Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation

Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation
Part of the Eastern Front of World War II
Date 12–23 August 1943 Location Kharkov region, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union Result Soviet victory
Belligerents
Germany	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Erich von Manstein	Ivan Konev
Strength
Army Group South Army Group "Kempf" 8th Army XI Army Corps	Steppe Front 5th Guards Tank Army 57th Army 69th Army 7th Guards Army 800 Tanks
Casualties and losses
35,000 KIA 55,000 WIA 10,000 captured	70,000 KIA ~100,000 WIA

Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev
Part of the Eastern Front of World War II
Date 3–23 August 1943 Location near Kharkov, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union Result Soviet victory
Belligerents
Nazi Germany	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Erich von Manstein	Georgy Zhukov
Strength
200,000 men; 237 tanks and assault guns at the outset	1,144,000 men 2,418 tanks 13,633 guns and rocket launchers
Casualties and losses
10,000 men killed or missing in action, 20,000 WIA 240 tanks lost unknown guns	71,611 killed 113,955 wounded ~1,500 tanks lost 423 artillery guns

The Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation or Fourth Battle of Kharkov (12–23 August 1943) was an operation conducted as part of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev between the Red Army with 1,144,000 soldiers and the Wehrmacht with 200,000 soldiers around the city of Kharkov (now Kharkiv)^a . It was one of the operations that followed the Battle of Kursk.

Following the Battle of Kursk, the Red Army launched Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev on 3 August 1943, which aimed to retake the cities of Belgorod and Kharkov (now Kharkiv)^a . On the first day, the units of the Voronezh Front quickly penetrated the German front-line defences on the boundary of the 4th Panzer Army and Army Group "Kempf", between Tomarovka and Belgorod and gained 100 kilometres in a sector along the Akhtyrka-Bogodukhov-Olshany-Zolochev line along the banks of the Merla river. They were finally halted on 12 August by armoured units of the III Panzer Corps. On 5 August 1943 XI Corps evacuated the city of Belgorod. (see Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation)

Following its withdrawal from Belgorod on the night of 5/6 August 1943 the XI Army Corps under the command of (Raus) now held defensive positions south of the city between the Donets & Lopan Rivers north of Kharkov. The XI Army Corps consisted of a Kampfgruppe from the 167th Infantry Division, the 168th, 106th, 198th, 320th Infantry Divisions, and the 6th Panzer Division which acted as was the corps reserve.^b This constituted a deep salient east into Soviet lines and was subject to outflanking attempts on the corps left flank, indeed Soviet armoured units had already appeared 20 miles behind the corps front line. XI Army Corps now made a series of phased withdrawals toward Kharkov to prevent encirclement.

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