Behind Soviet Lines: Hitler's Brandenburgers capture the Maikop Oilfields 1942

by David R. Higgins, Johnny Shumate (Illustrator), Mark Stacey (Illustrator)

Overview

In the summer of 1942, following the invasion of Russia the previous year, Hitler's 'Brandenburger' commando units undertook a daring operation deep inside Soviet-held territory. Disguised as members of Stalin's NKVD, the secret police dreaded by most Soviet citizens and soldiers, the Brandenburgers passed unsuspected past the Red Army's checkpoints, before launching their surprise operation to seize the vital Soviet oil facilities around Maikop – delivering them intact into Nazi hands. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork, this expert assessment of the Maikop operation casts new light on German special-forces operations on the Eastern Front.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782006015
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/20/2014
Series:	Raid , #47
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	601,217
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

David R. Higgins attended the Columbus College of Art&Design, and received a BFA from Ohio State University and an MISM from Keller. In addition to the Roer River Battles he has written over twenty articles for magazines such as Strategy&Tactics, Armchair General, and World at War, as well as MCSGroup, a conflict simulation provider for the US Defense Department.

Johnny Shumate works as a freelance illustrator living in Nashville, Tennessee. He began his career in 1987 after graduating from Austin Peay State University. Most of his work is rendered in Adobe Photoshop using a Cintiq monitor. His greatest influences are Angus McBride, Don Troiani, and Edouard Detaille.
Johnny Shumate works as a freelance illustrator living in Nashville, Tennessee. He began his career in 1987 after graduating from Austin Peay State University. Most of his work is rendered in Adobe Photoshop using a Cintiq monitor. His greatest influences are Angus McBride, Don Troiani, and Édouard Detaille.
Mark Stacey was born in Manchester, UK, in 1964 and has been a freelance illustrator since 1987. He has a lifelong interest in all periods of history, particularly military history, and has specialized in this area throughout his career. He now lives and works in Cornwall.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Origins 7

Germany's special forces 7

World War II and the Brandenburgers 9

Initial Strategy 12

Operation Borbarossa 12

The Eastern Front in 1942 13

Operation Blau 18

The Plan 22

The war for oil 22

Technical challenges 23

Brandenburgers in Barbarossa 23

An unconventional plan 25

Training for the mission 27

Operating behind the lines 28

The Brandenburgers' opponents 28

The Raid 30

The Caucasus campaign 30

The battle for Rostov-on-Don 33

Hitler intervenes 38

The Brandenburgers seize Bataisk Bridge 40

Beyond the Don River 43

'Not a single step back!' 46

The Brandenburgers' chance to infiltrate Maikop 47

Behind Soviet lines 50

Guests of the NKVD 52

Touring the Maikop defences 54

The Panzers approach 54

The Brandenburgers strike 58

Belaya Bridge 62

Aftermath 65

Restarting oil production 66

Analysis 68

The military objectives 68

The oil question 69

The broader campaign 71

Conclusion 75

Bibliography 78

Index 80