Velikaya Bereka, 50km SSE of Kharkov, 12 May 1942: The initial attack in the southern sector was carried out by Lt-Gen Gorodniansky's 6th Army, that was massed on the northwest corner of the 'Izyum Bulge'. Its task was to smash through the German and Hungarian defense line and drive northwest to Velikaya Bereka while opening a hole for the Tank Corps in the second wave to pass through and continue the push north to Kharkov itself. [450 sq Km – 7 Turns]

Veseloe, 32km NE of Kharkov, May 15th,1942: The 13th Guards Rifle Division were in the thick of the battle again. The day before they had to contend with fierce assaults from 3rd Panzer Division, and now 3rd Panzer was on the offensive again. This time they were smashing the 244th Rifle Division on the right flank. The command post of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment was located in a thicket with the artillery battalion of Captain Ivan Il'ich Krikly. Krikly's men and the entire 42nd were to have their work cut out for them on this day. [250 sq Km - Length: 6 turns]

Slavyansk, 90km SE of Kharkov, May 17th, 1942: The failure of Russian Intelligence to identify the mass of mobile German forces staging for Operation Friderikus was certainly one of the causes for the military disaster at Kharkov in early summer of 1942. This event was compounded by 9th Army HQ squandering the only available reserves in attacks in the Maiaki area. "WHAT IF" the Russians had detected the movement of the German Panzers poised to strike? "WHAT IF" the Russians had not squandered those reserves? This scenario examines these "WHAT IF" situations using a historical Axis placement, but allowing a Soviet deployment in anticipation of the German attack. For the complete historical version of this scenario, see #20-Slavyansk or for the full Operation Friderikus see scenario #18. [7000 sq Km - 30 Turns]

**WINTER(3x Night turns) - Barvenkovo, 125km SE of Kharkov, January 22nd, 1942: Initially, the Russian Winter Offensive of 1941-42 was the one that stopped the German offense on Moscow. This success lead the Soviets to consider other options in regards to recovering the ground lost in the previous summer. One such operation took place here, near Kharkov where the Germans were weak and lulled into thinking the Russians had spent all their forces in the (Operation Typhoon) winter offensive around Moscow. On January 1st, the Russian attack began in this quiet sector, and luckily for the German 17th Army, the Offense was conducted in a piecemeal fashion. The Russian 57th Army made steady progress but the Germans managed to form a new defense line from Laager/strongpoints by fortifying towns. On Jan 22nd, Marshal S. K. Timoshenko, the Russian Commander, sent in the Cavalry to break the line. Three Corps strong they attacked with the goal to penetrate the German lines, driving deep into the rear. It was this operation which was destined to be the "Birth of the Bulge" that later would become the focal point for the disastrous summer offensive at Kharkov. To this end, the 5th Cavalry Corps was ordered to take Barvenkovo and continue driving south. *Designers Note: In Winter, map may be more clear using "View | Map Contours" ON & "Settings | Hex Outlines" OFF. Also, a special Thanks to Mike Avanzini for his research assistance on this scenario. [1800 sq Km – 26 Turns]

Chuguev, 35km E of Kharkhov, May 16th, 1942: By the fifth day of the Soviet offense, the Germans had gradually weakened their defenses in the Chuguev salient in an effort to stop the Russian thrust in the north at Staryy Saltov. Indeed only up to 10 infantry battalions remained on the 60km front opposite the 199th and 304th Rifle Divisions. Furthermore, there were no Axis armored units in the area. The Soviet 38th Army on the north side of the salient had the fresh 114th Tank Brigade plus its own army reserves. To the south of the salient, the 6th Army had not yet committed the 21st or 23rd Tank Corps." WHAT IF" the Russians had recognised this opportunity and had taken the chance of committing their second echelon, plus their reserves, in a charge towards Chuguev and Zmiev creating their own pocket. [4500 sq Km – 24 Turns]