KHARKOV
May 12th, 1942

The bitter, protracted winter of 1941-42 finally came to an end about the beginning of May. Both Russia and Germany planned major summer offensives... and in the same place. The Russians attacked first, on May 12th. Kharkov was the primary objective with second phase operations planned against Krasnograd and eventually Poltava and Dnepropetrovsk away to the south-west. The main impetus of the Soviet onslaught came from 6th Army, attacking out of the bulge below Kharkov. Above Kharkov, the 28th Army attacked southward from Belgorod. Flushed from their winter successes against the Wehrmacht, the Russians badly underestimated the condition and resolve of their enemy.
German plans for the summer envisaged a pincer operation to trap the Russian armies between the Don and the Donets to be
followed by an advance to the Caucasus oil fields. Before these plans could be put into effect, the bulge below Kharkov had to be straightened out. This operation was named Fridericus and scheduled to kick off on May 18th. Caught by surprise, the first few days of the offensive went well for the Soviets. The German defenders were forced into strong-points to avoid annihilation, allowing the Russians to rush through the gaps in the front. Lead elements of the Soviet 6th Army got as far as Krasnograd before the German counter-attack went in.
Timoshenko, in overall command of the Soviet operation, detected the German build up and the danger it presented and advised Stalin to call off the offensive and pull back before it was too late. Stalin refused to listen and on the May 16th, troops from Ruoff's 11th Armee and von Mackensen's 3rd Pz Korps tore into the southern flank of the Soviet advance.
By the 22nd, Izyum was captured and the Russian 6th, 9th and 57th Armies neatly pocketed. 240,000 men were lost in what was to be the last, major Soviet pocket of the war. With these Soviet troops out of the way, there was little to stop the German drive on the Caucasus. The German 6th Armee, victorious at Kharkov, got as far as Stalingrad.