Poltava-Kremenchug operation

After the defeat in the Battle of Kursk, the German troops abandoned all hope of seizing the initiative.

Hitler understood that his troops would not be able to restrain the Soviet offensive. In order to gain time, he ordered the construction of a solid defense line in which the main attention was paid to natural obstacles, of which the major rivers were the most important. The German command attached particular importance to the line of defense on the Dnieper, which it considered the basis of the so-called "eastern rampart".

On the Soviet side, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command sought to make the most of the victory in the Battle of Kursk. The troops had to launch an offensive at the front from Velikiye Luki to the Sea of ​​Azov , including the troops of the Central , Voronezh and Steppe fronts who were tasked with liberating the Left-Bank Ukraine by advancing at the front from Cherkasy to Poltava , going to the Dnieper, forcing it and seizing bridgeheads on the right bank of the river, creating the conditions for the liberation of Right-Bank Ukraine.

USSR

Steppe Front (commander of the army general I. S. Konev ):

• 37th Army (September 6 from the Headquarters reserve, General M.N. Sharokhin )
• 5th Guards Army (received September 6 from the Voronezh Front, General A. S. Zhadov )
• 7th Guards Army (General M.S. Shumilov )
• 53rd Army (General I.M. Managarov )
• 69th Army (General V.D. Kryuchenkin )
• 5th Air Army (lieutenant general of aviation S.K. Goryunov )

Together: 30 rifle, 2 mechanized, 2 tank corps and 3 separate tank brigades. The total number of troops of the front was 336,200 people.

The front entered the operation on the move, without preparation and regrouping. On July 19, the Steppe Front was launched into a counterattack in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction . During the counterattack, the front troops overcame the enemy’s deeply echeloned defense, captured Belgorod, and on August 23 stormed Kharkov.

Germany

• 1st Panzer Army (cavalry general Eberhard von Mackensen )
• 8th Field Army (Infantry General Otto Veler )

In total: up to 20 divisions, including 3 tank divisions.

The general superiority of forces was on the side of the Red Army . Soviet troops outnumbered the enemy by 2.1 times, in airplanes - 1.4 times, in guns and mortars - 4 times, in tanks they were approximately equal. During the battle, both sides continuously increased their strength

After the liberation of Kharkov, the troops of the Steppe Front were tasked with delivering strikes in the direction of Poltava, Kremenchug, Krasnograd and Verkhnedneprovsk , reaching the middle reaches of the Dnieper, forcing it and providing bridgeheads for deploying forces on Right-Bank Ukraine. The first task of the front was to seize the Meref railway junction, which opened the way for the rapid advance of the 57th and 7th Guards armies to the Dnieper. The offensive of the 7th Guards Army, General Shumilov, whose task was to capture Merefa, developed slowly. For five days, the army fought hard battles to overcome the equipped defense of the enemy at the turn of the Uda River, which offered fierce resistance. Only on September 5, army forces managed to free the city. The defeat of the Germans near Kharkov and Merefa opened the way for the troops of the front to Poltava and further to the Dnieper. And the successful offensive of neighboring fronts forced the enemy to retreat throughout the Left-Bank Ukraine.

In accordance with the changes in the situation, the directive of the Supreme High Command was amended on September 6: the specified task of the Steppe Front was to quickly attack the general direction of Poltava and Kremenchug, not to allow the enemy to create a stable front, defeat his Poltava and Kremenchug groups.

Ahead was the struggle with a strong Poltava group of the 8th German army. In the direction of Poltava and Kremenchug, under the attacks of the Steppe Front, the largest group of the 8th Army retreated, consisting of the 3rd, 47th Panzer and 11th Army Corps.

Hiding behind the rearguards, the Wehrmacht's troops left separate groups at heights, in settlements and at road junctions, sought to hinder the advance of the Soviet troops, withdraw their main forces from the attack and save the crossing until the troops retreated.

Poltava was equipped as a powerful defense hub, which was a connecting link for defensive lines and strongholds on Left-Bank Ukraine in order to delay the advance of the Soviet troops.

As the troops of the Soviet Steppe Front approached the city, the resistance of the 8th German army grew. In the direction of the main attack, the German command advanced from the reserve fresh units of the 106th Infantry Division, the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" and others. In the Poltava direction, the Nazis widely used obstacles, created minefields and other obstacles, and often turned into counterattacks. The garrison of Poltava was doubled. Stationary positions were prepared along the right bank of the Vorskla . Engineering fortifications were built around the city. In the city, stone buildings were adapted for all- round defense , a system of artillery and mortar fire was created, and covered the approaches to the river. All bridges and crossings on the river were blown up.

The right wing of the front - the 5th Guards Army and the 53rd Army bypassed Poltava from the north and south with the task of capturing the city. In the center of the front, troops of the 69th and 7th Guards armies advanced in the direction of Kobelyak . The troops of the 57th and 46th armies - the left wing of the front - pursued the enemy in the direction of Dnepropetrovsk .

The troops of the 53rd Army at the end of the day on September 21 on their entire front reached the eastern coast of Vorskla. At the same time as the 53rd Army, troops of the 5th Guards Army entered the river. However, Poltava could not be captured on the fly - it was necessary to force Vorskla and overcome the developed defense system of the enemy near the river on its right bank.

At dawn on September 22, troops of the 5th Guards and 53rd Armies began preparations for crossing the Vorskla. By seven o’clock, the units of the 9th Guards Airborne, 95th, 97th and 13th Guards Rifle Divisions of the 5th Guards Army crossed to the right bank.

At the same time, units of the 214th , 233rd and 299th crossed over Vorskla, and after them the 84th, 375th and 116th rifle divisions of the 53rd army. The troops of the 53rd Army, overcoming the enemy’s resistance, despite strong artillery, mortar and machine gun fire, attacked enemy positions on the right bank of the Vorskla. By the evening of September 22, units of the 53rd Army took control of the right bank of the river on the Cherov, Klimovka, and East Kozuba sections and continued to push the enemy westward. Scouts of the 95th Guards and 84th Rifle Divisions were the first to break into the city, followed by specially prepared assault squads of the 95th Guards, 84th Rifle and 9th Guards airborne divisions. In stubborn street battles, parts of these divisions by the morning of September 23 cleared Poltava from Nazi invaders.

After the capture of Poltava by the Soviet troops, the Poltava group of Germans began to retreat to crossings across the Dnieper in the Kremenchug area. German divisions from other directions also departed here. Kremenchug was an important communications center on the left bank of the Dnieper, and after the liberation of Kharkov and Poltava, the Germans did their best to keep the crossings and the bridgehead, which ensured the withdrawal of their troops beyond the Dnieper. Kremenchug bridgehead was equipped according to all the rules of military engineering science. On the nearest approaches to Kremenchug, anti-tank ditches were opened, escarpies were equipped, wire fences and minefields were installed. Among the forces defending the bridgehead and ensuring the retreat of troops to the right bank, the division “Great Germany” and the SS division “Das Reich” should be distinguished.

At this time, the forces of the Steppe Front vigorously developed the pursuit of the retreating enemy with the goal of September 24-25 to seize the crossings on the Dnieper and ensure its crossing. Crossing the Dnieper was planned at the front 130 km.

The 5th Guards Army attacked in the direction of Reshetilovka , bypassing Poltava from the north. Its advance detachments were to go to the Dnieper in the Kremenchug area on September 24-29. The fifty-third army, bypassing Poltava from the south, pursued the enemy in a general direction to Kashubovka , Koba . On September 24, the army of advanced units was to take control of the crossings on the Dnieper in the area of Sadki and Chikalovka . The 69th Army advanced in the direction of Breusovka . The 7th Guards Army had the task of reaching the Dnieper in the area of Perevolochna , Borodaevka , Stary Orlik and seizing bridgeheads on the right bank of the river. The 57th Army, developing the offensive in the direction of Shulgovka , was to seize the ferries in the Pushkarevka area on September 23 and seize the bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper. The forty-sixth army developed an offensive in the general direction of Dneprodzerzhinsk , Sofievka and Chaplinka . She was supposed to take over the ferries in the area of ​​the village of Auly , Dneprodzerzhinsk and capture the bridgehead on the site Mironovka , Blagoveshchenka . The 37th Army, being in the second echelon of the front, was fully prepared to enter the battle. Units and formations of the 37th Army were to force the Dnieper in the center of the front line. Until September 28, troops of the 5th Guards and 53rd Armies, pursuing the retreating German troops, destroying their manpower and equipment, approached Kremenchug. The enemy showed fierce resistance. Attacking Kremenchug in all directions at the same time, Soviet troops penetrated the enemy defenses and destroyed enemy bridgeheads in parts. During the two days of fighting on September 28 and 29, the troops of the 5th and 53rd armies completely cleared Kremenchug of the enemy.

The directive of the Supreme High Command Headquarters of September 29, 1943, was intended for the Steppe Front to deliver the main blow in the general direction to Cherkasy, Novoukrainka, Voznesensk with the task of defeating the Kirovograd group of Germans. The left wing of the front was instructed to advance in the direction of the Pyatihatok and Krivoy Rog with the aim of reaching the rear of the Dnepropetrovsk enemy grouping.

• The history of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. 1941-1945. In 6 volumes, T. 3, - M: Military Publishing House, 1961.
• Konev I. S. Notes of the front commander. Battle of the Dnieper.
• Erich von Manstein. Lost victories.