May 1942

Eastern Front

The Izyum battle is largely over as the Soviet surrender. Barely 22,000 men have escaped. The battle since the 12th has cost the Soviets 170,958 killed or captures and 106,232 wounded, 1,250 tanks and 2,000 artillery pieces destroyed or captured. Gens Kostenko, Podlas, Bobkin and Gorodnyanski all fall in the fighting.

The disastrous offensive leaves the Southwest Front with barely two thirds of its original strength, while the German 6th Army has suffered only 20,000 casualties during the operation.

The debacle at Kharkov proved once again the inability of the Soviet Command to master a rapidly developing situation. Sticking rigidly to pre-determined goals in spite of a significant change in combat conditions had cost the Red Army a quarter of a million men. Stalin's refusal to heed the advice of his generals had had the same results as in the summer of '41. However, the defeat at Kharkov had been an outstanding achievement for the Germans. A seemingly desperate situation had been turned to their advantage, and a considerable force, which would have presented real problems had it been intact at the time of the impending offensive, had been disposed of relatively easily. This victory went a long way toward rebuilding German confidence, so badly shaken during the winter.