Questions about Second Battle of Kharkov
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What was the Second Battle of Kharkov in World War II?
The Second Battle of Kharkov, also called Operation Fredericus, was an Axis counter-offensive fought from the 12th to the 28th of May 1942 on the Eastern Front. The German objective was to eliminate the Soviet Izium bridgehead, known as the Barvenkovo bulge, which Soviet forces had established during their winter counter-offensive. The battle ended in a decisive German victory with approximately 280,000 Soviet casualties against roughly 20,000 for the Axis.
Why did the Soviet offensive at Kharkov in 1942 fail?
The Soviet offensive failed due to a combination of poor intelligence, Stalin's refusal to authorise withdrawal when German forces began encircling the salient, and overwhelming German air superiority established by the 15th of May. Stalin dismissed repeated warnings from Marshal Vasilevsky and others who called for a retreat. Zhukov later wrote in his memoirs that the failure was "quite predictable" because the exposed left flank of the Izium salient was obvious on any map.
How many Soviet soldiers were captured or killed at the Second Battle of Kharkov?
Estimates vary by source. Historian Hayward gives 75,000 Soviets killed and 239,000 taken prisoner. Beevor places the prisoner count at 240,000. Glantz, citing Krivosheev, gives a total of 277,190 Soviet casualties overall. Soviet reports at the time acknowledged only 171,000 casualties. Fewer than one in ten soldiers trapped in the pocket managed to escape the encirclement.
What role did the Luftwaffe play in the German victory at Kharkov in May 1942?
The Luftwaffe's 4th Air Corps, commanded by General Kurt Pflugbeil, was central to the German victory. Over the sixteen-day battle it flew 15,648 sorties, an average of 978 per day, and dropped 7,700 tonnes of bombs on Soviet forces. General Franz Halder credited the air strikes as primarily responsible for breaking the Soviet offensive. The corps also destroyed 130 tanks and 500 motor vehicles on the 18th of May alone, and lifted 1,545 tonnes of supplies to encircled German ground units.
What were the consequences of the Second Battle of Kharkov for the rest of the 1942 campaign?
The defeat cleared the way for the German summer offensive, Case Blue, which was launched on the 28th of June 1942 and led directly to the Battle of Stalingrad. Before Case Blue began, Army Group South conducted two preliminary operations: Operation Wilhelm, which encircled the Soviet 28th Army on the 13th of June, and Operation Fredericus II, which pushed back the 38th and 9th Armies on the 22nd of June. The battle also contributed to a gradual shift in Stalin's willingness to trust his military commanders.
What did Khrushchev say about Stalin's decisions during the Second Battle of Kharkov?
At the Twentieth Party Congress, Khrushchev cited the battle as a direct example of Stalin's errors, quoting his own words urging Stalin to halt the offensive. He stated that Stalin rejected their advice and ordered the encirclement of Kharkov to continue even as Soviet army concentrations were themselves threatened with encirclement. Khrushchev attributed the loss of hundreds of thousands of soldiers to this decision and called the result Stalin's military genius.