Battle of Kiev (1943) - Overview

Overview

The Red Army launched their first summer offensive of the war, pushing Erich von Manstein's battered Army Group South back towards the Dnieper River. There, Manstein intended to rest and refit his troops, but that was not to be. STAVKA ordered the Central Front (Byelorussian Front 20 Oct 1943) and the Voronezh Front (1st Ukrainian Front 20 Oct 1943) to force crossings of the Dnieper before the Germans could catch their breath. 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. His opponent would be the veteran 4th Panzer Army, commanded by Hermann Hoth.

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

• Kiev Strategic Offensive Operation (October) (1–24 October 1943) by the Central and Voronezh Fronts

Chernobyl-Radomysl Offensive Operation (1–4 October 1943)

Chernobyl-Gornostaipol Defensive Operation (3–8 October 1943)

Lyutezh Offensive Operation (11–24 October 1943)

Bukrin Offensive Operation (12–15 October 1943)

Bukrin Offensive Operation (21–24 October 1943)

• Kiev Strategic Offensive Operation (November) (3–13 November 1943)

Rauss' November 1943 counterattack

• Kiev Strategic Defensive Operation (1943) (13 November 1943–22 December 1943)