The Defeat of the Totenkopf Division. The Demyansk Catastrophe of the SS
8 hrs. 29 min.
Language
Russian
Author
Alexander Simakov
Author
Alexander Simakov
Narrator
Ivan Shcherbina
Narrator
Ivan Shcherbina
Description
The Germans declared the battle for the Demyansk “cauldron” their victory—so much so that in the Reich a special breast badge was issued in memory of this bloody battle, which lasted in total a year and a half. Revisionist historians also consider the “Demyansk meat grinder” a defeat for Stalin, because the Red Army never managed to eliminate the encircled enemy grouping.
However, German losses near Demyansk were, by Wehrmacht standards, utterly catastrophic—excessive and unacceptable. It was here that the first elite formation of the famous SS division “Totenkopf” was destroyed.
“Someone may object: ‘But “Totenkopf” existed until the end of the war.’ Yes, but it was no longer the division that started the war. The earlier one fell in the approaches to the Valdai Upland—it went there, but did not arrive. The bones of its officers, non-commissioned officers, and rank-and-file soldiers lie in the territory of the ‘Demyansk cauldron’ and the ‘Ramush corridor’…"
The new book by the bestselling “Demyansk Tragedy” author, based on a comparison of German and Soviet documents, sheds light on the defeat of the 3rd SS division “Totenkopf” and the slandered ‘victory’ credited to Stalin.
However, German losses near Demyansk were, by Wehrmacht standards, utterly catastrophic—excessive and unacceptable. It was here that the first elite formation of the famous SS division “Totenkopf” was destroyed.
“Someone may object: ‘But “Totenkopf” existed until the end of the war.’ Yes, but it was no longer the division that started the war. The earlier one fell in the approaches to the Valdai Upland—it went there, but did not arrive. The bones of its officers, non-commissioned officers, and rank-and-file soldiers lie in the territory of the ‘Demyansk cauldron’ and the ‘Ramush corridor’…"
The new book by the bestselling “Demyansk Tragedy” author, based on a comparison of German and Soviet documents, sheds light on the defeat of the 3rd SS division “Totenkopf” and the slandered ‘victory’ credited to Stalin.
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