The German 6th Army needed to take the city in order to close the widening gap between the 4th Panzer Group and the 17th Army. By 20 October the Germans had reached the western edge of the city, and the city was taken by the 57th Infantry Division by 24 October. By that time, however, most of Kharkov’s industrial equipment had been evacuated or rendered useless by the Red Army!
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