Oryol strategic offensive operation "Kutuzov"

The Oryol strategic offensive operation “Kutuzov” was a Soviet offensive operation that was carried out from July 12 to August 18, 1943 during the Battle of Kursk for the final defeat of the enemy grouping under the Eagle .

Oryol offensive operation ("Kutuzov")
Main conflict: World War II The Great Patriotic War Kursk battle
T-34 passing on Stalin Street (now - Peace Square) of the liberated Eagle
date	July 12 - August 18, 1943
A place	Oryol region , Bryansk region , Kaluga region
Total	Victory of the USSR . The release of the Eagle , Krom , Mtsensk , Bolkhov , Karachev , Zhizdra . Creating conditions for an offensive in the Bryansk area and the exit of Soviet troops in the eastern regions of Belarus.
Opponents
the USSR Germany
Commanders
Ivan Bagramyan Konstantin Rokossovsky Vasily Sokolovsky Markian Popov Hans Kluge Walter Model Robert von Grame
Forces of the parties
1.28 million people St. 21 thousand guns and mortars 2,4 thousand tanks St. 3 thousand aircraft St. 600 thousand people 7 thousand guns and mortars 1,2 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns St. 1 thousand aircraft [1]
Losses
112,529 killed / missing 317,371 wounded, 429,890 in total, 2,586 tanks and SPG 892 guns and mortars 1,014 combat aircraft [2] 2nd Panzer and 9th Army in the period from 10.07. on 20.08.43: 14 691 killed 62 629 injured 11 368 missing total 88 688 [3] 2nd Panzer and 9th Army in the period from 01.08. on August 31, 433: 4,221 killed 22,604 injured 4 491 missing 31 316 total [3]

According to the plan of the operation, on July 12 the troops of the West ( commander - Colonel-General V. D. Sokolovsky ) and Bryansk (commander - Colonel General M. M. Popov ) of the fronts launched an offensive on the Oryol direction. On July 15 (according to directive No. 00408 / op), in order to reach the counterattack occupied before the German offensive, the Central Front crossed the line , and by the end of July 18 he had fully restored his former position. On the morning of July 19, the forces of the Central Fleet went over to a strategic offensive in the Kursk-Krom direction, joining in full the operation under the code name "Kutuzov".

Enemy forces on the Oryol bridgehead comprised up to 37 divisions (including 8 tank and two motorized, consisting of the 9th army and the 2nd tank army ). The main line of defense of the German troops was equipped to a depth of 5-7 km, the enemy turned the large settlements into strong strongholds . They were especially well prepared for the all- round defense of the city ​​of Oryol , Bolkhov , Mtsensk and Karachev . It should be noted that the 2nd Tank Army was withdrawn from the front in late August and from September 43rd was in the Balkans .

The troops of the Western and Bryansk fronts in the first two days of the offensive broke through the enemy’s tactical defense zone on the Oryol-Kursk Bulge . The offensive unfolded in a wide lane, which allowed the Central Front to strike in the direction of Krom . July 29, Bolkhov was released, and by the morning of August 5 - the Eagle . On August 15, Soviet troops liberated Karachev and, by August 18, approached the defensive line of the Hagen enemy east of Bryansk . With the large defeat of the Army Group Center near Orel, the plans of the German command to use the Oryol bridgehead to strike eastward collapsed. The counteroffensive began to develop into a general offensive of the Red Army to the west.

The first salute during the war was given in honor of the release of the Eagle.