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Counterattack at Orel

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Title
Counterattack at Orel
Description
The Soviet victory in their defense of the Kursk salient was the first time a major German offensive was stopped with only minimal gains. But what made the 1943 summer campaign exceptional was the counterattack that the Soviets planned before …
Subject
Publisher
Date
1943-07-12
Scenario#
35
Scenario Description
The Soviet victory in their defense of the Kursk salient was the first time a major German offensive was stopped with only minimal gains. But what made the 1943 summer campaign exceptional was the counterattack that the Soviets planned before the battle of Kursk and launched even while the German SS corps was still trying to push north. On 1 2 July, Operation Kutuzov began with the goal of eliminating the German salient around Orel. By the end of August, Soviet mechanized forces had pushed forward almost 100 miles along a front of nearly 300 miles. The Germans fought desperately, but once the Soviets seized the initiative, the fury of the Russian bear would not abate until the war ended in Berlin 21 months later.
Location
Orel, Russia
Battle Name
Battle Narrative
Operation Kutuzov was the first of the two counteroffensives launched by the Red Army as part of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation. It commenced on 12 July 1943, in the Central Russian Upland, against Army Group Center of the German Wehrmacht. The operation was named after General Mikhail Kutuzov, the Russian general credited with saving Russia from Napoleon during the French invasion of Russia in 1812. Operation Kutuzov was one of two large-scale Soviet operations launched as counteroffensives against Operation Citadel. The Operation began on 12 July and ended on 18 August 1943 with the capture of Orel and collapse of the Orel bulge.
Narrative Source
Combatants
German
Russian

Geolocation