{"product_id":"defeat-at-the-dnepr-the-xlviii-panzerkorps-counterattack-at-kiev-november-1943-9781636245041","title":"Defeat at the Dnepr: The XLVIII. Panzerkorps' Counterattack at Kiev, November 1943","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Drawing on an impressive body of primary sources, Waring's book makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the desperate fighting of German army formations on the Eastern Front following the epic defeat at the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943. A particularly interesting and instructive aspect is his analysis and critique of the often self-justifying post-war memoirs of former commanders on the Eastern Front. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in World War II or military history and strategy in general.\" -- Christer Bergström, author of Black Cross Red Star: Air War on the Eastern Front and Barbarossa: Hitler Versus Stalin\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn late 1943, the German Army on the Eastern Front was in dire straits. Its southern army group had been pushed out of eastern Ukraine, and on 6 November 1943, Kiev--one of the Soviet Union's largest cities--was retaken by an increasingly capable Soviet Red Army. To prevent the total collapse of his army group's front line, \u003ci\u003eGeneralfeldmarschall\u003c\/i\u003e von Manstein had no choice but to launch a counterattack to halt the Red Army's advance and recapture the Ukrainian capital. On 7 November, two \u003ci\u003ePanzer \u003c\/i\u003edivisions attached to the \u003ci\u003eXLVIII Panzerkorps\u003c\/i\u003e plunged into the Red Army's positions southwest of Kiev, stopping the Red Army in its tracks. Five days later, two more \u003ci\u003ePanzer\u003c\/i\u003e divisions joined the counterattack, and the \u003ci\u003eXLVIII Panzerkorps\u003c\/i\u003e achieved numerous tactical victories as it marched northeast.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCommanded by \u003ci\u003eGeneral der Panzertruppen\u003c\/i\u003e Balck after mid-November, the \u003ci\u003eXLVIII Panzerkorps\u003c\/i\u003e continued producing tactical success as it swept aside disorganized resistance from Soviet General Vatutin's First Ukrainian Front, and recaptured important towns and logistics hubs on the path to Kiev. German hopes for the city's recapture were dashed in late November, however, as Vatutin's armies were finally able to stop the German advance, inflict heavy losses, and force Balck to end the counterattack\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn his postwar memoir, \u003ci\u003eGeneral der Panzertruppen\u003c\/i\u003e Balck claimed that meddling by higher-level commanders and poor weather squandered his efforts to recapture Kiev. His Soviet opponents claimed the opposite: a superior Red Army defeated the \u003ci\u003eXLVIII Panzerkorps\u003c\/i\u003e, and claims about poor weather were merely self-serving justifications for German failure. This first full-length treatment of this forgotten battle definitively answers these questions, correcting the historical record on many unknown, ambiguous, and contentious details relating to the \u003ci\u003eXLVIII Panzerkorps\u003c\/i\u003e counterattack, and in doing so, shedding light on the nature of combat on the Eastern Front in late 1943.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Simon Waring\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Casemate\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/09\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 448\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781636245041","brand":"Casemate","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47126650224777,"sku":"9781636245041","price":39.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_b1ee10c0-9b6c-408f-bd69-835c2a04f80a.jpg?v=1782794157","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/defeat-at-the-dnepr-the-xlviii-panzerkorps-counterattack-at-kiev-november-1943-9781636245041","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}