Waffen-SS: Kessel Battles, 1944

Background

Weakened by a steady stream of losses since the Battle of Kursk in July 1943, the Wehrmacht's Eastern Front was in tatters by January 1944. It was held by a rag-tag collection of divisions that were lucky to each number 5000 fit soldiers. Even the élite panzer divisions of the Waffen-SS were barely able to scrape together 30 worn-out tanks that could be defined as "combat ready".

The Eastern Front in danger

K essel is the German word for kettle. It is also the German military term for a "battle of encirclement". The analogy is appropriate. Once caught in a pocket by enemy pincers, any trapped troops are put under increasing pressure until a boiling point is reached. In the face of dwindling supplies, the trapped troops would either have to break out or face destruction. It was an experience that would be familiar to the soldiers of Army Group South in the first few months of 1944.

The Soviet breakthrough southwest of Kiev during December 1943 pushed the German Fourth Panzer Army back 160km (100 miles), leaving the Eighth Army's right flank dangerously exposed. In January 1944, it was the only German formation with a foothold on the southern banks of the River Dnieper. Hitler refused to let it withdraw to safety, and it was therefore only a matter of time before the Soviet High Command closed the net around it. The core of the Eighth Army's defence was the Waffen-SS Wiking Division. Usually, it had only a dozen Panzer IIIs, eight Panzer IVs and four Sturmgeschütz (StuG) IIIs ready for action on any day during January 1944. The division also boasted the Walloon Assault Brigade made up of Nazi volunteers from southern Belgium.

Red sledgehammer

The Soviets made their first attempt to surround the Eighth Army in early January, with another steamroller offensive aimed at smashing XLVII Panzer Corps deployed to defend Kirovograd, which protected the route to the German rear. More than 600 Russian tanks opened a huge breach in the German line and trapped 4 German divisions in the sprawling industrial city. "Kirovograd sounds too much like Stalingrad for my liking", was the comment of the garrison commander, who took advantage of a breakdown in radio communications with higher command to order his troops to march to freedom. They successfully broke out with all their tanks and heavy artillery. The line was rebuilt after Field Marshal Manstein moved in two fresh divisions to mount a counterattack. Leading this effort was the Totenkopf Division, which had been brought up from the lower Dnieper. Just as the Soviets were preparing for a final push, the Totenkopf burst upon them and scattered several Russian divisions. It was only a temporary respite, though.

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