Closing in on Stepanovka

In parallel with Stadler's attack, Das Reich's panzer kampfgruppe attacked eastwards to bypass Stepanovka and push through to take the Soviet anti-tank guns holding up the Totenkopf Division in the flank. Heavy anti-tank gun fire halted the panzers south of Stepanovka as they moved forward. The panzergrenadiers dismounted from their armoured personnel carriers and assaulted the small pak-front blocking the way forward. Stukas were called in to blast a hole in the Soviet defence line, opening the way for the panzers. The job of leading the advance now fell to a Waffen-SS assault gun battery. Its StuG IIIs swept all before them, and were soon raking the Soviet anti-tank brigade's positions blocking the Totenkopf from the rear. The latter was at last able to move forward. Its panzergrenadiers sealed the ring around Stepanovka during the afternoon, allowing the Deutschland Regiment to clear the town of its last defenders.

Farther to the north, the Totenkopf's remaining 19 panzers were at last moving forward. The morning's massive artillery preparation and the success of the Das Reich's attacks significantly reduced the weight of fire that the Soviet defenders could lay down. Stuka attacks neutralized many pockets of resistance, and the Nebelwerfers were used to screen the German tanks from anti-tank gun fire.

By 16:00 hours, the main Russian strongpoint blocking the SS advance was cleared. A massive Soviet counterattack now materialized. Several regiments of Russian infantry surged up the hill. The few remaining German tanks turned their machine guns on the mass of infantry covering the hillside. The intervention of the Luftwaffe was decisive, when a wave of Stukas dived on the Russian attack group. For the men of the Totenkopf Division, the air strike could not have come a moment too soon. Only a few hundred German troops were inside the captured strongpoint, and they would have had no chance of survival if the Russians had reached them.

From their hard-won vantage points, the Waffen-SS assault troops could now see huge Russian convoys moving across the Mius bridges. The Red Army was in full retreat from its bridgehead.

The Mius Front is stabilized

II SS Panzer Corps spent another day on the Mius Front, helping the Sixth Army mop up the last pockets of Russian resistance on the west bank of the river. It had already received new orders to pull out of the Mius Front and move northwards to counter a fresh Soviet offensive around Kharkov that was growing into a major threat. Only the Totenkopf and Das Reich Divisions would be committed to this new battle. Hitler wanted Hausser's headquarters to move immediately to northern Italy, to shore up his forces being mustered to repel the imminent Allied invasion of the Italian mainland.

prev | next