Battle of the Dnieper

Battle of the Dnieper
Part of the Eastern Front of World War II

Map of the battle of the Dnieper and linked operations
Date26 August 1943 – 23 December 1943
(3 months, 3 weeks and 6 days)[1]
Location
Result Soviet victory
Territorial
changes
Soviets reclaim left-bank Ukraine, including the city of Kiev and Donets basin
Belligerents
 Soviet Union  Germany
 Romania
Commanders and leaders
Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov
Soviet Union Aleksandr Vasilevsky
Soviet Union Nikolai Vatutin
Soviet Union Ivan Konev
Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky
Soviet Union Fyodor Tolbukhin
Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky
Nazi Germany Erich von Manstein
Nazi Germany Ewald von Kleist
Nazi Germany Günther von Kluge
Units involved
Soviet Union 1st Ukrainian Front
Soviet Union 2nd Ukrainian Front
Soviet Union 3rd Ukrainian Front
Soviet Union 4th Ukrainian Front
Soviet Union 1st Belorussian Front

Nazi Germany Army Group South

Nazi Germany Army Group A

Nazi Germany Army Group Center

Strength
26 August:
2,633,000 men (1,450,000 reinforcements)[3]
51,200 guns and mortars[3]
2,400 tanks and assault guns[3]
2,850 combat aircraft[3]

Nazi Germany On 1 November 1943:[4]
Army Group South:
- 722,376 personnel;
6th Army of Army Group A:
- 182,236 personnel;
2nd Army of Army Group Center:
- 200,111 personnel;
Total- 1,104,723 personnel.
Nazi Germany Army Group South armoured strength as of 10 November 1943:[5]
- 713 operational tanks;
- 271 operational assault guns;
- 984 operational AFV's in total.
In repairs:
- 894 tanks;
- 302 assault guns.
Nazi Germany Luftflotte 4 strength on 10 October 1943:[6]
- 793 operational aircraft (all types)
- 1,149 aircraft in total (incl. in repairs)

Kingdom of Romania On 1 November 1943:[7]
- 85,564 personnel.
Casualties and losses

Krivosheev: 1,285,977 men[8]

348,815 killed or missing
937,162 wounded or sick

Frieser: 1,687,164 men[9]

417,323 killed or missing
1,269,841 wounded or sick
Forczyk:[10]
- 290,000 killed or missing
- 1,000,000+ in total
Nazi Germany Germany
Forczyk:[11]
- 102,000 killed or missing
- 372,000+ in total
Kingdom of Romania Romania
Unknown

The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 on the Eastern Front of World War II. Being one of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost four million troops at one point and stretched over a 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) front. Over four months, the eastern bank of the Dnieper was recovered from German forces by five of the Red Army's fronts, which conducted several assault river crossings to establish several lodgements on the western bank. Kiev was later liberated in the Battle of Kiev. 2,438 Red Army soldiers were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for their involvement.[12]

  1. ^ Edwards, Robert (15 August 2018). The Eastern Front: The Germans and Soviets at War in World War II. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8117-6784-2.
  2. ^ Frieser, Karl-Heinz. The Eastern Front 1943-1944: The War in the East and on the Neighbouring Fronts. Oxford University Press, 2017, p. 356.
  3. ^ a b c d Frieser et al. 2007, p. 343.
  4. ^ OKH Org.Abt. I Nr. I/5645/43 g.Kdos. Iststärke des Feldheeres Stand 1.11.43. NARA T78, R528, F768.
  5. ^ Oberkommando des Heeres. Geheime Kommandosache. Panzerlage der Heeresgruppe Süd. Stand am 10 November 1943. Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv (BA-MA) RH 10/52, fol. 80.
  6. ^ Frieser, Karl-Heinz. Germany and the Second World War: Volume VIII: The Eastern Front 1943-1944: The War in the East and on the Neighbouring Fronts. Oxford University Press, 2017, p. 364.
  7. ^ OKH Org.Abt. I Nr. I/5645/43 g.Kdos. Iststärke des Feldheeres Stand 1.11.43. NARA T78, R528, F770.
  8. ^ Кривошеев, Г.Ф. (2001). "Россия и СССР в войнах XX века: Потери вооруженных сил". ОЛМА-ПРЕСС.
  9. ^ Frieser et al. 2007, p. 379.
  10. ^ Forczyk, Robert. The Dnepr 1943: Hitler's Eastern Rampart Crumbles. Osprey Publishing 2016, p. 91.
  11. ^ Forczyk, Robert. The Dnepr 1943: Hitler's Eastern Rampart Crumbles. Osprey Publishing 2016, p. 91.
  12. ^ Military Review. Command and General Staff School. 1993. p. 2-PA75.