First Battle of Kharkov

The 1st Battle of Kharkov so named by Wilhelm Keitel[3] was the 1941 tactical battle for the city of Kharkov
(now Kharkiv[4] ) (Ukrainian SSR) during the nal phase
of Operation Barbarossa between the German 6th Army
of Army Group South and the Soviet Southwestern Front.
The Soviet 38th Army was ordered to defend the city
while its factories were dismantled for relocation farther
east.

area is mastered then it would inevitably lead to the collapse of the entire Russian (sic - Soviet) economy[5] "

1.3 Population of Kharkov

Kharkov was one of the most populated Soviet cities during World War II. It was rated at 901,000 people on 1
May 1941. In September 1941 the population skyrocketed to one million 500 thousand people, due to multiple
evacuees from other cities. After multiple attacks and
many deaths, the population of Kharkov decreased to 180
190 thousand, which was the size after the liberation of
the city in August 1943.[6]

The German 6th Army needed to take the city in order to

close the widening gap between the 4th Panzer Group and
the 17th Army. By 20 October the Germans had reached
the western edge of the city, it was taken by the 57th Infantry Division by 24 October. By that time, however,
most of Kharkovs industrial equipment had been evacuated or rendered useless by the Red Army.

1.3.1 Jewish population

Kharkov was one of the most important Soviet centers
for the eeing Jewish population. According to records,
Kharkov had 10,271 people of Jewish ethnicity living in
the city, 75% of whom were women, children, and the
1.1 Kharkovs railroad system
elderly. After the battle, many of them were either transIn the autumn of 1941, Kharkov was considered one of ferred to concentration camps or executed.
the Soviets most important strategic bases for railroad
and airline connections. It not only connected the eastwest and north-south parts of Ukraine, but also several 2 Before the battle
central regions of the USSR including the Crimea, the
Caucasus, the Dnieper region, and Donbas.

1.2

Importance of Kharkov

Military importance

Kharkov was one of the largest industrial centers of the

Soviet Union. One of its greatest contributions was the
Soviet T-34 tank that was both designed and developed
at the Kharkov Tractor Factory. It was considered to be
the most powerful tank plant in the country. Other factories that were located in the city included the Kharkov
Aircraft Plant, Kharkov Plant of the NKVD (FED), and
the Kharkov Turbine Plant. Military products that were
in Kharkov before the battle started included: tanks, Su2, artillery tractors, 82 mm mortars, sub-machine guns,
ammunition, and other military equipment. The main objective for the German troops was to capture the railroad
and military plants, thus they desperately tried to keep the
industrial area of Kharkov intact. Adolf Hitler himself
stressed the importance of those military plants stating:
" The second in importance is south of Russia, particularly the Donets Basin, ranging from the Kharkov region.
There is the whole basis of [the] Russian economy; if the

The German advances made from 26 August to 5 December

1941

2.1 The aftermath of Kiev

After the Battle of Kiev Army Group Center was ordered
to redeploy its forces for the attack on Moscow, and so
1

3 COURSE OF THE BATTLE

the 2nd Panzer Group turned north towards Bryansk and

Kursk. Army Group South, and in particular Walther
von Reichenau's 6th Army and Carl-Heinrich von Stlpnagel's 17th Army took the place of the Panzer Divisions.
The main oensive formation of Army Group South,
Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist's 1st Panzer Group, was
in the meantime ordered south for a drive to Rostov-onDon and the Caucasian oilelds, following Fhrer Directive No. 35. The burden of processing Kievs 600.000
prisoners of war (POWs) fell upon the 6th and 17th
Armies, so while the 1st Panzer Group secured the German victory in the Battle of Melitopol, these two armies
spent the next three weeks regrouping.
Meanwhile, 'Stavka', (the Soviet High Command),
needed to stabilise its southern ank and poured reinforcements into the area between Kursk and Rostov, at the expense of its forces in front of Moscow.[7]
The Southwestern Front, which had been completely destroyed during the battle of Kiev, was re-established under the command of Marshal Semyon Timoshenko, one
of the more capable Red Army commanders. The 6th,
21st, 38th and 40th Armies were reconstituted almost
from scratch.

2.2

Approaching Kharkov

Soviet bunkers used in the defense of Kharkov

With the Battle of Moscow under way, the Germans

had to protect their anks, and on 6 October von Reichenau advanced through Sumy and Okhtyrka in the direction of Belgorod and Kharkov. On the same day, the
17th Army commenced its oensive from Poltava towards Lozova and Izyum to protect the lengthening ank
of the 1st Panzer Army (the renamed 1st Panzer Group).
The Southwestern Fronts 6th Army (commanded by
Rodion Malinovsky) and 38th Army (commanded by
Vladimir Tsiganov) failed to conduct a coordinated defense and were beaten back. In the lead up to the Battle
of Moscow, the Red Army suered a catastrophic defeat at Vyazma and Bryansk, suering 700,000 casualties. The few reserves available were desperately needed
to defend the Soviet capitol, and thus were unavailable
to Timoshenkos reconstituted Southwestern Front. With
no reserves to plug the breach, the Stavka was forced fall
back to Voronezh in order prevent a total collapse of the
southern ank.[8]
Although the main objectives of the German Army before winter fell were to capture Leningrad, Moscow and
the approaches to the Caucasian oilelds, Kharkov was
an important secondary objective. Besides the need to
protect the anks of its motorized spearheads, the OKH,
the German Army high command, (Oberkommando des
Heeres), also saw the importance of Kharkov as an industrial center and railroad hub. Capturing the city meant
that the Southwestern and Southern Front had to fall
back on Voronezh and Stalingrad as their major transport hubs. When, in the second week of October,[9] the
dirty weather of the Rasputitsa (the 'mud' season) and
the poor logistics in the area between the Dnepr and the
front, (all the bridges had collapsed during combat and
ice threatened the pontoons), caused the oensive to stall.
Hitler personally allocated resources from the 17th Army
to the 6th Army to ensure the capture of Kharkov. This,
however, weakened the 17th Armys eort to protect the
ank of the 1st Panzer Army and contributed to the German defeat at the Battle of Rostov.[10] After 17 October,
night frost improved the roads, but snow storms and the
cold started to hamper the Germans, who were insuciently equipped for winter operations (the German Army
had planned that Barbarossa would be over before winter
fell).

3 Course of the battle

3.1 Preparing to take the city

The German Army enters downtown Kharkov

The task of assaulting Kharkov itself was given to the

LV. Armeekorps commanded by General der Infanterie
Erwin Vierow. This corps had at its disposal the 101.
Leichte-Division, commanded by Generalleutnant Josef
Brauner von Haydringen coming in from the north, the
57. Infanterie-Division, commanded by Generalmajor
Anton Dostler coming in from the south, and the

3.3

Assault on the city (2324 October)

100. Leichte-Division, who did not take part in the

battle. Sturmgeschtz-Abteilung 197, commanded by
Hauptmann Kurt von Barisani had two of its three batteries attached to the 57. Infanterie-Division to provide
close re support during the assault.
For the defense of Kharkov, the 216th Rie Division had
been reformed there after its destruction at Kiev. It received little to no support from other divisions or from
higher command formations, because the 38th Army was
in the process of a strategic retreat and the defense of
Kharkov was only necessary as long as its factory equipment had not been completely evacuated.

3
serve. The rst battalion of the 229th Light Regiment
would protect the left ank of the 228th. The attack hour
was set at noon, in conjunction with the 57th Infantry Division.
At 11:00 hours, a liaison was established between the 85th
Artillery and the 228th Light Regiments. The artillery
was not ready at the time designated, so the attack had to
be postponed. In the meantime the anti-tank company,
who had been stuck in the mud at the rear, nally arrived
at the front and was ordered to assign one 37 mm AT-gun
platoon to every frontline battalion. At 14:25, the artillery
was ready and the attack hour was set at 15:00.

3.3 Assault on the city (2324 October)

The evacuation of industrial enterprises started before the
Germans had a chance to attack. By 20 October 1941
it was virtually completed. Three-hundred and twenty
trains were sent with the equipment from 70 major factories. Kharkov was taken by von Reichenaus 6th Army,
on 24 October 1941.

4 Occupation of Kharkov
German troops enter Kharkov from the west, crossing the main
railroad running through the city on the viaduct of Sverdlov
Street.[11]

3.2

Battles on the western edge of the city

(2023 October)

3.2.1

57th Infantry Division plus a Panzer Brigade

3.2.2

101st Light Division

By 21 October the 101st Light Division had reached a

line about six kilometers west of Kharkov. The 228th
Light Regiment spearheaded the division, its 1st and 3rd German armored vehicles in Kharkov
battalions taking up defensive positions on the front, with
the 2nd battalion in reserve. On 22 October the regiment
was ordered to conduct reconnaissance to determine the
enemys strength. That same day at noon the regiment
was attacked by a Soviet infantry battalion supported by
tanks. The attack was repulsed and two tanks were disabled. That night the recon information was transmitted
by radio to the Division HQ. The 216th Rie Division
had occupied the western edge of the city, with machine
gun nests, mortar pits and mineelds in place.
For the attack, the 3rd battalion (the regiments right
ank), was reinforced with two guns from the divisions
artillery, The 85th Artillery Regiment, a company of en- Sumskaya street in Kharkov, 25 October 1941
gineers and an 88 mm anti-aircraft gun. The 2nd battalion received the same reinforcements, but without the The city was subject to its rst occupation during the
AA gun. The 1st battalion acted as the regimental re- war, which lasted until 16 February 1943. The city

7 SOURCES

never became part of Reichskommissariat Ukraine because of its proximity to the front. The sta of the
LV Army Corps acted as the occupational authority, using 57.ID as an occupation force. Generalmajor Anton
Dostler was Stadtkommandant until 13 December, when
he was succeeded by Generalleutnant Alfred von Puttkamer, and Kharkov was transferred to the Heeresgebiet
of the 6thrmee and put under the joint authority of the
Stadtkommandant and Field Command 757.
German troops acting under the authority of the
Reichenau-Befehl of 10 October (eectively an order to
kill anybody associated with communism) terrorized the
population that was left after the battle. Many of the
Soviet commanders corpses were hung o balconies to
strike fear into the remaining population. Many people
began to ee, causing chaos.
In the early hours of 14 November, multiple buildings in
the city center were blown up by time-fuses left by the
retreating Red Army. Casualties included the commander (Generalleutnant Georg Braun) and sta of the 68th
Infantry Division. The Germans arrested some 200 civilians (mostly Jews) and hanged them from the balconies
of large buildings. Another 1,000 were taken as hostages
and interned in the Hotel International on Dzerzhinsky
Square. All of these war crimes were committed by frontline Heer commanders, and not by SS troops.[12]
On 14 December, the Stadtkommandant ordered the Jewish population to be concentrated in a hut settlement near
the Kharkov Tractor Factory. In two days, 20,000 Jews
were gathered there. Sonderkommando 4a, commanded
by SS-Standartenfhrer Paul Blobel, of Einsatzgruppe C
started shooting the rst of them in December, then continuing to kill them throughout January in a gas van. This
was a modied truck that tted 50 people in it; the van
drove around the city and slowly killed the people that
were trapped in it with carbon monoxide that was emitted
from the vehicle itself and channeled into an airtight compartment. The victims died by a combination of carbon
monoxide poisoning and suocation.[13][14]

Third Battle of Kharkov

6 References and footnotes

[1] According to Glantz 2001, p. 247-248, the strength of
the weakened Southwestern Front on 30 September was
147,110 men, mostly survivors from the battle of Kiev.
Renforcements sent after this date include several NKVD
divisions and brigades ghting as regular ground units.
[2] According to Glantz 2001, p. 248, the losses of the Southwestern Front from 30 September to 30 November numbered 96,509 men, including 75,720 irrecoverable (dead,
missing or captured) and 20,789 sick and wounded.
[3] see The memoirs of Field-Marshal Keitel. Edited with an
introduction and epilogue by Walter Gorlitz. Translated
by David Irving, William Kimber, London (1965)
[4] Kharkov is the Russian language name of the city
(Kharkiv the Ukrainian one); both Russian and
Ukrainian were ocial languages in the Soviet Union
(Source:Language Policy in the Soviet Union by L.A.
Grenoble & Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of
Independent States by Routledge)
[5] Memoir of Kharkivs History
[6] Kharkiv News
[7] Glantz 2001, p. 140.
[8] Glantz 2001, p. 151-152.
[9] Margry 2001, p. 5
[10] Kirchubel 2003, p. 76.
[11] Margry 2001, p.6
[12] Margry 2001, p. 8
[13] Ukrainian Historical Journal
[14] Margry 2001, p. 8-9

The German Army conscated large quantities of food [15]

to be used by its troops, creating acute shortages in the
Ukraine. By January 1942 around one-third of the cities
300,000 remaining inhabitants suered from starvation. 7
Many would die in the cold winter months.[15]

As a result of the battles in Kharkov, the city was left

in ruins. Dozens of architectural monuments were destroyed and numerous artistic treasures taken. One of
the Soviet Unionss best known authors, the ethnically

Russian Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, wrote: I saw

Kharkov. As if it were Rome in the 5th century. A huge

cemetery"

Margry 2001, p. 9

Sources
Chen, Peter (20042007).
First Battle of
Kharkov. World War II Database. Retrieved 200702-08.
First battle of Kharkov. Retrieved 14-08-2011
Glantz, David M. (2001). Before Stalingrad, Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-2692-3

Kharkiv News

See also
Second Battle of Kharkov

Kiessling, Hannes (20072011). Bericht ber

die Einnahme von Charkow, 57.Infanterie-Division.
Retrieved 14-08-2011

5
Kirchubel, Robert (2003). Operation Barbarossa
1941: Army Group South, Praeger Publishers. ISBN
0-275-98282-3
Margry, Karel (February 2001). Kharkov, After
The Battle, Issue 112, p. 345
Memoir of Kharkivs History
Ukrainian Historical Journal

External links

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

Text

First Battle of Kharkov Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Kharkov?oldid=659521908 Contributors: Cherkash, DJ

Clayworth, Wwoods, Irpen, Axeman89, TaivoLinguist, Valip, Kirill Lokshin, Manxruler, Black Falcon, SmackBot, Roger Davies, Hmains,
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