The Back of my Hand

By February 1943, the Germans were in big trouble. The encirclement of the 6th Army at Stalingrad was followed by Soviet offenses in January that shattered the Hungarian 2nd Army and the German 2nd Army. The Germans were left over-extended …

1943-02-28

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By February 1943, the Germans were in big trouble. The encirclement of the 6th Army at Stalingrad was followed by Soviet offenses in January that shattered the Hungarian 2nd Army and the German 2nd Army. The Germans were left over-extended with gaping holes in their front. At one point there was a 150 mile chasm in their line with only 5 divisions available to screen it. There was a real danger of losing the entire southern flank and having most of the troops in the south being cut off by Russians driving to the Sea of Azov. Then came one of General Manstein's greatest accomplishments...but it did not occur on the battlefield. In long and intense, face to face arguments with Hitler, he convinced the dictator (belatedly) to allow a withdrawal to shorten the line and free up forces for a possible counter attack. Manstein's strategy to withdraw, allow the Soviets to advance, and then counterattack became known as his "Backhand Blow."

Barvenkovo, Russia

The Second Battle of Kharkov or Operation Fredericus was an Axis counter-offensive in the region around Kharkov against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted 12–28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front during World War II. Its objective was to eliminate the Izium bridgehead over Seversky Donets or the "Barvenkovo bulge" which was one of the Soviet offensive's staging areas. After a winter counter-offensive that drove German troops away from Moscow but depleted the Red Army's reserves, the Kharkov offensive was a new Soviet attempt to expand upon their strategic initiative, although it failed to secure a significant element of surprise.

Wikipedia: Second Battle of Kharkov

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Russian