Smolensk operation
The second Smolensk operation began on the 7th of August 1943. General Andrei Yeremenko commanded the Kalinin Front while Vasily Sokolovsky led the Western Front. Their goal was to clear German forces from the Smolensk and Bryansk regions. This offensive lasted two months until the 2nd of October 1943. It occurred almost simultaneously with the Lower Dnieper Offensive which ran from the 13th of August to the 22nd of September. Joseph Stalin wanted to pursue the liberation of occupied territories following Operation Uranus in late 1922. The Battle of the Dnieper aimed to liberate Ukraine and push the southern front westward. Stalin ordered the Smolensk operation to weaken German defenses further by drawing reserves north. Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky later described this plan as enormous in both daring and force commitment. He noted it included operations like the Donbass and left-bank Ukraine operations alongside Smolensk. Both operations formed part of a single strategic offensive plan to recover Soviet territory.
The terrain for the offensive was a slightly hilly plain covered with ravines. Significant areas of swamps and forests restricted military movement across the landscape. Hills reached heights over one hundred meters allowing for improved artillery defense. In 1943 pine and mixed forests covered most of the area along with thick bushes. Numerous rivers passed through the region including the Donets Basin and Western Dvina. The Dnieper river was by far the largest and strategically most important waterway. Its western bank held by German troops was higher and steeper than the eastern side. Very few bridges or ferries existed to cross these wide swamp-like areas. Mechanized troops found crossing difficult due to the natural obstacles. Rainfall during the Russian summer turned roads into mud known as rasputitsa. This phenomenon greatly slowed any advance of mechanized troops and raised logistical issues. The only major railroad axis available for Soviet troops was the Rzhev-Vyazma-Kirov line.
German forces had time to build extensive defensive positions numbering five or six lines in some places. These lines extended from the front edge deep into the rear covering a total depth of several kilometers. The first tactical zone included main and second defense lines located on elevated ground whenever possible. The main defense line possessed three sets of trenches linked by an extensive communication network. Firing point density reached six or seven per kilometer of front line. Heavy tank attacks were feared so the third set of trenches became a solid antitank moat with steep western sides. Three lines of barbed wire protected the forward edge alongside a solid wall of minefields. A second defense zone sat about ten kilometers behind the outer zone covering important directions. It consisted of firing points connected with trenches and protected by barbed wire and minefields. Small firing points and garrisons were created between zones to slow down Soviet advances. Heavy guns positioned behind the second zone provided heavy fire support. Deep behind the front line three or four more defense lines existed on river shores. Urban centers like Yelnya and Dukhovshchina were reinforced and fortified for potentially long fights. Roads were mined and covered with antitank devices while firing points occupied tall buildings.
The offensive started on the 7th of August 1943 at 06:30 following a preliminary bombardment from 04:40. Three armies including the 5th Army and 10th Guards Army committed to this initial push toward Roslavl. The attack quickly encountered heavy opposition and stalled within hours. German troops attempted numerous counterattacks supported by tanks and assault guns. Konstantin Rokossovsky recalled that they had to tear themselves through German lines one by one. On the first day Soviet troops advanced only five kilometers despite all available troops being committed. Soviet commanders decided to commit the 68th Army which had been kept in reserve. Three additional German divisions arrived from the Oryol sector to stop the advance. Another attempt at simultaneous breakthrough took place further north towards Yartzevo but both attacks stopped. In the following five days Soviet troops slowly made their way through defenses repelling heavy counterattacks. By the 11th of August the Red Army managed to advance to a depth varying from ten to fifteen kilometers. Subsequent attacks by armored and cavalry forces resulted in heavy casualties due to strong German defenses. Deputy Chief of General Staff General A. I. Antonov reported dealing with forests swamps and increasing enemy resistance. Marshal Nikolai Voronov analyzed eight primary causes for the stalemate in his memoirs.
The Stavka decided to shift the attack axis west to Yelnya and Smolensk after mid-August. The Yelnya-Dorogobuzh Offensive Operation commenced on the 28th of August by four armies covering a front of only twenty-five kilometers. These armies created a very high concentration of troops supported by three tank corps and the 1st Air Army. An intense ninety-minute artillery barrage preceded the ground assault. Ground attack aircraft significantly damaged Wehrmacht lines allowing the Red Army to execute a breakthrough. Rifle divisions advanced further creating a salient wide and deep by the end of the day. The 2nd Guards Tank Corps was thrown into battle advancing one hundred kilometers in one day. They reached the outskirts of Yelnya and started to form an encirclement. On the 30th of August Wehrmacht units were forced to abandon Yelnya sustaining heavy casualties. By the 3rd of September Soviet forces had reached the eastern shore of the Dnieper river. Near Bryansk a surprisingly easy capture of hills commanding the Dubrovka region changed previous plans. General Markian Popov commander of the Bryansk Front noted German soldiers captured in total absence of battle readiness. Two new armies executed a single-pincer movement forcing German forces to withdraw.
Soviet troops entered territories occupied for almost two years during the Smolensk operation. They discovered war crimes committed by SS Einsatzgruppen units against civilians. Almost all industry and agriculture in liberated areas was gone. In Smolensk oblast itself almost eighty percent of urban living space had been destroyed. Fifty percent of rural living space also suffered destruction along with numerous factories and plants. Exhumed bodies of civilians shot by German troops were found in mass graves on the outskirts of Smolensk. This discovery marked the first time Soviet troops entered long-occupied territories since 1941. The central part of the Soviet-German front stabilized again for many months until late June 1944. Major fighting shifted south to the Dnieper line and Ukraine territory. Only during January 1944 would the front move north when German forces were driven back from Leningrad. Operation Bagration in summer 1944 allowed the Red Army to clear remaining USSR territory of Wehrmacht troops.
The Smolensk operation tied down as much as forty percent of all Wehrmacht divisions near Smolensk. Estimates suggest up to fifty-five German divisions were committed to counter this offensive. These divisions would have been critical to prevent Soviet troops from crossing the Dnieper in the south. German defense rings planned upon which troops relied were almost completely overrun. A once-united German front became separated by huge impassable Pripet marshes. This cut Army Group South off from its northern counterparts reducing ability to shift troops. General Kurt von Tippelskirch wrote that the salient projecting far east could no longer be held. Although modest compared to later operations not more than one hundred kilometers gained in depth mattered strategically. German troops definitively drove back from Moscow approaches removing a strategic threat since 1941. The Stavka ordered Western Front troops to reach Smolensk before the 27th of September then proceed towards Orsha. Kalinin Front was ordered to capture Vitebsk before the 10th of October. By the 30th of September Soviet forces became bogged down outside Vitebsk and Orsha still held by Wehrmacht troops.
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Common questions
When did the second Smolensk operation begin and end?
The second Smolensk operation began on the 7th of August 1943 and lasted until the 2nd of October 1943. This offensive cleared German forces from the Smolensk and Bryansk regions over a two-month period.
Which Soviet armies participated in the recapture of Smolensk during 1943?
Soviet troops included the 39th, 43rd, and 10th Guards armies along with the 5th Army and 68th Army to execute the initial push toward Roslavl. General Andrei Yeremenko commanded the Kalinin Front while Vasily Sokolovsky led the Western Front during these operations.
What were the main geographical obstacles faced by mechanized troops in the Smensk region?
Mechanized troops encountered significant difficulties due to swamps, forests, ravines, and heavy rainfall that turned roads into mud known as rasputitsa. The terrain featured hills over one hundred meters high and few bridges or ferries across wide rivers like the Dnieper and Western Dvina.
How many defensive lines did German forces construct around Smolensk before the 1943 offensive?
German forces built extensive defensive positions numbering five or six lines in some places covering a total depth of several kilometers. These lines included three sets of trenches linked by communication networks, barbed wire, minefields, and antitank moats on elevated ground.
Why was the Smolensk operation strategically important for the Soviet Union in 1943?
The operation tied down up to forty percent of all Wehrmacht divisions near Smolensk which prevented critical reinforcements from crossing the Dnieper in the south. It removed a strategic threat to Moscow approaches since 1941 while weakening German defenses further north.