Comments by "" (@lyndoncmp5751) on "The Formation of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket 1944" video.

  1. 21:50 The "11th Panzer Division" Panthers (actually I./Pz.Rgt. 26) are an interesting subject. It was a brand new battalion on Panthers, just recently trained on the new tank type. It received its Panthers only in December 1943, being quickly sent to the east a mere month later. It was originally destined for Italy to join its parent division, 26th Panzer Division. However it was diverted to the east in early January as a temporary substitute for the Grossdeutschland Panther battalion, which was being formed in the west. The GD was defending near Kirovograd at the time. It was then hastily moved 100km north to be urgently borrowed by 11th Panzer Division. Sources. Nash, Jentz, Klages.
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  2. They got "some" troop out? The Axis actually got out 2/3 of the approximately 60,000 troops trapped in the pocket. 40,423 managed to get out. 36,232 broke out and 4,161 were flown out. I would consider this an Axis success and a Soviet failure, just as the Dunkirk evacuation was an Allied success and a German failure. When you have 60,000 troops encircled and on the face of it looking doomed, another Stalingrad, then to extract 2/3 of them can only be considered a tactical victory despite the larger strategic picture being a loss. It depends what aspect we focus on. The actual pocket aspect was a Soviet failure.
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  3. I dont know where you got that figure from. The true figures are 40,423 that got out. 36,232, broke out and 4,161 were flown out. Page 366 Hells Gate by Douglas Nash.
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  4. TIK They got some of their men out? They got 40,423 out in total. 36,232 broke out and 4,161 were flown out. That is 2/3 of the trapped Axis force. It certainly was an Axis tactical victory to extract 2/3 of their trapped forces, and it was a, Soviet failure. In the same way Dunkirk was an Allied success and a German failure. For the most comprehensive and balanced work on this battle Hells Gate by Douglas Nash is the go to source.
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  5. Indeed. It is EASILY the best work on this battle.
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  6. Indeed. Anyone who hasn't read the Nash book lacks full understanding of the battle.
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  7. Source: Hells Gate. The Battle of the Cherkassy-Korsun Pocket January to February 1944 by Douglas Nash.
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  8. When did that happen? 67 didn't disintegrate by themselves.
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  9. Hells Gate by Douglas Nash is the premier work on this battle.
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  10. What are your sources for only a third of Panthers available at any one time? According to the vaunted Tom Jentz, the overall average Panther operational rate was about 2/3 (65%). Non operational figures also include battle damage repairs needed, so not merely mechanical issues.
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