Soviet Skachok and Zvezda Operations: Early February 1943 (II)

SS-Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich's Leibstandarte SS

SS taking up defensive positions to counter the oncoming Soviets

SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS

The Eastern Front in early 1943 saw no respite from battle for either side, which involved all available units from the German Army. The battered frontline was lashed by freezing winds, which increased the windchill factor considerably. Throughout the first week of February 1943 the Waffen-SS repulsed numerous Soviet attacks, inflicting serious losses on the enemy, who were somewhat shocked at running into strong Waffen-SS units. The SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS held its sector for two weeks against the full weight of the Soviet 3rd Tank Army, a remarkable feat in itself. Time after time the SS-Panzerkorps was called upon to reinforce, fill and stabilize weak points, and to close the gaps before the onslaught of Soviet troops could pour through. Oftentimes they were outnumbered and arrived just in the nick of time. Unlike the Battle for Moscow in 1941, SS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser's Waffen-SS troops fighting in the Kharkov campaign were well equipped with winter clothing and equipment. Top image: a Sturmgeschütz or StuG protect an infantry column of the elite Leibstandarte SS against armored opponents in the endless snow-covered Ukrainian steppe. Photo taken in February 1943. Credit: Georgiy Stanislavskiy. c. Bundesarchiv. Bottom clips: Waffen-SS in close combat under extreme winter conditions on Eastern Front in February 1943. Temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius below zero, snowstorms and the difficulties they caused placed the highest demand on the men, for once again they had to bear the heaviest burdens of the fighting. The volunteers of the Waffen-SS were suffering from frostbite and snow blindness but kept struggling, keenly aware that surrender to the Soviet Red Army meant certain death. Die Deutsche Wochenschau - the official Nazi German war newsreel from 1940 until production discontinued in March 1945.