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...
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 optim...