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

Philadelphia: Casemate, 2008. BRAND NEW in a BRAND NEW dust jacket. PERFECT CONDITION. NOT price clipped ($32.95). Sharp corners. NO owner's name or bookplate. NOT a remainder. Pages are fresh, crisp, clean and unmarked -- obviously never read. Bound in the original black boards, stamped in bright gold on the spine. List of Notes on the Text. Appendix I Orders of Battle. Appendix II German Combat Units in the Battle. Notes on the Appendices. Index. From the dust jacket: "During the second half of 1943, after 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 Nikolai 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 Hans Hube, a survivor from Stalingrad pocket, which promptly ran up against several Soviet tank forces. 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… 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 battle of annihilation, was left with little but an empty bag, as Army Group South -- this time -- had pulled off a rescue…. Buttressed by nearly 30 maps and expert statistical analysis, the action, and the stakes, of the battle at Korsun are made vividly clear.". First Edition. Hardcover. New/New dust jacket. 8vo. (ii), 109pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.