After failing to finish off the German Army in the 1941/42 Winter Counter offensive Stalin directed the Red Army to conduct a powerful blow in one sector of the Eastern Front in order to disrupt German plans. The sector chosen was Kharkov. Under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko the Stavkas remaining reserves were assembled & prepared to conduct a breakthrough attack intended to encircle the German Sixth Army near Kharkov. However Stalin was unaware that the Germans were planning their own riposte at Kharkov known as Operation Fredericus. When Timoshenko began his offensive in May 1942 he did not realize the limitations of his own forces or the agility of the Germans to recover from setbacks all of which contributed to one of the Red Army greatest defeats of World War II. This volume will pay particular attention to intelligence & logistics issues as well as how this campaign served as a prelude to the battle of Stalingrad. It will also focus on the nascent development of the Red Armys tank corps & deep battle tactics as well as the revival of the German Panzertruppen after Barbarossa.