Waffen-SS First Three Original Divisions In The Third Battle For Kharkov

• Report rights infringement
• published: 24 Aug 2011
• views: 58710

The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov, between 19 February and 15 March 1943. Known to the Germans as the Donets Campaign, the German counterstrike led to the destruction of approximately 52 Soviet divisions and the recapture of the cities of Kharkov and Belgorod. On 19 February, Field Marshal Erich von Manstein took the opportunity to launch his Kharkov counterstrike, using the fresh SS Panzer Corps and two panzer armies. Although the Germans were also understrength, the Wehrmacht successfully flanked, encircled and defeated the Red Army's armored spearheads south of Kharkov. This enabled von Manstein to renew his offensive against the city of Kharkov proper, which began on 7 March. Despite orders to encircle Kharkov from the north, the SS Panzer Corps instead decided to directly engage Kharkov on 11 March. This led to four days of house-to-house fighting before Kharkov was finally recaptured by the 1st SS Panzer ("Leibstandarte") Division on 15 March. Two days later, the Germans also recaptured Belgorod, creating the salient which in July 1943 would lead to the Battle of Kursk. The German offensive cost the Red Army an estimated 70,000 casualties but the house-to-house fighting in Kharkov was also particularly bloody for the German SS Panzer Corps, which had lost approximately 4,300 men by the time operations ended in late March. The SS Divisions committed to the third battle for Kharkov, were the 1st Liebstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 2nd Das Reich(SS-VT Divisions),and the 3rd SS Totenkopf Death Head units(SS-TV), all of whom were Adolf Hitler's elite political soldiers of the Third Reich. The German Donets Campaign cost the Red Army fifty-two divisions, including over 70,000--80,000 personnel losses. Of these troops lost, an estimated 45,200 were killed or went missing, while another 41,200 were wounded. Between April and July 1943, the Red Army took its time to rebuild its forces in the area and prepare for an eventual renewal of the German offensive, known as the Battle of Kursk. Overall German casualties are more difficult to come by but clues are provided by examining the casualties of the SS Panzer Corps, taking into consideration that the elite Waffen-SS divisions were frequently deployed where the fighting was expected to be the harshest. And it was the 1st Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler(LSSAH) who was to recapture the city after heavy losses, and brutal house to house fighting, city areas begin to finally fell. After one area was taken after some losses, the 1st LSSAH renamed the Red square "Platz der Leibstandarte". All SS Divisions fought well, but, it was the 1st LSSAH who led the way into the city, and suffered the most dead, based on the reason why they renamed the city red square.