A. BACKGROUND.In early 1943, the German Wehrmacht faced a crisis as Soviet forces surrounded and reduced the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad and extended their winter campaign toward the Don River. On February 2, 1943, Sixth Army commanders surrendered and the Red Army captured approximately 90,000 men. Total German losses at the Battle of Stalingrad, not including prisoners, were between 120,000 and 150,000. Throughout 1942, German losses numbered around 1.9 million troops, and at At the beginning of 1943, the Wehrmacht was short of around 470,000 men on the Eastern Front. On February 2, 1943, the Red Army launched Operation Star, threatening to recapture the cities of Belgorod, Kharkov and Kursk. On February 16, the Soviets retook Kharkov, south of Kursk. Soviet forces had begun their offensive with the aim of liberating Ukraine and destroying German forces in the Orel Salient, crossing the Desna River and encircling and destroying German Army Group Center. The Soviets were confident because they already had the German Sixth Army trapped in the Stalingrad pocket. Along with Operation Star, the Soviets also launched Operation Gallop south of Star, pushing the Germans back from the Donets, taking Voroshilovgrad and Izium, further worsening the German situation. At that time, the Stavka believed that it could decide the war in southern Russia, hoping for complete victory. Despite Hitler's orders to hold the city, German forces abandoned Kharkov and the Red Army retook the city on February 16. Hitler immediately went to von Manstein's headquarters in Zaporizhia. Von Manstein informed him that an immediate counterattack on Kharkov would be futile, but that he could succeed...... middle of paper ...... Works CitedFlames of War, The Eastern Front, The Third Battle of Kharkov http: //www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=112&art_id=544&kb_cat_id=34 WWII Database, The Third Battle of Kharkov http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id =39 Military forum, to discuss armed forces forces, military history, weapons and related topics, The Third Battle of Kharkov. http://www.militar.org.ua/foro/manstein-y-la-3-batalla-de-jarkov-t14643.html Historynet.com, Kharkov 1943 http://www.historynet.com/backhand-blow -kharkov-1943.htm Taringa Collective Intelligence, Third Battle of Kharkov, World War II http://www.taringa.net/posts/info/3036662/Jarkov---Tercera-Batalla-2-GM.html Eurasia 1945, World War II, Battle of Kharkov 1943 http://www.eurasia1945.com/batallas/contienda/batalla-de-kharkov/ Wikipedia, The Third Battle of Kharkov.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Kharkov