Smolensk operation 1943
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1943 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Russia | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | World War II | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 54.7833, 32.0500 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The second Smolensk operation (code naming "Suvorov"; 7 August – 2 October 1943) was a Soviet strategic offensive operation conducted by the Red Army as part of the Summer-Autumn Campaign of 1943. Staged almost simultaneously with the Lower Dnieper Offensive (13 August – 22 September), the offensive lasted two months and was led by General Andrei Yeremenko, commanding the Kalinin Front, and Vasily Sokolovsky, commanding the Western Front. Its goal was to clear the German presence from the Smolensk and Bryansk regions. Smolensk had been under German occupation since the first Battle of Smolensk in 1941.
Despite an impressive German defense, the Red Army was able to stage several breakthroughs, liberating several major cities, including Smolensk and Roslavl. As a result of this operation, the Red Army was able to start planning for the liberation of Belarus. However, the overall advance was quite modest and slow in the face of heavy German resistance, and the operation was therefore accomplished in three stages: 7–20 August, 21 August – 6 September, and 7 September – 2 October.
Although playing a major military role in its own right, the Smolensk operation was also important for its effect on the Battle of the Dnieper.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Smolensk operation (revision 1372061006), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Smolensk (1609–1611) 1609 · 0 km
- Siege of Smolensk (1502) 1502 · 0 km
- Siege of Smolensk (1613–1617) 1613 · 0 km
- Battle of Smolensk (1812) 1812 · 0 km
- Battle of Smolensk (1941) 1941 · 0 km
- Siege of Smolensk (1632–1633) 1632 · 0 km
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