Kharkov '43 Grand Campaign AAR

[larsonney]

KHARKOV ’43 GRAND CAMPAIGN---Day 4

Day Four saw the big red bear really get going! The fluid front consisted of both heavy engagements, particularly in the south, and cat & mouse encirclement skirmishes elsewhere.

North Front
The Russian 40th Army finally appeared at mid-day, with 4 rifle divisions appearing in front of the 168th Infantry division & the 88th Infantry Kampfgruppen. Because of the situation to the south, in front of Kharkov, the decision was made to fall back on Belgorod to shorten our defense lines. The fighting withdrawal began by mid-afternoon and is expected to last through day 5.



The Grossdeutschland was originally tasked with defending southeast of Korocha, but the disintegration of the center (more on that later) forced the division to move just north of Belgorod. The division got there by late afternoon and is expected to rest all of day 5. The division is around 70% strength and heavily fatigued. We need to get this division rested and refitted since it will be the linchpin of the northern flank in the coming days.



Center Front

The 3rd Tank Army pushed west along the Budarka-Volchansk Highway over 20km on day 4, seriously threatening the majority of Das Reich to the southeast. The Recon battalion was assigned the overwhelming job of slowing down the assault, but they were only partially successful, with the armor reserves of Das Reich having to be committed by late afternoon to slow the 3rd Tank’s relentless drive. Having to commit the reserves here would cause problems for us farther south, but we saw no alternative. If 3rd Tank Army gets Volchansk before Das Reich is across the Donets, we risk losing the entire division.



The 12th Tank Corps used the night to shift slightly northwest of Verilkiy Burlok, and day 4 saw a vicious push by the Red Army to sever the highway to Volchansk. The Deutschland regiment had to launch numerous local counterattacks to keep the road open…if 12th Tank Army severs the road, Das Reich dies in the frozen tundra between it and the Donets. As the sun rises on day 5, Das Reich had done what they do best…get the job done and kill Russians! But the pyrrhic victory comes at a horrific cost…the regiment is decimated and tattering on the edge of breaking. What’s left of the regiment will attempt to move west to safety on day 5.



With the 12th Army’s push north of Verilkiy Burlok , the recon battalion of the SS LAH PzG division and most of the exhausted companies of the Der Fuhrer regiment turned southwest and used the slushy country roads to make their way towards the Donets.



Day 4 saw no Russian units spotted on the main highway to Chuguev, so once they released, the 2nd panzer grenadier regiment of Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was ordered to withdraw west of the Donets.



The final death rattle for the 525th infantry regiment of the 298th infantry division is occurring around Novonikolayevka…more brave soldiers of the Reich being lost in the meatgrinder…



The cat and mouse game for the 320th INF Division’s 586th regiment continued on day 4. 1 company became trapped around Dovgalevia, but the rest of the division continues to fall back west. The lack of multiple enemy armor units is the main reason we have been able to keep the 106th Rifle Brigade at arm’s length.



The south is up next...

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Here is the rest...

South Front

At Petroyskaya, the two Russian divisions fought throughout the day, finally flanking the northern flank of the 681st regiment of the 333rd infantry by late afternoon. This development caused the regiment to begin withdrawing west.



To the south, the 680th regiment of the 333rd infantry division at Barvenkovo was quickly encircled by the 3rd Tank Corps from Mobile Group Popov. The Russians did not launch a full assault, preferring to let the German boys run low on food and ammo. We expect a push to clear the city on day 5. Requests from the regiment for assistance were greeted by Herr Hitler’s standing order…No retreat!!



Southeast Front

With the encirclement of Barvenkovo, 3rd Panzer was placed in a quandary…force march west to help their infantry brethren or push north to Cherkasskoye to apply pressure on Slavyansk? As usual, the illusion of the Germans having a decision in this offensive was wrong…a Soviet push southeast from Slavyansk at first light decided the matter…3rd panzer could not help the infantry to the west, they must push north to prevent a collapse of III Panzer Korps. The open flank of 3rd Panzer is worrisome, but we must take the calculated risk…

The crack 11th Panzer is detraining at Druzhkovka, and another decision awaits us as day 5 unfolds…do we send the savvy veterans of one of the best divisions in the East northwest or northeast? Northwest creates a powerful 2-division thrust south of Slavyansk that the Russians would be hard-pressed to stop. Northeast keeps the punch-drunk 7th Panzer from collapsing and the entire southeast sector from being rolled up. Too bad the decisions are so easy in this campaign…



Southeast of Slavyansk, the Russians crossed their bridgeheads and pushed the 7th Panzer from the heights, threatening to rupture the III Panzer Korps front. By mid-afternoon, another tank corps appeared in the vicinity of Nikolayevka, right on the seam of 7th & 19th Panzer’s divisional lines. This caused another withdrawal order (and a bit of panic) for 7th Panzer to try to stabilize the threat.

The appearance of the new Russian Tank Corps also abruptly ended the limited counter-attack of the 19th & 27th Panzer divisions, but not before over 5 battalions of the 38th Guards Rifle Division were removed from the available force roster of the Russians. This small but effective counter-attack should facilitate the withdrawal of the extreme east flank of III Pz Korps and means that 2 of the 3 original infantry divisions in this sector should be below 50% effectiveness.



Summary

Overall, the campaign is becoming very interesting! After 4 complete days of fighting, some major points can be noted from the German perspective:
• The continuous action is reaching a critical point for the Germans…The Grossdeutschland, Das Reich, & 7th Panzer (particularly the latter 2) have been pushed to the point of exhaustion. Our opponents have steadily increased the pressure each day, to the point that we are unable to disengage and rest these crack units (Obviously, part of their plan).
• Our opponents, with the benefit of hindsight, have not made the historical mistake that Vatutin’s Southwestern Front did…instead concentrating on destroying 1st Panzerarmee to avoid any counterattacks on the southern push to Kharkov. With the lack of infantry divisions in this area, the panzer divisions get stuck in the meat grinder and lose their offensive punch.
• The Germans, particularly the Panzer Divisions, are still superior when toe-to-toe with the Russians…the key is to plan and wait for those key moments when a decisive meeting engagement can turn the tide in a particular area…easier said than done!
Day 5 should be a blast…