Battle of Belgorod
Encyclopedia
The Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation (23 July – 14 August 1943) was a combat operation executed as part of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev
by the Red Army
against the Wehrmacht
forces. It was one of the operations that followed the Battle of Kursk
.
, German armored units south of the Kursk salient failed to penetrate the defences between the Voronezh
and Steppe Front
s in the Belgorod
sector. The Red Army's Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev
followed Operation Citadel and included as its objectives the immediate liberation of Belgorod
, assigned to the Voronezh
and Steppe Front
s. On July 23, German forces of the XI Army Corps
returned to their old, well fortified positions on both sides of Belgorod
. Their combat strength had been reduced by as much as 50% following the Battle.
and Steppe Front
s advancing on a wide front between Sumy
and Volchansk
(175 km), crossed the Vorskla river
& quickly penetrated the defences of the 332nd Infantry Division & 167th Infantry Division to a depth of 100 km between Tomarovka & Belgorod
on the northern flank, and as far as Bogodukhov sweeping aside the weakened 19th Panzer Division
. By 5 August Belgorod
which was defended by XI Armeecorps
(Raus) was also being surrounded and isolated, requiring attempts by the German Armeeabteilung Kempf
and 4th Panzerarmee Armies to relieve the garrison which was ordered by Hitler to defend the city. General Raus
explains: Germany had an initial strength of 60,000 men, including 18,000 Hitlerjugend. While the German intention was to "pinch off" the Red Army's offensive thrust at the base of the penetration between Borisovka and Grayvoron
south of Vorskla river
, the rapid tempo of the Steppe
and Voronezh Front
s offensive meant that by the time the counter-attacks were executed the city had been evacuated on 6 August, and German forces were now defending Kharkov. The Wehrmacht's Mobile Forces were heading into an encounter with the main thrust of the Soviet Front tank armies. The German counter-attacks were carried out by the III Panzercorps of the Armeeabteilung "Kempf"
in the Olshany area, and the XLVIII Panzercorps of the 4th Panzerarmee in the two-pincer manoeuvre of the Krasnokutsk and Akhtyrka areas. In the fighting that took place on both sides of the Merla & Merchik rivers, the superiority of the German Panzer Divisions was clearly evident, in spite of being involved in combat operations continuously since the 5th of July. Whilst 5th SS Panzer Division 'Wiking' & 3rd Panzer Division conducted primarily defensive operations, 2nd SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich'
, 3rd SS Panzer Division 'Totenkopf' repeatedly blunted attacks of Soviet elements south of the rivers and Bogodukhov. As at Prokhorovka
, the Russians enjoyed tremendous numerical superiority in tanks. Both 1st Tank Army & 5th Guards Tank Army began the operations with over 500 tanks each, while the SS Divisions never had more than about 30-50 tanks each at any time during August. in spite of this, all Soviet attempts to penetrate to the railroad line were repulsed with bloody losses in men and tremendous loss in tanks. Katukov's 1st Tank Army thrusts south of the Merchik were repeatedly cut off & destroyed by III Panzercorps. The attempts by Rotmistrov's 5th Guards Tank Army Army to penetrate to the rail line from east of Bogodukhov were frustrated by 3rd Panzer Division & 'Wiking', with key defensive fighting by elements of 'Das Reich'
. 'Totenkopf' executed a masterful attack that cut off elements of infantry and armour from the 27th Army & 6th Guards Army south of Krasnokutsk and then rolled down the line of supply toward Kolomak, south of Konstantinovka. Subsequent attacks encircled disorganized elements of several Russian Divisions and destroyed major portions of them after brief fighting. Subsequently 'Totenkopf' drove to the Merla & forced a crossing of that river and linked up with 4th Panzerarmee spearheads at Parchomovka. However Großdeutschland
was forced to withdraw from that town by Soviet pressure on its Northern flank, & this success could not be followed up.
After Belgorod
was retaken on 6 August 1943 by the Steppe Front
's 69th and 7th Guards Armies
, following its evacuation,the way was now clear for the concentration of forces for the liberation of Kharkiv
.
Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev
Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev was a code name for the Belgorod-Kharkov Strategic Offensive Operation conducted by the Red Army between 3 August 1943 and 23 August 1943 against the Wehrmacht's 4th Panzer Army and Army Group Kempf during World War II. The operation was conducted by the Voronezh...
by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
against the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
forces. It was one of the operations that followed the Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
.
Prelude
During the Battle of KurskBattle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
, German armored units south of the Kursk salient failed to penetrate the defences between the Voronezh
Voronezh Front
The Voronezh Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River....
and Steppe Front
Steppe Front
The Steppe Front and later the 2nd Ukrainian Front was a Front , effectively an Army group sized formation, of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
s in the Belgorod
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
sector. The Red Army's Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev
Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev
Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev was a code name for the Belgorod-Kharkov Strategic Offensive Operation conducted by the Red Army between 3 August 1943 and 23 August 1943 against the Wehrmacht's 4th Panzer Army and Army Group Kempf during World War II. The operation was conducted by the Voronezh...
followed Operation Citadel and included as its objectives the immediate liberation of Belgorod
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
, assigned to the Voronezh
Voronezh Front
The Voronezh Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River....
and Steppe Front
Steppe Front
The Steppe Front and later the 2nd Ukrainian Front was a Front , effectively an Army group sized formation, of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
s. On July 23, German forces of the XI Army Corps
XI Army Corps (Germany)
-Commanders:* Artillery General Emil Leeb, 1 September 1939 – 1 March 1940* Infantry General Joachim von Kortzfleisch, 1 March 1940 – 6 October 1941...
returned to their old, well fortified positions on both sides of Belgorod
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
. Their combat strength had been reduced by as much as 50% following the Battle.
The Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation
Early on 3 August 1943, the Forces of the VoronezhVoronezh Front
The Voronezh Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River....
and Steppe Front
Steppe Front
The Steppe Front and later the 2nd Ukrainian Front was a Front , effectively an Army group sized formation, of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
s advancing on a wide front between Sumy
Sumy
* 1897 - 70.53% Ukrainians, 24.1% Russians, 2.6% Jewish, 2.67% others* 1926 - 80.7% Ukrainians, 11.8% Russians, 5.5% Jewish, 2% others* 1959 - 79% Ukrainians, 20% Russians, 1% others...
and Volchansk
Volchansk
Volchansk is a town under the administrative jurisdiction of the Town of Karpinsk in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volchanka River , north of Yekaterinburg...
(175 km), crossed the Vorskla river
Vorskla River
The Vorskla River , located in Russia and northeastern Ukraine, is a south-flowing tributary of the Dnieper River.An ancient fort, thought to be Gelonos, is on the Vorskla south of Okhtyrka. In 1399, the Battle of the Vorskla River was fought in the area...
& quickly penetrated the defences of the 332nd Infantry Division & 167th Infantry Division to a depth of 100 km between Tomarovka & Belgorod
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
on the northern flank, and as far as Bogodukhov sweeping aside the weakened 19th Panzer Division
19th Panzer Division (Germany)
The German 19th Panzer Division was created from the 19th Infantry Division and was formed on 1 November 1940.In July 1941 it moved to the central sector of the Eastern front until December 1942 when it was transferred south...
. By 5 August Belgorod
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
which was defended by XI Armeecorps
XI Army Corps (Germany)
-Commanders:* Artillery General Emil Leeb, 1 September 1939 – 1 March 1940* Infantry General Joachim von Kortzfleisch, 1 March 1940 – 6 October 1941...
(Raus) was also being surrounded and isolated, requiring attempts by the German Armeeabteilung Kempf
German Army Detachment Kempf
German Army Detachment Kempf ' was a Wehrmacht formation on the Eastern Front during World War II. Part of Army Group South, Detachment Kempf saw action during Operation Citadel , the German attempt to cut off the Kursk salient and crush the large part of the Russian army...
and 4th Panzerarmee Armies to relieve the garrison which was ordered by Hitler to defend the city. General Raus
Erhard Raus
Erhard Raus was a Austrian Colonel General during World War II. He commanded the 6th Panzer Division during the early years of the war on the Eastern Front before taking Army and Army Group commands....
explains: Germany had an initial strength of 60,000 men, including 18,000 Hitlerjugend. While the German intention was to "pinch off" the Red Army's offensive thrust at the base of the penetration between Borisovka and Grayvoron
Grayvoron
Grayvoron is a town and the administrative center of Grayvoronsky District in Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the shores of the Vorskla River and Grayvoronka Rivers). Population:...
south of Vorskla river
Vorskla River
The Vorskla River , located in Russia and northeastern Ukraine, is a south-flowing tributary of the Dnieper River.An ancient fort, thought to be Gelonos, is on the Vorskla south of Okhtyrka. In 1399, the Battle of the Vorskla River was fought in the area...
, the rapid tempo of the Steppe
Steppe Front
The Steppe Front and later the 2nd Ukrainian Front was a Front , effectively an Army group sized formation, of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
and Voronezh Front
Voronezh Front
The Voronezh Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River....
s offensive meant that by the time the counter-attacks were executed the city had been evacuated on 6 August, and German forces were now defending Kharkov. The Wehrmacht's Mobile Forces were heading into an encounter with the main thrust of the Soviet Front tank armies. The German counter-attacks were carried out by the III Panzercorps of the Armeeabteilung "Kempf"
German Army Detachment Kempf
German Army Detachment Kempf ' was a Wehrmacht formation on the Eastern Front during World War II. Part of Army Group South, Detachment Kempf saw action during Operation Citadel , the German attempt to cut off the Kursk salient and crush the large part of the Russian army...
in the Olshany area, and the XLVIII Panzercorps of the 4th Panzerarmee in the two-pincer manoeuvre of the Krasnokutsk and Akhtyrka areas. In the fighting that took place on both sides of the Merla & Merchik rivers, the superiority of the German Panzer Divisions was clearly evident, in spite of being involved in combat operations continuously since the 5th of July. Whilst 5th SS Panzer Division 'Wiking' & 3rd Panzer Division conducted primarily defensive operations, 2nd SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich'
2nd SS Division Das Reich
The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich was a Waffen-SS division during World War II. It is considered to be an elite formation amongst the thirty-eight divisions fielded by the Waffen-SS....
, 3rd SS Panzer Division 'Totenkopf' repeatedly blunted attacks of Soviet elements south of the rivers and Bogodukhov. As at Prokhorovka
Prokhorovka
Prokhorovka is an urban locality and the administrative center of Prokhorovsky District of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located along the Psyol River southwest of the city of Kursk. Population:...
, the Russians enjoyed tremendous numerical superiority in tanks. Both 1st Tank Army & 5th Guards Tank Army began the operations with over 500 tanks each, while the SS Divisions never had more than about 30-50 tanks each at any time during August. in spite of this, all Soviet attempts to penetrate to the railroad line were repulsed with bloody losses in men and tremendous loss in tanks. Katukov's 1st Tank Army thrusts south of the Merchik were repeatedly cut off & destroyed by III Panzercorps. The attempts by Rotmistrov's 5th Guards Tank Army Army to penetrate to the rail line from east of Bogodukhov were frustrated by 3rd Panzer Division & 'Wiking', with key defensive fighting by elements of 'Das Reich'
2nd SS Division Das Reich
The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich was a Waffen-SS division during World War II. It is considered to be an elite formation amongst the thirty-eight divisions fielded by the Waffen-SS....
. 'Totenkopf' executed a masterful attack that cut off elements of infantry and armour from the 27th Army & 6th Guards Army south of Krasnokutsk and then rolled down the line of supply toward Kolomak, south of Konstantinovka. Subsequent attacks encircled disorganized elements of several Russian Divisions and destroyed major portions of them after brief fighting. Subsequently 'Totenkopf' drove to the Merla & forced a crossing of that river and linked up with 4th Panzerarmee spearheads at Parchomovka. However Großdeutschland
Großdeutschland Division
The Großdeutschland Division was an elite Heer combat unit of the Wehrmacht. The Großdeutschland was considered to be the premier unit of the German Army and as such it was one of best-equipped unit of the German Armed Forces, receiving equipment before all other units.- Early history -...
was forced to withdraw from that town by Soviet pressure on its Northern flank, & this success could not be followed up.
Aftermath
Combined deaths during the operation are over 72,000. Germany lost about 20,000 men, among them were 6,000 Hitlerjugend.After Belgorod
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
was retaken on 6 August 1943 by the Steppe Front
Steppe Front
The Steppe Front and later the 2nd Ukrainian Front was a Front , effectively an Army group sized formation, of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
's 69th and 7th Guards Armies
7th Guards Army
The Red Army's 7th Guards Army was re-designated from the Soviet 64th Army on April 16, 1943.64th Army had originally been formed from 1st Reserve Army in July 1942, and alongside the 62nd Army, fought the German offensive during the Battle of Stalingrad to a standstill, for which it was raised to...
, following its evacuation,the way was now clear for the concentration of forces for the liberation of Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
.