Battle of Kiev (1943)

Coordinates: 50°24′N 30°32′E / 50.40°N 30.54°E / 50.40; 30.54
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the first battle during World War II, see Battle of Kiev (1941).

Second Battle of Kiev
Part of the
Kiev (Kyiv), Soviet Union
Result Soviet victory
Territorial
changes		 Kiev liberated
Belligerents  Soviet Union  GermanyCommanders and leaders Nikolai Vatutin Hermann Hoth
Erhard RausUnits involved 1st Ukrainian Front
4th Panzer Army
Strength 730,000 men[1]
7,000 guns and mortars
675 tanks and assault guns
700 combat aircraft On 1 November 1943:[2]
- 276,978 men in totalCasualties and losses

118,042 men[1]

  • 28,141 killed, missing or captured
  • 89,901 wounded or sick
271 tanks (3–13 November)
125 aircraft (3–13 November)

16,992 men[3]

  • 2,628 killed
  • 13,083 wounded
  • 1,281 missing

The Second Battle of Kiev was a part of a much wider Soviet offensive in Ukraine known as the

Soviet Red Army and one operational counterattack by the Wehrmacht
, which took place between 3 November and 22 December 1943.

Following the

Voronezh Front to force crossings of the Dnieper. When this was unsuccessful in October, the effort was handed over to the 1st Ukrainian Front, with some support from the 2nd Ukrainian Front. The 1st Ukrainian Front, commanded by Nikolai Vatutin, was able to secure bridgeheads north and south of Kiev (Kyiv
).

Strategy

The structure of the strategic operations from the Soviet planning point of view was:

Soviet preparations

Soviet map of Kiev (1943)

In October 1943, several of Vatutin's armies were having serious trouble trying to break out of the rugged terrain of the

Lyutezh
.

The 3rd Guards Tank Army, commanded by Pavel Rybalko, moved northwards toward the Lyutezh bridgehead under cover of darkness and diversionary attacks out of the Bukrin bend. The Soviet preparations were considerable, including the installation of 26 bridges and 87 ferries. Many of the Soviet bridges were built underwater, making them difficult to detect. Feint attacks and the construction of fake bridges may have fooled the Germans for a short while. Fire support was provided by 7,000 guns and mortars and 700 combat aircraft. The 27th and 40th Armies launched the Soviet diversionary attack at Bukrin on 1 November, two days ahead of schedule, but advanced only 1.5 kilometers before being driven back.[4]

Soviet historians claimed complete success for the Red Army

deception measures but the Germans correctly identified the Soviet assault sector and sent armored reinforcements to the area. The 4th Panzer Army war diary referred to the main Soviet push north of Kiev on 3 November as "the offensive we have been expecting". The Germans were uncertain whether the anticipated Soviet assault had far-reaching objectives from the outset or was merely for the capture of an initial bridgehead to be exploited later.[5]

Initial stage

Early on the morning of 3 November 1943, the 4th Panzer Army was subjected to a massive Soviet bombardment. The Soviet

Army Group Center; the ultimate objective being the encirclement of Army Group South. By 7 November, the Soviet spearheads had already reached the important railway node at Fastov 50 kilometers south-west of Kiev.[6]

The plan went well at first for Vatutin; Manstein, however, became worried. As Rybalko's tanks moved through the streets of Kiev on 6 November, Manstein pleaded with

40th Panzer Corps in order to have sufficient forces to retake Kiev. The 48th Panzer Corps was committed to Manstein. Hitler refused to divert the 40th Panzer Corps, and replaced Hoth with Erhard Raus, who was ordered to blunt the Soviet attack and secure the Army Group South's northern flank and communications with Army Group Centre. A number of sources give 6 November as the date for the fall of Kiev.[7] The 1st Czechoslovak Independent Brigade seems to have started the assault earlier, at 12.30 on 5 November, reaching the Dniepr at 02:00 on the 6th, after sweeping through the western suburbs of the city and were the first unit in the city center, with Kiev finally being captured at 06:50 on the 6th.[8]

Raus counterattacks

Raus had some difficulty with his units suffering heavy casualties in the initial stages of Vatutin's offensive. The 4th Panzer Army was reinforced, especially with artillery and rockets. The German divisions were bolstered on 7 November by the arrival of the newly formed

7th Guards Tank Corps. The half-formed 25th Panzer Division had only emergency individual training, lacked entire equipment categories and was committed against the protests of Heinz Guderian, the Inspector of Panzer Troops. It became the first committed Panzer Division that failed to achieve at least initial offensive success on the Eastern Front. The failed German offensive stopped however the advance of the Soviet 3rd Guards Armored Army.[9]

The rest of the Soviet forces continued their attacks. Rybalko was soon just 40 mi (64 km) from Berdichev. Zhitomir was taken by the 38th Army on 12 November but the Soviet advance came to a halt as the I Guards Cavalry Corps troopers looted the German 4th Army's alcohol stocks. The

60th Army took Korosten on 17 November and the 40th Army was moving south from Kiev. The only respite for the Germans came when the 27th Army exhausted itself and went over to the defensive in the Bukrin bend. In 10 days the Soviets had advanced 150 kilometers and opened up a 100 kilometer-wide gap between Army Group Center and Army Group South.[10]

Panzer IVs in Zhytomyr, November 1943

The 4th Panzer Army was in deep trouble. However, the situation changed with the arrival of

SS Division Leibstandarte, 1st Panzer Division and 7th Panzer Division. Balck drove his forces north to Brusyliv
and then west to retake Zhitomir. Rybalko sent the 7th Guards Tank Corps to counter the German assault. A huge tank battle ensued, which continued until the latter part of November, when the autumn mud halted all operations.

With the recapture of Zhitomir and Korosten, the 4th Panzer had gained some breathing room. With Vatutin halted, Stavka released substantial reserves to his First Ukrainian Front to regain momentum.

Final stage

By 5 December, the mud had frozen. 48th Panzer Corps conducted a wide sweeping attack north of Zhitomir. Catching the Red Army by surprise, the German forces sought to encircle the Soviet 60th Army and the 13th Corps. Reinforced with the 2nd Parachute Division, the Germans drove eastward, putting the Soviets on the defensive. With Fastov also being threatened, the 60th Army withdrew from Korosten.

Vatutin was forced to ask Stavka for more reserves, and was allocated the

1st Tank Army and the 18th Army
. These new units, along with additional Corps from other sectors, were hastily rushed westward. Thus, the Red Army stopped the German advance, went back on the offensive, and retook Brusilov. Both sides were exhausted by late December and the battle for Kiev was over.

Aftermath

Although the Soviets had failed to break the rail link with Army Group Center or envelop Army Group South, they had broken the Dnieper line, taken Kiev, the third biggest city in the Soviet Union, and inflicted significant casualties on the 4th Panzer Army. The Germans, for their part, had bloodied several sizable Soviet formations and kept the vital rail link open, but failed in its attempt to encircle and destroy the Soviet spearheads. A few days after XLVIII Panzer Corps was pulled out to rest and refit, the Soviets launched

Voronezh Front
Offensive pushed the Germans back to the 1939 Polish border by 3 January 1944.

See also

  • National Museum "Battle for Kyiv 1943"

References

  1. ^ a b Frieser et al. 2007, pp. 366–370.
  2. ^ Pz. AOK 4 Oberquartiermeister Nr. 1834/43 g. Kdos. Verpflegungsstärken nach dem Stande vom 1.11.43. NARA T313, R390, F8680072.
  3. ^ "1943". Archived from the original on 25 May 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  4. ^ Frieser et al. 2007, pp. 365–366.
  5. ^ Frieser et al. 2007, pp. 366.
  6. ^ Frieser et al. 2007, pp. 366–367.
  7. ^ "1943: Kiev in Flames : IN OUR PAGES:100, 75 AND 50 YEARS AGO". International Herald Tribune. 8 November 1993.
  8. ^ "Czechoslovak military units in the USSR (1942–1945)". Michal Gelbič. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 26 August 2007.
  9. ^ Frieser et al. 2007, pp. 369.
  10. ^ Frieser et al. 2007, pp. 368–369.

Sources

External links

50°24′N 30°32′E / 50.40°N 30.54°E / 50.40; 30.54

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