On the Eastern Front of World War II, the Second Battle of Kharkov was a May 1942 attempt by the Soviet Union to recapture the Ukrainian city of Kharkov from the Germans.
The attack failed; by the end of the month the Germans had regained all lost ground, and captured almost 200,000 Soviet prisoners as well. It was the first victory in the battlefield by General der Panzertruppen Friedrich Paulus, commander of the German Sixth Army.
The Second Battle of Kharkov was the prelude of "Operation Blue", aimed at the conquest of Caucasus petroleum and destruction of Soviet forces at Southern front, but which ended with the Battle of Stalingrad, disastrous to Axis Powers.
See also: Third Battle of Kharkov
