On the fields Left Bank Ukraine. August 25, 1943 Headquarters representative Supreme High Command Marshal G.K. Zhukov urgently flew to Moscow on the orders of I.V. Stalin. G.K. Zhukov recalls: “Having inquired about affairs on the Voronezh and Steppe fronts, Supreme Commander asked whether the directive had been received to continue the offensive on the Dnieper and how the fronts assessed their capabilities. I reported that the troops on the front had heavy losses and needed to be seriously reinforced with personnel and military equipment, especially tanks.”28
In order to quickly restore the combat effectiveness of the troops that participated in the intense battles near Kursk, the Headquarters in August and September withdrew from the Western, Bryansk, Central, Voronezh, Steppe fronts into its control reserve of four combined arms and five tank armies, 13 tank corps, and an artillery corps breakthrough, 27 rifle divisions and a number of other formations and units.
The Battle of Kursk was still going on, and the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command had already issued directives, the meaning of which boiled down to the deployment of a general strategic offensive. The Central, Voronezh, Steppe, Southwestern and Southern Fronts were tasked with defeating the enemy on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front and liberating the most important industrial area countries - Donbass, the richest agricultural regions of Left Bank Ukraine, Crimea, reach the Dnieper and seize bridgeheads on its right bank. The troops of the Central Voronezh and Steppe Fronts were supposed to advance to the middle reaches of the Dnieper, and the Southwestern and Southern Fronts - to the lower reaches.
The Kalinin, Western and Bryansk fronts had to defeat the enemy group on westward and throw it even further away from Moscow. To the troops North Caucasus Front was assigned the task, in cooperation with the Black Sea Fleet, to defeat the Taman group of Nazis and complete the liberation North Caucasus, force Kerch Strait and clear the Kerch Peninsula from the Nazis.
Already in August, on the vast expanses of the Soviet-German front - from Velikiye Luki to Sea of Azov- intense battles began. The counteroffensive near Kursk developed into a general strategic offensive of the Soviet Army, main blow in which it was applied in a southwestern direction. Central, Voronezh, Stepnoy, South-Western and Southern fronts led fighting for the liberation of Left Bank Ukraine, Donbass and crossing of the Dnieper. A new battle was unfolding - the battle for the Dnieper.
Where is the way out to counteract the striking power? Soviet troops who opened the gates to Ukraine, to the Dnieper, to Belarus? There is only one way out - to defend. This is what was said in the “Wotan” plan developed by Hitler’s ground forces headquarters. The enemy hastily began construction of the so-called “Eastern Wall”, which ran from the Baltic to the Black Sea along the river line. Narva - Pskov - Orsha - Gomel and further along the rivers Sozh, Dnieper and Molochnaya. The main obstacle German command considered the Dnieper. At one of the meetings in Berlin, Hitler, in his boastful manner, declared: “The Dnieper would sooner flow back than the Russians would overcome it.”29
German-fascist propaganda told its soldiers that the Dnieper is “their line of defense own home“, because if the German troops do not hold out on the Dnieper, then in the flat expanses of the Right-Bank Ukraine nothing will stop the Soviet Army.
In Left Bank Ukraine, where the troops of the Central, Voronezh and Steppe Fronts were fighting, a Nazi group of about 700 thousand people, up to 1200 tanks and assault guns, about 7200 guns and mortars and up to 900 aircraft was defending itself. 30 The enemy was counting on its strength in the implementation of the Wotan plan. Troops of three Soviet fronts had 1,580 thousand people, almost 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns, more than 30 thousand guns and mortars, over 1,700 combat aircraft31.
On August 26, formations of the Central Front, going on the offensive, delivered their main blow in the Novgorod-Seversk direction against the 2nd Army defending here. German army from Army Group Center. In fierce battles, the 13th Army crossed the Desna River and captured Chernigov on September 21. For courage and bravery, 10 units and formations of this army received the honorary name of Chernigov. By the end of the day, the advanced units of the left wing of the front reached the north of the mouth of the Pripyat to the Dnieper. The first to cross the Dnieper were the troops of the same 13th Army.
The formations had to advance in difficult conditions. In early September, the Headquarters was forced to withdraw all five tank armies to its reserve: they suffered heavy losses. In addition to the enemy defensive lines erected along even small rivers, the advance was hampered by the wooded and swampy terrain. The advanced units rushed forward, while the rear units, and with them the transport means, fell behind. There was a shortage of vehicles. In addition, due to the difficulties of relocation, activity dropped Soviet aviation. However, despite this, the troops marched and marched forward.
Soon after the 13th Army, the 60th Army of General I.D. Chernyakhovsky and in the area of Radul, Nivki, south of Gomel, the 61st Army of General P.A. Belov crossed the Dnieper in the Yaspogorodkp area, north of Kyiv.
The troops of the Voronezh Front stormed the Dnieper like an unstoppable avalanche. Interacting with the formations of the Central and Oivii fronton, they launched an offensive first on the Poltava-Kremsichugek, and then Kiev direction. Irsodolsnaya stubborn enemy resistance, searching for the front liberated Sumy, Romny, Prilukp and by September 22 reached the Dnieper and the Kyiv region. Among the first to reach the river in the Velikiy Bukrn region was the 3rd Guards Tank Army of General P. S. Rybalko, transferred to the front from the Stanki reserve. A bright page in the Dnieper epic was the feat of the apto-matchikop of the 51st Guards tank brigade- Komsomol member V.N. Ivanov. N. 1-. Pstukhova, I.D. Semenov and V.A. Sysolyatpna from the company of Lieutenant N.I. Spashkpia. They were the first to capture a small bridgehead on the right oepcrv near der Grpgoropka on September 22. The enemy attacked them with attack after attack, but the guards held their positions. Meanwhile, the entire company and 120 partisans, using improvised means of crossing, crossed the river without losses and forced the Nazis out of Grigoroikp. For their tenacity and exceptional courage, all four were awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union.
To the right of the 3rd Guards tank army By the end of September 20, the advance detachment of the 309th Division of the 40th Army of General K. S. Moskalenko had made its way to the river. On the night of September 22, other units reached the banks of the Dnieper and captured bridgeheads in the Staika area and southeast of Rzhishchevo.
In the area north and south of Kanev, by September 29, the 47th and 52nd armies of generals F.F. Zhmachenko and K.A. Koroteev crossed the river. In the zone of the 3rd Guards Tank Army, the second echelon of the front was brought into battle - the 27th Army of General S.G. Trofi.menko, who immediately rushed forward. North of Kyiv, the 38th Army of General N. E. Chibisov successfully crossed the river in the Lyutezh area.
The troops of the Steppe Front broke into enemy defenses in the Poltava-Kremenchug direction. The enemy tried to hold back the advance of our units at intermediate lines, but the advanced detachments reached the rear of the enemy and shot down his rearguards. On September 23, Poltava was liberated. For heroism and courage in the battles for the city, 12 units and formations of the front received the name Poltava.
On the same day, formations of the left wing of the front reached the Dnieper in the Kremenchug area. Units of the 7th were among the first to cross the Dnieper south of Kremenchug Guards Army General M.S. Shumilov. Later, the 37th and 57th armies of generals M.N. Sharokhin and N.A. Gagen crossed the river.
Crossing the Dnieper on the move after heavy offensive battles using available means, without waiting for the main forces to arrive, is unprecedented in the history of wars feat of arms. It showed the ability of Soviet soldiers to exert the greatest effort of all physical and spiritual forces in the fight against a strong and insidious enemy, and the coherence of actions of all branches of the military.
While ground forces relentlessly pursued the enemy, front-line aviation attacked the retreating columns of the Nazis and bombed their crossings. Soviet partisans launched their attacks on enemy headquarters, railway stations and communications.
Troops of the Southwestern and Southern Fronts launched an offensive in the Donbass. The two fronts consisted of 1,053 thousand people, about 21 thousand guns and mortars (without rocket artillery and 50-mm mortars), 1,257 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, about 1,400 combat aircraft32.
Rulers fascist Germany attached exceptional importance to retaining Donbass as the most important industrial district on South.
Donbass was defended by the 1st Tank and the newly created 6th German Army, commanded by generals E. Mackensson and K. Hallpdt. These armies were part of Army Group South. They had about 540 thousand. personnel, 5,400 guns and mortars, 900 tanks and assault guns, about 1,100 combat aircraft33.
The troops of the right wing of the South Western Front, commanded by General R. Ya. Malinovsky, began to attack on August 13. On August 16, a strike group launched combat operations in the center of the front, and on August 18, the troops of the Southern Front under the command of General F.I. Tolbukhin moved forward.
Front commander F.I. Tolbukhin put a lot of effort and energy into preparing for the battles of formations and associations of the Southern Front. The son of a peasant of the Yaroslavl province, a participant in the First World War and civil war, F.I. Tolbukhin held leading positions until 1941 command positions, was the district chief of staff. He began the war as the chief of staff of the front, then commanded the army in the battle of Stalingrad, demonstrating the art of military leadership.
The enemy is firmly entrenched in Donbass. A particularly strong defense was created along the river. Mius. The Nazis called their positions “Mius-fruit” and believed in their inaccessibility. But they could not resist the onslaught of General Tolbukhin’s formations. Having broken them, the search led an offensive to the west. On August 28, the mobile units of the Southern Front, with a skillful maneuver, cut off the enemy’s escape routes from the Taganrog area. The enemy tried to evacuate by sea and urgently prepared ships for evacuation. But as soon as loading began, enemy ships were attacked by our aircraft and ships of the Azov military flotilla, headed by Rear Admiral S.G. Gorshkov. By the evening of August 30 Soviet formations With the active participation of partisans and underground fighters, the city was liberated. The enemy suffered heavy losses. By September 9, Stalina (Donetsk), Makeevka, Gorlovka, and Artemoven were cleared of the enemy. Many cities and villages industrial facilities, railway stations were saved Soviet soldiers from destruction, but the Nazis still inflicted enormous damage on Donbass.
By withdrawing the Troops from the Left Bank of Ukraine and the Donbass, the fascist command carried out a savage plan for the complete devastation of the territory, drawn up according to recipes for total war.
The commander of Army Group South, Manstein, diligently carried out this inhumane plan. The barbaric methods of action of the Nazis intensified the burning hatred of our soldiers towards them. They walked forward more and more quickly.
By the end of September, the formations of the Southwestern Front, having liberated the northern regions of Donbass, reached the Dnieper in a strip from Dnepropetrovsk almost to Zaporozhye. On September 25, the Dnieper was crossed by the troops of the 6th Army of General I. T. Shlempia. The Southern Front did not lag behind. On September 10, his troops broke into Mariupol. Together with the landing party of the Azov military flotilla, they knocked out the enemy from the city and on September 22 they left the river. Dairy.
The entry of Soviet troops into Donbass became a holiday for all its inhabitants. The workers of the “all-Union stoker” enthusiastically set about restoring destroyed enterprises, roads, and repairing military equipment and weapons.
The rapid advance of troops of the Southwestern and Southern Fronts across Left Bank Ukraine up to northern shore put the Sea of Azov in an isolated position Nazi troops, defending the Taman Peninsula. The headquarters of the Supreme High Command ordered the troops of the Sepero-Caucasian Front to go on the offensive in order to expel the Nazis from the peninsula, clear the Black Sea coast of them in the Novorossiysk area and thereby create favorable conditions for the liberation of Crimea.
The key to defense of everything Taman Peninsula Novorossiysk was considered. The Wehrmacht command spared no effort to transform the city and surrounding heights into impregnable fortress. Houses and entire neighborhoods were prepared as strong points, the streets were blocked with barricades and shot through with fire from embrasures in stone buildings, buildings were mined.
The offensive began on the night of September 10 with a powerful artillery barrage. Soon they went on the attack Marines and rifle units from Malaya Zemlya, which was not in vain held by Soviet soldiers for so long. Troops from the area moved towards them cement factories along north coast Novorossiysk (Tsemes) Bay. At about 3 o'clock in the morning the landing began in the port, which was carried out quickly and suddenly. Within half an hour, 800 people with heavy machine guns, mortars, and anti-tank rifles landed under fierce enemy fire. Following this, the main forces of the 18th Army of General K. N. Leselidze went on the offensive.
The fierce assault on Novorossiysk continued for five days. On the morning of September 16, the city was liberated. On that day, fireworks were fired in Moscow in honor of the soldiers who liberated Novorossiysk.
May 7, 1966 By Decree of the Presidium Supreme Council USSR Novorossiysk was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, and on September 14, 1973 for outstanding services to the Motherland, mass heroism, courage and fortitude shown by the city’s workers and soldiers Soviet army And Navy during the war, and to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the defeat fascist troops In the North Caucasus, the city of Novorossiysk was given the honorary name “Hero City”.
The troops of the 9th Army under General A.A. Grechkin went on the offensive on September 11 along the river. Kuban to Temryuk, and the 56th Army of General A. A. Grechko - on September 14 in the direction of Gostagaevskaya. The fighting took place along the entire front. The enemy was deprived of the opportunity to maneuver his forces, which extremely complicated his position to the north and west of Novorossiysk. All the time, the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov Military Flotilla provided assistance to the front troops. By landing troops behind enemy lines, they did not allow him to gain a strong foothold on intermediate lines. In early October, fighting broke out on the Taman Peninsula. On October 3, troops of the 18th Army liberated the city of Taman, and by the morning of October 9, the 56th Army cleared the entire northern part of the peninsula and the Chushka Spit. The enemy's operational bridgehead in the lower reaches of the Kuban was eliminated.
The Novorossiysk-Taman operation ended the struggle for the Caucasus. The liberation of Novorossiysk and the ports of the Taman Peninsula improved the basing Black Sea Fleet and created favorable conditions for attacks on the enemy’s Crimean group from the sea and through the Kerch Strait.
For heroism and skillful actions, many units and formations of the front were given the honorary names of Novorossiysk, Taman, Temryuk, Anapa and Kuban. Thousands of front and navy soldiers, as well as many ships, were awarded high government awards,
On September 8, 1943, the Nazis’ “Eastern Wall” collapsed. By the end of the month, Soviet troops broke through it from the upper reaches of the Dnieper to Zaporozhye. 23 bridgeheads were captured, and this had great value for the liberation of Kyiv and all of Right Bank Ukraine.
Operation Suvorov. The beginning of the liberation of Belarus.
In the new, Smolensk, operation under code name"Suvorov" troops of the Western and Kalinin fronts had to fight on Smolensk land with a strong enemy group, which had up to 850 thousand people, up to 8,800 guns and mortars, about 500 tanks and assault guns and up to 700 aircraft34. The Western and Kalinin fronts had 1,253 thousand people, 20,640 guns and mortars, more than 1,400 tanks and self-propelled guns, 1,100 combat aircraft35. Thus, the overall superiority over the enemy was insignificant, but in the breakthrough areas it was threefold in men and four-to-five-fold in guns and mortars, in tanks and self-propelled guns.
The two fronts had to crush the enemy’s defenses in the center of the Eastern Wall, push the enemy further from Moscow and capture the “Smolensk Gate” - between the Dnieper and Western Dvina rivers. After standing here from five months to a year and a half, the fascist German troops built a strong defense of five or six stripes with a depth of 100 to 130 km. The defenders were favored by the locals natural conditions- forests and swamps over large areas. The enemy stood only 250-300 km from Moscow, threatened the Central Industrial Region, and closed the routes to Belarus and the Baltic states. He had to be destroyed.
The main blow in the Smolensk operation was to be dealt to the Western Front, which at that time was commanded by Army General V.D. Sokolovsky. Civil war participant, party member since 1931, in pre-war years He served as division chief of staff, district chief of staff, and deputy chief of the General Staff. By the beginning of the war, V.D. Sokolovsky was already an established major military leader, theoretically well prepared, with extensive experience in staff and team work.
At the beginning of August, Supreme Commander-in-Chief J.V. Stalin traveled to the Smolensk direction. On August 3, he visited the Yukhnov area on the Western Front, and on August 5, he was already in the village of Khoroshevo on the Kalinin Front. He was interested in issues of planning the operation, the use of artillery and tanks, measures of operational camouflage, placement of leadership personnel, issues material support troops. He gave instructions on the practical preparation of the operation36.
On August 7, northeast of Spas-Demensk, the strike group of the Western Front went on the offensive, and on August 13, east of Dukhovshchina, a group of the Kalinin Front went on the offensive.
The fighting in the Smolensk direction immediately took on a stubborn and fierce character. During the nine days of the offensive, the troops advanced up to 40 km. The wooded and swampy terrain made the fight extremely difficult. Soviet soldiers, skillfully bypassing the strongholds of the Pgglers-Tsev, boldly paved the way to the west and liberated Smolensk on September 25 - ancient city, witness to the glory and heroic deeds of the Russian people. During the liberation of the city, formations of the 5th and 31st armies of generals V.S. Polenov and V.A. Gluzdovsky distinguished themselves. For high military skill and courage, 39 units and formations received the honorary name of Smolensk.
During the Smolensk operation, our troops advanced up to 225 km. Having reached the approaches to Vitebsk and Mogilev, they attracted significant enemy forces and thereby assisted the Central and Bryansk Fronts in defeating the Germans near Kursk. In addition, with their advance they created a threat to the Baltic enemy group.
After the battle of Kursk, the Bryansk Front unit launched an offensive and liberated the city of Bryansk on September 17. In the battles for the city, the troops of the 11th Army of General I. I. Fedyuninsky showed courage and an indomitable will to win. Its units and formations received the name Bryansk.
From Bryansk, front troops rushed to the border of Belarus and already on September 26 liberated the regional center of the Mogilev region Khotn.msk. The first to enter the land of Belarus were the formations of the 3rd and 50th armies of generals A.V. Gorbatov and I.V. Boldin.
The entry of Soviet troops into the territory of Belarus was a major military-political event. More than two years Belarusian people waiting for his release. And it came. Many battle veterans again set foot on the land of long-suffering Belarus, from where they left with pain in their hearts in 1941.
The entry of the Soviet Army into the eastern regions of Belarus at the beginning of October 1943 forced the enemy to maintain large forces in the western direction - over 70 divisions. Hitler's command hoped to stop the advance of Soviet troops and strengthened its defenses. No less than for its defense, it counted on the autumn thaw and impassability.
From October 6, fighting rumbled in the zone from Nevel to the mouth of Pripyat, over 550 km long. Troops of Kalinin and the newly created Baltic fronts under the command of General M. M. Popov moved forward in the Vitebsk direction, covering the enemy group in Belarus from the north. From the east, troops of the Western Front attacked Orsha and Mogilev, and from the south, troops of the Central Front attacked Gomel and Bobruisk.
In the October battles, as part of the 33rd Army of the Western Front, the 1st Polish Division named after the national hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko, formed on the territory of the USSR and armed with Soviet military equipment, fought side by side with Soviet soldiers. It was brought into battle on October 12, when it struck in the Lsnino area of the Mogilev region. The battles near Lenino became the first milestone on the path traversed by Polish soldiers with the soldiers of the Soviet Army, and had an important political significance. The history of the Polish Army began on the decisive front of the Second World War.
The military exploits of Polish soldiers and officers were highly appreciated by the Soviet and Polish peoples. 239 soldiers were awarded Soviet and 247 Polish orders and medals, and private Anele Krzywoń and captain Vladislav Vysotsky were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Hundreds of Soviet soldiers were also awarded orders and medals, and Lieutenant G.R. Lakhin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union37. October 12 is celebrated as the date of birth of the Polish People's Army. In honor of this significant event, a museum and monuments to the Soviet-Polish military partnership were opened in Lenino, embodying the unbreakable friendship of Poland and the Soviet Union.
On November 10, from the bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper, south of Loev, the left wing troops began to attack Belorussian Front. Having crossed the Berezina, they captured a bridgehead south of Zhlobin. The troops of the right wing of the front deeply engulfed Gomel from the north. Developing the offensive, on November 25 they cleared Gomel of the Nazis. It was liberated by the I, 48 and 3rd armies under the command of generals I. I. Fedyuninsky, P. L. Romapenko and A. V. Gorbatov. The capital of our Motherland, Moscow, saluted the liberators of the first regional center Belarus. Twenty-three units and formations were given the honorary name Gomel. Among them is the heroic 283rd rifle division General V.A. Konovalov, who reached the rear of the enemy and cut the Gomel-Mogilev highway.
Fierce fighting in the western direction continued until the end of 1943. The Soviet Army liberated part of the Kalinin, all of Smolensk, part of the Polotsk, Vitebsk, Mogilev and Gomel regions with the first regional city Belarus - Gomel. With the exit of Soviet troops to Polesie, a single strategic front the enemy was torn into two parts. The enemy command failed to transfer its troops from Army Group Center to the south, where the main events of the autumn-winter offensive of the Soviet Army took place. From September to December 1943, Soviet troops defeated up to 40 divisions of Army Group Center, including seven tank and motorized divisions. The fascist German command was forced to transfer up to 13 divisions from other directions of the Soviet-German front and 7 divisions from Western Europe to this direction.
Kyiv has been liberated. And at this time the battle for the Dnieper was still raging and booms were blazing in Right Bank Ukraine. The gray Dnieper has seen a lot of people's courage and heroism. But if the Cossacks Zaporozhye Sich, and Bogdan Khmelnitsky, and Shchors, and Bozhenko were able to see how their grandchildren and great-grandchildren fought with the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War, they would bow to their descendants.
The Soviet Army dealt blow after blow to the enemy, liberating Ukrainian soil. This forced the Nazi command to take extreme measures. It was decided to cleanse Southern Italy and retreat north to the Apennines. Tank divisions on the Italian front were replaced by infantry ones, and instead of full-blooded divisions, defeated troops from the Dnieper were transferred to the Apennines. Weakening Italian Front gave the Anglo-American troops the opportunity to advance unhindered into central areas Italy.
The command of the Ver.Macht intended to restore the defense along the Dnieper and hold the most important economic regions Right Bank Ukraine and Crimea, realizing that from here routes to Poland, the Carpathians and the Balkans were opened for the Soviet Army. It still maintained the largest contingent of its troops in Ukraine. At the beginning of October 1943, Army Group South and part of the forces of Army Group A, which numbered up to 80 divisions, including 18 tank and motorized divisions, were defending here.
Back in late September - early October, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command issued directives to the fronts to launch an offensive with decisive goals throughout the entire Soviet- German front. The Voronezh Front was given the task of concentrating efforts in the Kiev direction, in cooperation with the troops of the left wing of the Central Front, to eliminate the enemy group in the Kyiv area and liberate the capital of Ukraine.
The front commander, General N.F. Vatutin, decided to launch the main attack south of Kyiv, from the Velikiy Bukrin area, and a secondary attack from the Lyutezh bridgehead, north of Kyiv. The strike group of the Voronezh Front, concentrated on the Bukrin bridgehead, attempted to attack twice in October. However, it was not possible to break through the defense immediately. On the night of October 24, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief signed a directive according to which the direction of the offensive was changing: a powerful blow to the Kyiv enemy group was to be delivered from the Lyutezh bridgehead, bypassing Kyiv from the north-west. At the end of October there was a regrouping of troops from the left to the right wing of the front.
On the eve of the battle for Kyiv, changes occurred in the leadership of the 38th Army, which stood on the Lyutezh bridgehead. General K. S. Moskalenko was appointed commander of the army - experienced military leader, participant in the civil war. He took command of the 38th Army, already having extensive experience as commander of an anti-tank brigade, rifle corps, commander of the armies. The experienced leader of party political work, General A. A. Epishev, was approved as a member of the Army Military Council.
On November 3, after powerful artillery preparation and air strikes, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front launched an offensive north of Kyiv*. This blow was unexpected for the enemy. On the very first day of fighting, the enemy defenses in front of the Lyutezh bridgehead were broken through by troops of the 38th Army. To the north, the troops of the 60th Army of General I. D. Chernyakhovsky successfully developed the offensive.
In order to quickly complete the breakthrough of the entire enemy defense and capture the capital of Ukraine, the front commander brought into the battle in the direction of the main attack the 3rd Guards Tank Army, and then the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps of General V.K. Baranov. On November 5, units approached the outskirts of the city, and on the night of November 6 they broke into it. A group of machine gunners led by Captain N.P. Andreev from the 38th Army broke through to the building that housed the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine before the war and hoisted the Red Banner. At dawn on November 6, Kyiv was liberated. Together with the Soviet soldiers, soldiers of the 1st Separate Czechoslovak Brigade, Colonel L. Svoboda, also fought for the city.
In the capital of our Motherland, Moscow, a ceremonial fireworks display was fired in honor of the liberators of Kyiv.
For 778 days, the capital of Ukraine was under the heel of the Nazi occupiers. During these dark days in the city, more than 195 thousand Soviet citizens were tortured, shot and poisoned in gas chambers. The Nazis deported over 100 thousand, mostly young people, to forced labor in Germany. The city, which had 900 thousand inhabitants before the war, now had only about 180 thousand. Nazi occupiers almost completely destroyed and plundered it.
For the courage and mass heroism shown in the battles for the capital of Ukraine, 65 units and formations received the honorary name of Kyiv. Kyiv’s feat was immortalized by awarding it the title “Hero City”.
Our state also highly appreciated the military exploits of the soldiers of the 1st Separate Czechoslovak Brigade. She was awarded the Order of Suvorov, II degree. The brigade commander also received the same order. 139 people were awarded orders and medals of the USSR, and Lieutenant Antonin Sokhor and Second Lieutenant Richard Tesarzhik were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Having liberated Kyiv, Soviet troops persistently pursued the enemy in the direction of Ovruch, Korosten, Zhitomir, Fastov. The Wehrmacht command saw that with the loss of Kyiv and the advance towards these cities, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front would occupy a line hanging over the entire southern wing of its troops. It hastily brought 15 divisions to the Zhito-Mir-Kiev direction, including 7 tank divisions and a motorized one. On November 15, Nazi troops launched a counteroffensive.
Hitler's command hoped to defeat the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front in the Zhitomir direction, throw them back across the Dnieper and recapture Kyiv. But nothing came of it. In fierce battles, the enemy was bled dry and stopped.
By the end of December, on the right bank of the Dnieper in the Kyiv region, Soviet troops firmly held a large bridgehead with a depth of about 150 km and a length of up to 500 km, which later became the starting area for inflicting new powerful blows By Hitler's troops in Right Bank Ukraine.
The struggle in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and the breakthrough to Crimea. While the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front fought battles for Kyiv, the Stepnoy, South-Western and Southern fronts fought forward in the Kirovograd, Krivoy Rog directions and in Northern Tavria. They had to liberate the most important economic regions of the country and block the enemy in Crimea. The enemy concentrated against them a large group of up to 770 thousand people, which had about 8 thousand guns and mortars, up to 800 tanks and assault guns and up to 1000 combat aircraft 39. The troops of the three fronts at the beginning of October numbered about 1,550 thousand people , up to 24,440 guns and mortars, 1,160 tanks and self-propelled artillery units, 2 thousand combat aircraft40. In the directions of the main attacks, thanks to the bold maneuver of forces and means, the Soviet troops had a threefold superiority in men and military equipment.
On October 10, formations of the left wing of the Southwestern (3rd Ukrainian) Front launched attacks on Zaporozhye from the northeast, east and southeast. The front was commanded by General R. Ya. Malinovsky, a participant in the First World War and the Civil War. He participated as a volunteer in the battles for the freedom of Republican Spain. He met the Great Patriotic War as the commander of a rifle corps, then commanded armies in the battles for the Caucasus and Stalingrad, and led the troops of the fronts during the liberation of Donbass.
R. Ya. Malinovsky made a bold decision to capture Zaporozhye by night assault. This was the first time in the history of the war that a night assault took place a large number of troops. For three days there were fierce battles in the Zaporozhye region. On October 14, the city was cleared of the enemy. The homeland appreciated the exploits of the troops who liberated Zaporozhye. 31 formations and units were given the honorary name of Zaporozhye. During the liberation of Zaporozhye, the soldiers of the Soviet Army did everything possible to prevent the invader from completely destroying the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station named after. V.I. Lenin, conceived by the Nazis.
The shock groups of the Steppe (2nd Ukrainian) Front, launching an offensive on the morning of October 15, broke through to Krivoy Rog and Kirovograd. At the end of 1943, the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts fought stubborn battles in the Kirovograd and Krivoy Rog directions. They managed to seize a bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper in the area of Kremenchug and Dnepropetrovsk, with a length of about 400 km along the front and up to 100 km in depth. At this time, the troops of the Southern (4th Ukrainian) Front crushed the enemy defenses along the river. Molochnaya and went to the lower reaches of the Dnieper.
In the first half of November, the enemy in Crimea came under heavy blows from the troops of the North Caucasus Front of General I.E. Petrov. The ships of the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov Military Flotilla dropped off infantry and sailors landings near Kerch and Eltngen. Despite a severe storm and fierce enemy resistance, they captured and retained a bridgehead northeast of Kerch. Later he. became the starting area for the offensive into the depths of Crimea. For almost three months, the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts waged an intense struggle in the lower reaches of the Dnieper. As a result, the enemy was thrown out from the left bank of the river; he held on only to a narrow bridgehead in the Nikopol area. Having cleared almost all of Northern Tavria, Soviet troops locked the enemy in Crimea from the north. And from the east, a threat loomed over him from the troops entrenched in the bridgehead near Kerch.
A gloomy mood gripped the highest political and military authorities of Nazi Germany. Assessing the situation in the South, Hitler said at a meeting at headquarters: “The news here active operations is no longer possible. I would be pleased if we at least stopped the enemy.”4I.
Historical victories of the Soviet Armed Forces in Battle of Kursk and subsequent grandiose battles on the Dnieper in the summer and autumn of 1943 led to sudden change the balance of forces on the Soviet-German front - a radical turning point in the war against Nazi Germany was completed and consolidated. The enemy was forced to switch to strategic defense on the Soviet-German front, as well as in other theaters of the Second World War.
Description
The defensive line of the German troops "Wotan" was created on the southern front in the zone of action of Army Groups "South" and "A". Wotan in ancient German mythology is the god of thunder and lightning, supreme god, king of the Aesir, master of Valgala, where the Aesir feast and where the warriors killed on the battlefield end up. And the defensive line of the German Panther troops was created in the zone of army groups North and Center.
The Wotan line ran from the Sea of Azov, along the right bank of the Molochnaya River to the Dnieper flood plains. The Wotan Line was supposed to connect with the Panther Line, creating a continuous Eastern Wall from the Sea of Azov to the Baltic. It passed along the Kerch Peninsula, the Molochnaya River, the Dnieper in its middle reaches, the Sozh River to Gomel, east of Orsha, Vitebsk, Nevel, Pskov and north Lake Peipsi along the Narva River. On August 11, 1943, an order was given for the immediate construction of the Eastern Wall. However, already on August 24, the Battle of the Dnieper began, as a result of which already on September 15, an order was given to retreat from the Dnieper.
Purpose and location plan
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See what “Eastern Wall” is in other dictionaries:
- “EASTERN VAL” (German: “Ostwall”), a strategic defensive line of German troops on the Soviet-German front, built by the fall of 1943. It ran along the line: r. Narva, Pskov, Vitebsk, Orsha, r. Sozh, middle course of the river. Dnieper (the basis of the “Eastern... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
- (German: Ostwall) strategic defensive line of German troops on the Soviet-German front, built by the fall of 1943. Passed along the line: r. Narva, Pskov, Vitebsk, Orsha, r. Sozh, middle course of the river. Dnieper (base of the Eastern Wall), river. Dairy... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (German “Ostwall”), during the 2nd World War, a strategic defensive line German troops on the Soviet-German front, built by the fall of 1943. Passed along the line: r. Narva, gg. Pskov, Vitebsk, Orsha, pp. Sozh, Dnieper, Milk. By the end… … encyclopedic Dictionary
"Eastern Wall"- EASTERN VAL (German: Ostwall), strategic. defensive frontier created by him. fash. troops against the Sov. German front by the fall of 1943 on the river line. Narva, Pskov, Vitebsk, Orsha, r. Sozh, Compare the flow of the river. Dnepr, r. Dairy with the aim of stopping the strategic... ... Great Patriotic War 1941-1945: encyclopedia
"EAST SHAFT"- (“Ostwall”), conditional name. strategic defense border created by him. troops against the Sov. German front by the fall of 1943 on the river line. Narva, gg. Pskov, Vitebsk, Orsha, pp. Sozh, Dnieper, Milk. The basis of "V.v." were the Dnieper and... Military encyclopedic dictionary
SHAFT, 1) high earth embankment, usually combined with a ditch in front. Served as an obstacle to the attacking enemy and a fighting position for the defenders. Used before the 1st World War. 2) A system of fortified strips and positions (see “Atlantic Wall” (see ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Shaft: Earthworks artificial embankment, defensive structure. The Serpentine Ramparts are ancient defensive ramparts along the banks of the Dnieper tributaries. Trajan's Ramparts is a system of ancient ramparts in Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. Petrov Val on... ... Wikipedia
Rampart: An earthen rampart is an artificial embankment, a defensive structure. The Serpentine Ramparts are ancient defensive ramparts along the banks of the Dnieper tributaries. Trajan's Ramparts is a system of ancient ramparts in Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. Hadrian's Wall fortification made of stone and... ... Wikipedia
Rampart: An earthen rampart is an artificial embankment, a defensive structure. The Serpentine Ramparts are ancient defensive ramparts along the banks of the Dnieper tributaries. Trajan's Ramparts is a system of ancient ramparts in Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. Hadrian's Wall ... ... Wikipedia
Books
- All fortified areas and defensive lines of the Second World War, Valentin Runov. A NEW book from the author of the bestselling book “Stalin’s Line” in battle.” True story all fortified areas and defensive zones of the Second World War and combat operations during their breakthrough. Mannerheim Line and...
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For Rokossovsky, participation in the Battle of Kursk became an important stage in his activities as front commander. He gained significant experience in organizing defense with deep echeloning of combat formations of troops and defensive positions with good developed system trenches and other engineering structures. The decisive condition for creating a sustainable defense was the massing of forces and assets in the directions probable strikes enemy, as well as deep operational formation of troops. Great experience was gained during the preparation and conduct of offensive operations.
Operation Citadel backfired on Hitler complete collapse. One could have expected that after this the heads of its main executors, including Walter Model, would again “roll” - after all, the Fuhrer, having given him fairly broad powers, had such hopes for his troops! Retreating from Orel and abandoning an important bridgehead could have dealt an irreparable blow to the reputation and career of the commander of the 9th Army. Enraged by his defeat, Model again took it out on the civilian population. During his retreat, he used scorched earth tactics. On his orders, they burned the grain in the fields and drove 250 thousand to the West. civilians. He ordered that everything that the troops could not take with them should be destroyed. Damage to the economy Oryol region and its population, amounted to an astronomical sum of tens of billions of pre-war rubles. During the summer of 1943, 172,650 houses were burned and destroyed, more than half of the schools, hundreds of hospitals, roads and public utilities, connection. In total, during the period of occupation and hostilities in the Oryol region, 275 people disappeared from the face of the earth without a trace. settlements, which have never been revived. The population in this area has almost halved.
Model expected the worst, but Hitler had no time for purges at that moment. He was considering measures to stabilize the situation and seize the newly lost initiative. Besides, he couldn't blame Model for the failure. the most important operation 1943, since he warned back in May about the possibility of such an unfavorable outcome. Therefore, Hitler was content with the competent withdrawal of armies to previously prepared positions. Some even praised Model, believing that he carried out a “brilliant retreat” to the Hagen line. Now Model, who took up defense on the Bryansk-Gomel line, like his “comrades in misfortune” who left the Belgorod-Kharkov bridgehead, was ordered, sparing no effort and regardless of losses, to stop the further advance of the Soviet troops and hold their positions.
Overcoming the "Eastern Wall"
Before completion Oryol operation The Supreme Command headquarters, with its directives No. 30162 and No. 30168 of August 10 and 16, 1943, assigned new tasks to the troops of the Central Front. They had to attack general direction to Sevsk, Khutor Mikhailovsky, no later than September 1–3, reach the river line. Desna south of Trubchevsk, Novgorod-Seversky, Shostka, Glukhov, Rylsk. In the future, it was prescribed to develop the offensive in the general direction of Konotop, Nizhyn, Kyiv and favorable conditions part of the forces to force the river. Desna and advance along its right bank in the direction of Chernigov. These directives formed the basis of the Chernigov-Pripyatskaya plan offensive operation, which the headquarters of the Central Front, on the instructions of Army General K.K. Rokossovsky, developed by August 20f.
The front commander's plan was to deliver the main blow in the Novgorod-Seversk direction with the forces of the 65th and 2nd tank armies, as well as part of the forces of the 48th and 60th armies. An auxiliary attack was carried out by the remaining forces of the 60th Army in the Konotop direction. The offensive was planned to begin on the morning of August 24 and on the 15th day of the operation to reach the line Trubchevsk, Shostka, Glukhov, Rylsk. After this, the troops of the 13th and 48th armies were supposed to go over to the defense along the Desna in the sector (claim) Trubchevsk, Novgorod-Seversky, Chepleevka, providing the front’s strike force against enemy counterattacks from the west and north-west. Shock group it was necessary to develop the offensive in the general direction of Glukhov, Konotop, Bakhmach. Rokossovsky brought the 70th Army into his reserve. At successful development operation and in the absence of the threat of enemy counterattacks from Lokot, Komarichi, it was planned to introduce it into battle at the junction between the 65th and 60th armies in the Baranovka, Sopych sector in order to compact battle formations 60th Army, to build on the success and on the sixth day of the operation to capture the Stepanovka, Volnaya Sloboda, Sukhodol line. IN further troops The 70th Army was supposed to develop the attack on Glukhov and reach the line of Slot, Glukhov, Svarkovo. If the threat of an enemy counterattack from Lokot and Komarichi remained and it was impossible to bring the 70th Army into battle in this direction, then Rokossovsky intended to continue the offensive only with the 60th Army, reinforced by the 9th tank corps to develop success in the general direction to Poznyatovka, Glukhov. The troops of the 2nd Tank Army, after the 65th Army reached the Novo-Yamskoye, Knyaginino, Moritsky, Sosnitsa line, were entrusted with the task of crossing the river. Sitting in the Novo-Yamskoye area (to the south), Sevsk and capturing crossings on the river. Desna in the Novgorod-Seversky region. The offensive begins on August 24.
"1. The 13th Army should not make an independent breakthrough, but advance in cooperation with the left wing of the Bryansk Front, strengthening the 48th Army at the expense of this army.
2. Organize a breakthrough of the 48th Army in the area south of the river. Usozh in such a way as to have one common breakthrough area with the 65th Army» .
The troops of the Central Front were opposed by the 2nd Army and part of the forces of the 9th Army of Army Group Center, as well as part of the forces of the 4th Tank Army of Army Group South.
Simultaneously with the Central Front, the Voronezh, Stepnoy, Southwestern and Southern fronts were to attack in the southwestern direction. The Western, Bryansk fronts and the left wing of the Kalinin front had to attack in the Smolensk and Bryansk-Gomel directions.
The Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht, after the failure of Operation Citadel, decided to switch to strategic defense on the entire Eastern Front in order to stop the advance of Soviet troops and retain the most important regions of Left Bank Ukraine and the Donbass. For this purpose, in the deep rear, since the spring of 1943, the construction of the strategic defensive line “Ostwall” (“Eastern Wall”) on the river line was carried out. Narva, Pskov, Vitebsk, Orsha, the Sozh, Dnieper, Molochnaya rivers. The basis of the “Eastern Wall” was a powerful water line - the Dnieper River and fortifications along the river. By the time the Soviet troops reached this line, the enemy had failed to fulfill the entire volume of planned engineering activities. In mid-September, the southern end of the “Eastern Wall” in the defense zone of Army Groups “South” and “A” received the name “Wotan” (“Wotan”) position. The northern end of the “Eastern Wall” in the defense zone of Army Groups “North” and “Center” began to be called “Panther”.