Ummagumma

The starting positions for Operation Rumyantsev as shown in a prior post.  Compare with the image below which shows the extent of the first eight days of the operation. [ Read Part One ] [ Read Part Two ]  [ Read Part Three ] Manstein attempted to coordinate three elite panzer divisions, the best the Wehrmacht had left in the East, to deliver the kind of hammer blow that had further elevated his reputation six months earlier. This was supposed to be mobile defense at its elegant best. Absorb the Soviet punch, let them overextend, then hit the flanks with concentrated armor and superior crew training. Cut them off and kill them. Classic Manstein. Das Reich was striking from the southeast, Totenkopf from the south, and Grossdeutschland (GD) would complete the pincer from the west. Three veteran divisions, coordinated timing, overlapping fields of fire. All three were the victors of Prokhorovka in Manstein’s eyes. If it worked, they could trap major elements of the Soviet 1st...

This is the frontline around the Kharkov Region at the start of Operation Rumyantsev.  You can see the Soviet concentration that was highlighted in the previous post in the upper right.  Bogodukhov is circled in red.  To the right of it (east), is Kharkov. Compare this map with the previous one.  This is the situation on August 11, eight days after the start of the operation.  Bogodukhov is still in the red circle.  You can see how much territory the Soviets had seized...and the gaping hole in the German line to the west of Kharkov. [ Read Part One ] [ Read Part Two ] By the time the sun cleared the horizon on August 11, 1943, Soviet deep battle doctrine was about to face its sternest test yet—not against Romanian forces or overstretched German infantry, but against the Wehrmacht's elite formations desperately racing to contain a breakthrough that was on the verge of spinning out of control. The Red Army had proven deep battle could work. Operation Uranus ...

The situation near Belgorod, August 3, 1943 as presented in the computer wargame Rumyantzev '43 .  You can see the massive Soviet build-up (brown and red) against the comparatively thin German line (blue). [ Read Part One ] An overwhelming concentration of Soviet artillery opened up early on August 3, 1943 along what the Germans assumed was a quiet sector northwest of Belgorod. The barrage went on for over two hours, with artillery concentrations so precise and intense they were among the heaviest in human history up to that point. This was an expansion and refinement of what the Soviets had used against the Romanians to break through the line northwest of Stalingrad, but now applied with systematic precision against German positions. Then came the tanks through the remains of the troops connecting the German 167th and 332 nd Infantry Divisions. These divisions had been holding a stretched line with minimal support, covering ground that required twice as many men. Their positions...