The Red Army attacks

The opening attack on 17 July went like clockwork for the Soviets. Several small-scale attacks on the northern and southern wings of the Mius line were easily repulsed. In the centre of the front, between the towns of Kuibyshevo and Dmitrievka, the Russians threw their II Guards Mechanized Corps into action, with 120 T-34 and 80 T-70 tanks in the first assault wave. They smashed through the German first line with ease. Although briefly delayed by German minefields and infantry counterattacks, the Soviet advance seemed unstoppable. On 18 July, the commander of the Sixth Army, Infantry General Karl Hollidt, threw in his only reserve, the 16th Panzergrenadier Division, with its 40 or so tanks. The division was given little time to prepare or plan the operation, and it was a total disaster. Overnight, the Soviets had brought up scores of anti-tank guns, and the German division's panzer battalion had barely crossed its start line when it ran into a hailstorm of fire. In the space of a few minutes it lost more than 20 tanks, and had to pull back in disorder. The Soviets pressed forward to exploit their advantage, seizing the summits of the ridges high above the River Mius.

The defeat of the 23rd Panzer Division

Manstein now sent Hollidt the 23rd Panzer Division to give him more armour to turn back the Soviet tide. However, its attack on 19 July was just as disastrous as the efforts of the 16th Panzergrenadier Division, losing 28 of its 50 tanks in a direct frontal attack on the Russian line. Again the Soviets pressed home their advantage, with a major attack by IV Mechanized Corps being mounted on 22 July. Its 140 tanks rolled forward to take on the Sixth Army's remaining 36 panzers. Only the arrival of XXIV Panzer Corps' headquarters units saved the day. It organized a rapid, improvised defensive line of 88mm flak guns and Sturmgeschütz (StuG) III assault gun batteries to repel the Soviet tank armada. Now it was the Germans' turn to inflict havoc on the Soviets. The 88mm flak gunners used their powerful weapons to great effect, picking off 93 Soviet tanks and breaking the back of the enemy attack. With its last reserves of tanks shattered, the Red Army offensive ran out of steam.

An immediate counterattack

After its diversion to the Izyum Front, II SS Panzer Corps was not available to lead the Mius counterstroke until 29 July. The Totenkopf Division, led by SS-Brigadeführer Hermann Priess, arrived on the Mius Front first, followed by elements of Das Reich. Hollidt was a firm believer in the principle of launching immediate counterattacks to dislodge any Soviet incursions to prevent the enemy fortifying their positions. In the past, rapid counterattacks had always driven the Soviets back in confusion. Hollidt's experience with the 16th Panzergrenadier and 23rd Panzer Divisions did nothing to change his mind. II SS Panzer Corps would therefore be sent straight into action, with no time to familiarize itself with the ground or scout out the enemy's weak points. Hollidt was not interested in a deep, flanking attack. He wanted a frontal assault, and he wanted it on 30 July. Never inclined to miss a chance to prove that they could do what the army had failed to accomplish, the Waffen-SS commanders went about their new mission with gusto.

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