Battle of Kiev (1943)

2 First attempt

The Second Battle of Kiev describes three strategic operations (two oensive and one defensive) by the Soviet
Red Army, and one operational counterattack by the
Wehrmacht which took place in the wake of the failed
German oensive at Kursk during World War II. These
four operations took place between 3 October and 22 December 1943.

Overview

The Red Army launched their rst summer oensive of

the war, pushing Erich von Manstein's battered Army
Group South back towards the Dnieper River. There,
Manstein intended to rest and ret his troops, but that was
not to be. Stavka, the Soviet high command, ordered the
Central Front and the Voronezh Front to force crossings
of the Dnieper before the Germans could recover. When
this was unsuccessful in October, the eort 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.

In October 1943, several of Vatutins armies were having

serious trouble trying to break out of the rugged terrain
of the Bukrin bend, the southern bridgehead. The 24th
Panzer Corps of Walther Nehring, in an eective defensive position, had the opposing Soviet forces squeezed in.
As a result, Vatutin decided to concentrate his strength at
the northern bridgehead at 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. Masses of artillery were shifted northThe structure of the strategic operations from the Soviet wards, but the movements went unnoticed by the Germans.
planning point of view was:
Kiev Strategic Oensive Operation (October) (124
October 1943) by the Central and Voronezh Fronts

3 Initial stage of second attempt

Chernobyl-Radomysl Oensive Operation (1 Early on the morning of 3 November 1943, the 4th
4 October 1943)
Panzer Army was subjected to a massive Soviet bom Chernobyl-Gornostaipol Defensive Operation bardment. The German forces screening the bridgehead
were defeated, and Kiev was quickly captured. The 1st
(38 October 1943)
Ukrainian Front's objective was to drive quickly west Lyutezh Oensive Operation (1124 October
ward in order to take the towns of Zhitomir, Korosten,
1943)
Berdichev and Fastov, and to cut the rail link to Army
Bukrin Oensive Operation (1215 October Group Center; this would be the rst step towards the en1943)
circlement of Army Group South.
Bukrin Oensive Operation (2124 October The plan went very well for Vatutin; Manstein, however,
1943)
became worried. As Rybalkos tanks moved through the
streets of Kiev on 5 November, Manstein pleaded with
Kiev Strategic Oensive Operation (November) (3
Adolf Hitler to release the 48th and 40th Panzer Corps
13 November 1943)
in order to have sucient forces to retake Kiev. The
48th Panzer Corps was committed to Manstein. Hitler
Rauss November 1943 counterattack
refused to divert the 40th Panzer Corps, and replaced
Kiev Strategic Defensive Operation (1943) (13 Hoth with Erhard Raus, who was ordered to blunt the SoNovember 194322 December 1943)
viet attack and secure Army Group Souths northern ank
1

7 SOURCES

and communications with Army Group North. A number of sources give 6 November as the date for the fall of
Kiev.[1][2][3] 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 rst unit in the city center, with Kiev nally being captured at 06.50 on the 6th.[4]

Raus counterattacks

Raus was in diculty with his units suering heavy casualties in the initial stages of Vatutins oensive. 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 25th
Panzer Division commanded by General der Panzertruppen Georg Jauer. Its drive on Fastov was halted by the
7th Guards Tank Corps. Rybalko was soon just 40 mi
(64 km) from Berdichev. Zhitomir was taken by the 38th
Army; the 60th Army was at the gates of Korosten; 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.

5 Final stage of second attempt

By 5 December, the mud had frozen in the Soviet winter. 48th Panzer Corps conducted a wide sweeping attack
north of Zhitomir. Catching the Soviets by surprise, the
Germans sought to trap the Soviet 60th Army, and the
13th Corps. Reinforced with the 2nd Fallschirmjger 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 granted 1st Tank Army and 18th Army. These new
units, along with additional Corps from other sectors,
were hastily rushed westward. Thus, the Soviets stopped
the German advance, went back on the oensive, and retook Brusilov. Both sides were exhausted by late December and the battle for Kiev was over.

6 Aftermath

Kiev Kreschatik after liberation November 1943

Panzer IVs in Zhitomir, November 1943

The 4th Panzer Army was in deep trouble. However,

the situation changed with the arrival of Hermann Balck's
XLVIII Panzer Corps, comprising the 1st SS Division, 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.
Both sides had suered heavy losses. The casualty ratio was fairly balanced, though the Soviets lost slightly
more than the Germans. 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.

Although the Soviets had failed to break the rail link

with Army Group Center or envelop Army Group South,
they had conquered Kiev, broken the Dnieper line, and
inicted signicant casualties on the 4th Panzer Army.
The Germans, for their part, had destroyed several sizable Soviet formations and kept the vital rail link open.
But there was to be no rest. A few days after XLVIII
Panzer Corps was pulled out to rest and ret, the Soviets
launched their winter oensive on Christmas Eve. The
renamed Voronezh Front Oensive succeeded in pushing
the Germans back to the 1939 Polish border by 3 January
1944.

7 Sources
Radey, Jack, Bongard, David, O'Connor, Dave, Fire
Brigade: The Battle for Kiev 1943, Panther Games
Pty.Ltd., Canberra, 1988

References

[1] accessed 26 August 2007

[2] Andrew Gregorovich, Ukrainian Review No. 92, Spring
1995 http://www.infoukes.com/history/ww2/page-28.
html. accessed 26 August 2007
[3] 1943: Kiev in Flames : in our pages:100, 75 and 50 years
ago, Monday, 8 November 1993 accessed 26 August
2007
[4] Michal Gelbi, Czechoslovak military units in the USSR
(19421945) . accessed on 26 August 2007

9 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

9.1

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Battle of Kiev (1943) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kiev_(1943)?oldid=670550390 Contributors: Comte0, Dimadick,

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