Description

A highly illustrated account of the 1942 battle of Kharkov, one of the Red Army's largest defeats in World War II.

After failing to finish off the German Army in the 1941/42 Winter Counteroffensive Stalin directed the Red Army to conduct a powerful blow in one sector of the Eastern Front in order to disrupt German plans. The sector chosen was Kharkov. Under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko, the Stavka's remaining reserves were assembled and prepared to conduct a breakthrough attack intended to encircle the German Sixth Army near Kharkov.

However, Stalin was unaware that the Germans were planning their own riposte at Kharkov, known as Operation Fredericus. When Timoshenko began his offensive in May 1942, he did not realize the limitations of his own forces or the agility of the Germans to recover from setbacks, all of which contributed to one of the Red Army greatest defeats of World War II.

This volume will pay particular attention to intelligence and logistics issues, as well as how this campaign served as a prelude to the battle of Stalingrad. It will also focus on the nascent development of the Red Army's tank corps and 'deep battle' tactics, as well as the revival of the German Panzertruppen after Barbarossa.

Table of Contents

Origins of the campaign
Chronology

Opposing commanders
Opposing forces
Opposing plans
The Soviet offensive, 12–16 May 1942
The German counteroffensive, 17–23 May 1942
The end game, 24–29 May 1942

Aftermath
The battlefield today
Further reading
Index

Product details

Published Apr 20 2013
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Extent 96
ISBN 9781780961590
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 3 col
Series Campaign
Short code CAM 254
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Robert Forczyk

Robert Forczyk has a PhD in International Relation…

Illustrator

Howard Gerrard

Howard Gerrard studied at the Wallasey School of A…

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