Belgorod–Kharkov offensive operation
The Belgorod–Kharkov strategic offensive operation, or simply Belgorod–Kharkov offensive operation, was a Soviet strategic summer offensive that aimed to recapture Belgorod and Kharkov, and destroy Nazi German forces of the 4th Panzer Army and Army Detachment Kempf. The operation was codenamed Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev (Russian: Полководец Румянцев), after the 18th-century Field Marshal Peter Rumyantsev and was conducted by the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts (army groups) in the southern sector of the Kursk Bulge. The battle was referred to as the Fourth Battle of Kharkov (German: Vierte Schlacht bei Charkow) by the Germans.[7][8]
The operation began in the early hours of 3 August 1943, with the objective of following up the successful Soviet defensive effort in the Battle of Kursk. The offensive was directed against the German Army Group South's northern flank. By 23 August, the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts had recaptured Kharkov. It was the last time that Kharkov changed hands during the Soviet-German War. The operation led to the retreat of the German forces in Ukraine behind the Dnieper River and set the stage for the Battle of Kiev in autumn 1943.
Aftermath[edit]
By re-establishing a continuous front on Army Group South's left flank, the 4th Panzer Army and the 8th Army had, for the moment, blunted the Soviet thrust, but to the north and southeast fresh blows had already been dealt or were in the making. The Red Army, on the other hand, employed the rippling effect that marked their offensives: if thwarted in one place, they would quickly shift to others. Most importantly, the failure of the German offensive in the Battle of Kursk meant the Germans permanently lost the strategic initiative on the Eastern Front, although Hitler refused to acknowledge it. The defeat meant that, for the first time in the war, the Red Army had the full strategic initiative, and they used it well.[24] Worse still, the large manpower losses of the Wehrmacht in July and August 1943 severely restricted Army Groups South and Centre's reactions to future Soviet thrusts during the winter of 1943 and in 1944, which was most evident in Operation Bagration during which the Red Army almost completely destroyed the German Army on the Eastern Front. Operations Polkovodets Rumyantsev, along with the concurrent Operation Kutuzov marked the first time in the war that the Germans were not able to defeat a major Soviet offensive during the summer and regain their lost ground and the strategic initiative.[25]
Losses for the operation are difficult to establish due to large numbers of transfers and missing in action. Soviet casualties in the Belgorod–Kharkov sector during this operation are estimated to be 71,611 killed and 183,955 wounded; 1,864 tanks, 423 artillery guns, and 153 aircraft were lost.[5][6] German personnel losses were at least 10,000 killed and missing and 20,000 wounded. German tank losses are estimated to be several times lower than Soviet tank losses.[26]