"As the German attack on Moscow, Russia was thwarted, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin called for a major counteroffensive. His closest advisers disagreed and urged for a more defensive posture, thus Stalin held back his demands, only calling for local offensives rather than attacks on the entire front. In mid-Mar 1942, Soviet commanders introduced preliminary plans for an offensive toward the Ukrainian city of Kharkov to be led by Marshal Semyon Timoshenko. Troops began to build up in the region for this attack through the beginning of May 1942, and by 11 May, six armies supported by various independent rifle, tank, and cavalry units gathered. The Soviet strength for the offensive was about 640,000 men, supported by 1,500 tanks and 1,000 aircraft. Poor management by front line officers, however, failed to maintain the necessary degree of secrecy, and German intelligence was able to determine that a Soviet offensive was being planned.
ww2dbaseTo their west, the German 6th Army under General Friedrich Paulus had also been preparing for an offensive south of Kharkov code named Operation Fridericus; the order for the offensive was given on 30 Apr 1942, calling for the operation to begin around 18 May. Due to the intelligence of a possible Soviet offensive, troops were readied in nearby regions for support should an attack take place. German strength in the general area was about 300,000 men, supported by 1,000 tanks and 1,500 aircraft.
ww2dbaseOn 12 May, the Russians struck first. At 0630 hours, an hour of artillery bombardment began, with the final 20 minutes joined by aircraft. At 0730 hours, the ground offensive began, meeting tough German defense from the start. By the end of the first day, the deepest penetration achieved by Soviet troops was merely 10 kilometers. Soviet generals realized that poor intelligence prior to operation led them to misjudge German strength in the region, which was twice as strong as they originally expected; part of that German advantage was possibly due to the Germans detected a possible Soviet attack, thus had bolstered strength at strategic locations. By the end of 14 May, both sides had suffered serious casualties. On the German side, the German 6th Army saw 16 of its battalions nearly wiped out, while the Soviet troops were so battered that the field generals determined that they must switch to a defensive posture for several hours to regroup…"
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