Hi there
I’m looking for info and map material on this capaign.
I want to make some battle scenario’s in combat mission and need some more info.
Like what division spearheaded the drive, what resisting soviet units were found on the way, what weapons and tanks were faced etc…
Many articles speak of “mainly Tigers” as being responsible for the breakthrough, but for my purposes this tells nothing. What landscape is to be used etc…
You have no idea what you are asking for.
At the end of Jan 1943 1st SS Pz korps was covering over 100km of this front. By the first week in Feb the 1 SS pz division was covering 50km of this front fighting the
48th Guards Rifle Div
62th Guards Rifle Div
350th Guards Rifle Div
And these were backed up by the 15th and 12 Tank Korps later the 111 Rifle Div.
The SS were fighting a desprite withdrawl south of Kharkow through the middle of Feb. 27 days out of 90 days they were locked in a mobile battle, the rest of the time they were dug in. By the middle of Feb 1943 the division reported the following operation weapons…
41 Pz IV
12 Pz III
21 Stug
12 Pz II
10 spat [37Pak]
12 KpzWgK [50L60]
8 x 88Flak
9 Pak 40 [75L46]
31 Pak 38 [50L60]
5 Pak [37mm]
No tigers I can see. But on the 22 Feb the division lists the following tanks operational
6 Tiger
49 Pz IV
21 Stug
24 Pz II/III
20 marder.
In one month fighting the counted 101 Russian tanks destroy vs 28 Panzers fighting the delaying action. At the end of this the soviets were deemed sufficently exhausted that an counter stroke was ordered.
On 19th Feb the 1SS Pz Korps regrouped and lead a counter stroke that took back Kharkow by early March 1943 and Pursit all the way to Belgrod by mid march 1943.
Check Divisional histories of the 1st SSpz korps. I got ahold of copies in the 1990s when the first came out. Search
“Fedorowicz publishing”