Kharkiv is currently the second largest city in Ukraine, and in fact the city was once the capital of Ukraine. Of course, at that time, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, so Kharkiv was only the capital in the exercise of its duties.
The Russian-Ukrainian war has been going on for more than 2 years, and Kharkiv has actually become the target of the Russian army's key offensive at the beginning of the war. There are several main reasons:
- First, Kharkiv is located right next to the Russian border and is a major front.
- Second, if the Russian army wants to attack Kyiv, the march to Kharkov has become a very important route.
- Third, although Kharkiv Oblast is located in eastern Ukraine, there are obviously not as many pro-Russian forces as the four eastern regions of Ukraine, so it has become a key target of the Russian army.
- Fourth, Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine and the center of heavy industry in Ukraine.
In February 2022, Russian forces briefly invaded Kharkiv Oblast, and in March claimed to have captured the city of Izyum. By September 2022, the Ukrainian army launched a full-scale counteroffensive in the north and regained Kharkiv Oblast in one fell swoop. It was not until May 2024 that the Russian army launched a new offensive against Kharkiv Oblast again. There is no way, it is close, and it is a strategic place, if you don't fight this place, where is it more appropriate for you to let the Russian army start?
In fact, Kharkiv is famous in world history, especially during the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union, 4 Kharkiv battles, once made the Soviet Union defeat into victory in World War II.
In the first Battle of Kharkov, the German army successfully entered the city
On June 22, 1941, the German army launched the Barbarossa Plan and began to launch an onslaught against the Soviet Union. At that time, the German army was mainly divided into three parts, namely Army Group North, Army Group Center, and Army Group South.
The division of labor among the three army groups varied, with Army Group North totaling 29 divisions, mainly for the capture of Leningrad. Army Group Center, consisting of 51 divisions, headed straight for Moscow. Army Group South, with its 63 divisions, was the most well-armed, and its goal was to capture Kyiv, advance into the South Russian steppes, and eventually annex the oil-rich Caucasus.
On the surface, the attack on Army Group Center in Moscow seems to be the top priority, but in fact, Army Group South's combat mission is more pragmatic. Because Moscow is, after all, the nest of the Soviet Union, it will naturally be heavily guarded, and it will definitely not be able to defeat it for a while.
You can't become a fat man by eating in one bite, Germany's intention is very clear, to take the Soviet Union's granary Ukraine, as well as the oil base of the Caucasus, these strategic materials are in hand, and then fight a war of attrition with the Soviet Union, the confidence will be much more sufficient.
The First Battle of Kharkov took place precisely in the course of the advance of the German Army Group South into the southern part of the Soviet Union. During this period, the Soviet Union was not prepared at all, so even in a large industrial city like Kharkiv, there were not many people left.
At that time, the Soviets knew that they could not hold Kharkov, so they only had sporadic battles with the Germans here, and their main job was to dismantle the local industrial equipment and transport it to the rear by train.
Therefore, this battle, as a tailwind for the German army, has almost no suspense. After divisional fighting, the Soviets hastily withdrew, and Kharkov was captured by the Germans in October 1941.
In the second Battle of Kharkov, the Soviet troops suffered heavy losses
Moscow is important, but Ukraine is also important, and this is one thing that both the Soviet Union and Germany are very clear. Therefore, although the Soviet Union must keep Leningrad and Moscow, it definitely does not want to give up Ukraine.
In May 1942, the Soviet Union launched a campaign to retake Kharkov. Only by recovering Kharkov first can we pass through here, march to Dnepropetrovsk, and thus recover Ukraine.
For this purpose, the USSR sent the Southwestern Front to take charge of assault missions, and the Southern Front to defend the flanks of the Southwestern Front. The German forces in Kharkov were the Sixth Army.
Originally, the Soviet army had made a full plan to march, but after learning that Zmiyov had a German armored heavy army, the Soviet army slowed down and missed the best fighter.
By the time the Soviets reacted, the German reserves had already been transferred. At the beginning of the battle, the Soviet army planned to make dumplings for the German army in Kharkiv, but as soon as the battle began, the German army had the opportunity to counter-pack the Soviet dumplings, and the German army had the air force as an auxiliary, which could be described as twice the result with half the effort.
At the same time, the flank of the Soviet army was also attacked by the Germans, and the Southern Front of the Soviet Army could not guarantee the security of the flank of the main Soviet army at all. Therefore, after a day of fighting, the Soviet army faced severe challenges in terms of communication and material supply.
The Soviet army, which wanted to fight a blitzkrieg, had to find a way to break through, but it was too late. The Germans had already formed an encirclement of the main Soviet forces, and the Soviet troops had failed miserably in several breakouts.
By the time the Second Battle of Kharkiv was fought on May 25, 240,000 Soviet troops had been captured, with 75,000 killed and only 22,000 successful. On the German side, on the other hand, only more than 20,000 people were killed or wounded.
Having lost the battle, it is logically impossible to take the initiative to admit it. However, in order to call on all countries in the world to strengthen assistance to the Soviet Union as soon as possible, the Soviet Union took the initiative to admit the fiasco of this battle.
In the third battle of Kharkov, the Soviet army lost 52 divisions
In January 1943, the Soviet army entered a counteroffensive period, and after two victories, the Soviet army tore a hole in the defense of the German army in the Kharkov direction. During the Soviet counteroffensive, they recovered large areas of lost territory, including Belgorod, Kharkiv, and Kursk, and had a great possibility of completely driving the German army out of Ukraine.
In February, the German commander was replaced by Manstein, and this macho man took the Soviet army by surprise as soon as he came up. He concentrated the forces of 10 divisions and directly outflanked the Soviet flank.
At that time, the Soviet army thought that it could recover the whole of Ukraine because of its initial victory, so it invisibly stretched the battle line. Therefore, the Germans outflanked and won a complete victory, directly losing the three Soviet armies, and recapturing Kharkov and Belgorod at the same time.
The Soviet army was defeated and frantically retreated, losing a total of 52 divisions. Had it not been for the Severodonets River blocking it, and the arrival of reinforcements, which gave the Soviets the opportunity to deploy on the other side of the river, the gains of the Battle of Stalingrad might have been lost.
Some historians speculate that if Manstein had not won the Battle of Kharkov, then Germany's Army Group South would have been completely wiped out in advance. The whole of Ukraine will be recovered by the USSR in this year, and if this is the case, then Germany will probably have to announce its surrender 1 year in advance.
In the fourth battle of Kharkov, the Germans fled in a hurry
The failure to win the Battle of Stalingrad doomed the German army to defeat. It's just that in the process of failure, there was another episode, which allowed Manstein to show off his operation.
Therefore, the Third Battle of Kharkov actually did not affect the final outcome at all, but only delayed the defeat of the German army.
At that time, the Germans had already been defeated in Orel and Kursk, and they could only focus their defense on the Kharkov and Belgorod lines. If it is lost here, then the Soviet army will drive straight into and retake the whole of Ukraine.
To this end, the German army arranged 18 armored divisions and infantry divisions along the Kharkov-Belgorod line, and arranged fortifications 90 kilometers deep, especially north of Kharkiv, there are 5 deep fortifications. It is clear that the Germans intend to fight a protracted war with the Soviets here and force the Soviets to stop here.
However, the Soviet army at that time, both in terms of numbers and morale, was far superior to the German army at that time. Therefore, after more than 20 days of fierce fighting, the Soviet army successfully recaptured Kharkov at the cost of 250,000 casualties.
Kharkiv: Guilty of guilt
It is a city that has been baptized by artillery fire many times, and after World War II, Kharkiv was once named a hero city by the Soviet Union. Even though the vast majority of the heroes here have been dead for nine days in World War II.
Now, after more than 70 years of peace, Kharkiv is once again caught up in the flames of war, which is really embarrassing. After all, a strategic place is a strategic location, and if Russia wants to enter Kyiv, it must first take Kharkov. And if Ukraine wants to hold the capital, it must also hold Kharkov.
Kharkiv has once again become a battlefield of attrition for both sides. Therefore, in the end, it depends on who has the stronger strength behind it. The last time the Russian army attacked Kharkiv, it was completely in the way of blitzkrieg and a quick victory. This time, because they are "getting richer and richer the more they fight", they may feel that they have a thick foundation, and they are not afraid of a war of attrition.
They are currently fighting Kharkov, perhaps not to advance into Kyiv, but to relieve pressure on the four regions of eastern Ukraine and Crimea, after all, from their point of view, those places have become Russian territory.