Battle of Belgorod

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (October 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation

Part of the Eastern Front of World War II

Date	Early August 1943
Location	Belgorod
Result	Soviet victory

Belligerents

Axis

Soviet Union

Commanders

Strength

Casualties and losses

v • d • e

Eastern Front

Barbarossa – Baltic Sea – Black Sea – Finland – Leningrad and Baltics – Crimea and Caucasus – Moscow – 1st Rzhev-Vyazma – 2nd Kharkov – Blue – Stalingrad – Velikiye Luki – 2nd Rzhev-Sychevka – Kursk – 2nd Smolensk – Dnieper – 2nd Kiev – Battle of Narva – Korsun – Hube's Pocket – Baltic – Bagration – Lvov-Sandomierz – Lublin-Brest – Balkans (Iassy-Kishinev) – Budapest – Vistula-Oder – East Prussia – East Pomerania – Silesia – Vienna – Berlin – Prague

Battle of Kursk

Kursk – Kutuzov – Prokhorovka – Polkovodets Rumyantsev – Belgorod – 4th Kharkov

The Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation (3 August 1943 - 23 August 1943) was an operation conducted as part of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev between the Red Army and Wehrmacht forces. It was one of the operations that followed the Battle of Kursk.

1 Prelude
2 The Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation
3 Aftermath
4 References
5 Sources

[edit] Prelude

During the battle of Kursk, German armored units south of the Kursk salient failed to penetrate the defences between the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts in the Belgorod sector on July 8. The Red Army Belgorod-Kharkov Strategic Counter-offensive Operation (Operation Rumyantsev) following the German Operation Citadel and included as its objectives the immediate liberation of Belgorod assigned to the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts.

[edit] The Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation

The Forces of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts advancing on a wide front between Sumy and Volchansk (175km), quickly isolated Belgorod, an penetrated German defences to a depth of 65km on the northern flan as far as Bogodukhov. By 23 August Kharkov was also being surrounded and isolated, requiring attempts by the German 8th and 4th Panzer Armies to relieve the Belgorod garrison which was ordered by Hitler to defend the city. While the German intention was to "pinched off" Red Army's offensive thrust at the base of the penetration between Borisovka and Graivoron south of River Vorskla, the rapid tempo of the Steppe and Southwestern Fronts offensive meant that by the time the counter-attacks were executed on the 18 - 23 August rather than the intended 11 - 15 August time, the German units were heading into an encounter with the main thrust of the Soviet Fronts. The German counterattacks were carried out by the XI Army Corps and III Panazer Corps of the 8th Army in the Olshany area, and the XXXXVII and XXXXVIII Panzer Corps of the 4th Panzer Army in the two-pincer manoeuvre of the Krasnokutsk and Akhtyrka areas.

Owing to the German armored units engagement of Red Army armoured units in an encounter battles rather than the expected flank penetrations, they were overwhelmed and defeated by the mass of relatively fresh Soviet forces, three Air Armies and artillery support from 3,000 guns on a 50km front, with the Luftflotte 4 completely outnumbered. This caused Army Group South to abandon attempts to relieve the Belgorod garrison, and concentrate on extricating that of the Kharkov.

[edit] Aftermath

Combined deaths during the operation are over 72,000.^{[citation needed]} After Belgorod was retaken on 9 February by the Voronezh Front's 40th, 69th and 7th Guards Armies, the way was clear for concentration of forces for liberation of Kharkov.