Operation Winter Storm, a German offensive in December 1942 during World War II, involved the German 4th Panzer Army failing to break the Soviet encirclement of the German 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad.
A German Tiger tank and knocked-out Soviet T-34 tank during the fighting in the southern Soviet Union.
Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, commander of Army Group Don at the time of the battle
A battalion of Tiger I tanks was deployed to Army Group Don to strengthen the German drive to Stalingrad.
German Panzer III in the Southern Soviet Union in December 1942
The 4th Panzer Army, operating as Panzer Group 4 from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, was a German panzer formation during World War II. As a key armoured component of the Wehrmacht, the army took part in the crucial battles of the German-Soviet war of 1941–45, including Operation Barbarossa, the Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk, and the 1943 Battle of Kiev.
Fall 1943, 4th Panzer Army in Southern Ukraine
Erich Hoepner (right) with commander of the SS Polizei Division, Walter Krüger, October 1941
During the Battle of Kursk
Image: Bundesarchiv Bild 146 1971 068 10, Erich Hoepner
