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The
10th of May, the general Paulus
sent to Von Bock his plans
for the Operation Fridericus, consistent in to eliminate Barvenkovo's
projection to the east of Kharkov conquered by the general Timoshenko
in January. Nevertheless, Bock
was afraid of a Soviet assault to conquer Kharkov, assault that was
produced on May 12. Timoshenko threw 640.000 men, 1.200 tanks and approximately
thousand planes that broke the German lines placing to a dozen of kilometres
of Kharkov. Although Timoshenko had advanced too rapidly and his flanks
had been careless, Von Bock
knew of it and on May 17, 1st Panzer Army supervised by Kleist attack
south side of Barvenkovo's projection. Timoshenko asked to withdraw
or reinforcements to stop Kleist, but Stalin refused at first, though
on May 19 he ordered to stop the offensive. But already it was late;
Paulus from the north was
advancing to close the trap. They remained caught in the pocket a quarter
of million Soviet soldiers, least of one of every ten men managed to
escape. The 6th and 57th armies were annihilated; Paulus
and Kleist imprisoned approximately 240.000 men, 2.000 cannons and most
of Timoshenko's tanks. Paulus
got the Iron Cross for this action. Everything was ready for the beginning
of the operation Blue.
On June 28, the Germans began them
summer offensive with a quick assault against Voronez with part of 22th
Army and 41st Panzer Army. On June 30, 6th German Army, supervised by
the general von Paulus, began
to advance towards the corridor between the rivers Donetz and Don.
Once
assured the front in Voronez, on July 19, the Army Group A brought in
the Donetz's basin, advancing towards the south prepared to cross the
Don in the surroundings of Rostov, whereas the Army Group B was moving
rapidly towards the bend of the Don. On July 17, Hitler thinks that
the Army Group A probably is not the sufficiently strong thing like
to cross the Don, and there separates 4th Army Panzer of the first line
of east, which was going towards Stalingrad, to place it at the head
of the first southern line towards the Caucasus. This detour, that doesn't
seem to be too important to simple sight, it can be definitive because
it makes weaker and slower the advance (partly it is a return to the
original plan). Though weaker, the Army Group B managed to occupy the
Don's bend and to reach the Volga, to the north of Stalingrad.
At
the end of July, the Army Group A and the 4th Panzer Army had managed
to enter in the region of the Caucasus, coming to 70 miles of the Caspian
Sea and threatening to the Soviet Front Transcaucasus. Nevertheless,
6th Army of Paulus advances
slowest of the foreseen towards Stalingrad and Hitler orders 4th Panzer
Army that it should return on its steps and that one, again, to the
Army Group B in Stalingrad's assault. List and the chief of the German
General staff, Halder, protested being dismissed of his positions. The
Army Group A, judged distantly and of capricious form for the same Hitler,
was ordered to support in the Caucasus a front of 500 miles of length
and that at the same time the offensive should support in the line Baku-Batumi.
The Soviet ones, meanwhile, had
re-done partly of the long-suffering losses the previous year recruiting
new soldiers of among the populations of the Soviet territories of Asia,
reinforcing the units of infantry that so many falls had suffered and
displeasing troops of the Asian borders that were preparing a possible
Japanese assault. Also, for what it refers to the armoured means, in
the summer of 1942, there appeared a new version of the tank T-34,
from the point of view of the relation cannons - cuirasses defensive
- speed, was superior to any way used by the Germans against it.
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