Conduct of The Offensive
On September 3, under the threat of the encirclement the Germans started retreating from the salient while maintaining resistance on the flanks. On September 6 Yelnya was retaken. The Soviet offensive continued until September 8, until it was halted at the new German defense line.
This was the most substantial reverse that the Wehrmacht had suffered up to that date and the first successful planned Soviet offensive operation in the Soviet-German war. German losses in the operation are unknown. The Red Army losses are estimated at 31,853 overall casualties. Major General Rakutin was killed during the battle.
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