May 1942

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting rages north of Kharkov. With the 38th Army stalled and the 28th struggling to make any gain at all, the Soviet offensive appears to be on the verge of stalemate. German avation has flooded the area and has swept the Red Air Force from the skies. In turn the rear echelon of the 28th and 38th Armies are heavily attacked. Despite their best efforts, the men of the 28th Army manage only a 3-mile advance before they are halted by the efforts of the LI and XVII Corps. Further strong attacks by the 3rd and 23rd Panzer Divisions around Stary Saltov against the junction of the 28th and 38th Armies force the southern wing of the Soviet attack back slightly.

After just three days of fighting, the offensive north of Kharkov has been decided. Soviet inaction of the Bryansk Front enable the Germans to pull forces down from the north to strengthen their infantry units, while the panzers intend for their own offensive to quash the immeadiate danger.

Ferocious fighting rages along the line south of Kharkov. The Soviet 6th Army continues to press the Taranovka axis and the northern wing of the VIII Corps hard, while Group Bobkin pushes along the Krasnograd axis with the VI Cavalry Corps.

In the Crimea, the 170th Infantry Division enters Kerch, slicing throught the Soviet defenses. Manstein has comprehensively defeated a numerically superior force, leaving units on the Kerch peninsula to mop up isolated pockets of resistance before the redeployment of the main force to the Sevastopol perimeter.