RE: Kharkov 43 Manstein strikes back Alt
From Nipe's "Last Victory in Russia", pg 122:
By the afternoon of 14 Feb, Hausser no longer believed that he could still hold the city. At 1530 hours he had received a message from the commander of "Das Reich," Herbert Vahl, reporting that the division's last reserves had been committed and the defensive front could no longer be held. Vahl stated that if the order to withdraw was not received by that evening, the division could not be saved.
Page 123:
At 2200 hours, "Das Reich" reported that disengagement was in progress and that it could only be stopped with great difficulty....
So by the evening of Feb 14 (happy Valentine's day!) they were on the move.
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