The battle for Kharkov became a natural and very important result of the successful actions of the Soviet troops on the Kursk salient. The last powerful attempt of the German counteroffensive was thwarted, and now the task was to liberate the industrial regions of Ukraine as soon as possible, capable of giving a lot to the front.
Operation objectives
The attack on Kharkov had many tasks. The most important can be considered the creation of a springboard for the further liberation of the Left-Bank Ukraine in general and the industrial Donbass in particular (there was a possibility of a flank strike). It was also necessary to seize the transport infrastructure of the city (there were an airport and an airfield of an aircraft factory) and finally stop further attempts of the Nazis to go on the counteroffensive by defeating their Kharkov group (significant in numbers and strength).
Why Kharkiv?
Why was the city so important? The answer lies in the history of Kharkov, which since the 18th century has been the main center of the economic and cultural life of Sloboda Ukraine. Already in the middle of the 19th century, the city receivedrailway communication with Moscow. It was here in 1805 that the first true modern university in Ukraine began its work (medieval academies and Lviv University do not count in this regard), and then the Polytechnic Institute.
In the pre-war period, Kharkov was the largest machine-building center, it produced 40% of the products of this industry in Ukraine and 5% throughout the country. Accordingly, there was also a scientific and technical potential.
There were also ideological reasons. It was in Kharkov in December 1917 that the Congress of Soviets took place, announcing the creation of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic. Until 1934, the city was the official capital of the Ukrainian SSR (stands for "Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic", and not in the way the post-war generation used to; there is a difference in abbreviations in the Ukrainian language).
Background
Both the German and Soviet sides were well aware of the significance of Kharkov. Therefore, the fate of the city during the war period was very difficult. The liberation of Kharkov in 1943 was already the fourth battle for the city. How did everything happen? This will be discussed further.
On October 24-25, 1941, the occupation of Kharkov by the Nazis was carried out. It cost them relatively little - the consequences of the recent encirclement and defeat near Kyiv and the Uman pocket, where the losses of Soviet troops were considered hundreds of thousands, affected. The only thing is that radio-controlled mines were left in the city (some subsequent explosions turned out to be very successful), and a significant part of the industrialequipment was removed or destroyed.
But already in the late spring of 1942, the Soviet command made an attempt to recapture the city. The offensive was poorly prepared (in the absence of combat-ready reserves), and the city again came under the control of the Red Army for only a few days. The operation lasted from May 12 to May 29 and ended with the encirclement of a significant group of Soviet troops and their complete defeat.
The third attempt was made under more favorable conditions. Even during the Battle of Stalingrad, units of the Southwestern Front began offensive operations in the Donbass. After the surrender of the Paulus grouping, the Voronezh Front went on the offensive. In February, its units took Kursk and Belgorod, and on the 16th captured Kharkov.
Having in mind the idea of a large-scale counter-offensive operation ("Citadel", which was put an end to at the Kursk Bulge), the German leadership could not agree with the loss of such an important transport hub as Kharkov. On March 15, 1943, the city was captured again by the forces of two SS divisions (and do not think that they only knew how to shoot Jews and burn Khatyn - SS units were the elite in the Nazi army!)
If the enemy does not surrender…
But in July Hitler's counteroffensive plan failed; the Soviet command had to develop success. The attack on Kharkov was considered as the most important for the near future even before the end of the Battle of Kursk. When planning the upcoming liberation of Kharkov, the main question was discussed: whether to carry out an operation to encircle or destroyenemy?
We decided to strike for destruction - the environment required a lot of time. Yes, it succeeded brilliantly near Stalingrad, but then, during the offensive battles, the Red Army again resorted to it only at the beginning of 1944, during the Korsun-Shevchenko operation. At the same time, when attacking Kharkov, the Soviet command even deliberately left a "corridor" for the exit of the Nazi troops - it was easier to finish them off in the field.
Today here - tomorrow there
In the summer of 1943, during the battles near Kursk, another interesting strategic trick was implemented, which became a kind of "trick" of the Red Army. It consisted in delivering sufficiently strong blows in different places of a fairly extended section of the front. As a result, the enemy was forced to feverishly transfer his reserves over long distances. But he did not have time to do this, as the blow was delivered in another place, and in the first sector the battles took on a protracted character.
So it was in the battle for Kharkov. The activity of Soviet troops in the Donbass and at the northern tip of the Kursk Bulge forced the Nazis to transfer forces there from near Kharkov. It was possible to advance.
Side Forces
From the Soviet side, the troops of the Voronezh (commander - General of the Army Vatutin) and the Steppe (commander - Colonel General Konev) fronts acted. The command used the practice of reassigning parts of one front to another in order to use them more rationally. Marshal Vasilevsky coordinated actions in the Kharkiv, Oryol and Donetsk directions.
The troops of the fronts included 5 guard armies (including 2 tank armies) and an air army. This shows how much importance was attached to the operation. An unprecedentedly high concentration of equipment and artillery was created on the sector of the front assigned for the breakthrough, for which additional guns, self-propelled guns and T-34 and Kv-1 tanks were hastily sent. The artillery corps of the Bryansk Front was also transferred to the offensive area. 2 armies were in reserve Headquarters.
On the German side, the infantry and tank armies, as well as 14 infantry and 4 tank divisions, held the defense. Later, after the start of the operation, the Nazis urgently transferred reinforcements from the Bryansk Front and Mius to the area of \u200b\u200bit. Among these additions were such well-known units as Totenkompf, Viking, Das Reich. Of the Nazi commanders who were involved in the battles near Kharkov, Field Marshal Manstein is the most famous.
A warlord from the past
The main part of the Kharkov strategic operation - the actual Belgorod-Kharkov offensive operation - received a code name - operation "Commander Rumyantsev". During the Great Patriotic War, the USSR abandoned the previously widespread practice of complete distancing from the country's "imperial" past. Now in Russian history they were looking for examples that could inspire the people to war and victory. The name of the operation to liberate Kharkov comes from this area. The case is not the only one - the operation to liberate Belarus is known as "Bagration", and shortly beforeOperation "Kutuzov" was carried out near the northern tip of the Kursk Bulge.
Forward to Kharkiv
Sounds good, but that was not the way to do it. The plan was to first cover the city with advancing units, liberate as much territory as possible to the south and north of Kharkov, and then capture the former capital of Ukraine.
The name "Commander Rumyantsev" was applied precisely to the main part of the operation - the actual attack on Kharkov. The Belgorod-Kharkov operation began on August 3, 1943, and already on the same day, 2 Nazi tank divisions ended up in a “cauldron” near Tomarovka. On the 5th, units of the Steppe Front entered Belgorod with a fight. Since Orel was occupied by the forces of the Bryansk Front on the same day, this double success was celebrated in Moscow with festive fireworks. It was the first victory salute during the Great Patriotic War.
August 6, the operation "Commander Rumyantsev" was in full swing, Soviet tanks finished eliminating the enemy in the Tomarovsky cauldron and moved to Zolochev. They approached the city at night, and that was half the success. The tanks moved quietly, with their headlights off. When, having entered the sleepy city, they turned them on and squeezed out full speed, the surprise of the attack predetermined the success of the Belgorod-Kharkov operation. Further coverage of Kharkov continued with the advance to Bogodukhov and the beginning of the battles for Akhtyrka.
At the same time, parts of the Southern and Southwestern fronts launched offensive operations in the Donbass, advancing towards the Voronezh front. This did not allow the Nazis to transfer reinforcements to Kharkov. August 10 wasthe Kharkiv-Poltava railway line was taken under control. The Nazis tried to counterattack in the area of Bogodukhov and Akhtyrka (selected SS units participated), but the results of the counterattacks were tactical - they could not stop the Soviet offensive.
Red again
On August 13, the German defense line was broken right near Kharkov. Three days later, the fighting was already on the outskirts of the city, but the Soviet units were not moving forward as fast as we would like - the German fortifications were very strong. In addition, the offensive of the Voronezh Front was delayed due to events near Akhtyrka. But on the 21st, the front resumed the offensive, defeating the Akhtyr group, and on the 22nd, the Germans began to withdraw their units from Kharkov.
The official Kharkov Liberation Day is August 23, when the Soviet army took control of the main part of the city. However, the suppression of the resistance of individual enemy groups and the clearing of the suburbs from him continued until the 30th. The complete liberation of Kharkov from the Nazi invaders took place on this very day. On August 30, a celebration was held in the city on the occasion of the liberation. One of the guests of honor was the future General Secretary N. S. Khrushchev.
Heroes of Liberation
Since great importance was attached to the Kharkiv operation, the government did not stint on awards to its participants. Several units added the words "Belgorodskaya" and "Kharkovskaya" to their names as an honorary title. Soldiers and officers were given state awards. But here is Kharkov itselfthe hero city was not awarded. They say that Stalin abandoned this idea due to the fact that the city was finally liberated only on the fourth attempt.
183rd Infantry Division has the right to the title of "twice Kharkov". It was the fighters of this unit who were the first to enter the main square of the city (named after Dzerzhinsky) on February 16 and August 23, 1943.
The Soviet Petlyakov attack aircraft and the legendary T-34 tanks proved to be excellent in the Battle of Kharkov. Still, they were produced, among other things, by specialists from the Kharkov Tractor Plant! Evacuated to Chelyabinsk, the plant just in 1943 began mass production of tanks (now it is the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant).
Eternal memory
There is no war without losses, and the history of Kharkov confirms this. The city turned out to be a sad leader in this matter. The losses of Soviet troops under this city were the most significant in the entire Great Patriotic War. Of course, the sum total of all four battles is implied. The liberation of the city and its environs cost more than 71 thousand lives.
But Kharkiv survived, rebuilt and continued to work for a long time with his hands and head for the good of the common great Motherland… And now this city still has a chance…
