Buttar, Prit Retribution. The Soviet Reconquest of Central Ukraine, 1943

Making use of the extensive memoirs of German and Russian soldiers to bring this story to life, "Retribution" follows on from "On A Knife's Edge", which described the encirclement and destruction of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad and the offensives and counter­offensives that followed throughout the winter of 1942-43. Beginning towards the end of the Battle of Kursk, "Retribution" tells the story of the massive Soviet offensive that followed the end of Operation "Zitadelle", which saw depleted and desperate German troops forced out of Western Ukraine. In this title, critically acclaimed Eastern Front expert Prit Buttar describes in detail the little-known series of near-constant battles that saw a weakened German army confronted by a tactically sophisticated force of over six million Soviet troops. As a result, the Wehrmacht was driven back to the Dnepr and German forces remaining in the Kuban Peninsula south of Rostov were forced back into the Crimea, a retreat which would become one of many in the months that followed.

As a result, the Wehrmacht was driven back to the Dnieper, and the German forces remaining on the Kuban Peninsula, south of Rostov, were pushed back to the Crimea, a retreat that was to become one of many in the months that followed.