The Reckoning: The Final Defeat of Army Group South, 1944

By the end of 1944 the Soviet Red Army was poised on the very frontiers of the Third Reich's 'Gross Deutschland'. How had the once unstoppable and mighty Wehrmacht faltered and been all but destroyed on the Eastern Front in a series of disastrous battles over the length of a year, is at the core of this history. Almost certainly the combined Axis forces that made up Army Group South and its Supporting Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine units had suffered defeats in the past - in particular the vastly catastrophic losses during the Stalingrad period of the war over 1942-43 - but these while critical were not nearly as destructive as those losses endured by the Reich in 1944. It was unquestionably in 1944 that the Eastern Front Campaign came to an end and that the war itself was ultimately lost. That this annihilation of an entire Army Group took place after the recovery and stabilisation efforts of 1943, which helped to prevent an even bigger disaster than Stalingrad from eventuating, shows how far the Wehrmacht and the Reich itself had fallen by December 1944 (See 'On a Knifes edge' by this Author for more on the 1942-43 situation of the Eastern Front Campaign). By late 1944 it was now no longer a case of if the Axis would loose the war, but rather when, as the spectre of a triumphant Red Army reaching the very gates of Berlin now no longer seemed like a fantasists lurid imaginings, but became accepted more and more in all ranks as an now virtual certainty (this sentiment is best expressed with the failed assassination plot against Hitler which involved numerous disillusioned officers from the Eastern Front and elsewhere amongst its numbers). During that pivotal year of the war RAF Bomber Command and the American 8 USAAF pounded the Reich with the commencement of the true 'round the clock' bombing campaign so long envisioned by its Air Force planners. Meanwhile newly captured Allied Airfields in Italy and Sicily made areas of Eastern Europe Vulnerable to air attack by a combined RAF and USAAF force. To make matters even worse for the Axis Fighter squadrons trying to defend their airspace in this rapidly deteriorating situation, the Soviet Air Force was starting to get better more modern aircraft in larger numbers, while the highly trained Luftwaffe Pilots of the past were now almost non existent. At sea the Soviet Submarine force was becoming just as deadly and ruthless as their opponents in the Kriegsmarine had been earlier in the war. After the combined Allied landings in France (Operation Overlord June 1944 and Operation Dragoon August 1944), even the most blinkered could see that the future of the Third Reich was now no longer 'one hundred years', but instead was only a matter of months or at best a year away from ending.For those Axis Forces still fighting in that year of 1944 with Army Group South on the Eastern Front, the war now became a nightmarish series of attritional battles with a seemingly endless list of strategic and material difficulties that often became insurmountable. Axis superior officers now found themselves being more and more often faced with the strategic reality of increasing issues with replacements for losses in battle, munitions to fight those battles, fuel to reach the battlefield and rations for the now slowly starving Axis forces doing their best to function operationally in a situation that made it all but impossible to do anything else but try to survive and make it to the now inevitable peace settlement with the Allies at some point in the distant future.This History of that one year of battles on the Eastern Front by Prit Buttar retraces the ebb and flow of those various disastrous and destructive battles, and the failed campaigns which tried to restart their offensive actions, throughout the Ukraine and Romanian battle fronts as Army Group South was steadily reduced until it became only a shadow of its former self, during those series of decisive engagements. January and February 1944 saw Army Group South encircled inside the Korsun Pocket. Although many of those encircled troops did ultimately escape - in part due to Soviet intelligence and command failures - the Red Army would learn from its failure and endeavour to not make the same mistakes again. Indeed, in the coming months the Red Army would demonstrate an ability to learn and improve in a way that the now battered Wehrmacht could never replicate - the Soviets actively reinventing themselves throughout the year of 1944 into a war-winning machine - as demonstrated clearly in its success in the Iasi-Kishinev operation (August 1944).The incorrect view held by many of the Soviet Red Army being a huge unskilled horde that rolled over everything in its path, and that it only won the war due to its sheer weight of numbers, is just one of the many myths that the Author patiently and with great effort methodically debunks with factual reasoning - something that is often missing from many other Campaign Histories on this theatre. In a Similar way the Author also re-evaluates the long term belief of the apparent 'infallibility' of German military commanders of all ranks, but in particular senior ranks or Battlegroup Commanders. His most forensic examination looks into the still controversial long term denial of any knowledge or involvement in the unspeakably heinous crimes being committed inside some of these officers areas of authority inside the occupied territories and elsewhere, by Axis security forces of all kinds (that is not just the SS or Police Battalions). Additionally the Author also explores the myths around the ineffectiveness of the forces that made up the Axis alliance, such as the Romanians at Iasi (August 1944), who finding themselves put into increasingly untenable situations found themselves being forced to deal with far more superior Soviet Forces. Like all myths, these contain many partial truths, but also a great many more distortions, all of which are skilfully unpicked and analysed in this powerful retelling of 1944 on the Eastern Front.The Author Prit Buttar studied medicine at Oxford and London before joining the British Army as a doctor. After leaving the army, he worked as a GP, first near Bristol and then in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. He appears from time to time on local and national TV and radio, speaking on a variety of medical issues. He contributes regularly to the medical press.An established expert on the Eastern Front in 20th-century military history, his previous books include the critically acclaimed 'Battleground Prussia The Assault on Germany's Eastern Front 1944-45' (2010) and 'Between Giants The Battle for the Baltics in World War II' (2013) and a definitive four-part series on the Eastern Front in the period of the Great War, which concluded with 'The Splintered Empires The Eastern Front 1917-21 (2017). He now lives in semi retirement at Kirkcudbright, Scotland. A detailed and engrossing account of the final year of fighting in Ukraine during World War II, making use of the extensive memoirs of German and Russian soldiers involved in the fighting, as well as partisans behind the German lines, to bring the story to life. By the end of 1944 the Red Army was poised on the very frontiers of the Third Reich. How had the once unstoppable, mighty Wehrmacht faltered so disastrously? Certainly it had suffered defeats before, in particular the vast catastrophe of Stalingrad, but it was in 1944 that the war was ultimately lost. It was no longer a case of if but rather when the Red Army would be at the gates of Berlin. Prit Buttar retraces the ebb and flow of the various battles and campaigns fought throughout the Ukraine and Romania in 1944. January and February saw Army Group South encircled in the Korsun Pocket. Although many of the encircled troops did escape, in part due to Soviet intelligence and command failures, the Red Army would endeavor to not make the same mistakes again. Indeed, in the coming months the Red Army would demonstrate an ability to learn and improve, reinventing itself as a war-winning machine, demonstrated clearly in its success in the Iasi-Kishinev operation. The view of the Red Army as a huge, unskilled horde that rolled over everything in its path is just one myth that The Reckoning reassess. So too does it re-evaluate the apparent infallibility of German military commanders, the denial of any involvement in (or often even knowledge of) the heinous crimes committed in the occupied territories by German forces, and the ineffectiveness of Axis allies, such as the Romanians at Iasi, to withstand the Soviet forces. Like all myths, these contain many truths, but also a great many distortions, all of which are skillfully unpicked and analysed in this powerful retelling of 1944 on the Eastern Front. The Reckoning is vivid history, the tragic Eastern Front brought to life through the widest range of Russian and German sources I've ever read. Bravo.' — Peter Caddick-Adams, author and broadcaster By the end of 1944 the Red Army was poised on the very frontiers of the Third Reich. How had the once unstoppable, mighty Wehrmacht faltered so disastrously? Certainly it had suffered defeats before, in particular the vast catastrophe of Stalingrad, but it was in 1944 that the war was ultimately lost. It was no longer a case of if but rather when the Red Army would be at the gates of Berlin. Prit Buttar retraces the ebb and flow of the various battles and campaigns fought throughout the Ukraine and Romania in 1944. January and February saw Army Group South encircled in the Korsun Pocket. Although many of the encircled troops did escape, in part due to Soviet intelligence and command failures, the Red Army would endeavour to not make the same mistakes again. Indeed, in the coming months the Red Army would demonstrate an ability to learn and improve, reinventing itself as a war-winning machine, demonstrated clearly in its success in the Iasi-Kishinev operation. The view of the Red Army as a huge, unskilled horde that rolled over everything in its path is just one myth that The Reckoning reassesses. So too does it re-evaluate the apparent infallibility of German military commanders, the denial of any involvement in (or often even knowledge of) the heinous crimes committed in the occupied territories by German forces, and the ineffectiveness of Axis allies, such as the Romanians at Iasi, to withstand the Soviet forces. Like all myths, these contain many truths, but also a great many distortions, all of which are skilfully unpicked and analysed in this powerful retelling of 1944 on the Eastern Front. A Detailed And Engrossing Account Of The Final Year Of Fighting In Ukraine During World War Ii, Making Use Of The Extensive Memoirs Of German And Russian Soldiers Involved In The Fighting, As Well As Partisans Behind The German Lines, To Bring The Story To Life. From Critically Acclaimed Eastern Front Expert Prit Buttar, The Reckoning Is The Third And Final Part Of An Epic Trilogy Covering The Bitter Course Of World War Ii In Ukraine. Following On From Retribution, In Which, Under Constant Pressure From The Advancing Soviets, The German Army Retreated Beyond The Dnepr, The Reckoning Sees The Germans Pushed Back Further Across The Bug And Dniester And Onwards Towards Final Defeat. Large Numbers Of German Troops Were Encircled In The Cherkassy Pocket, And To A Lesser Extent In The Kamanets-podolsk And Brody Pockets, While German Forces In The Crimea Were Isolated And Ultimately Destroyed. The Casualties Suffered By The German Forces Were Immense, Forcing The Diversion Of An Increasing Proportion Of The Diminishing Strength Of The Wehrmacht To The Region; This In Turn Left Almost No Reserves Elsewhere And Thus Greatly Facilitated The Devastating Blow That Fell Upon The German Army Group Centre In The Summer Of 1944. This Book Combines Masterful Narrative Storytelling With Expert Analysis To Reveal, In Gripping Detail, The Full Story Of How The Guns Finally Fell Silent On The Eastern Front. 'The Reckoning is vivid history, the tragic Eastern Front brought to life through the widest range of Russian and German sources I've ever read. Bravo.'– Peter Caddick-Adams, author and broadcasterFrom critically acclaimed Eastern Front expert Prit Buttar, The Reckoning is a masterful re-evaluation of the fateful year of 1944, and how the Red Army irrevocably turned the tide of war until the final defeat within the heart of Germany itself was guaranteed.The fighting throughout the Ukraine and Romania was brutal, with the German defence dogged and desperate. But for too long the Wehrmacht had relied on the superior combat prowess of its fighting men. What had not been taken into account, however, was that the Red Army would not only rely on its sheer size, but would fine-tune its fighting performance from its senior commanders right down to the individual soldier battling both fear and the elements to take each line, each trench, each inch of land. Ultimately it is a story not of how the Germans lost, as is all too often told, but of how the Russians increasingly learned how to win.