S0007 THIRD BATTLE OF KHARKOV (4 FIGURES)

Battle for Kharkiv was played from February 21 to March 18, 1943. It is assumed that about 70,000 soldiers took part in the battle on the German side, while on the Soviet side - about 340,000. soldiers. On the German side was commanded by Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, while on the Soviet side - Marshal Filip Golikow. The genesis of the Battle of Kharkiv in 1943 dates back to the German defeat at Stalingrad in February 1943 and the Red Army's move to the west offensive in the area of today's south-west Russia, which was aimed at the German Army Group "South". At the beginning of February 1943, Soviet troops liberated, among others, Kharkiv, Kursk and Belgorod. At the same time, however, despite the successes, the Soviet troops were stretched significantly, their logistics was defective and, above all, they suffered relatively high losses in the course of their offensive operations. In this situation, despite the significant numerical superiority of the enemy, the German troops (especially armored forces - including the 2nd SS Panzer Corps) launched the offensive and in the period from February 21 to 28, 1943, they encircled and destroyed the Red Army troops fighting south of Kharkiv. On March 4, the II Corps entered the city, retaking it from the Soviet hands until March 15, and three days later Belgorod was recaptured. The Battle of Kharkiv stabilized the eastern front until the Battle of the Kursk in July 1943. In the course of the fighting, the Soviets lost about 80,000 people, while the German side - about 11,000 people.Panzergrenadier is a German term for a formation of panzer grenadiers, i.e. infantry units trained to fight in close cooperation with their own tanks. This term was officially used in 1942, when infantry divisions were renamed grenadier divisions and motorized infantry divisions into panzer grenadier divisions. It is worth adding that in the years 1937-1942, the Schützen Regiment was used to describe the infantry regiments serving in armored units. Theoretically, the basic equipment of armored grenadier divisions was to be armored half-tracked transporters, especially Sd.Kfz.251, but due to insufficient production, these infantry were often transported by trucks. As a standard, an armored grenadier division consisted of three infantry regiments, two battalions in each regiment and numerous support units, including anti-tank, anti-aircraft, sapper and communication units. Self-propelled guns, such as the StuG III, were often used in these formations. It is worth adding that the armored grenadier divisions were formed not only in the Wehrmacht, but also in the Waffen SS - for example the Totenkopf Division or the Hohenstaufen Division.