KHARKOV 1942

Champs de Bataille collection Vol. 1

"What happened in May 1942 in the steppe around Kharkov, in Ukraine?

The Red Army launched an offensive that ended in enormous disaster. The Germans were once again the stronger force! But lessons would be learned, and this would prove to be the last great disaster for Stalin's troops.

The work Kharkov 1942 describes, analyses, and explains in detail this enormous confrontation whose outcome was in truth unpredictable. The keys to the battle, set within the broader context of the spring 1942 campaign and the entire German-Soviet war, are provided to the reader alongside a colour map section that will help them follow the day-by-day course of events.

A final section sets out the consequences of this Soviet defeat, examines how historians — both East and West — have accounted for it, and traces its memorial legacy in present-day Ukraine and Russia.

The writing is fluent, always grounded in first-hand German and Russian sources. Such are the hallmarks of this new "Champs de bataille" collection. A lively text, intelligent contextualisation, an irreproachable historical method, and a search for the long-term resonance of the event.

The objective? Nothing less than the renewal of battle history — a favourite of the general public but one long overdue for a fresh approach.