Kharkov, Ukraine's second-largest city, was a major industrial hub and a key centre for Soviet tank development during the Second World War. Its strategic importance made it a focal point of intense conflict during Operation Barbarossa, changing hands four times between October 1941 and August 1943. The Germans first captured Kharkov in October 1941, but its factories and machinery had been evacuated. The Red Army liberated the city in May 1942 after heavy losses, with over 170,000 soldiers killed and 106,000 wounded. In February 1943, Field Marshal Erich von Manstein led a counter-offensive during the Third Battle of Kharkov, retaking the city through brutal urban combat, marking one of Germany's last significant victories on the Eastern Front. However, in August 1943, the Red Army's Belgorod?Kharkov offensive forced the Germans to surrender the city. This Fourth Battle of Kharkov, described by Winston Churchill as one of the war's decisive battles alongside Kursk and Orel, marked the turning point of Germany's defeat in the East. Karel Margry's analysis delves into these pivotal battles, highlighting their significance in shaping the outcome of Hitler's invasion and underscoring the immense human cost of the Soviet-German conflict. AUTHOR: Karel Margry was born in the Netherlands in 1957 and studied history at Utrecht University. Having specialised in the events of the Second World War, he worked for After the Battle for thirty-six years, being the magazine's editor from 1998 until his retirement in 2022. In addition to putting the magazine together, he himself wrote and contributed over ninety stories on a wide variety of subjects from the war. He also authored Operation 'Market-Garden' Then and Now, co-edited many of ATB's books and three times updated Before Endeavours Fade, ATB's classic guidebook to the battlefields of the First World War. Besides his work for ATB, he was the historian responsible for creating the Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam; has spent years researching the history of Theresienstadt ghetto, about which he is an acknowledged expert, and has made several documentaries on the war. He enjoys speed skating in winter and road cycling in summer. 140 illustrations
