attacked on a more direct line using the 38th, 21st and 28th Armies backed up by 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps. The northern group attack began on 13 May with some limited successes. German reaction was swift: using infantry and 3rd and 23rd Panzer divisions, part of the forces gathered for the summer offensive, they hit the northern attack with repeated counterattacks, whilst blocking advancement in the south. As part of these efforts, a two-regimental group from 88th infantry division (Combat Group Gollwitzer) was shifted to the area and joined in these attacks from the northern flank. With their attack obviously going nowhere, the Russians abandoned the attack and had withdrawn their offensive groupings by 24 May 1942. Following this action, the 88th Division then took part in the opening stages of Plan Blue, the German summer offensive. After only a short advance, the division was again put on the defensive on the northern flank of the 9th Army, where it remained for several months. In January 1943, after the Stalingrad debacle, Russian offensives rippled along the front. The 9th Army front was breached and it was forced to retreat, the 88th Division with it. After the front was finally stabilised for the Germans by Erich von Manstein counter stroke at Karkov, the 88th division was again in defensive positions, this time along the Minus river, whilst dramatic events unfolded around the Kursk salient. The failure of the German offensive preceded the start of a prolonged period of Soviet attacks, and by September, von Manstein was no longer confident that the forces of AGS could defeat them without substantial reinforcement. Hitler thereafter authorised the withdrawal to the Panther line on 15 September. A race to the Dnieper followed: both German and Soviet forces raced to reach the river first, with the German forces attempting to fully man defensive fortifications ahead of the arrival of the bulk of the Soviet forces. The 88th pulled back and crossed the river Dneiper as part of VII Armycorps, and was inserted into the new defensive line on the western bank. The German forces were unable to prevent the Red Army from seizing several bridgeheads across the river. Poland After the break out from Cherkassy, the division was quickly rebuilt, and by June 1944 was back in line under the 4th Panzer Army, Army Group North Ukraine. In mid-July, Soviet 1st Ukrainian Front started a series