Hitler's Panzer Armies on the Eastern Fron (41 page)

27. Boog et al.,
Germany and the Second World War
, Vol. IV, p. 61; Clark,
Barbarossa
, p. 178; John Ellis,
Brute Force
, Viking, 1990, p. 59; Erickson,
Road to Stalingrad
, p. 265; von Mackensen,
Vom Bug bis zum Kaukasus
, p. 46; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, p. 54.

28. Boog et al.,
Germany and the Second World War
, Vol. IV, pp. 622–26, 789; Ellis,
Brute Force
, p. 65; Erickson,
Road to Stalingrad
, p. 265; Görlitz,
Paulus and Stalingrad
, p. 44; Messenger,
Hitler’s Gladiator
, p. 105; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, pp. 54–57. For a different view of the Poltava meeting between Hitler and von Rundstedt, see John Toland,
Adolf Hitler
, Vol. II, Doubleday, 1976, p. 789.

29. Breymeyer,
Das Wiesel
, p. 164.

30. Ibid., p. 183; Hans Neidhardt,
Mit Tanne und Eichenlaub
, Stocker, 1981, pp. 152, 164. Light divisions were redesignated Jäger divisions on 1 April 1942, Neidhardt,
Mit Tanne und Eichenlaub
, p. 168.

31. Fedor von Bock,
The War Diary, 1939–1945
, Schiffer Military History, 1996, entries for most of February; Neidhardt,
Mit Tanne und Eichenlaub
, p. 156; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, pp. 156, 159. As mentioned above, von Reichenau took command of Army Group South on 2 December. He suffered a stroke during lunch on 16 January, and died the next day. Von Bock was recalled from medical leave and reported to Hitler at Rastenburg on 17 January.

32. Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, pp. 288–89.

33. Anthony Beevor,
Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege, 1942–1943
, Viking, 1998, p. 65; Erickson,
Road to Stalingrad
, pp. 345–46; Haupt,
Army Group South
, pp. 139, 143; von Mackensen,
Vom Bug bis zum Kaukasus
, p. 71; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, pp. 273, 276, 278–82.

34. Von Bock,
The War Diary
, 23 and 24 June 1942; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, p. 318. Armeegruppe von Kleist was disbanded on 8 June as part of
the reorganization prior to Blau. (Since Operation Wilhelm was conducted by Sixth Army, it is not covered in detail here.)

35. Citino,
The Death of the Wehrmacht
, p. 174. Due to a security breach, on 30 June Blau I, II and III were all renamed, but for simplicity’s sake the original names will continue to be used here. Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, p. 336.

36. Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, p. 346.

37. Von Mackensen,
Vom Bug bis zum Kaukasus
, p. 86; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, pp. 347–48. Maximillian Freiherr von Weichs took over Army Group B after von Bock, while Hitler henceforth personally controlled both A and B.

38. Citino,
The Death of the Wehrmacht
, p. 177; Erickson,
Road to Stalingrad
, p. 362; Glantz and House,
When Titans Clashed
, p. 120; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, pp. 34–51.

39. Erickson,
Road to Stalingrad
, p. 370; Haupt,
Army Group South
, p. 180; von Mackensen,
Vom Bug bis zum Kaukasus
, p. 89; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, pp. 355–56.

40. Von Mackensen,
Vom Bug bis zum Kaukasus
, p. 91; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, pp. 358–60. Fourth Panzer Army transferred to Army Group A on 30 July.

41. Citino,
The Death of the Wehrmacht
, pp. 228, 231–32; Haupt,
Army Group South
, pp. 183, 187–88; von Mackensen,
Vom Bug bis zum Kaukasus
, pp. 91–95, Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, pp. 362, 364–65. The 14th Panzer did not accompany von Kleist south. On 30 July, Hoth turned over XL Panzer to First Panzer.

42. Citino,
The Death of the Wehrmacht
, p. 233; Erickson,
Road to Stalingrad
, pp. 377–78; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, pp. 366, 368–71, 373.

43. Citino,
The Death of the Wehrmacht
, p. 234; von Mackensen,
Vom Bug bis zum Kaukasus
, pp. 96–97; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, pp. 374–75.

44. Von Mackensen,
Vom Bug bis zum Kaukasus
, pp. 100–1; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, p. 379.

45. Citino,
The Death of the Wehrmacht
, pp. 242–43; Haupt,
Army Group South
, p. 201; von Mackensen,
Vom Bug bis zum Kaukasus
, pp. 103, 105–6; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, pp. 453–54; Earl Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin: The German Defeat in the East
, Barnes & Noble, 1996, p. 17.

46. Haupt,
Army Group South
, p. 202; von Mackensen,
Vom Bug bis zum Kaukasus
, p. 110; Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, p. 456. Hitler personally took command of Army Group A on 10 September.

47. Ziemke and Bauer,
Moscow to Stalingrad
, p. 493. Some portions of Fourth Panzer Army not trapped at Stalingrad would also be destroyed during Saturn, and the down-graded Little Saturn.

48. Paul Carell,
Scorched Earth
, Harrap, 1970, pp. 142, 148; Davis,
von Kleist
, p. 15; John Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1983, pp. 28, 30–32; Glantz and House,
When Titans Clashed
, p. 142; Haupt,
Army Group South
, pp. 240, 242–45; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 71, 85.

49. Walter Dunn,
Kursk: Hitler’s Gamble, 1943
, Praeger, 1997, p. 97; David Glantz,
From the Don to the Dnepr: Soviet Offensive Operations, December 1942 to August 1943
, Frank Cass, 1991, p. 88; George Nipe,
Last Victory: The SS Panzercorps and
Manstein’s Counter Offensive, February-March 1943
, Schiffer, 2000, p. 76; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 86, 91–93. Army Group Don was renamed South.

50. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, pp. 51, 53; Glantz,
From the Don to the Dnepr
, pp.99, 106, 110, 112, 118–19; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, p. 94. During the swirling armored battles, XXX Corps ably defended First Panzer’s right, Nipe,
Last Victory
, p. 147. ‘Backhand Blow’ is the name preferred by English speakers for von Manstein’s February-March 1943 counterattack, Germans often use Rochade, their word for the chess term ‘to castle’.

51. Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 127–28.

52. Dunn,
Kursk
, p. 146; Glantz,
From the Don to the Dnepr
, p. 245; Haupt,
Army Group South
, p. 282; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 137–38.

53. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, pp. 119, 124; Haupt,
Army Group South
, p. 291; Erich von Manstein,
Lost Victories
, Presidio Press, 1984, p. 457; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 160–62, 164–65.

54. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, p. 137; Glantz and House,
When Titans Clashed
, p. 171; Haupt,
Army Group South
, p. 297; Albert Seaton,
The Russo-German War
, Praeger, 1971, pp. 384–85; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 166, 169, 174–78. Breymayer,
Die Wiesel
, pp. 306–7. The retreating Germans used 500 tons of explosives on the dam, employed 14,000 mines and other obstacles throughout the city and bridgehead, Breymayer,
Die Wiesel
, p. 309.

55. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, p. 138; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 181–84.

56. Glantz and House,
When Titans Clashed
, p. 186; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 221–25.

57. Haupt,
Army Group South
, p. 322; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 224–26.

58. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, p. 165; Glantz and House,
When Titans Clashed
, p. 187; Haupt,
Army Group South
, p. 322; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, p. 226. Two perfect examples demonstrate the traps awaiting the historian: Ziemke writes that the Soviets closed the Korsun pocket on 28 January, Glantz and House say 3 February. Glantz and House name Stemmermann ‘Werner’ and call him commander of XLII Corps; Wolf Keilig,
Das Deutsche Heer, 1939–1945
, Podzun Verlag, 1956, names him ‘Wilhelm’ and says he led XI Corps!

59. Wolfgang Paul,
Brennpunkte
, Hoentges, 1977, p. 350.

60. Glantz and House,
When Titans Clashed
, pp. 187–88; Haupt,
Army Group South
, pp. 323–25, 332; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 232–37. Rolf Stoves,
Die 1. Panzer-Division, 1935–45
, Podzun Verlag, 1961, p. 503.

61. Glantz and House,
When Titans Clashed
, p. 189; Haupt,
Army Group South
, p. 334; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 275–76; Breymayer,
Die Wiesel
, p. 315.

62. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, pp. 184, 182; Glantz and House,
When Titans Clashed
, p. 189; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 275–77.

63. These three divisions, under Colonel Dr Karl Mauss, commander of Panzergrenadier Regiment 33, technically belonged to Fourth Panzer, but de facto fought in the pocket with First Panzer. Mauss was promoted to major general on 1 April.

64. Glantz and House,
When Titans Clashed
, p. 189; Paul,
Brennpunkte
, p. 367; Haupt,
Army Group South
, p. 343; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 279–80.

65. Paul,
Brennpunkte
,p.369.

66. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, p. 186; Glantz and House,
When Titans Clashed
, pp. 189–90; Paul,
Brennpunkte
, p. 368; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 280–81.

67. Erickson,
Road to Berlin;
Paul,
Brennpunkte
, pp. 370, 379; Haupt,
Army Group South
, pp. 344–45, 355–56; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 281–82. Ironically, by this point the Germans occupied very little of the Ukraine and soon lost what they did have.

68. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, pp. 231–33; David Glantz,
Red Storm Over the Balkans
, University of Kansas, 2007, p. 6; Neidhardt,
Mit Tanne und Eichenlaub
, pp. 321–22, 324, 328; Eberhard Raus,
Panzer Operationen
, DeCapo Press, 2003, p. 279.

69. Raus,
Panzer Operationen
, p. 276.

70. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, p. 235; Haupt,
Army Group South
, p. 379; Neidhardt,
Mit Tanne und Eichenlaub
, p. 328; Madej,
Russo-German War
, pp. 53, 56; Raus,
Panzer Operationen
, p. 280, 283, 285; Samuel Mitcham,
Crumbling Empire: The German Defeat in the East, 1944
, Praeger, 2001, p. 76; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 332–33.

71. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, pp. 241–43; Raus,
Panzer Operationen
, pp. 286, 290–91; Neidhardt,
Mit Tanne und Eichenlaub
, p. 336. The 4th Mountain Division corseted the Hungarian right at the Jablonica Pass, Raus,
Panzer Operationen
, p. 293.

72. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, p. 304; Glantz and House,
When Titans Clashed
, p. 225; Rolf Hinze,
To the Bitter End
, Helion & Co., 2006, p. 30; Mitcham,
Crumbling Empire
, pp. 95, 212; Raus,
Panzer Operationen
, pp. 291–93; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, pp. 359, 362; Neidhardt,
Mit Tanne und Eichenlaub
, p. 338.

73. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, p. 394; Hinze,
To the Bitter End
, p. 60; Mitcham,
Crumbling Empire
, pp. 213, 216; Neidhardt,
Mit Tanne und Eichenlaub
, pp. 339, 359–60, 362, 364, 368. On 23 September, Army Group South Ukraine became Army Group South again.

74. Erickson,
Road to Berlin
, pp. 445, 547; Hinze,
To the Bitter End
, pp. 139, 143; Ziemke,
Stalingrad to Berlin
, p. 466.