Can We Hold?

Manstein's counterattack had gone well, with the Germans pushing north and attacking on a wide front. They had retaken the city of Kharkov with Grossdeutschland Division to the northwest intercepting retreating Soviet units. GD had pushed the Soviet 40th Army …

1943-03-17

17

Manstein's counterattack had gone well, with the Germans pushing north and attacking on a wide front. They had retaken the city of Kharkov with Grossdeutschland Division to the northwest intercepting retreating Soviet units. GD had pushed the Soviet 40th Army out of Borisovka and were consolidating their holdings there. March 17 started out quietly, but it was not to stay that way. The II Battalion of the Grenadier Regiment was sent into Borisovka to free up other GD units for attacking elsewhere. The relieved units left mid-morning. In the late afternoon about a dozen Soviet tanks and infantry charged in from the northeast, broke through the outer line, and drove directly into the village. Consolidation for the division was still progressing, but the plan to use II Battalion for further attacks would have to wait. The deadly battle was raging in full throughout the village.

Borisovka, Ukraine

The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February and 15 March 1943. Known to the German side as the Donets Campaign, and in the Soviet Union as the Donbas and Kharkov operations, the German counterstrike led to the recapture of the cities of Kharkov and Belgorod.

Wikipedia: Third Battle of Kharkov

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