 Manstein came to the conclusion that Germany could not defeat Russia in a traditional static defensive system used in World War I and that the only chance to achieve a draw was to wear down the Russian army in costly mobile battles.Manstein formulated a plan for the summer of 1943 where he argued all mechanized forces should be deployed south of Kharkov and await the Russian summer offensive which was believed to be aimed at capturing the Donetz Basin.The mechanized force would launch an offensive south to the Sea of Azov once the Basin had been captured by the Russians.