicles. Facing them were hardened Soviet troops who had perfected the use of urban camouflage, concealed and interlocking firing positions, close quarters battle, and sniper support. This fully illustrated book explores the tactics and effectiveness of these opposing troops during this period, focusing particularly on the brutal close-quarters fight over the Krasnaya Barrikady (Red Barricades) ordnance factory.

The Soviet Airborne Experience

Author : David M. Glantz
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1428915826
Total Pages : 232 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (289 download)

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Book Synopsis The Soviet Airborne Experience by : David M. Glantz

Download or read book The Soviet Airborne Experience written by David M. Glantz and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1984 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contents: The Prewar Experience; Evolution of Airborne Forces During World War II; Operational Employment: Vyaz'ma, January-February 1942; Operational Employment: Vyaz'ma, February-June 1942; Operational Employment: On the Dnepr, September 1943; Tactical Employment; The Postwar Years.

Gebirgsjäger Vs Soviet Sailor

Author : David Greentree
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1472819799
Total Pages : 81 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (728 download)

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Book Synopsis Gebirgsjäger Vs Soviet Sailor by : David Greentree

Download or read book Gebirgsjäger Vs Soviet Sailor written by David Greentree and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-02-20 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fully illustrated with specially commissioned full-color artwork, this work examines the origins, combat roles, and battlefield performance of the German Gebirgsjäger and Soviet naval ground forces who fought one another in the harsh conditions of the Arctic Circle.

When Titans Clashed

Author : David M. Glantz
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700621210
Total Pages : 576 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

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Book Synopsis When Titans Clashed by : David M. Glantz

Download or read book When Titans Clashed written by David M. Glantz and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2015-10-16 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On first publication, this uncommonly concise and readable account of Soviet Russia's clash with Nazi Germany utterly changed our understanding of World War II on Germany’s Eastern Front, immediately earning its place among top-shelf histories of the world war. Revised and updated to reflect recent Russian and Western scholarship on the subject, much of it the authors' own work, this new edition maintains the 1995 original's distinction as a crucial volume in the history of World War II and of the Soviet Union and the most informed and compelling perspective on one of the greatest military confrontations of all time. In 1941, when Pearl Harbor shattered America's peacetime pretensions, the German blitzkrieg had already blasted the Red Army back to Moscow. Yet, less than four years later, the Soviet hammer-and-sickle flew above the ruins of Berlin, stark symbol of a miraculous comeback that destroyed the Germany Army and put an end to Hitler's imperial designs. In swift and stirring prose, When Titans Clash provides the clearest, most complete account of this epic struggle, especially from the Soviet perspective. Drawing on the massive and unprecedented release of Soviet archival documents in recent decades, David Glantz, one of the world's foremost authorities on the Soviet military, and noted military historian Jonathan House expand and elaborate our picture of the Soviet war effort—a picture sharply different from accounts that emphasize Hitler's failed leadership over Soviet strategy and might. Rafts of newly available official directives, orders, and reports reveal the true nature and extraordinary scale of Soviet military operations as they swept across the one thousand miles from Moscow to Berlin, featuring stubborn defenses and monumental offensives and counteroffensives and ultimately costing the two sides combined a staggering twenty million casualties. Placing the war within its wider context, the authors also make use of recent revelations to clarify further the political, economic, and social issues that influenced and reflected what happened on the battlefield. Their work gives us new insight into Stalin's political motivation and Adolf Hitler’s role as warlord, as well as a better understanding of the human and economic costs of the war—for both the Soviet Union and Germany. While incorporating a wealth of new information, When Titans Clashed remains remarkably compact, a tribute to the authors' determination to make this critical chapter in world history as accessible as it is essential.

The End of the Gallop

Author : Alexei Isaev
Publisher : Helion
ISBN 13 : 9781804513811
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (138 download)

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Book Synopsis The End of the Gallop by : Alexei Isaev

Download or read book The End of the Gallop written by Alexei Isaev and published by Helion. This book was released on 2023-07-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based heavily on inaccessible Soviet records, this book presents a lively account of a pivotal battle on the Eastern Front, illustrated with photographs and maps. In the history of war there are not that many battles that changed one side's strategy over a considerable period of time, becoming not only a material, but also a psychological factor in decision making. A classic example of this is the Battle of Smolensk in 1941, which forced the German leadership to change their strategy for 'Barbarossa' and to deploy their troops towards the northern, and eastern flanks of the Soviet-German front. We can however find another example on the other side of the front line: this was the battle in the area around Kharkov in the winter of 1943, which had even more of an impact. Following the simultaneous defeat of several of the shock troops on the two fronts and the loss of a large tract of territory the vector of Soviet strategy changed. A passive expectation of the enemy's actions replaced the attacking momentum that was traditional for Soviet command. To begin with there were objective prerequisites: Red Army units were exhausted and had incurred heavy losses in the German counterattacks during February-March. By May 1943 however, when the troops had recuperated and reserves had been drawn up, the psychological factor continued to play a role. Recalling their bitter experience during the winter battles outside Kharkov the Supreme Soviet Command decided not to go on the offensive, but await the start of German offensive operations. Up until the very last day before the start of Operation 'Citadel' the Commander of the Voronezh front N.F. Vatutin was pleading, he demanded that precious summer days not be spent waiting for the enemy to attack but for the Red Army to take up the offensive themselves. All these proposals distracted supreme command, as they remembered Vatutin's failures outside Kharkov a few months previously. From a military historian's point of view the battles outside Kharkov between February-March 1943 were dramatic maneuvering battles and the success of both sides hung in the balance on a daily basis. Operations such as these are always much more interesting than the tedious, meat grinding positioning for a 'house in the forest', that is abundant in the histories of both world wars. Maneuvering, the deployment of corps and divisions around an area to attack an enemy where they are most vulnerable, played a much more important role than the arithmetic of the numbers of tanks and guns. The steady equalization of both Soviet and German sides added spice to this menu of a classic maneuvering battle. During the course of the battle for Kharkov Soviet forces encountered a new, powerful enemy in the shape of the Panzer divisions of the SS. These were elite mechanized formations equipped with the latest technology, which were soon to become leading participants in decisive battles in the East and the West in the second half of the war.

The Red Army and the Second World War

Author : Alexander Hill
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1316720519
Total Pages : 757 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (167 download)

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Book Synopsis The Red Army and the Second World War by : Alexander Hill

Download or read book The Red Army and the Second World War written by Alexander Hill and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-07 with total page 757 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a definitive new account of the Soviet Union at war, Alexander Hill charts the development, successes and failures of the Red Army from the industrialisation of the Soviet Union in the late 1920s through to the end of the Great Patriotic War in May 1945. Setting military strategy and operations within a broader context that includes national mobilisation on a staggering scale, the book presents a comprehensive account of the origins and course of the war from the perspective of this key Allied power. Drawing on the latest archival research and a wealth of eyewitness testimony, Hill portrays the Red Army at war from the perspective of senior leaders and men and women at the front line to reveal how the Red Army triumphed over the forces of Nazi Germany and her allies on the Eastern Front, and why it did so at such great cost.

The Unknown Black Book

Author : Joshua Rubenstein
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 520 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The Unknown Black Book by : Joshua Rubenstein

Download or read book The Unknown Black Book written by Joshua Rubenstein and published by . This book was released on 2010-05-25 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offering accounts by survivors of work camps, ghettos, forced marches, beatings, starvation, and disease, 'The Unknown Black Book' provides testimonies from Jews who survived massacres and other atrocities carried out by the Germans and their allies in occupied Soviet territories during World War II.

Last Victory in Russia

Author : George M. Nipe
Publisher : Schiffer Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9780764311864
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (118 download)

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Book Synopsis Last Victory in Russia by : George M. Nipe

Download or read book Last Victory in Russia written by George M. Nipe and published by Schiffer Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first detailed and comprehensive account of the Kharkov counteroffensive, the operations of the SS divisions and the supporting actions of Armeeabteilung Fretter-Pico and 1. Panzerarmee, and is supported by over 210 photographs and maps. By the end of January of 1943, Hitler's armies had been dealt a series of defeats by the Russians, beginning with the disaster at Stalingrad. Successive Soviet offensives had destroyed the German 6. Armee and annihilated the armies of Germany's Axis allies, Italy, Rumania and Hungary. Germany teetered on the brink of defeat in World War II because the Soviet advance threatened to drive to the Dnepr River and encircle the remaining Germans armies in southern Russia. Stalin and the Russian high command believed that the war could be won with just one more great effort. Accordingly, they planned and launched two offensives, designated Operations "Star" and "Gallop." The focal points of the two offensives included the recapture of Kharkov, the industrial heart of the Ukraine and the destruction of Armeeabteilung Hollidt, 4. Panzerarmee and 2. Armee. Feldmarschall Erich von Manstein entered the picture in late 1942 when he was appointed commander of Heeresgruppe Don. Beginning in February he engineered a remarkable operation that changed the course of the war in Russia. Manstein's counteroffensive destroyed or severely damaged four Russian armies and regained much of the territory lost in January. The troops that played the most important role in the offensive were three divisions of the Waffen-SS. "Leibstandarte," "Das Reich" and "Totenkopf" were combined for the first time into a corps, which was commanded by SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Paul Hausser, the senior commander of the Waffen-SS. "Leibstandarte" and "Das Reich" participated in the defense of Kharkov, along with the elite Army division "Grossdeutschland" supported by three weak infantry divisions. This handful of divisions was attacked by four Soviet armies, but under command of Armeeabteilung Lanz, was able to hold the city for two weeks. On 14 February, 1943 the SS-Panzerkorps and the rest of Armeeabteilung Lanz withdrew from Kharkov under disputed circumstances that involved Hausser and his violation of a direct order from Hitler. Almost exactly a month later, the Germans had recaptured Kharkov and destroyed or crippled the four Soviet armies that had driven them out of the city in February. The divisions that played the key role in Manstein's counteroffensive were the three divisions of the Waffen-SS. While "Leibstandarte" defended the supply base of the SS-Panzerkorps from the entire Soviet 3rd Tank Army, "Das Reich" and "Totenkopf" conducted a complex series of operations that began with a 100 kilometer thrust to the south which saved the Dnepr bridges, thus securing supply lines for the armies of Heeresgruppe Don/Sud. Subsequent operations by the SS divisions drove the Russians away from the rail net south of Kharkov and wrested Kharkov from the Russians once again. During the recapture of the city, there was controversy regarding Hausser's command decisions. Hausser has been accused of disregarding his instructions from superior officers and throwing his divisions into costly combat in the city for reasons of personal and SS prestige, in order to regain Hitler's favor. This study has found that the records of the SS-Panzerkorps and 4. Panzerarmee provide a different explanation for Hausser's actions.