Hitler's Panzer Armies on the Eastern Front

273 Pages·2009·3.83 MB·English

by  Robert Kirchubel

Press proof – – Ian H – 11/06/09
Hitler’s Panzer Armies
on the Eastern Front
Press proof – – Ian H – 11/06/09
I rode a tank,
Held a generals’ rank,
When the blitzkrieg raged
and the bodies stank.

‘Sympathy for the Devil’, Jagger and Richards
‘Sympathy for the Devil’/‘London Years’
Words and music by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
#
1968 (Renewed) Abkco Music, Inc.
Used by permission from Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.
Press proof – – Ian H – 11/06/09
Hitler’s Panzer Armies
on the Eastern Front

Robert Kirchubel
Press proof – – Ian H – 11/06/09
First published in Great Britain in 2009 by
Pen & Sword Military
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
Copyright # Robert Kirchubel 2009

ISBN 978-1-84415-928-4
The right of Robert Kirchubel to be identified as Author
of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission from the Publisher in writing.
Typeset in 11/13 Ehrhardt by Concept, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Printed and bound in England by the MPG Books Group
Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the Imprints of Pen & Sword Aviation,
Pen & Sword Maritime, Pen & Sword Military, Wharncliffe Local History,
Pen & Sword Select, Pen & Sword Military Classics, Leo Cooper, Remember
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For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact
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Press proof – – Ian H – 11/06/09
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
List of Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1. Group von Kleist as Precursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2. First Panzer Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3. Second Panzer Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

4. Third Panzer Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
5. Fourth Panzer Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
6. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Appendix I Panzer Army Commanders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Appendix II Panzer Army Orders of Battle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Press proof – – Ian H – 11/06/09
Preface
This book is written to the glory of God. I wish to extend myheartfelt thanks
tomywifeLinda,andsonsMasonandMarcfortheirforbearanceandpatience.
During hundreds of hours stretched over dozens of weeks, I literally ignored
them(inthehighesttraditionofthehistorian/author)whilesequesteredinthe
WarRoomdoingresearchandwriting.Ialsowanttoacknowledgethe‘editing
team’ that has supported me since the earliest days of my Osprey Operation
Barbarossatrilogy:fact-checkerGaryKomar,andgrammarianJoeWilson–the

Henry Higgins of the group. Gary, a fine military historian in his own right,
providedthebasicresearchforthesidebarsoncommanders,weapons,training,
etc.Thanksalsotomymap-maker,ChrisMankey.KudosaswelltotheInter-
Library Loan Department at Purdue University’s HSSE Library.
I also want to show appreciation to the editing staff at Pen & Sword Books.
Basedonmyearlierworks,RupertHardingcontactedmewithanoffertowrite
forthemonalmostanymilitaryhistorytopicIwanted.Forabouttwentyyears
I had been mulling over the idea of a history of the German panzer armies. I
pitched the idea to Rupert and he immediately agreed. The only downside to
the whole preparation process was a stillborn visit to the great Russian battle-
fields described herein, cancelled in 2007 by an emergency just a fortnight
beforerealization.Thattripwasmeanttobeabookendtomyfantasticvisitto
the Ukraine in 2005.
Hitler’sPanzerArmiesontheEasternFrontisaworkofsynthesis.Itswriting
involvednoarchivalresearch,nordidIdiscoveratreasuretroveofnever-before-
seen documents. I have taken existing materials, mainly secondary source
books, and have mined them for insights on the operations of the four panzer
armies that fought in the Nazi-Soviet War from Barbarossatag (22 June 1941)
until VE Day (8 May 1945). I used both old and ‘new’ classics – Erickson,
Ziemke,Glantz,aswellasrecentscholarshipandGermanunithistories(often
of uneven quality) from Haupt to Scheibert. Where practical, I have tried to
look at First, Second, Third and Fourth Panzer Armies through the lens of
theoperationallevelofwar. Sometimesthiswaspractical–usually duringthe
major offensive operations – other times it was not – when the panzer armies
werejustanotherslabofhumanfleshHitlerthrewintothegiantmeat-grinder
that represented the so-called ‘Eastern Front’. A final caveat: the fact that
the main characters here are German is in no way meant to detract from the
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Preface vii
heroismandskilloftheWorkersandPeasantsRedArmyandtheSovietpeople.
As a retired US Army officer, I have absolutely no qualms about giving the
USSR the lions’ share of the credit for destroying Hitler’s Third Reich.
Somenotesonnamingunitsandothertechnicalities:theGermansreorganized
panzer groups into panzer armies 5 October 1941 (First and Second) and
1 January 1942 (Third and Fourth). However, for the sake of consistency
and simplicity, beginning with Operation Barbarossa, I will only use the term
‘panzerarmy’.Also,throughmuchofBarbarossa,panzercorpsweretechnically
named ‘Corps (Motorized)’, but again, I will use ‘panzer corps’ throughout. I
will follow the German convention for numbering their formations: Arabic
ordinals for divisions, Roman numerals for corps, and spelled-out ordinals for
armies. Consistent with the official History of the Great Patriotic War of the

SovietUnion,1941–1945,RedArmyunitswillbedescribedbyArabicordinals
in all cases except for named ‘fronts’. Further, mainly due to the massive and
confusing nature of the Nazi-Soviet War, even the most-respected and well-
intentioned secondary sources often disagree on dates, orders of battle and
otherdetails.Therefore,forranksanddatesonwhichvariousGermangenerals
took or relinquished command, I referred to Wolf Keileg, Das deutsche Heer,
1939–1945. For dates when a certain city changed hands, etc., if secondary
sourcesconflicted,IusedH-AJacobsen,AHilgruber,WHubatsch,PESchramm
(eds),KriegstagebuchdesOberkommandosderWehrmacht.ForallGermanorders
of battle, in the text and appendices, I used the official Federal German
Bundesarchiv-Militarchiv Internet site (unless otherwise noted). While these
sourcesmaynotbeone-hundredpercentaccuratethemselves,theydoprovide
a uniform standard.
Press proof – – Ian H – 11/06/09
List of Maps
Key to Maps
1. Barbarossa: Fourth Panzer Army
2. Barbarossa: Third Panzer Army
3. Barbarossa: Second Panzer Army
4. Barbarossa: First Panzer Army (West)
5. Barbarossa: Fourth Panzer Army (East)
6. Typhoon: Second, Third and Fourth Panzer Armies

7. Fridericus, Wilhelm and Blau: First and Fourth Panzer Armies
8. Blau and Winter Storm: Fourth Panzer Army
9. Defense of Army Group Center: Second and Third Panzer Armies
10. Blau: First Panzer Army
11. Backhand Blow and Citadel: First and Fourth Panzer Armies
12. Balkans: Second Panzer Army
13. Defense of the Ukraine (East): First and Fourth Panzer Armies
14. Defense of the Ukraine (West): First and Fourth Panzer Armies
15. Defense of Hungary and Czechoslovakia: First Panzer Army
16. Defense of the Baltics: Third Panzer Army
17. Defense of Poland and the Reich: Third and Fourth Panzer Armies
Press proof – – Ian H – 11/06/09
ix

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