Waffen-SS Soldier vs Soviet Rifleman

Rostov-on-Don and Kharkov 1942–43

Chris McNab, Johnny Shumate

• Publisher: Osprey Publishing
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781472857989
• eBook ISBN: 9781472857972
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

Fully illustrated, this study assesses the Soviet and Waffen-SS troops who contested the cities of Kharkov and Rostov-on-Don on the Eastern Front during 1942–43. As the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union unfolded, two places that suffered exceptionally severely were Kharkov (now Kharkiv) in Ukraine and Rostov-on-Don in Russia. In total, Kharkov would change hands violently four times between October 1941 and August 1943, and Rostov-on-Don also four times between November 1941 and February 1943. In this book, Chris McNab examines the fighting men of the Red Army and the Waffen-SS who clashed in three battles – one for Rostov (July 1942) and two for Kharkov (February–March and August). He clearly explains the key differences between these two opponents – training, tactics, weaponry, ideology and motivation – and examines how these differences played out in the three engagements, which ranged from open-terrain combined-arms battles to close-quarters street fighting in major urban zones. The text is complemented by specially commissioned artwork and mapping and carefully chosen archive photographs.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• The Opposing Sides
• Rostov-on-Don
• The Third Battle of Kharkov
• The Fourth Battle of Kharkov
• Analysis
• Aftermath
• Unit Organizations
• Bibliography
• eCopyright