Studies into maneuver warfare have traditionally focused on offensive operations where the tactical level of warfare and combined arms have been the focus of inquiry. The basis of this study is instead on the defensive operations of the battles of Kharkov 1943 and Kharkiv 2022, both of which are studied on an operational level, with the research question centered on finding the differences in defensive maneuver warfare between two different inter-state conflicts; the Second World War, and the Russo-Ukrainian War.
The aim of the study is to increase the understanding of defensive operations through the application of Robert Leonhard’s theory on maneuver warfare on the different battles, by comparing the two case studies against each other.
The study concludes that there exist differences between the two cases, with the case from 2022 not containing any mentions of preemptive actions. Lastly, the author makes the conclusion that preemptive actions in defensive operations are much harder to achieve in contemporary conflicts due to the increased usage of intelligence gathering.