In the summer of 1942, the Wehrmacht invaded the Caucasus in order
to overrun critical oil production facilities at Maikop, Grozny, and
Baku. However, the Red Army stopped the Germans short of their
objectives and then launched a devastating winter counteroffensive that
encircled them at Stalingrad. Consequently, Hitler grudgingly ordered an
evacuation from the Caucasus, but ordered 17. Armee to fortify the
Kuban bridgehead and hold it at all costs in order to leave open the
possibility of future offensives. On the other side, the Soviet Stavka
ordered the North Caucasus Front and the Black Sea Fleet to eliminate
the Kuban bridgehead as soon as possible. The stage was set for a
contest between an immovable object and an unstoppable force.
With
the help of stunning specially commissioned artwork, this book tells
the enthralling story of the impressive but strategically foolish German
stand at Kuban, which tied down seven Soviet armies in a sideshow
battle of attrition, which the Soviets dubbed "the Kuban meat grinder."