Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev ( literally: "Regiment leader Rumyantsev", after 18th-century Field Marshal Peter Rumyantsev) was a code name for the
Belgorod-Kharkov Strategic Offensive Operation conducted by the
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
between 3 August 1943 and 23 August 1943 against the
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
's 4th Panzer Army and Army Group Kempf during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The operation was conducted by the
VoronezhThe 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 FrontThe 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
BelgorodBelgorod is a city in western Russia, situated on the Seversky Donets river just 40 km north from the Ukrainian border, at . It is the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast. Population: 337,030...
(southern) sector of the
Kursk BulgeThe Battle of Kursk refers to German and Soviet operations on the Eastern Front of World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armoured clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka, and the costliest single day of aerial warfare...
.
Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev ( literally: "Regiment leader Rumyantsev", after 18th-century Field Marshal Peter Rumyantsev) was a code name for the
Belgorod-Kharkov Strategic Offensive Operation conducted by the
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
between 3 August 1943 and 23 August 1943 against the
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
's 4th Panzer Army and Army Group Kempf during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The operation was conducted by the
VoronezhThe 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 FrontThe 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
BelgorodBelgorod is a city in western Russia, situated on the Seversky Donets river just 40 km north from the Ukrainian border, at . It is the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast. Population: 337,030...
(southern) sector of the
Kursk BulgeThe Battle of Kursk refers to German and Soviet operations on the Eastern Front of World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armoured clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka, and the costliest single day of aerial warfare...
. In one German source by
Wilhelm KeitelWilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II...
this operation is referred to as the "Fourth Battle of Kharkov" although it is unrelated to the
Third Battle of KharkovThe Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov , between 19 February and 15 March 1943...
.
The operation began in early hours of 3 August, 1943, with the objective of following up the defensive success against German
Army Group SouthArmy Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
's northern flank during the failed Operation Citadel. The operation was immediately successful, pushing back the German defenders and liberating
BelgorodBelgorod is a city in western Russia, situated on the Seversky Donets river just 40 km north from the Ukrainian border, at . It is the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast. Population: 337,030...
and
KharkovKharkiv , also spelled Kharkov is the second largest city in Ukraine.It was the first capital of Soviet Ukraine, now the administrative centre of the Kharkiv Oblast , as well as the administrative centre of the surrounding Kharkivskyi Raion within the oblast. The city is located in the northeast...
. By 12:00 in the morning of August 23, 1943 the Soviet divisions of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts had successfully liberated the city from German forces, annihilating most of the defending forces. It was the last time that Kharkov changed hands during the
Soviet-German WarThe Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of war between the European Axis powers, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia and Finland , and the Soviet Union which encompassed central and eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9...
. The operation led to the retreat of the German forces in
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
behind the
Dnepr RiverThe Dnieper River or Dnipro River is one of the major rivers in Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea. Its total length is , of which lie within Russia, within Belarus, and within Ukraine. Its basin covers , of which are within Ukraine...
, and it set the stage for the liberation of
KievKiev or Kyiv , is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300...
in autumn 1943.
The operation included several sub-phases:
- Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation
The Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation was a combat operation executed as part of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev by the Red Army against the Wehrmacht forces...
23 July 1943 - 14 August 1943
- Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation
The Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation was an operation conducted as part of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev between the Red Army and Wehrmacht forces...
12 August 1943 - 23 August 1943
- Zmiez Offensive Operation 12 August 1943 - 23 August 1943
The
Mirgorod direction offensiveThe Mirgorod direction offensive was an operation conducted as part of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev between the Red Army and Wehrmacht forces...
was part of this operation that resulted in the liberation of Akhtyrka on the 23 August 1943. As part of this offensive a tank battle was fought between the 11 and 17 August by the 1st Tank Army and elements of the
4th Guards ArmyThe Fourth Guards Army was an elite army headquarters of the Soviet Union during World War II and the postwar era.Formed on the basis of the 24th Army on April 16, 1943, the Fourth Guards Army fought in decisive actions such as the Battle of Kursk, the Iassy-Kishinev Offensive, the struggle for...
10 km south-east of the city in the vicinity of
sovkhozA sovkhoz , typically translated as state farm, is a state-owned farm. The term originated in the Soviet Union, hence the name. The term is still in use in some post-Soviet states, e.g., Russia and Belarus. It is usually contrasted with kolkhoz, which is a collective-owned farm...
"Udarnik" against three German
panzer divisionA panzer division is an armored division in the German Army .Panzer divisions are combined arms formations having both armor and infantry as organic components, along with the usual assets of artillery, anti-aircraft, signals, etc. that are common to most military divisions of the industrial era...
s (from Bogodukhov area) where the 1st Tank Army suffered heavy casualties. A further German counter-attack between 18 and 20 August was directed against the Red Army's 27th Army by the 3rd Panzer and 2nd Motorised divisions from Akhtyrka itself. These were halted by the use of massive air attacks, and commitment of the 4th Guards and 47th Armies from the Stavka Reserve.