History of the schwere Panzer-Regiment “Bäke,” January–February 1944

By the close of 1943 on the Eastern Front, the Red Army had recovered roughly half of the ground lost since the opening stages of the war.

Stalingrad, the fighting along the Don, the battle of Kursk, and the second recapture of Kharkov had pushed the front back into central Ukraine, running more or less along the Dnieper.

The next major Soviet drive in the south began in late December 1943. During these operations, the German command committed an unusual heavy armoured formation made up solely of Tiger and Panther tanks.

This ad hoc force appeared in January 1944, when two Panzer battalions were grouped as a temporary regiment under the staff of Panzer Regiment 11 in the Vinnytsia sector.

Led by Reserve Oberstleutnant Dr. Franz Bäke, the formation fought Soviet armoured and mechanised units in two short but intense operations. These battles rank among the fiercest fought on the Eastern Front.

The so-called Bäke heavy Panzer regiment existed for a little more than a month and took part in only two operations in January and February 1944, yet in just twenty-four days of action, it claimed the destruction of more than five hundred Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns, securing its reputation almost overnight.

Until now, no study has focused exclusively on this unit or brought together all available material on its day to day operations.

The author set out with a single aim: to determine from German and Soviet archival sources, supported by relevant secondary literature, whether the remarkable combat record long associated with the Bäke formation can be substantiated.

Thanks to its depth of research and detailed presentation, this book offers a compelling look into the tactical realities of armoured combat on the Eastern Front during this phase of the war.

Book Data

Author: Norbert Számvéber
ISBN: 9786155583957
Language: English
Pages: 384
Photos: 48 pages
Maps: 16 pages
Physical: Hardcover, 235x153mm, portrait

Contents

• TBC