Smolensk 1943: The Red Army’s Relentless Advance

Description

Smolensk 1943focuses on a major offensive that is virtually unknown in the West. With the German defeat at Kursk, the SovietStavka(high command) ordered the Western and Kalinin Fronts to launch OperationSuvorovin order to liberate the important city of Smolensk. The Germans had held this city for two years and Heeresgruppe Mitte's (Army Group Centre)4. Armeehad heavily fortified the region. The Soviet offensive began in August 1943 and quickly realized that the German defenses were exceedingly tough and that the Western Front had not prepared adequately for an extended offensive. Consequently, the Soviets were forced to pause their offensive after only two weeks, replenish their combat forces, and then begin again. The German4. Armeewas commanded by Generaloberst Gotthard Heinrici, one of the Wehrmacht's top defensive experts. Although badly outnumbered, Heinrici's army gamely held off two Soviet fronts for seven weeks. Eventually, the4. Armee'sfront was finally broken and Smolensk was liberated on 25 September 1943. However, the Western Front was too exhausted to pursue Heinrici's defeated army, which retreated to the fortified cities of Vitebsk, Orsha, and Mogilev; the4. Armeewould hold these cities until the destruction of Army Group Centre in June 1944.