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Battles for Kharkov
Kharkov
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A brief examination of the impact to the urban terrain during the battles for Kharkov between February and March 1943 is conducted below. Kharkov was the USSR's fourth largest city prior to the War.
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During mid-February 1943, the Germans fought a rearguard action against the Soviet forces advancing on Kharkov. The Germans, heavily-pressed on all flanks around the city, relinquished Kharkov in little over two days. Little fighting occurred in the city proper. During the retreat the Germans damaged key bridges, some road and a number of important buildings. However, the retreat was hasty and the German unit histories demonstrates the priority of the Germans appeared to be on ensuring an organised withdrawal.
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The Tractor works are located six miles to the east of the city centre. There is a one mile gap between the Kharkov outer-suburbs and the facility. The link below 'Kharkov-1' provides a map of Kharkov and the relative location of the Tractor factory. This factory saw limited action during the February German withdrawal. The combat for the factory in March occurred on the 15th and 16th where intense fighting forced the last Russian rearguard out of the broader Kharkov area. During the fierce fighting within the city of Kharkov prior to these dates, the Tractor factory was not heavily defended by the Russians, nor targeted by the Germans. In short, the damage to the Tractor factory likely occurred on the 15th and 16th of March.
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Between 11-14 March 1943, the Germans recaptured the city and two days later captured the Tractor factory further to the east. During this short four day battle, German elements from Leibstandarte and the Das Reich SS armored divisions advanced rapidly through this large urban area. The link below 'Kharkov-2' provides details of the movements of the various German kampfgruppen. The relative quickness of the movement of these armored units through this large urban area suggests the terrain was traversable. (For example, over 12 March alone, elements of KG Peiper moved through over half the city in a west-to-east direction to help relieve elements of KG Meyer's who were surrounded a day earlier.)
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When the Russian forces stood and fought within the urban terrain, an intense battle ensured over city blocks. This is where the key damage occurred to the city of Kharkov. The various unit histories and related sources do not indicate an intense aerial campaign, nor broad sweeping artillery barrages targeting the city prior to the German advance. That said, large calibre weapons were required to dislodge Russians who decided to defend parts of Kharkov. The description from Nipe (Last Victory in Russia p316) is instructive:
"SS tanks and assault guns accompanied the (Peiper's) battalion and the companies were assigned 15cm infantry gun and 10cm howitzers. When the battalion met heavy fire from a fortified strong point the howitzers were unlimbered and wheeled into position, protected by assault guns and Marder. Firing at point blank range, the howitzers blasted Soviet positions until their shells collapsed entire walls, burying snipers, anit-tank guns and their crews. Flame throwers squirted streams of flaming oil into sniper's dense and burned out machine gun nests. Then the SS Grenadiers stormed forward, leaping into shattered buildings, hurling hand grenades before them. Once having cleared the building's bottom level, each floor had to be cleared out systematically. Peiper's men slowly fought their way through the debris choked streets, leaving behind a trail of smoking ruins and Russian dead."
There is good German footage from the 8:45 minute mark onwards in this wartime clip or this clip.​
A number of photographs are contained in the link below 'Kharkov-3' (After the Battle: Number 112 - The Four Battle for Kharkov). Some are of the Russian advance in February but the majority are of the German advance within Kharkov in March. The photography suggests that the urban terrain was traversable. It is likely the damage to Kharkov buildings was limited to where the engagements between the Germans and 'hold-up' Russians occurred, rather than in the approaches to these encounters.​​​
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