Operation Kutuzov
Operation Kutuzov | |
---|---|
Part of the Russian SFSR | |
Result | Soviet victory |
Lothar Rendulic
Günther von Kluge
Robert von Greim
625 tanks and assault guns[1]
610 aircraft[1]
5,500 guns[1]
2,220[3]–3,023[2] aircraft
26,379 guns[2]
86,454 men[4]
- 14,215 killed
- 11,300 missing
- 60,939 wounded
unknown guns
218 aircraft[6]
- 112,529 dead or missing
- 317,361 wounded or sick
892 guns lost[9]
1,014 aircraft destroyed[9]
Operation Kutuzov was the first of the two counteroffensives launched by the
Background
As the end of the
The Germans had spread their forces thin all across the front in an effort to provide as much men and material as possible for Operation Citadel. Holding the front before the Soviet offensive were the 2nd Panzer Army and elements of the 9th Army. The region had been held by German forces for nearly two years and despite Hitler's admonition not to build defensive works behind the front, some preparations had been made. A defensive line had been started that was 5–7 kilometres (3.1–4.3 mi) in depth, consisting of minefields, interconnected trench works, and strong points. Wherever possible, the Germans took advantage of terrain features such as streams, ravines and gullies but the positions were thinly held.[12]
The Soviet high command planned two offensives as part of a large general offensive throughout the eastern front.[13] Operation Kutuzov was the northern offensive (the other being the Donbas offensive south of Kursk), with its objective being to collapse the Orel salient, cut behind the 9th Army engaged in offensive operations at Kursk, encircle and annihilate it. In doing so they hoped to cause a general collapse of the German forces in the Soviet Union. The attack was to begin once the German panzer units engaged in Operation Citadel were locked into combat and weakened by their offensive at Kursk. The initial attack was to be made simultaneously on the northern and eastern faces of the Orel salient, with the Central Front along the southern face of the salient joining in as well, once the German offensive had been stopped.
German intelligence had revealed the Soviet forces massing opposite the 2nd Panzer Army and these had caused great concern to Kluge and Model. The Soviet armies earmarked for the operation had amassed a force of 1,286,000 men and 2,400 tanks. These were supported by 26,400 guns and 3,000 aircraft.[14][15]
The Soviet offensive was aided by partisan attacks behind the German lines. Approximately 100,000 Soviet partisans (according to Soviet reports) were working to disrupt German efforts to supply and reinforce their forces. German movements of ammunition and reinforcements were hampered throughout the operation by attacks on German communications and supply routes, especially railway lines. The partisans operated under the guidance of the Red Army.[16]
Offensive
On 12 July, a heavy artillery barrage marked the launching of the offensive. The armies of the
The initial attacks on the eastern face by the Bryansk Front were less successful. The 61st, 3rd, and 63rd armies advanced 8, 14 and 15 kilometres (5.0, 8.7 and 9.3 mi) respectively. The following day the German LIII Army Corps counter-attacked and brought the Bryansk Front to a halt. The open terrain favored the longer ranged guns of the Germans. Kluge and Model had anticipated the Soviet attack and were quick to transfer units from the Kursk area to reinforce the defenders. Their timely arrival helped check the Soviet advance.
Farther north the 11th Guards Army was forcing its way through the German defences. The Germans lacked the reserves to block these penetrations. With the danger of a breakthrough and subsequent encirclement of their forces, the situation soon became serious for the 2nd Panzer Army.[18] Army Group Centre transferred command of the 2nd Panzer Army to Model by the end of the second day. As Model was already commanding the German 9th Army making the north portion of the Kursk attack, the command transfer meant he was now in command of all German units in the Orel area.
Three days later the second phase of Operation Kutuzov was initiated, with attacks on the German 9th Army by several Soviet armies. The total Soviet troops now engaged in Operation Kutuzov numbered 1,286,049 men supported by 2,409 tanks and 26,379 guns.
As Soviet breakthroughs developed the situation for the Germans became serious. The entire 9th Army was threatened with being cut off. Model sent nearly all of his Panzer units to aid the 2nd Panzer Army, whose northern front was about to collapse, while to the north the 4th Army sent down the 253rd Infantry Division. The Germans achieved a temporary stabilization of the front while the 9th Army began to withdraw from their captured ground. The Soviet Central Front followed them hesitantly at first but increased the intensity of their attacks from the ground and the air.[18] On 18 July the 9th Army was back at its starting points of 5 July.
A series of engagements developed in the Orel salient between arriving German reserves and Soviet tank formations. Though Hitler forbade retreat, the Soviets gradually gained ground. By 26 July the German troops were forced to desert the Orel base of operations and begin a withdrawal to the Hagen position to the east of Bryansk. With the 11th Guards reaching the outskirts of Karachev, midway between Orel and Bryansk, they threatened to cut the main rail line which was the main route of supply. On 29 July Bolkhov was liberated, and on 4 August the struggle for Orel commenced. After one day of hard fighting Orel was taken. With their position untenable, the Germans were forced to evacuate back to prepared positions at the Hagen line. By 18 August Soviet troops had reached the Hagen line east of Bryansk at the base of the Orel salient. With the German defeat the counter-offensive began to grow into a general Soviet offensive.
Contest for air superiority
The Soviet Air Forces supported the attack on German ground positions in conjunction with the preliminary artillery bombardment. The 1st Air Army and 15th Air Army performed 360 sorties against German rear areas, dropping some 210 long tons (210 t) of bombs.[20]
In the Southern sector of the bulge, the Germans logged over 1,000 missions on the first day, countered by the 737 missions of the 15th Air Army. The Luftwaffe destroyed some 35 tanks, 14 guns and 50 motor vehicles of the Bryansk Front, slowing their progress. By the end of the first day the Soviets had failed to breach the first line.[21] While the 2nd Panzer Army was gradually being forced back, the Luftwaffe battled the VVS, destroying 94 Soviet aircraft on 13 July, including 50 Sturmoviks.
In the southern region of the battle the Luftwaffe's 1. Flieger-Division maintained air superiority in defense of the German 9th Army, dealing the Soviets some significant losses in aircraft between 13 and 16 July. After six days of heavy fighting the strength of the Luftwaffe began to wane. The 1. Flieger-Division flew 74 intercept missions against the 868 sorties conducted by the 16th Air Army. Though the Soviets continued to lose in tactical air engagements, their overall presence in the air was dominant. The VVS helped the 11th Guards Army achieve their breakthrough.[21]
The VVS flew 60,995 sorties and dropped 15,000 tonnes of bombs in support of Kutuzov, while the German 1. Flieger-Division flew 37,421 sorties and dropped over 20,000 tonnes of bombs on Soviet targets.[22]
Aftermath
The battle was the bloodiest of the three major operations during the Battle of Kursk. Overall German losses suffered during the battle were 86,454 men KIA, MIA or WIA.[5] Casualties for the Red Army were 112,529 men killed, with a further 317,361 wounded.[23] Tank and assault gun losses for the Red Army were particularly high, with 2,586 vehicles destroyed or damaged during Kutuzov.[9] German tank losses are not available for this battle but Army Group Center is known to have lost 343 armoured fighting vehicles during both Citadel and Kutuzov.[5]
Some of the Soviet commanders were displeased with the results, complaining that an even greater victory might have been won. Said Marshal Rokossovsky: "Instead of encircling the enemy, we only pushed them out of the bulge. The operation would have been different if we had used our force for two heavy punches which met at Bryansk". Zhukov held a similar opinion.
Notes
Citations
- ^ a b c d Frieser 2007, p. 177.
- ^ a b c Koltunov p.81
- ^ Bergström 2007, p. 83.
- ^ Frieser 2007, p. 154.
- ^ a b c Frieser 2007, p. 188.
- ^ Frieser 2007, p. 189.
- ^ Krivosheev 1997, p. 133.
- ^ Beevor 2012, p. 485.
- ^ a b c d Krivosheev 1997, p. 262.
- ^ Glantz & Orenstein 1999, p. 28.
- ^ Nipe 2011, p. 443.
- ^ Encyclopedia of World War II, No. 37 p. 665
- ^ Willmott p.188
- ^ Frieser 2007, p. 175.
- ^ "Орловская операция".
- ^ Frieser 2007, p. 187.
- ^ Rendulic, Die Schlacht von Orel, p. 134.
- ^ a b c Frieser 2007, p. 185.
- ^ Koltunov, p. 82.
- ^ Bergström 2007, p. 82.
- ^ a b Bergström 2007, pp. 83–85.
- ^ Hooton 2016, p. 179.
- ^ Glantz & House 1995, p. 297.
- ^ Zhukov p. 188.
Bibliography
- Beevor, Antony (2012). The Second World War. New York: Back Bay Books. ISBN 978-0-316-02374-0.
- Bergström, Christer (2007). Kursk: The Air Battle: July 1943. Hinckley, United Kingdom: Chevron/Ian Allan. ISBN 978-1-903223-88-8.
- ISBN 978-3-421-06235-2.
- Hooton, E.R. (2016). War over the Steppes: The air campaigns on the Eastern Front 1941–45. Osprey. ISBN 978-1-47281562-0.
- Glantz, David. Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War. Routledge, 1989. ISBN 0-7146-3347-X
- Glantz, David M.; House, Jonathan (1995). When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler. Lawrence, Kansas: Kansas University Press. ISBN 978-0-7006-0899-7.
- Glantz, David M.; Orenstein, Harold S. (1999). The Battle for Kursk 1943: The Soviet General Staff Study. London: Frank Cass. ISBN 0-7146-4933-3.
- Krivosheev, Grigoriy (1997). Soviet Casualties and Combat Losses in the Twentieth Century. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-280-7.
- Nipe, George (2011). Blood, steel, & myth : the II. SS-Panzer-Korps and the road to Prochorowka, July 1943. Southbury, Connecticut: Newbury. ISBN 978-0-9748389-4-6.
- Willmott, H.P. and Robin Cross, Charles Messenger et al. World War II. New York, NY: Dorling Kindersley, 2004. ISBN 1-4053-1262-9