ROLLBACK: The Red Army's Winter Offensive Along the Southwestern Strategic Direction, 1942-43

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Rollback: The Red Army's Winter Offensive along the Southwestern Strategic Direction, 1942-43 covers the period from mid-December 1942 to mid-February 1943, one of the most critical periods of the war on the Eastern Front. It was here that following the encirclement of an entire German army at Stalingrad, the Soviets sought to take advantage of the ruptured Axis front in southern Russia to finish off the Germans' Italian and Hungarian allies and liberate the economically vital areas of eastern Ukraine.

This study is drawn from a number of wartime and postwar articles, published by the General Staff's directorate for the study of wartime experience. Also featured are documents relating to the operational-strategic conduct of the various operations, which were compiled and published after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Includes Southwestern Front's Middle Don operation of December 1942 and subsequent Voronezh-Kastornoe operation. The offensive not only accomplished its objective of turning back the German attack, thus dooming the Stalingrad garrison, but also destroyed the Italian army in the East as well and enabled the Soviets to push as far west as Kursk.