The Korsun Pocket: the Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East, 1944 Pdf

FREE THE KORSUN POCKET: THE ENCIRCLEMENT AND BREAKOUT OF A GERMAN ARMY IN THE EAST, 1944 PDF

During the second half ofafter the failure at Kursk, Germany's Army Group South fell back from Russia under repeated hammer blows from the Red Army. Under Erich von Manstein, however, the Germans were able to avoid serious defeats, while at the same time fending off Hitler's insane orders to hold on to useless territory. Then, in January 1944, a disaster happened. Six divisions of Army Group South became surrounded after sudden attacks by the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts under command of generals The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East Vatutin and Ivan Konev around the village of Korsun near the larger town of Cherkassy on the Dnieper. The Germans' greatest fear was the prospect of another Stalingrad, the catastrophe that had occurred precisely one year before. This time, though, Manstein was in control from the start, and he immediately rearranged his Army Group to rescue his trapped divisions. A major panzer drive got underway, led by General der Panzertruppen Hans Hube, a survivor from Stalingrad pocket, which promptly ran up against several soviet tank armies. Leading the break-in was Franz Baeke with his Tiger and Panther-tanks. Due to both weather and ferocious resistance, the German drive stalled. Jus still flew into Korsun's airfield, delivering supplies and taking out wounded, but it soon became apparent that only one option remained for the beleaguered defenders: breakout. Without consulting Hitler, on the night of February 16 Manstein ordered the breakout to begin. Led by the strongest formation within the pocket, SS Wiking, the trapped forces surged out and soon rejoined the surrounding panzer divisions who had been fully engaged in weakening the ring. When dawn broke, the Soviets realized their prey was escaping. Although the Germans within the pocket lost nearly all of their heavy weapons and left many wounded behind, their escape was effected. Stalin, having anticipated another Stalingrad, was left with little but an empty bag, as Army Group South—this time—had pulled off a rescue. From grand strategy to soldiers' voices on the ground, including expert statistical analysis, the action, and the stakes, of the battle at Korsun are made vividly clear. THe Korsun or Cherkassy pocket was perhaps the last time the Wehrmacht gathered a large force of tanks equal in Niklas Zetterling is The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East military historian and researcher at the Swedish Defense College. Niklas ZetterlingAnders Frankson. The War in the East. Div Pz. Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket - Wikipedia

Description Imported from USA. Full description not available. I've come to expect good military history books to feature accurate, complimentary maps. Not every book offers the splendid maps included with Luther's Barbarossa Unleashed, but military history maps should at least provide reliable geographic context for the story being told. Korsun Pocket fails that test. The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East are many maps scattered through the book, but they often detract from the narrative because in some cases they lack important terrain details, and in other cases include many names of towns not mentioned in the text at all. Conversely, important features and towns are often omitted. I spent more time trying to make sense of the maps than enjoying the history, The poor maps made this a tedious and labored book to read. Read more Bought for my husband he loved the quality Excellent book on a little known but dramatic battle. This is a well researched and clearly presented book on the battles around Korsun in early when the German army managed to save encircled troops in horrible conditions. The hubris of Hitler was dramatically displayed in allowing the situation to develop as was the skill and determination of the German army leadership to make the best of a terrible situation. Well written and an easy read. Highly recommended. Very dry and lacks human interest. Too academic and it reads like a pedantic history would. Dry account of troops with incomprehensible russian names fighting in incomprehensible locations. You reallyhave to know alot about the geography and overall movements of troops. The lack of personal accounts except for those of Anton Meister really hurts this. Its very academic and Ididnt finish it to be honest. I dislike the style of writing and it lacks interest because of the style. A skilful melding of grand strategy and accounts from individual soldiers. The authors leave no stone unturned and include an holistic picture of the epic from high command to the squaddie. Excellent read. Una buena descripcion de la batalla de la bolsa de korsun. Es un relato ameno de una batalla poco conocida del 1944 del este. Describe tanto el ataque sovietico que dio lugar a la formacion de la bolsa de Korsun como la subsiguiente operacion de relevo organizada por los alemanes. Combina el relato de las operaciones con las vivencias personales de algunos soldados. Un buen libro An excellent example of good historical writing. Detailed, with human interest as well as a variety of vital elements of the operational, tactical and personal actions undertaken, the book gives a real flavour to a poorly documented and yet vital operation during the later war period in the USSR. Worth every penny. The Author fails to acknowledge this tenacit. I am less than impressed by the "new" breed of historians who seem to trust the archival information gleaned from the Soviet Union archives. The author himself read that these very same archives said that NO German soldier escaped the Korsun pocket, contrary to the approximately 40, who did so! Look it is plain to see that whenever the Wehrmacht met ANY of it's adversaries on the battlefield, it was only defeated by a preponderance of material and numbers and this is FACT! The author states with the usual blind hindsight that this battle was a Soviet victory, I believe that if some 40, German soldiers both endured then extracated themselves from an impossibly difficult combat situation such as Korsun, it is not a Soviet victory, but an example of the fighting capability of the German soldier under great duress. The Author fails to acknowledge this tenacity in this book. A good book about the Stalingrad on the Dnepr. For a wargamer like that was very passionated about a old board game named "Korsun Pocket- a little Stalingrad on the Dnepr", this was a very interesting book because The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East its subject. It tells the history of the second 1944 envelopmentin order of time, of German forces by the Soviet troops, during WWII. It happened at the end of January ,near the banks of the river Dnepr, and it ended differently, just because near that area there were about ten panzer divisions, that were ready to interveneinspite of the thaw that made very difficult the rescue of the surrounded troops. This is the typical book written by Mr Zetterling, I mean that is full of technical data and not so full of first hand accounts about the development of the battle. The maps are clear and detailed. Anyway it is a good interesting book about this battle, for all the people interested about the WWII on the Eastern Front. Good book that gives more depth into a battle that has not received much publicity through the years. If you want to see how a battle went for the Germans at the end of World War 2 on the Eastern Front that is not discussed much elsewhere, read this book. Wonderful Book for this Battle on Eastern Front in This is highly recommended -I found it to be very well writtenand informativeI compared this account with the description of this battle in'Ostfront The German Defensive Battles on the Russian Front '[published by Schiffer military history The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East Hardcover]written by Alex Buchner which is another great source - get it if you can and for me ' Korsun Pocket ' passed with flying colourswith added detail galore- 1944 was a wise investment for my bookshelves I am a little suprised at two comments in other reviews. But as a wargamer it may be because of the board games available on the subject and I've played. That may be a valid comment but this isn't that kind of book and anyone knowing Zetterling and his excellent 1944 to detail in orders of battles Normandy German Military Organization, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness and statistical info Kursk A Statistical Analysis Soviet Russian Study of War would know this. So warning, if you want to know how Rottenfuhrer Schultz felt and what he saw on January 31st it's possibly not the book for you. However if like me you want to know how many Stug III's 5th The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East had and how many were serviceable before the attack on I found it well researched and detailed with enough personal stuff to keep me interested with The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East detail on tactics, battles and statistics that I love and want in a book. Be warned though the maps aren't great and on the kindle version are difficult. To truly follow the intricacies of some of it a good map of the area with German and Russian names will help. Great value on the kindle and nice to see some well researched WWII stuff becoming available on the platform. I feel that this is a very good work on the Korsun also known as the Cherkassy Pocket. Makes good use of archival sources to help understand the motivations and actions of commanders on both sides author makes a correct observation that Soviet accounts must be viewed through a lens of propaganda. The first-person accounts are useful. The author makes the reader aware of the the effects of weather and terrain on the course of 1944 battle. The Russian mud bogs down movement to such an extent that reserves and reinforcements arrive late and understrength on both sides due to the effects of the strain it causes to man, animal, and machine. The reason I gave it four instead of five stars was the clarity of the maps. I would read that a unit was moving from place "A" northward to place "B" when it was engaged in action with an enemy unit. I would then look on the map in that chapter and couldn't find place "A" or place "B"! On the whole, I found this work to be a very good treatment on the subject. This is a good book, well written, and gives the reader a somewhat sanitized description of German pocket battles, the problems of relief, wandering the pocket to the West, and breakthrough to the relieving forces. The authors stopped their narrative following the breakthrough, but the troops experienced more tribulations and escapes afterwards from the Red Army before they were relatively safe. The research is excellent and the presentation of casualties and statistics from the German side is well done. The Soviet side is subject to some speculation, but Glantz and House reported 80, killed and wounded, and the tank losses are generally given as about The pocket was formed due to Hitler's intransigence towards retreating and his fantasy of maintaining the salient on the Dnieper River as a jumping-off place for an offensive. To the Soviets, the salient was ripe for being nipped off and the two corps of German The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East contained therein to be annihilated. This was in January and February ofrather late in the war, and German strength on the Eastern Front was stretched to the breaking The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East, but their superior tactics and unit cohesion could still punish incautious Soviet movements when allowed. The Korsun or Cherkassey pocket was one such battle, where Field-Marshal Manstein committed himself to saving the encircled troops and generally fulfilled his promise. In doing so, however, he used The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East his armoured reserves, and after his sacking by Hitler after the Soviets pushed through to the Hungarian border, Army Groups Center and North could no longer win battles above the battalion level. Both 1944 Soviet and German troops fought bitterly. The Germans were fighting for their lives, and being wounded was nearly a death sentence. The Soviets 1944 the German wounded they captured along with the medical personneland only walking wounded able to cross the swollen and freezing Gnily Tikich river or those flown out earlier were saved. 1944 Germans that did escape generally did so without weapons, and in many cases without clothes having swum the river to safety. That the hardships were unbelievable goes without saying. On the Soviet side the elements breaking through to form the pocket were decimated by German attacks, and their situations were often as difficult as the Germans'. At any rate, this work goes far to illustrate to the reader the conditions of battle on the Eastern Front from the Battle of Kursk to the assault on Berlin. Other pockets were wiped out by the Soviets, and the spectacle of troops returning through Soviet lines became commonplace on the Eastern Front. I recommend this book, but would also recommend two other works to readers interested in this battle:"Hell's Gate" by Donald Nash provides more photos, maps and 1st person accounts; and"Campaign in Russia" by Leon Degrelle, a Belgian SS volunteer who commanded the Walloon brigade inside the Cherkassey pocket for more descriptive accounts of the fighting. Similar Products. Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front Schwerpunkt. KD What Next, General? Rotmistrov at the Korsun Pocket,

JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to utilize the functionality of this website. Then, in Januarya disaster happened. Six divisions of Army Group South became surrounded after sudden attacks by the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts under command of generals Nikolai Vatutin and Ivan Konev around the village of Korsun near the larger town of Cherkassy on the Dnieper. This time, though, Manstein was in control from the start, and he immediately rearranged his Army Group to rescue his trapped divisions. A major panzer drive got underway, led by General der Panzertruppen Hans Hube, a survivor from Stalingrad pocket, which promptly ran up against several soviet tank armies. Leading the break-in was Franz Baeke with his Tiger and Panther-tanks. Due to both weather and ferocious resistance, the German drive stalled. Without consulting Hitler, on the night of February 16 Manstein ordered the breakout to begin. Led by the strongest formation within the pocket, SS Wiking, the trapped forces surged out and soon rejoined the surrounding panzer divisions who had been fully engaged in weakening the ring. When dawn broke, the Soviets realized their prey was escaping. Although the Germans within the pocket lost nearly all of their heavy weapons and left many wounded behind, their escape was effected. Stalin, having anticipated another Stalingrad, was left with little but an empty bag, as Army Group South—this time—had pulled off a rescue. The battles fought in and around Korsun rank 1944 among The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East most interesting of the Second World War, an opinion only made stronger after reading Zetterling and Frankson's thoroughly researched and well written account. The quality of research undertaken is very impressive… very readable and fascinating. This website requires cookies to provide all of its features. The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East more information on what data is contained in the cookies, please see our Cookie Policy. To accept cookies from this site, please click the Allow Cookies button below.