The History of elite unit Großdeutschland – part 6: 1943; The road to Kursk

The PSC Panzer III next to the Zvezda Panzer II.

For this update I’ve finished a further two Panzers, completing my initial Barbarossa painting project goals setup earlier this year. More specifically, I have added a Panzer II from Zvezda and assembled and painted another of the excellent Panzer IIIs from Plastic Soldier Company’s sprue boxed set. The Zvezda looks a little small, even when factoring in that it’s a Panzer II next to a Panzer III. So, for someone building a collection from scratch, I’d probably go with either or in terms of the brand.

Erich von Manstein.
He would take command and lead the 43 offensive, reconquering Kharkov.

Concluding my initial painting goal for Operation Barbarossa, I can now look ahead and plan the next step. Having enjoyed the format of connecting my painting project with the history of Großdeutschland, I decided to continue this trend, but moving time forward to 1944-45, and the last defence of East Prussia and later Berlin, when Großdeutschland gets merged with Luftwaffe Panzer Division Herman Göring. So, I’m actually currently experimenting and test painting, to get the right feeling on German Panzer winter camo. Hope to share the fruits of this work shortly. Now, back to the Eastern Front! Its early 1943, and a new and more troublesome year awaits Großdeutschland.

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The Road to Kursk

January 1943 opened in white, with a clear and crispy winter landscape covered in fine powder snow. But the mood in the German high command was pitch black. On the 14th January, the Russians launched a winter offensive up the Don, breaking the Hungarian Second Army, and by that opening a 200 miles wide gap in the German front line. Further down the Don, in Stalingrad, the 300.000 soldiers under von Paulus was still trapped. 

Another view of the models.

A few stowage details and antenna has been added.

The white helmet decal gives away the IRGD origin.

Großdeutschland was back in its old role as “fire extinguisher”, constantly shifted along the front line to plug holes and help launch counter attacks. It took a hard toll on the men, and the equipment. IRGD was now situation outside Oskol, fighting bitterly to stem the massive Russian onslaught, but were constantly pushed back. The Russians were now better led, better equipped, and they were starting to field tanks and planes which were equal in quality to their German counterparts. The scales had tipped in favour of Mother Russia.

Kharkov in 1942, during Nazi occupation.

On the 2nd February Stalingrad fell. This came only weeks after parts of the Second Army further north also suffered massive losses due to encirclement. The Soviet offensive was starting to pick up real pace, and forced the Germans back. IRGD was hastily plugged into a hole in the line near Kharkov, in an attempt to protect the vital railroad out of the city, which connected two German armies logistically. The were again pushed back, and ended up near Poltava, where they were finally taken out of the front line for a few days of well deserved rest.

Kharkov after the battle.

A few kids inspects the wreck of a Panzer.

During the rest at Poltava, Großdeutschland was also refitted – with Tiger I’s. They were to see action straight away, as German High Command had planned a counter offensive, with the objective of closing the gap in the front line and reconquering Kharkov. On the 5th March, the offensive began, seeing initial success and the re-capture of Kharkov on the 11th, trapping several Russian divisions in their way.

Grenadiers of IRGD during the winter fighting in 43.

After the March offensive, the Eastern front went quiet for a few months. IRGD was back to their resting area near Poltava, getting further reinforcements to fill the gaps. The Third Battle of Kharkov would turn out to be the last successful German offensive on the Eastern Front.

Next up: Part 7, 1943 - The Battle of Kursk.

Thank you very much for reading!