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History table: Reforms of Emperor Peter I

Peter I is one of the most prominent rulers of the Russian state, who ruled from 1682 to 1721. During his reign, reforms were carried out in many areas, many wars were won, the foundation for the future greatness of the Russian Empire was laid!

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CONTENT
Russia from ancient times to the end of the 16th century
Table /. Settling Eastern Slavs 8
Table 2. Occupations of the Eastern Slavs 9
Scheme 1. Paganism 10
Table 3. Old Russian princes and their policies 11
Scheme 2. Management Old Russian state in X-XII centuries 15
Table 4. Categories of the population of Ancient Rus 16
Scheme 3. Political fragmentation Russia 17
Scheme 4. Mongol conquest 20
Scheme 5. Expansion from the West in the XIII century 21
Table 5. Nature Horde yoke 23
Table 6. Moscow princes and their policies. 24
Table 7. Prerequisites for the unification of Russian lands in united state 27
Table 8. Reforms of the middle of the XVI century. (reforms " The chosen one is glad") 28
Scheme 6. Policy of the oprichnina 30
Scheme 7. Organization of management in the years of the oprichnina 30
Table 9. Foreign policy of Ivan IV 32
Russia in the 17th-18th centuries
Scheme 8. Troubles at the beginning of the XVII century 34
Table 10. Main events of the Troubles 34
Table 11. Consequences of the Troubles 40
Table 12. New phenomena in the Russian economy in the 17th century 41
Table 13. Estates structure Russian society in the 17th century 42
Scheme 9. Management The Russian state in the 17th century. (supreme bodies of state power) 45
Table 14. Social movements in the 17th century ... 46
Scheme 10. Cathedral Code 1649 g 49
Table 15. Formation of serfdom in Russia 50
Diagram 11. Church schism 51
Table 16. Foreign policy of Russia in the XVII century 54
Table 17. Transformations of Peter I (1682-1725) 58
Table 18. Russia's foreign policy in the first quarter XVIII at 61
Table 19. North War (1700-1721). .... 64
Scheme 12. Russia during the period palace coups 68
Table 20. Domestic policy Catherine II (1762-1796) 73
Table 21. The main events of the peasant uprising led by E. I. Pugachev (1773-1775) 78
Table 22. Russia's foreign policy in the second half of the XVIII century 81
Table 23. Domestic and foreign policy of Paul I (1796-1801) 84
Russia in the 19th century
Table 24. Domestic policy of Alexander I (1801-1825) 88
Table 25. Domestic policy of Nicholas I (1825-1855) 91
Table 26. Patriotic War of 1812 94
Table 27. Movement of the Decembrists 97
Scheme 13. Rise of the Decembrists 100
Scheme 14. Social thought in the second quarter XIX at 102
Scheme 15. Accession of the Caucasus (1817-1864) 104
Scheme 16. Crimean (Eastern) War (1853-1856) 105
Scheme 17. Great reforms of the 1860-1870s. ... ... 109
Scheme 18. Counter-reforms of the 1880s 118
Scheme 19. Social movements second half of XIX century 120
Table 28. Russia's foreign policy in the 1860-1890s 127
Russia in the XX - early XXI century
Scheme 20. State system of Russia at the beginning of XX century 133
Table 29. Class structure of Russian society at the beginning of XX century 133
Scheme 21. Industrial recovery. Formation of Monopolies 135
Scheme 22. Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). 137
Table 30. Main political parties in Russia at the beginning of XX century 139
Scheme 23. Revolution 1905-1907 144
Table 31. Experience of Russian parliamentarism (1906-1917), 148
Scheme 24. Agrarian reform P. A. Stolypin 150
Scheme 25.Russia in the First World War (1914-1918) 152
Figure 26. Fall of the Monarchy 155
Scheme 27. Provisional Government and Soviets. ... 158
Scheme 28. Main internal political events (April-October 1917) 159
Scheme 29. Preparation of the October armed uprising of 1917 in Petrograd 162
Table 32. The course of the October armed uprising 163
Table 33. Main decisions of the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets (October 25-27, 1917) 163
Table 34. Politics of the Bolsheviks (1917-1918) 165
Table 35. Civil War and Foreign Military Intervention 168
Table 36. "War Communism". New economic policy 174
Scheme 30. Formation of the USSR 178
Scheme 31. Supreme bodies of state power and administration of the USSR (1924) 180
Table 37. Further nation-building in the USSR 181
Scheme 32. Internal party struggle 181
Table 38. Phases of the internal party struggle. ... 182
Table 39. Industrialization. Collectivization Agriculture 184
Figure 33. Fundamental changes in spiritual life 189
Scheme 34. The personality cult of I. V. Stalin 193
Scheme 35. Mass repression 193
Scheme 36. Supreme bodies of state power and administration of the USSR (1936) 195
Scheme 37. USSR in the system international relations in the 1920s-1930s 196
Scheme 38. The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). ... 200
Table 40. The main stages of the Great Patriotic War (June 22, 1941 - May 9, 1945) 201
Table 41. Soviet rear during the war 206
Scheme 39. Guerrilla movement 209
Table 42. Conferences of the leaders of the leading countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR, Great Britain and the USA ("Big Three"). 212
Scheme 40. Results of the Great Patriotic War 214
Scheme 41. Post-war reconstruction of the national economy 216
Scheme 42. Ideological campaigns of the second half of the 1940s - early 1950s. ... ... 218
Scheme 43. " Cold war"(1946-1990) 220
Table 43. Internal party struggle in the leadership of the USSR in the mid-1950s 223
Scheme 44. Thaw 225
Table 44. Reforms in the socio-economic sphere 228
Figure 45. Policy of peaceful coexistence 234
Scheme 46. USSR in the mid-1960s - mid-1980s 236
Table 45. Economic reforms in 1965. ... 238
Scheme 47. Bodies of state power and administration of the USSR (1977) 239
Table 46. Foreign policy of the USSR (1965-1985) 240
Table 47. Growth of crisis phenomena in Soviet society 242
Table 48. The policy of perestroika and glasnost 245
Table 49. Socio-economic transformations 251
Table 50. Foreign policy: new political thinking 258
Table 51. The collapse of the USSR 261
Table 52. Political crisis of autumn 1993 264
Scheme 48. Bodies of state power and administration of the Russian Federation (from the end of 1993) 268
Table 53. Transition to a market economy. ... ... 269
Table 54. Political development modern Russia 274
Table 55. Economic development modern Russia 279
Table 56. Russia in the system of modern international relations 282

Smolensk operation, code name "Suvorov". The course of the battle. Liberation of Smolensk

Soviet Smolensk operation under the code name "Suvorov”Was conducted in August-October 1943. Favorable conditions for an attack in this direction developed after the success of the Red Army in a bloody Battle of Kursk and military operations in the regions of Kharkov and Orel.

The blow in the direction of Smolensk was important, since with the help of it the Soviet leadership was going to shackle the forces of the Wehrmacht and prevent them from moving to the southwest. In addition, it was from here that the liberation of Belarus began in the future.

The situation at the front and the commanders

The German command held a large grouping of troops in the upper reaches of the Dnieper and the neighboring Western Dvina ("Smolensk Gate"). The Wehrmacht has concentrated 40 fully equipped and experienced divisions on a 600-kilometer stretch. They were distinguished by well-equipped, deep defenses. This group was still a threat to the Central Industrial Region. Soviet Union... She also covered the shortest routes to the Baltic States and Belarus. Already proceeding from this, the Smolensk operation was to become a serious test for the USSR. Smolensk offensive was entrusted to the Western and Kalinin fronts. Their goal was to defeat the left side of Army Group Center under the command of Field Marshal Hans Gunther Adolf Ferdinand von Kluge.

The second task is to establish control over the Roslavl-Smolensk line. The left flank of the Kalinin Front was commanded by General Andrey Ivanovich Eremenko.

Its units actively interacted with formations advancing in the Belgorod-Kharkov and Bryansk directions. The second general who made this operation successful was Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky, who commanded the Western Front at that time.

Later he will become Marshal of the Soviet Union and will be present at the signing of the act of Germany's surrender.

German defense

To hold the lines east of Roslavl and Smolensk, the enemy set up six defensive zones, the total depth of which was 100-130 kilometers. Basically, they were created along the banks of the rivers: Western Dvina, Ugra, Dnieper, Desna, Sozh. In the intervals between these defensive lines, strongholds were built in settlements and at heights. Tank-hazardous areas were covered with overhead ditches, deep ditches and rubble.

The natural conditions in which the Smolensk operation took place favored the German defense. It was a wooded area with significant swamps. The cities of Roslavl, Yelnya, Smolensk, Yartsevo, Dorogobuzh, Demidov, Rudnya, Dukhovshchina, Surazh, Vitebsk became powerful centers of resistance. The approaches to them (as well as important roads and bridges) were mined.

Preparing for the offensive

During the preparation for the Smolensk operation, a large regrouping of troops was carried out, as well as the massing of funds and forces. On the Western Front, out of 58 rifle divisions, 42 divisions were allocated to form shock groupings. For precise control and organization of the offensive, observation and command posts brought it closer directly to the troops. Each rifle division was responsible for the approximately 2 km section of the breakthrough.

Air support for the operation was carried out by the 1st and 3rd air armies. The first of them included Regiment "Normandy", which was manned by foreign pilots from France.

Volunteers studied at the aviation school in Ivanovo and made an important contribution to the defeat of the Germans.

Engineers and material support Operation Suvorov required special attention to engineering support. The troops had to break through the deeply echeloned defense of the Germans in conditions of rainy weather and difficult terrain. Engineering troops cleared minefields and equipped the starting positions for the offensive. They also kept the roads and column tracks in good condition. There were a large number of water lines in the offensive zone, on which crossing means were equipped. The technical and material support of the Soviet troops was carried out. By the beginning of the operation, the Red Army men had, on average, two sets of main ammunition, which was not enough to break through the carefully prepared German defenses. There was a feeling of limited fuel supplies. Although the military leadership tried to mislead the Wehrmacht, the Germans understood that the Red Army was preparing for a large-scale attack. In this regard, the Wehrmacht kept the maximum possible number of divisions in the vicinity of Smolensk. Soviet disinformation became noticeably more effective already in the second stage of the Smolensk offensive.

Start of the operation The thoroughly prepared offensive operation of the Soviet troops began on August 7, 1943 (its first stage was called Spas-Demensky operation). On that day, the 5th and 10th Guards, as well as the 33rd armies began to attack. The fighting followed the artillery preparation. The hope for a quick breakthrough did not materialize. On August 8, the 31st Army went over to the offensive in the Yartsevo direction. The progress was negligible. The next day, the main battles were again fought in the vicinity of Spas-Demensk. The Germans transferred units here from the Oryol direction, and the Smolensk operation proceeded slowly. The enemy skillfully built up the resistance forces. On the fourth day of the offensive, the Red Army managed to break through the German defensive zone in the region of the city of Kirov.

The Tenth Army crossed the Bolva River. The advance was about 20 kilometers.

The course of the battle

According to the plan, the Kalinin Front began its offensive on August 13. The 39th and 43rd armies marched in the Dukhshchina direction. In five days, they advanced only 6-7 kilometers. At the same time, these formations managed to shackle the forces of the Wehrmacht. Thanks to their actions, units of the Western Front began the offensive. Operation "Suvorov" was conducted with the interaction of many formations, and some armies necessarily came to the rescue of others.

By August 16, the Red Army entered the city of Zhizdra. Three days later, it was decided to suspend the offensive. This was done in order to pull up the lagging rear. Without this, it was impossible to provide the formations and parts with fuel and ammunition. In the first two weeks, the Western and Kalinin Fronts broke through the Wehrmacht's defense zone in the direction of Spas-Demensk, advancing 40 kilometers and liberating about half a thousand settlements.

Second phase

On the first day, Soviet troops covered 9 kilometers. To develop the success, the 5th Mechanized and 2nd Guards Tank Corps were brought into battle. The Germans deployed anti-tank artillery and tried to stop the offensive with regular counterattacks. However, their efforts were not enough. The strike group on August 30 broke the organized resistance at the turn of the Ugra River and by the evening occupied Yelnya. Operation Suvorov began to bear the first tangible results. News of the success of the Red Army in Yelnya forced the Germans to withdraw in the direction of Dorogobuzh. In pursuit of these units, the Red Army advanced 18 kilometers, occupying about 200 villages, villages and small towns. During the battle in the village of Borisovka Private Tashtemir Rustemov covered a German machine gun, for which he posthumously became a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Way to the west

On September 1, the Red Army liberated Dorogobuzh. Parts of the Western Front entered the city. They were led by Vasily Sokolovsky. In response to this, the Wehrmacht transferred its additional forces from the reserve. The Soviet offensive slowed down.

On September 6, the Red Army stopped, reaching the line Malye Savki-Gorbachevka-Bolshaya Nezhoda-Manchina. A powerful defense was created here in advance with well-prepared engineering barriers and a fire system. During the Yelnensko-Dorogobuzh operation, the Red Army advanced 30-40 kilometers, capturing Yelnya, Dorogobuzh and a thousand more settlements.

New successes

At its final stage, the Smolensk operation of 1943 was supposed to lead to the liberation of Smolensk and Roslavl. Preparations for the next offensive took several days. The left flank of the Kalinin Front on September 14 began Dukhovshchinsko-Demidov operation, and the troops of the Western Front the next day - Smolensk-Roslavl.

The whole week preceding the next breakthrough, the Red Army men were consolidated on the occupied lines. The offensive of parts of the Kalinin Front was carried out in the direction of Dukhovshchina. The day before, the military leadership, using maneuvers and regrouping, managed to mislead the enemy about the true location Soviet units... False defensive work was carried out for misinformation. All this only contributed to the success of the upcoming operation.

Decisive days

By September 15, the 39th and 43rd armies of the Kalinin Front destroyed several surrounded Wehrmacht units and expanded the front of their breakthrough to 30 kilometers. On the night of the 19th, after the assault, a heavily fortified and important center of resistance was repulsed in the direction of Smolensk-Dukhovshchina. The next day, Yartsevo was under the control of Soviet troops.

The operation near Smolensk came to its decisive stage. The units of the Western Front acted most successfully. In 5 days they managed to advance 30 kilometers. The Kremlin gave the order to liberate Smolensk by September 27, and Demidov was released on the 21st. After the loss of this city, the enemy began to withdraw in front of the left flank of the Kalinin Front, where the 43rd Army was operating. By September 24, Soviet troops were 10 kilometers from their main target.

Liberation of Smolensk

One day - September 25 - the liberation of Smolensk and Roslavl took place. These cities were of strategic importance. Smolensk was the defense center of the Wehrmacht troops along the entire western direction.

The first to enter it were the 5th, 31st and 58th armies. Having lost communication nodes, the enemy tried to stop the Soviet troops on the Vikhra and Sozh rivers, but the Red Army thwarted these attempts. And on September 29, another strong point was liberated - Rudnya. Parts of the Western Front crossed the Sozh River. They also entered the cities of Mstislavl, Krasny, Krichev. Parts of the Western Front continued their offensive in the Roslavl direction, where the soldiers were assisted by the troops of the Bryansk Front. A few days later, on October 2, they approached the Prone River. This breakthrough ended the Smolensk offensive operation. Army Group Center suffered a serious defeat.

Thanks to the Smolensk strategic offensive operation, the "Eastern Wall" of the Wehrmacht in the upper reaches of the Dnieper was crushed.

The armies of the two fronts covered 200-225 kilometers. In total, more than 7 thousand settlements were liberated. Among them were such cities as Smolensk, Yelnya, Roslavl, Yartsevo, Dorogobuzh, Demidov, Spas-Demensk, Dukhovshchina and others. Seven enemy divisions were defeated. The successful completion of the Smolensk operation made it possible to complete the battle of Kursk, start the battle for the Dnieper and carry out an operation on complete release Donetsk basin. Throughout the entire offensive, the Red Army received significant assistance from partisans operating behind enemy lines. In two months they derailed nearly 200 enemy trains, blown up 10 thousand rails, destroyed about 6 thousand enemy soldiers.

Just to fight the partisans, the German command had to create four separate security divisions. In total, the losses of Soviet troops in the Smolensk operation amounted to about 450 thousand people (of which 107 thousand were irrecoverable). As a result of the offensive, 104 units were given their own honorary names - Elninsky, Smolensk, Yartsevsky, Roslavl, etc. Thousands of soldiers and partisans received orders and medals, and those who distinguished themselves for their heroism received the highest titles of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Desperate attempts by the Germans to hold the Savior-Demen salient were unsuccessful. Our offensive continued. Its pace increased somewhat after the 21st Army (commander - Lieutenant General N.I. ... By evening, the 42nd Rifle Division (commanded by Major General N.N. Multan) and the 146th Rifle Division (commanded by Colonel N.P. Baloyan) liberated the city and the Spas-Demensk railway station.

On August 20, offensive operations on the Western Front were suspended. It was necessary to carry out a partial regrouping, replenish the troops with people, deliver ammunition, food, fodder, and tighten up the rear.

At the beginning of the second half of August 1943 in the southwestern strategic direction major changes took place in the situation due to the defeat of the enemy in the battle of Kursk. The troops of the Bryansk and Central Fronts, pursuing the retreating enemy, reached the approaches to Lyudinov and Bryansk by August 20, 1943, while the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts fought for Kharkov. In the south, an offensive operation of the troops of the Southwestern and Southern fronts began to liberate Donbass. Thus, the counter-offensive launched at Kursk grew into a general strategic offensive.

The German command took all measures to stop the advance of the Red Army.

The enemy continued to pay great attention to the organization of defense in the Smolensk and Roslavl axes, to which, as noted above, considerable forces of German troops were transferred from the Oryol and Bryansk axes.

The successful offensive of the troops of the Bryansk and Central Fronts and their entry to the approaches to Lyudinov and Bryansk created conditions under which the continuation of the offensive of the main forces on Roslavl, as well as their turn to the southern direction, were no longer expedient.

In this regard, the front commander decided to change the direction of the main attack from Roslavl to Yelnya, Smolensk, regroup forces, create new shock groupings and, after a short pause, go on the offensive.

By the decision of the front commander, the front shock grouping was created as part of the 10th Guards, 21st and 33rd armies. This group was tasked with crushing the enemy in the Yelnya area and developing an offensive in the Yelnya, Smolensk direction.

The troops of the right wing of the front (31st, 5th and 68th armies) were to use the success of the troops advancing in the direction of the main attack and, in cooperation with the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front, capture the cities of Dorogobuzh and Yartsevo. The troops of the left wing were ordered to develop an offensive in the Roslavl direction.

To strengthen the armies operating in the direction of the main attack, the following were transferred: 33rd Army - 5th Mechanized and 6th Guards Cavalry Corps, 21st Army (commanded by Lieutenant General N.I.Krylov) - 2nd Guards a tank corps, which arrived at the front on August 20 from the reserve of the Supreme High Command Headquarters. In addition, these armies were reinforced with artillery. For example, the 33rd Army (commanded by Lieutenant General V.N. Gordov) received an additional five, and the 21st Army - seven artillery brigades due to the regrouping of reinforcement artillery available in the front.

At the same time, a regrouping of anti-aircraft artillery was carried out, with units and formations of which the armies of the front strike grouping were reinforced.

The strike grouping of the front was supposed to advance on a front of 36 km, of which the 10th Guards Army - on the front 20 km, the 21st and 33rd armies - on the front 16 km (8 km each). It was planned to break through the enemy's defenses in a sector 20 km wide.

In the direction of the main attack, superiority was created over the enemy: in infantry — by 1.5 times, in tanks — by 2 times, and in artillery — by 4–5 times. The offensive in the Elninsky direction was scheduled for August 28.

The headquarters of the Supreme High Command by Directive No. 30172 of August 22, 1943 approved the submitted plan of the operation of the Western Front.

In the period from 20 to 27 August, the troops of the Western Front carried out a partial regrouping and were preparing to resume the offensive.

The most difficult task continued to be the provision of the advancing troops with ammunition. The amount of ammunition in the armies as of August 25, depending on the calibers, ranged from 0.25 to 1.3 ammunition.

The limited amount of ammunition available to the front continued to have a significant impact on the performance of the combat mission by the troops.

At the time when the troops of the Western Front were preparing for the Elninsko-Dorogobuzh operation, the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front on August 23, after a five-day pause, resumed their offensive in the Dukhschina direction.

The 39th Army under the command of Lieutenant General A.I. Zygin, reinforced from the front reserve by the 5th Guards Rifle Corps, went over to the offensive in the same direction. However, due to poor preparation of the offensive, the army failed to break through the enemy's defenses. The enemy, pulling up reserves, put up fierce resistance.

Thus, the two-week offensive of the strike grouping of the left wing of the Kalinin Front was not successful. The assigned tasks were not fulfilled, although the offensive of the troops of the left wing of the front did not allow the German command to use the divisions located here to transfer them against the advancing formations of the Western Front.

In connection with the unsuccessful actions of the troops, the commander of the Kalinin Front on August 30, 1943, appealed to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command with a request to allow a temporary suspension of hostilities to prepare for a further offensive. Since on August 28 the offensive of the Western Front troops in the Elninsky direction was resumed, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command ordered to continue offensive operations until September 7, in order to prevent the enemy from maneuvering with their own forces and means.

The Supreme, in his own way, "stimulated" the front commanders. On August 27, 1943, both front commanders received the rank of army generals. In fact, this was done in advance, since Smolensk was not liberated. In bad rainy weather, lacking sufficient ammunition, the front commanders had to show not so much ingenuity as perseverance to achieve their goal.

The Western Front, having made the necessary regroupings, in the morning of August 28, after artillery preparation and air strikes, resumed the offensive, delivering the main attack in the direction of Yelnya.

An artillery density of 150–160 guns and mortars of 76.2 mm and higher caliber per 1 km of the front was created in the sector designated for the breakthrough. The artillery preparation lasted 85 minutes. During the period of artillery preparation, aviation training was also carried out, during which aviation suppressed and smoked the identified most active enemy batteries. Artillery support for the attack by infantry and tanks was carried out by a consistent concentration of fire. During the same period of the artillery offensive, the long-range group (DD) continued to suppress the enemy's artillery batteries, and the rocket artillery group (GMCh) continued to suppress the enemy's most powerful resistance nodes in the nearest depth of its defense (up to 1.5 km).

On August 28, three armies of the center of the Western Front (10th Guards, 21st and 33rd) resumed their offensive. Already on the first day, they broke through the enemy defenses to a depth of 6–8 km (with a breakthrough width of 25 km). The 5th Mechanized Corps (commanded by Major General MV Volkov) acted skillfully and decisively. One of the motorized rifle battalions particularly distinguished themselves in the battles for the Koshelevo stronghold. Imitating an attack from the front with a small force, the battalion commander threw two motorized rifle companies around Koshelevo. Panic broke out among the Germans. Throwing down their weapons, they fled west. An important stronghold was taken with almost no loss.

These days, a proven combat formation - the 2nd Guards Tatsinsky Tank Corps (commanded by Major General A.S.Burdeiny) - joined the front. Before the battle, the corps commander, on behalf of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet, presented the 4th motorized rifle, 25th and 26th tank brigades with guards banners. The personnel of these brigades, accepting the glorious military banners, swore an oath to the Motherland and to the Soviet people to the last drop of blood, to the last heartbeat to fight for freedom and independence home country, mercilessly destroy the Nazi occupiers. The guardsmen honorably fulfilled this oath. Acting as part of the Western, and then the 3rd Belorussian Front, they raised even higher combat glory his heroic connection.

The Tatsinians entered the battle on August 30 and in the afternoon, advancing up to 20 km, together with the troops of the 10th guards army approached Yelnya. The assault on the city began at 18 o'clock. As a result of a rapid attack by units of the 29th Guards Rifle Division (commanded by Major General A.T. Stuchenko) from the east and an attack by the Tatsin guardsmen from the south, our troops by the end of the day captured Yelnya, a major enemy defense stronghold in the Smolensk direction. The 76th Rifle Division (commanded by Colonel A.G. Babayan), the 23rd Separate Guards Tank Brigade (commanded by Colonel I.P. Kalinin), the 119th Separate Tank Regiment (commanded by Colonel O A. Losik).

As part of the 23rd Guards Separate Tank Brigade, the crew of the Merciless tank fought bravely with the enemy. This formidable combat vehicle was built with funds from prominent Soviet writers and artists. Referring to them, the crew members wrote:

“Our dear comrades Marshak, Gusev, Mikhalkov, Tikhonov, Kupriyanov, Krylov, Sokolov! The crew of the "Merciless" consisting of Makarov, Sokolov and Starodubtsev swears to you that they will mercilessly exterminate the Hitlerite pack to the point of complete destruction. "Merciless" will be ahead of everyone on the battlefield ...

(Commander of the "Merciless" V. Makarov ".)

The tank guards fulfilled their oath: when breaking through fortified enemy positions near Yelnya, their tank crushed several firing points and destroyed them before platoon German soldiers.

Our pilots from the 233rd assault aviation division... A few days before the start of the fighting, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the navigator of the formation, Major M.Z. Bondarenko, was awarded the second medal " Golden Star».

On August 31, six formations and units that participated in the liberation of Yelnya were named “Yelninsky”. The capital of our Motherland, Moscow, saluted the liberators of the city with twelve artillery volleys from 124 guns.

Serious battles were fought at this time on the right wing of the front. The 31st, 5th and 68th armies were advancing here. On September 1, the 312th Rifle Division (commanded by Colonel A. G. Moiseevsky) drove the Germans out of Dorogobuzh. Our troops successfully crossed the Dnieper, Desna and Snoot in a number of sectors, and in five days they covered almost 40 km in battles.

West of Dorogobuzh and Yelnya, the resistance of the German troops increased markedly. The German command brought up fresh forces. On September 6, our advancing divisions stopped in front of the enemy's defensive zone prepared in advance. It was occupied by the retreating Nazi formations, as well as units of the 330th Infantry Division and the 1st Motorized SS Brigade that were transferred to the Elninsky direction.

During the week, the front's troops were conducting reconnaissance of the enemy defense, refining the fire system, and regrouping the forces. Only aviation was active, continuing to destroy defensive structures, destroy enemy personnel and equipment.

Planning further actions, which were to lead to the defeat of the enemy in the Smolensk and Roslavl areas and subsequently to the capture of Smolensk, the front command decided to concentrate the main efforts in the center. The shock group included the 10th Guards, 21st and 33rd Armies, the 2nd Guards Tank, 5th Mechanized, 6th and 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps. The 31st, 5th and 68th armies were tasked with destroying the enemy in the Yartsevo area, reaching the Vop 'and the Dnieper rivers and, in cooperation with the troops of the main grouping, capturing Smolensk. The troops of the 49th and 10th armies were to liberate Roslavl.

To break through the enemy's defenses in the direction of the front's main attack, it was planned to involve 14 rifle divisions, of which 7 were supposed to be in the second echelons of armies and corps. The density of artillery and tanks per 1 km of the breakthrough front reached 150 guns and mortars (caliber 76.2 mm and above), and 48 tanks and self-propelled guns.

The troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front were to defeat the enemy grouping in the Dukhovshchina - Demidov area and develop an offensive in the general direction of Rudnya - Vitebsk.

The commander of the Kalinin Front decided on September 14 to resume the offensive with the forces of the 39th and 43rd armies. The main efforts were concentrated in the 39th Army's offensive zone in the general direction Beresnevo - Dukhovshchina. By the decision of the commander of the 39th Army, the main blow was delivered to Dukhovshchina by forces of the 84th and 2nd Guards Rifle Corps and a mobile group of the army consisting of four tank brigades. The width of the army's breakthrough area was 9 km.

By September 10, in front of the front of the 39th Army, which plays the main role in the upcoming operation, 5 German formations defended: the 52nd, 197th and 246th Infantry Divisions, the 18th Panzer Division and the 25th Motorized (Panzergrenadier) Division.

It should be noted that at the beginning of September our troops already tried to take possession of Dukhovshchina by the forces of the 83rd Army Corps and the mechanized group of Colonel Dremov, but due to poor artillery preparation and non-observance of secrecy, the operation failed. The enemy pulled the 1st SS motorized brigade to the place of the alleged breakthrough, and the battles became positional.

The command of the Kalinin Front decided to build up the forces of the strike group. To the existing mechanized group of Colonel Dremov (46th and 47th mechanized brigades, 4th anti-tank brigade, 114th separate motorized engineer battalion, 1820th self-propelled artillery regiment), the tank group of Lieutenant Colonel Chuprov (60th and 236th tank brigade, 17th anti-tank brigade and 4th guards engineer battalion), which by September 13 was concentrated in the area of ​​the Malye Debri n / a.

According to the new plan of operation, as already mentioned, two rifle corps were supposed to take possession of Dukhovshchina: the 84th and the 2nd Guards. The first, during the breakthrough of the German defense, was supported by a group of direct infantry support (NPP), consisting of the 11th Guards Breakthrough Regiment (11 KV) and the 28th Guards Tank Brigade (16 T-34-76, 10 T-70, 9 T-60 ). In total - 46 tanks. The tank group of Lieutenant Colonel Chuprov (62 T-34–76 and 41 T-70) was supposed to develop the success of the 84th SC. The 2nd Guards Rifle Corps was supported by Colonel Dremov's mechgroup (58 T-34-76, 14 T-70 and 16 self-propelled guns SU-122).

In total, the 39th Army had 238 tanks and self-propelled guns. Great power! The supply of fuels and lubricants for the groups was 2.2–2.5 zapr., Ammunition: 2.5–3.0 b / c food: 5–8 days.

The tactical density in the direction of the main attack reached 4.5 battalions, 128 guns and mortars (caliber 76.2 mm and above) and 24 tanks. The change and the exit of units to the starting position for the offensive were planned on the night before the attack, that is, on the night of September 14.

In accordance with decisions taken offensive actions of the troops of Kalininsky and Western fronts were renewed on September 14-15.

At 10.20 on September 14, after artillery preparation, which lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes, the troops of the 39th and the left flank of the 43rd armies went on the offensive. As a result of the first day of fighting, the enemy's defense in the direction of the main attack was broken. The front's troops advanced to a depth of 3 to 13 km, expanding the breakthrough to 30 km.

On the night of September 19, the troops of the 39th Army, commanded at that time by Lieutenant General N.E.Berzarin, captured an important stronghold of the enemy's defense on the routes to Smolensk - the town of Dukhovshchina.

During this operation, our tank groups inflicted the following damage on the enemy: tanks - 14, self-propelled guns - 10, artillery systems of various caliber - 55, heavy machine guns - 4, machine guns - 75, mortars - 42, dugouts and bunkers - 109, various depots - 25, cars - 31, soldiers and officers - about 3260.

Captured: 4 different guns, 17 machine guns, 4 mortars, 46 rifles, 2 tractors, 1 cars, 4 motorcycles, 2 horses, 4 telephones.

The losses of the group during the operation were: 63 T-34–76 tanks, 18 T-70 tanks, 4 SU-122 self-propelled guns. A total of 85 units. The personnel were killed and wounded - 2101 people.

On September 15, the offensive of the Western Front also resumed. On the very first day, the enemy's defenses were broken in all directions. The units of the 31st Army attacking Yartsevo acted actively and decisively. Skillfully maneuvering, they bypassed the foci of enemy resistance and persistently moved forward. On September 16, the last German defensive line east of Yartsevo was broken through, and our troops broke into the outskirts of the city. The 359th Infantry Division (commander - Colonel P.P. Kosolapov), 82nd Infantry Division (commander - Major General I.V. Pisarev), 133rd Infantry Division (commander - Colonel M.Z. Kazishvili), relentlessly pursuing the enemy, crossed the Vop River and captured the city.

On September 19, 1943, nine formations and units of the front, which distinguished themselves in the capture of an important stronghold of the German defense on the approaches to Smolensk, were given the honorary name "Yartsevskie".

At this time, the troops of the strike group achieved significant success. In five days of the offensive, they advanced to a depth of 40 km. The 254th Guards named after Alexander Matrosov glorified himself with new glorious battles these days rifle regiment 56th Guards Rifle Division. With a decisive attack, the 1st rifle company of this regiment, in the ranks of which A. Matrosov performed his heroic deed, took possession of the height of 147.4. The enemy was striving at all costs to regain the lost positions. More than 150 German submachine gunners moved towards the guards. "We will die, but we will not give up the height!" - swept along the chain. The machine-gun crew of Sergeant Smolin, a friend of Alexander Matrosov, accurately struck the enemy. Other fighters also fought fearlessly. After fierce attacks, only five people survived. But the height was still in our hands. At that moment, another company entered the rear of the Germans, and with heavy losses they rolled back.

Many documents have survived that clearly testify to the greatness of spirit, courage and dedication displayed by the soldiers of the Western Front in the battles for Smolensk. Here is the report of the Komsomol organizer of the 2nd Rifle Company of the 87th Rifle Regiment of the 29th Guards Rifle Division of Matyushin:

“Now we are going into battle. I am writing during a fire raid by our artillery. Komsomolets Polden was wounded, but refused to go to the first-aid post. The company commander was killed. I issued a leaflet: “We will avenge him!” I briefly informed all the Komsomol members of this. The Red Army men are rushing into the attack rather to avenge the commander. A three-time volley was fired over the corpse at the Nazis by the whole company.

(Komsomol organizer of the company Matyushin. ")

A rifle platoon of junior lieutenant D.G. Yurkov from the 241st rifle regiment of the 95th rifle division rapidly attacked the enemy. When the village of Boltutino was liberated, the platoon commander personally destroyed 25 Germans and 3 heavy machine guns. In hand-to-hand combat near the village of Yegor, D.G. Yurkov with ten soldiers destroyed an infantry platoon and 4 machine guns of the enemy, and then knocked the German soldiers out of the trench. While repelling a strong counterattack in the area of ​​the village of Barsuki, the platoon exterminated up to 40 Nazis. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 3, 1944, junior lieutenant D.G. Yurkov was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Our aviators actively contributed to the successes of the ground forces. In the battles for Smolensk, the pilots of the 1st Air Army made 6093 sorties, in 160 air battles they shot down 128 enemy aircraft.

Building on the success, the troops of the Kalinin and Western Fronts already on September 19 were conducting an offensive in a strip of about 250 km, and the greatest success was achieved in the direction of the main attack of the Western Front, where the troops advanced to a depth of 40 km in five days of the offensive.

On September 20, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command by Directive No. 30193 assigned the troops of the Western Front the task of continuing the offensive, crushing the retreating enemy grouping and capturing the city of Smolensk on September 26-27; by the same time, the troops of the left wing of the front were ordered to occupy Pochinok, Roslavl and reach the line: the river Sozh - Khislavichi - Shumyani; In the future, the main grouping of the front was tasked with advancing in the general direction of Orsha and capturing the Orsha-Mogilev region on October 10-12.

The Kalinin Front by Directive No. 30192 of September 20, the Supreme Command Headquarters ordered the main efforts of the front left wing troops to concentrate on the capture of the city of Vitebsk. By September 26-27, the troops were to reach the Ponizovye - Punishchi - Kasplya - Arkhipovka line and capture Vitebsk no later than October 9-10.

Following the instructions of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the troops of both fronts continued to successfully develop the offensive.

The troops of the Kalinin Front on September 21, with the forces of the 43rd Army under the command of Lieutenant General KD Golubev, captured a powerful enemy defense center on the routes to Vitebsk - the city of Demidov, engulfing the enemy grouping located in the Smolensk region from the north. In this regard, the enemy began to withdraw his troops operating in front of the left wing of the front. Successfully advancing, the troops of the Kalinin Front by September 24 reached the line 15 km south-west of Velizh - the Kasplya-Demidov River, 10 km north of Smolensk.

The shock group of the Western Front troops on September 23 cut the Smolensk-Roslavl railway, and on September 24 reached the Sozh River, engulfing the enemy grouping in the Smolensk region from the south. By this time, the troops of the 10th Army broke into the city of Roslavl and started street battles.

By September 23, the enemy's Smolensk grouping was captured from the northeast by the 31st army, from the southwest by the 5th and 68th armies. By the evening of the next day, our forward divisions reached the approaches to Smolensk.

The liberation of this city is a page of honor in the military history of the Western Front. The German command, well aware of the strategic and political significance of Smolensk, made a lot of efforts to strengthen the troops defending the city. But the onslaught of our units could no longer be stopped. The advance battalions of the 215th, 331th, 312th and other rifle divisions of the 31st and 5th armies with a bold attack shot down the enemy, entrenched on the left bank, and broke into Smolensk. The fighting went on all night. The enemy fought desperately. But all his attempts to keep the city were in vain. At 0330 hours on September 26, Smolensk was completely liberated from the German invaders.

Wasteland gloomy and waterless,
Where the ruins have an evil wind
Throws cold in the eyes
Brick dust and ash.

In such sorrowful words, the poet Alexander Tvardovsky (who was himself born in these places. - Note. ed.) the picture that opened before the liberators. The ancient city was completely destroyed by the enemy. There is no way to list all the atrocities committed by the Nazis. The following statistics are available: 82% of buildings were burned and blown up, all industry, a power plant, a water supply system, 26 hospitals, 33 schools, 31 administrative buildings were destroyed. In the ruins lay a telegraph office, a telephone exchange and a post office, a railway station.

On the night of September 25-26, the capital of our Motherland, Moscow, saluted the valiant troops of the Western Front, which captured Smolensk, with twenty artillery volleys from 224 guns.

In the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the merits of formations and units of the 5th, 31st and 68th armies, as well as artillerymen Major General of Artillery L.I.Kotukhov, Colonel I.S.Basov, Colonel A.A. Sergeev, Colonel S. B. Bildin, lieutenant colonel V.S.Kopnin, major V.V.Bogorodsky, anti-aircraft gunners colonel N.I. Kaminsky, lieutenant colonel M.P. Khilko, lieutenant colonel G.P.Semenov, sappers colonel P.A. Aviation V.V. Stepichev, Major General of Aviation D.D.Yukhanov, Major General of Aviation N.I.Buyansky, Major General of Aviation G.N. Zakharov, Major General of Aviation V.D. Dryanin, Colonel S. P. Andreev, Lieutenant Colonel V. N. Wuss. 39 formations and units of the front received the honorary name "Smolensk". On September 27, a large rally took place in the city. On behalf of the working people, the head of the returned Soviet power, the secretary of the Smolensk regional and city committees of the CPSU (b), D.M. Popov, expressed his warm gratitude to the soldiers of the Western Front who liberated Smolensk.

The military council, formations and units of the front did a lot to help the working people of the city to establish a normal life. Five mobile power plants with a total capacity of 100 kilowatts supplied current to the hospital, to newly created hospitals, city and regional institutions. The road engineering units of the front first built a pontoon and then built a high-water bridge. Sappers of the Combined Engineer-Sapper Brigade under the command of Lieutenant Colonel E. Kh. Bondarev cleared the city of mines, land mines, time bombs. In a short time they removed 5 thousand explosive objects.

On the day when the troops of the main grouping of the front stormed Smolensk, units of the 10th Army liberated Roslavl. The 49th Rifle Division (commander - Major General A.V. Chizhov), 139th Rifle Division (commander - Colonel I.K.Kirillov), 247th Rifle Division (commander - Major General GD Mukhin), 277th Rifle Division (commander - Major General S.T. Gladyshev), 326th Rifle Division (commander - Colonel V.A.Gusev).

The offensive operations of the troops of the Western Front continued until early October. Our formations and units crossed the Sozh River on the move and entered the territory of Belarus.

The enemy, having lost important for him nodes of defense - Smolensk, Roslavl, Demidov, sought to delay the offensive of our troops at intermediate lines. However, the troops of the Kalinin and Western Fronts continued to pursue the enemy relentlessly.

During the period from 20 to 25 September along the entire front of the offensive, Soviet troops advanced 40-60 km. By September 30, formations and units of the left wing and center of the Kalinin Front reached the Usvyaty-Rudnya line. Further attempts by our troops to continue the offensive in the Vitebsk direction were unsuccessful.

The troops of the Western Front crossed the river Sozh on the move, liberated the cities of Krasny, Mstislavl, Krichev, and by October 2 reached the line Eliseevka - Lyady (western) - Lenino - Dribin and further south along the Pronya river to Petukhovka.

The offensive of the troops of the left wing of the Western Front in the Roslavl direction was carried out in close cooperation with the troops of the Bryansk Front, which were conducting the Bryansk offensive operation at that time. In mid-September, the troops of the Bryansk Front crossed the Desna River, and on September 17 they liberated Bryansk and Bezhitsa. By September 30, they reached the Krichev - Vetka line, and by October 2 - to the Pronya River in the section from Petukhovka to Propoisk (now Slavgorod) and further along the left bank of the Sozh River.

The troops of the Kalinin and Western Fronts were greatly assisted by partisans operating behind enemy lines on the territory of the Smolensk and Kalinin regions. They pulled off four security divisions (281, 201, 286 and 203) and, in addition, constantly delivered valuable intelligence about the enemy to the Soviet command.

With the troops of the Kalinin and Western Fronts reaching the Usvyaty - Rudnya - Lenino - Dribin - Propoisk (Slavgorod) line, the advancing troops met organized enemy resistance. Attempts to develop an offensive in the Orsha and Mogilev directions were unsuccessful.

German military historians, and above all K. Tippelskirch, assessed the situation around Smolensk in September 1943 in a slightly different way.

The commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal von Kluge, understood perfectly well that under the existing conditions it was impossible to hold the city of Smolensk and the adjacent territories for a long time. Therefore, the German leadership in advance chose a new defensive line and began to equip it. This line passed in front of the Dnieper and covered the last major railway and motorway in front of the Pripyat bogs. If the Soviet troops managed to take control of the highway and the Gomel-Mogilev-Orsha railway line, then the defense east of the Pripyat swamps would hardly be feasible. By issuing in mid-September the order to retreat to a new line, passing along the Sozh River and further through Lenino to Rudnya, the group's command hoped that it would be able to stretch this retreat for at least five weeks. Events, however, made it happen much faster. The critical situation on the right wing of the army group, which needed constant support, as well as the extremely strong pressure exerted by the Western Front on the troops of the 4th Army in the Smolensk direction, required a continuous reduction in the front line. WITH the greatest work at first they managed to prevent the Red Army from breaking through to Smolensk. But already on September 24, Smolensk and Roslavl, with which the Germans had the bloodiest memories of the summer of 1941, the aggressors had to leave. The onslaught of the Soviet troops increased. Of course, our military intelligence learned about the preparation of new defensive positions, and the Supreme Command Headquarters and the front command tried to prevent the German troops from stopping and stabilizing the front. South of Smolensk, which, according to German historians, had to be held for too long due to Hitler's stubbornness, the Soviet leadership's plan was a success. The enemy could not prevent the breakthrough of our cavalry corps at Lenino. The situation for the German defense became even more critical when our troops made a breakthrough in the defense zone of the 3rd Panzer Army of the Wehrmacht, which transferred (contrary to Soviet assertions - Note. ed.) in recent months, several formations to other sectors of the front and forced to stretch the defensive zones of each of the remaining divisions up to 40 km along the front. By regrouping forces in other sectors of Army Group Center, the offensive was halted. Meanwhile, by a blow from the depths, carried out by the forces of hastily created units and rear guard troops, our cavalry corps, which had broken through, was detained in the Lenino area. By October 1, Army Group Center, according to German estimates, had safely retreated to a new line, and Field Marshal von Kluge ordered from now on to "end the withdrawal." This is the official assessment of events by German historians. There are elements of objectivity in their statements, but during the period of the operation, it was the Red Army who owned the initiative, and the German operational-tactical actions were a consequence of the implementation of our plans.

In the current situation, the need arose again to continue active operations by the troops of the Kalinin and Western Fronts in the Vitebsk, Orsha and Mogilev directions in order to pin down the main forces of Army Group Center. By carrying out a number of private operations in these sectors, the troops of the Kalinin and Western Fronts fulfilled their task and did not allow the enemy to transfer their forces to the southern direction, where the main outcome of the campaign was being decided. However, the progress has stopped.

Before the powerful onslaught of Soviet infantry, artillery, tanks, aviation, before the courage of our fighters and commanders, the enemy's fortified zones, on which dozens of German divisions defended, could not resist. The troops of the Western Front, conducting continuous battles, passed more than 200 km to the west. Neither infantry nor tank formations and even units could not be removed by the German command from the western direction. Thus, favorable conditions were created for the successful completion of our counteroffensive at Kursk.

For 57 days of fighting, our troops carried out the Spas-Demenskaya, Yelninsko-Dorogobuzhskaya, Dukhovsko-Demidovskaya and Smolensk-Roslavlskaya front-line offensive operations. Irrecoverable losses of the troops of the Western and Kalinin Fronts during the strategic offensive operation "Suvorov" amounted to 107,645 people.

1. Documents from the archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (TsAMO RF):

a) the report of the senior assistant inspector general of the BT and MV KA on the use of the 1st, 5th, 11th, 25th tank corps and the 5th mechanized corps on the Western Front on August 12, 1943 (TsAMO RF, f. 38, op. 80040ss, d. 94, ll. 23-30);

b) report of the Criminal Code of BT and MV of the Kalinin Front on the military operations of the BT and MV of the front in August 1943 (TsAMO RF, f. 38, op. 80040ss, d. 214, pp. 47–37);

c) the report of the headquarters of the UK BT and MV of the 1st Baltic Front on examples of the combat use of BT and MV in wooded and swampy terrain and conclusions on operations for September-December 1943 (TsAMO RF, f. 235, op. 2088, d . 49, pp. 1-26);

d) report of the commander of BT and MV 5A on the military operations of the army in August 1943 (TsAMO RF, f. 38, op. 80040ss, d. 206, pp. 90–92).

2. Operations of the Soviet Armed Forces during the period of radical change during the Great Patriotic War (November 19, 1942 - December 1943). Moscow: Military Publishing, 1958.520 p.

3. Liberation of cities: A guide to the liberation of cities during the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. Moscow: Military Publishing. 598 s.

4. Russia and the USSR in the wars of the 20th century. Moscow: Olma-Press, 2001 492 p.

5. Soviet cavalry (military history sketch). Moscow: Military Publishing, 1984.316 p.

6. Degtyarev P.A., Ionov P.P.... "Katyushas" on the battlefield. M., 1991, 238 p.

7. Müller-Gillebrand B. Land Army of Germany. 1933-1945. T. 3. War on two fronts. Moscow: Voenizdat, 1976.416 p.

8. Tippelskirch K. History of the Second World War. Volume 2.1943-1945. 304 s.

Fighting 61st Rifle Corps of the 13th Army in the Mogilev direction

Defensive battles in the Bryansk direction and counterattacks by the troops of the Bryansk Front from August 25 to September 10, 1941

Offensive operation of the 24th Army of the Red Army in the Yelnya area from August 30 to September 8, 1941

The fighting of the opposing sides during Smolensk battle from July 10 to September 10, 1941

Combat actions of the Soviet and German troops during the Smolensk strategic offensive operation "Suvorov" (August 7 - October 20, 1943)

Notes:

Lensky A.G. Ground forces Red Army (in the pre-war years). St. Petersburg, 2000, p. 89.

Ibid, p. 114, 115.

TsAMO RF, f. 208, op. 2526, d. 6737, ll. 616-618.

TsAMO RF, f. 661, op. 81133, d.2, l. 28.

The 1st SS brigade consisted of two motorized infantry regiments of three battalions (each had three motorized infantry and machine gun companies); also in each of the regiments there were anti-tank (12 37-mm guns) and infantry artillery systems (2150-mm howitzers, 4105-mm guns), a tank-destroyer battery (12 37-mm guns), an anti-aircraft battery (12 20-mm guns), a motorcycle a company (18 light and 2 heavy machine guns, 3 50-mm mortars, 7 armored vehicles Sd.Kfz.222 / 223) and a sapper company (9 machine guns).

TsAMO RF, f., 235, op. 2088, d. 49, ll. 2-5.

Ibid, l, 6.

TsAMO RF, f. 208, op. 2526, d. 381, l. 231.

Ibid., 381, l. 83.

"Revived from the Ruins". Smolensk book publishing house, 1963, p. 24.

The Smolensk offensive operation was carried out by the troops of the Western Front under the command of General of the Army V.D.Sokolovsky and the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front under the command of General of the Army A.I. Eremenko. It began during the Soviet counteroffensive near Kursk and ended during the battle for the Dnieper and Right-Bank Ukraine. This operation was part of general offensive of the Soviet Army in the summer-autumn campaign of 1943 and was of great strategic importance.

By the beginning of August 1943, the general situation on the Soviet-German front, including on the western strategic direction, was determined by the victories won by the Soviet Army in the Battle of Kursk.

The attempt of the Hitlerite command to launch an offensive in the Kursk region in the summer of 1943 ended complete failure... Within a few days, in a fierce defensive battle, the Red Army broke the powerful offensive of the German fascist troops from the regions of Orel and Belgorod and itself launched a counteroffensive.

The troops of the left wing of the Western, Bryansk, Central, Voronezh and Steppe fronts developed an offensive, striking the enemy one blow after another. The Red Army firmly held the strategic initiative in its hands, successfully fighting the main forces Hitlerite Germany and her allies. Under these conditions, it was very important to take active actions in other directions to defeat as many enemy forces as possible (and above all in those sectors of the front that were closest to the Kursk region), so as not to allow him to use these forces to counter our counteroffensive. These sectors of the front primarily included the western direction, as it was directly adjacent to the region of the Kursk salient.

To this end, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command was preparing a major offensive operation in the western direction, giving it great importance... The command of the Western and Kalinin Fronts was timely oriented in the fact that in the summer of 1943 the Soviet troops would deliver the main blow in the southwestern strategic direction, where the main grouping of German fascist troops was located. At the same time, the attention of the front commanders was drawn to the fact that the enemy holds large forces (over forty divisions) in front of the troops of the Western and Kalinin Fronts, so if they are not defeated or pinned down, then the fascist German command will be able to regroup some of these forces to the south, and thus most complicate the offensive of the Soviet troops, which inflicted the main blow.

To prevent this, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command ordered the commanders of the Western and Kalinin fronts to start preparing an offensive operation in the Smolensk and Roslavl areas.

The troops of the Western and Kalinin Fronts were to defeat the 3rd Tank and 4th Armies of the enemy, which were part of Army Group Center, and capture the Smolensk-Roslavl line. The plan provided for the possibility of action by the main forces of the Western Front troops in the southern direction, west of Bryansk, to assist the offensive of the Bryansk Front troops if their advance slowed down.

In accordance with the purpose of the operations, the main blow was planned to be delivered in the Roslavl direction by the troops of the Western Front, which were to defeat the enemy in the areas of Yelnya and Spas-Demensk and further develop the offensive on Roslavl.

The troops of the right wing of the Western Front, in cooperation with the formations of the left wing of the Kalinin Front, were to defeat the enemy in the area of ​​Yartsev and Dorogobuzh and further advance in the general direction of Smolensk.

The troops of the Kalinin Front were to strike with their left wing on the Dukhovshchina and, in cooperation with the formations of the right wing of the Western Front, defeat the enemy grouping in the Dukhovshchina region and further advance in the direction of Smolensk.

The headquarters of the Supreme High Command from its reserves reinforced the Western and Kalinin fronts with rifle troops, artillery, tanks, mechanized and cavalry units and formations. However, the main forces of mobile troops and aviation at that time acted in the direction of the main attack of the Red Army, and the Headquarters was unable to allocate to the Western Front the number of troops and ammunition that was supposed to be allocated when developing the plan for the Smolensk operation.

The offensive operation of the troops of the Kalinin and Western Fronts was to be carried out in close strategic cooperation with the troops advancing in the Bryansk and Belgorod-Kharkov directions.
Before the troops of the Kalinin Front, by the beginning of the Smolensk operation, the 3rd Panzer Army and part of the forces of the 27th Army Corps of the 4th Army of the enemy, which had up to 20 divisions, defended themselves. In the first echelon, the enemy had 15 divisions, the remaining divisions (including two guard divisions) constituted an operational reserve. In addition, the 18th motorized division, which was in the reserve of the commander of the 4th German army, was located at the junction of the Kalinin and Western fronts in the Dukhovshchina region.

In front of the troops of the Western Front, the 4th Army and part of the forces of the 2nd Panzer Army, which had 23 divisions (including one tank division), defended themselves. Of these, 18 infantry and part of the forces of the motorized divisions were in the first echelon, the rest of the divisions were in the operational reserve. The numerical strength of the Nazi divisions was 2 times greater than the divisions of the Western and Kalinin Fronts.

The main forces of the enemy troops were located in the tactical defense zone. The battle formation of the divisions defending the main defense zone was built, as a rule, in one echelon. The division defended a strip 10-15 km wide.

In the direction of the offensive of the troops of the Kalinin and Western fronts, the enemy, using the favorable conditions of wooded and swampy terrain, many rivers and lakes, created a strong defense with a total depth of 100 - 130 km.

In the zone of the Kalinin and Western Fronts, the enemy's defense was prepared within five months, and in some sectors - up to one and a half years. It consisted of a tactical zone and three to four defensive zones in the operational depth. The tactical zone, up to 12-15 km deep, included the main and second defense zones. The main line of defense had two or three positions located at a depth of 4.5 to 5 km, with a developed system of trenches, strongholds and nodes of resistance, interconnected by communication passages. In the main zone of defense there was a large number of armored machine-gun points and bunkers, the density of which reached 6 - 7 structures per 1 km of the front. The front edge of the main line of defense was covered with barbed wire and continuous minefields.

The second line of defense ran at a distance of 8-10 km from the front edge of the main strip and consisted of a system of strongholds connected by trenches and covering the most important areas. Between the main and second lines of defense, the enemy created strong points with garrisons for a company and more.

The cities of Vitebsk, Surazh, Velizh, Rudnya, Demidov, Dukhovshchina, Yartsevo, Dorogobuzh, Smolensk, Yelnya, Spas-Demensk, Roslavl were prepared by the enemy as powerful nodes of resistance, and the approaches to them were covered with barbed wire and minefields. Roads on critical areas, bridges and defiles were mined. Defensive lines in the depths were created mainly behind water barriers.

Thus, the troops of the Kalinin and Western Fronts had to break through the heavily fortified, deeply echeloned enemy defenses with a significant density of manpower, fire weapons, engineering structures and obstacles and advance in wooded and swampy terrain with a large number of rivers and lakes, which made it difficult to use military equipment, especially tanks and heavy artillery.

Based on the task received and the assessment of the situation, the commander of the forces of the Kalinin Front decided to deliver the main blow with the formations of the left wing of the front (troops under the command of Lieutenant General K. D. Golubev and Lieutenant General A. I. Zygin) in the general direction of Dukhovshchina, Smolensk.
The advancing troops were tasked with crushing the enemy's 27th Army Corps and by the end of the second day of the operation to seize Dukhovshchina. In the future, they were to develop an offensive against Smolensk and, in cooperation with the troops of the right wing of the Western Front, occupy Smolensk on the eighth or ninth day of the operation. It was planned to break through the enemy's defenses in three sectors with a total width of 20 km. After breaking through the defenses, it was planned to enter the front's mobile group with the aim of developing success in the direction of Smolensk.

The commander of the Western Front decided to deliver the main blow in the general direction to Roslavl with the task of breaking through the enemy's defenses, crushing the main forces of the 4th German Army and seizing an important junction of railways and highways - Roslavl.

To assist the main grouping of the front in destroying the enemy forces in the area of ​​Spas-Demensk, part of the forces of the left wing of the front would go on the offensive from the Kirov area to Obolovka and Vorontsovo. In addition, the forces of the right wing of the front planned to deliver two more strikes in order to defeat the enemy groupings in the areas of Yartsev and Dorogobuzh. Part of the forces of the front was to defend the previously occupied lines in readiness to move to pursuit with the beginning of the enemy's withdrawal. After the defeat of the main forces of the 4th enemy army, the advancing front forces were tasked with reaching the Yartsevo, Pochinok, Roslavl, Dubrovka line.

Breaking through the fortified enemy defenses on difficult terrain in rainy weather required a lot of preparatory work on engineering support. Both in the Western and Kalinin fronts, considerable attention was paid to the engineering equipment of the starting areas for the offensive, making passages in minefields and other obstacles, to providing the advancing troops with the necessary number of roads and column routes and keeping them in a passable condition. The presence of a significant number of water lines in the offensive zones of both fronts required special care of the commanders and their staffs for the preparation of crossing means. The engineering troops of the fronts also did a tremendous job of building command and observation posts, and carried out a number of other engineering measures.

To organize more precise command and control of troops, command and observation posts at all levels were brought closer to the troops. At the same time, a lot of work was carried out on the material and technical support of the troops for the upcoming offensive.

As a result of the preparatory measures carried out, especially large regroupings of troops, superiority in forces and equipment over the enemy was created in the directions of the main attacks of both fronts. However, it should be noted that due to the lack of proper secrecy and camouflage, enemy reconnaissance managed to uncover the preparation of the offensive, which allowed the fascist German command to strengthen the defense in these areas. By the beginning of the offensive, the enemy had concentrated two additional divisions against the strike grouping of the Kalinin Front and three divisions against the strike grouping of the Western Front.

In the course of hostilities and the nature of the tasks performed, the Smolensk strategic offensive operation is divided into three stages. The first stage covers the period of hostilities from 7 to 20 August. During this stage, the troops of the Western Front conducted the Spas-Demensky operation. The troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front began the Dukhovshchinsky offensive operation. At the second stage (August 21 - September 6), the troops of the Western Front conducted the Yelnensko-Dorogobuzh operation, and the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front continued to conduct the Dukhovshchinsky offensive operation.

At the third stage (September 7 - October 2), the troops of the Western Front, in cooperation with the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front, carried out the Smolensk-Roslavl operation, and the main forces of the Kalinin Front carried out the Dukhovshchinsko-Demidov operation.

By early August, the troops of the Kalinin and Western Fronts completed their regrouping. Shock groupings of troops took up their initial position for the offensive in areas north of Dukhovshchina, northeast of Yartsev, southeast of Dorogobuzh, north of Spas-Demensk and Kirov.

In the afternoon of August 6, reconnaissance in force was carried out on the offensive zone of the main strike group of the Western Front, as a result of which it was established that the enemy had not withdrawn his troops from the first position, but firmly occupied it.

Early in the morning of August 7, after artillery preparation, the troops of the Western Front (formations under the command of Generals V.S.Polenov and K.P. Trubnikov) launched an offensive from the area north of Spas-Demensk in the direction of Roslavl. The battles in the main lane immediately became protracted. Providing stubborn resistance to our troops, the enemy, on the very first day of our offensive, brought part of the forces of the 2nd tank and 36th infantry divisions into battle against the troops of the shock group. By the end of the day, as a result of a fierce battle, the troops advanced from 2 to 5 km.

On August 8, the troops of the right wing of the Western Front went on the offensive in the Yartsevo direction. The fascist German command brought in the 18th motorized division from the army reserve. Reflecting strong enemy counterattacks, our troops advanced up to 4 km that day, but could not develop the success.

The next day, the most stubborn battles unfolded north of Spas-Demensk. The enemy brought into battle in this direction the 2nd tank, 36th and 56th infantry divisions, which he had transferred from the Oryol direction to the beginning of the operation. By the end of the day, instead of 2.5 divisions, 5.5 enemy divisions were already defending against the troops of the main strike group of the Western Front.
As a result of three-day battles, the troops of the main strike group, overcoming stubborn enemy resistance, advanced up to 7 km, widened the breakthrough to 23 km and reached the Massola line, east of Zhdanovo, Dyuki, creating a threat to the flank and rear of the enemy group defending in the Spas area. Demenska.

In order to defeat the enemy in the area of ​​Spas-Demensk, the commander of the Western Front, in accordance with the planned plan, gave an order on August 10 to go over to the offensive of the strike group from the Kirov area, which was to strike in the northwestern direction and, together with the main strike group, to encircle and destroy the enemy troops in the area of ​​Spas-Demensk.

On August 10, fierce fighting continued. The most successful were the troops advancing from the Kirov area, which broke through the defenses at the front up to 8 km, forced the Bolva River on the move and advanced to a depth of 5-6 km. During August 11, the breakthrough was expanded to 10 km along the front and in depth.

The commander of the forces of the Western Front decided, in order to develop the apparent success in the southern section of the Spas-Demensky ledge, to regroup from the area northeast of Spas-Demensk to the area north of Kirov, part of the mobile troops and send them into the indicated breakthrough in the general direction to Obolovka. On August 12, these troops began to advance and by the end of the day, having completed a 130-kilometer march, concentrated 5 kilometers north of Kirov.

Attempts to introduce these troops into the breakthrough in the morning of August 13 were unsuccessful, since the enemy managed to organize a defense with the retreating troops at a previously prepared intermediate line. One of the serious shortcomings that led to the unsuccessful actions of these troops was the poor organization of their combat support, especially air defense.

In the next three days, until August 16 inclusive, the troops of the strike group advancing from the Kirov area advanced another 5-10 km. On August 16, mobile troops were withdrawn to the front reserve. Although the offensive of the troops of the Western Front north and south of the Spas-Demensk salient developed at a slow pace, nevertheless, the exit of our troops to the railway in the Pavlinovo station area and the threat of intercepting the Varshavskoe highway south of Spas-Demensk created a real threat of our troops entering the retreat path of the enemy defended in the area of ​​Spas-Demensk.

In this regard, the fascist German command on August 12 began hastily to withdraw its formations from the Savior Demen salient. At the same time, in the period from 7 to 14 August, it transferred five more divisions to the Western Front from the area west of Orel and Zhizdra. Three tank divisions of them had already been put into action by 13 August against the Kirov strike group of the Western Front. Thus, on a front with a length of up to 15 km, together with the troops previously operating here, the enemy already had up to four tank divisions and created a tactical density of up to 4 km per division. With this tank "barrier" he hoped to wear out our troops and stop them in front of a prepared defensive line along the Bolva River west of Obolovka.

On the morning of August 13, the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front on the Dukhshchino direction went on the offensive. Here, as well as on the Western Front, the struggle for the main line of defense took on a protracted nature. For five to six days of fighting, the advancing troops only managed to drive a wedge into the enemy's defenses to a depth of 5-6 km. Nevertheless, the offensive actions of the troops of the left wing of the front fettered the opposing enemy forces and forced him to additionally transfer two divisions to this direction.

On August 13, the troops of the Western Front began pursuing the enemy retreating along the Varshavskoe highway. On this day, they advanced from 6 to 25 km and captured the city and station Spas-Demensk, capturing significant trophies.

The forces of the Western Front did not succeed in breaking through the enemy's defenses on the Yartsevo and Dorogobuzh sectors. The advancing troops in some areas only wedged into the enemy's defenses to a depth of 3-5 km.
On the left wing of the Western Front, due to the fact that the main forces of the enemy forces were drawn into battle against the main strike grouping of the front, favorable conditions were created for the transition to the offensive of the remaining troops, which had previously been solving defensive tasks. These troops on August 14, by order of the front commander, went on the offensive and on August 16 liberated the city of Zhizdra.

In the following days, the fighting developed with even greater ferocity. The fascist German command brought three more infantry divisions into battle against the advancing troops of the Western Front. Overcoming the stubborn resistance of the enemy, by August 20, our troops broke through the tactical defense zone of the enemy in the Savior Demen area, liberated more than 500 settlements and reached the Terenino, Tsirkovshchina, Malye Savki line.

The troops of the Bryansk and Central Fronts, developing an offensive in the western direction, by this time liberated the city of Karachev and reached the approaches to Lyudinovo, Dyatkovo, Bryansk.

Thus, in 14 days of the offensive, the troops of the Western Front broke through the enemy's tactical defense zone in the Savior Demen direction and advanced to a depth of 35-40 km.

Considering the course of military operations of the troops of the Western Front in the Spas-Demensk operation, it should be noted that the battles to break through the enemy's defenses were very stubborn and protracted. One of the essential reasons for such protracted battles was the arrival of enemy formations from the reserves from the Oryol-Bryansk direction. Only in the period from August 1 to August 18, the enemy was forced to transfer up to 13 divisions against the Western and Kalinin Fronts, of which 11 divisions were directed to the direction of the main attack of the Western Front.
Due to the slow pace of breaking through the enemy's defenses, the enemy was able to occupy the previously prepared lines by formations that arrived from other sectors of the front, and by retreating troops.

Despite the insignificant advance of the forces of the Kalinin and Western fronts, the main task of the first stage of the operation - to defeat the opposing large enemy forces and prevent him from transferring them to the southwestern direction - was completed.

In the second half of August 1943, in connection with the defeat of the enemy in the battle of Kursk, fundamental changes in the situation took place at the front. The troops of the Bryansk and Central Fronts, pursuing the retreating enemy, reached Bryansk by August 20, while the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts were fighting for Kharkov. In the south, an offensive operation of the troops of the Southwestern and Southern fronts began to liberate Donbass. Thus, on a huge section of the front from Smolensk to the coast of the Azov Sea Soviet army launched successful offensive operations with decisive goals. As a result of the successful offensive of the troops of the Bryansk and Central Fronts and their arrival at the approaches to Lyudinov and Bryansk, a situation was created in which the continuation of the offensive of the main forces of the Western Front on Roslavl, as well as their turn to the south, were no longer expedient.

In this regard, the commander of the Western Front considered it necessary to shift the direction of the main attack to Yelnya, Smolensk and accordingly regroup forces, create new shock groupings and, after a short pause, go on the offensive.

From 20 to 27 August, the troops of the Western Front carried out a partial regrouping and were preparing to resume the offensive. The main forces of the front were concentrated in the Elnensk area. The shock group of the front, which included troops under the command of generals K.P. Trubnikov, N.I. Krylov, was supposed to advance on a front of 36 km, and break through the defense in a sector 20 km wide. In addition, shock groups were created in the Yartsevo, Dorogobuzh and Roslavl directions. The plan for a further offensive developed by the front was approved by the Headquarters of the Supreme Command on August 22, 1943.

It should be noted that neither the Western nor the Kalinin fronts received any significant reinforcement for the development of the offensive; they were insufficiently provided with ammunition. However, the situation on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front, where our troops were developing a successful offensive, demanded not to allow the transfer of German-fascist troops from the western direction to the Donbass and to the Right-Bank Ukraine. In this regard, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command decided to continue the offensive with the available forces and means of the Western and Kalinin Fronts.

At a time when the troops of the Western Front were regrouping and preparing a new operation, the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front, having received reinforcement from the front reserves, on August 23 again went over to the offensive in the Dukhshchino direction. The hostilities, which lasted until September 6, were not successful and, with the permission of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, were temporarily suspended. Despite the fact that the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front did not manage to break through the enemy's defenses, their active actions in the Dukhshchinsky direction fettered the opposing forces, diverted part of the enemy's reserves transferred to themselves and thereby contributed to the successful offensive of the Western Front troops.

On August 28, after a powerful artillery preparation, the troops of the central strike group of the Western Front launched an offensive in the Elnensk direction. As a result of three days of fighting, they broke through two defensive lines in the operational depth of the enemy's defense and crossed the Ugra River. The mobile formations introduced into the breakthrough in cooperation with the combined-arms formations on August 30 captured the most important strongholds of the enemy defense in the Smolensk direction of the city and railway station Yelnya. For several days of fighting, our troops advanced 15-30 km forward, expanding the breakthrough to 50 km.

Sensing the threat of a breakthrough in the Smolensk direction, the fascist German command began to hastily pull up forces to the area west of Yelnya. It transferred the 330th Infantry Division from the Velizh area and the 1st SS Brigade from the Smolensk area.

On August 31, the troops of the Western Front launched an offensive in the Yartsevo, Dorogobuzh and Roslavl areas. Having successfully crossed the Dnieper, the front troops liberated the city of Dorogobuzh on September 1.

Fascist German troops, driven back from the areas of Yelnya and Dorogobuzh, tried to stop our offensive on other defensive lines. However, already on September 2, our troops broke through the defenses in a number of sectors. Developing the offensive, by September 5, they reached the line of Manchin, Bolshaya Nezhoda, Gorbachevka, Malye Savki. At this line, the enemy had prepared a defense in advance with a well-organized system of fire and engineering barriers. The Hitlerite command additionally transferred three more divisions from its reserve and from other directions against the troops of the Western and Kalinin Fronts.

To break through this defense, it was required to create new shock groups, accumulate ammunition and prepare troops. In this regard, a seven-day break was made in the offensive, during which the troops were preparing for a new offensive.

During the second stage of the Smolensk operation, the troops of the Western Front, in cooperation with the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front, defeated the enemy grouping in the Yelnya and Dorogobuzh areas, advanced westward on average from 30 to 40 km, captured these cities and liberated over 1000 other settlements. As a result of the losses inflicted on the enemy, the composition of his divisions was significantly reduced. The number of German-fascist divisions and battle groups of divisions now ranged from 5,000 to 6,500 people.

The Western Front still occupied an enveloping position in relation to the enemy grouping located in the Roslavl, Bryansk area, threatening its flank and rear. The fascist German command strove at any cost to prevent a further offensive by the troops of the Western Front in the Smolensk direction.

At the third stage of the Smolensk operation, the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin and Western fronts were faced with the task of defeating the enemy grouping in the Smolensk and Roslavl directions, capturing the cities of Smolensk, Roslavl and developing an offensive on Vitebsk and Orsha.

At the beginning of the third stage, the troops of the left wing of Kalininsky, the right wing and the center of the Western Fronts carried out a regrouping of forces and conducted reconnaissance of the enemy's defenses. The troops of the left wing of the Western Front at this time continued the offensive and approached the Desna River.

The goal of the offensive of the troops of the left wing of the Western Front, deployed on a front up to 100 km, was to defeat the enemy troops covering the Roslavl direction, overcome the forest area east of the Desna River on the move, force it and capture a bridgehead on the west bank. As a result of ten days of fighting, these troops reached the Desna by September 14.

Using the success of the left-flank formations of the Western Front, the commander of the Bryansk Front forces regrouped significant forces in the offensive zone of the left wing of the Western Front and struck in the southwestern direction towards the flank and rear of the enemy forces grouping, defending on a heavily fortified line along the western bank of the Bolva River. As a result of this blow, the troops of the right wing of the Bryansk Front liberated the city of Bytosh on September 11 and forced the Nazi command to hastily withdraw troops to the Zhukovka, Dyatkovo line, and then to the Desna River line.

At the third stage of the operation, the commander of the forces of the Western Front decided to concentrate the main efforts of his troops on the direction of Smolensk and Orsha.
The troops of the front shock group were to break through the enemy defenses in the Ivonino, Kukuevo sector, capture the Pochinok area, cutting off the railway and the Smolensk-Roslavl highway. Subsequently, with a blow to Smolensk by part of their forces, in cooperation with the troops of the right wing of the front, they were to capture it, and with the main forces to develop the offensive in the general direction of Orsha.

The formations of the right wing of the front were to, in cooperation with the troops of the Kalinin Front, destroy the enemy in the Yartsevo area and reach the Vop and Dnieper rivers. In the future, in cooperation with the troops of the main grouping, liberate Smolensk.

The formations of the left wing of the front were ordered to continue the offensive, to force the Desna and, in cooperation with the troops of the main grouping, to capture the city of Roslavl.

The troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front, in cooperation with the troops of the right wing of the Western Front, were to defeat the enemy grouping in the Dukhovshchina and Demidov area and develop an offensive in the general direction of Rudnya and Vitebsk.

After artillery preparation, the advancing troops, under cover of a barrage and with the support of tanks and aviation, broke through the enemy defenses in several sectors with a swift blow. Developing the offensive, the troops of the right wing of the Western Front on September 16 captured an important stronghold on the approaches to Smolensk - the city and the railway station Yartsevo, and the troops of the left wing of the Kalinin Front (under the command of General N.E.Berzarin) on September 19 - a strong knot of resistance on the routes to Smolensk - Dukhovshchina.

The offensive of the main grouping in the center of the Western Front also developed successfully, where mobile formations were introduced on September 17 to develop the success. The troops of the left wing of the Western Front crossed the Desna and continued their offensive in the Roslavl direction.

The fascist German command made desperate efforts to stop the advance of the Soviet troops, using for this purpose prepared defenses along the rivers Khmost, Volost, Khmara and Oster northeast of Roslavl. During September 19, 20 and 21, stubborn battles unfolded on these lines, as a result of which the enemy's defenses were broken through in the entire zone of the Western Front's offensive.

The offensive of the troops of the Kalinin Front developed no less successfully. On September 20, the troops of the center of the Kalinin Front liberated the city of Velizh, and on September 22, the city of Demidov.

Now, on the way to Smolensk and Roslavl, the enemy did not have pre-prepared defensive lines. The advancing troops showed high heroism, strained their forces as much as possible in order to accelerate the pace of the offensive and not allow the enemy troops to gain a foothold and create a defense along the line railroad Smolensk - Roslavl and along the Oster river.

Developing the offensive and overcoming enemy resistance, the troops of the Western Front on September 24 reached a line 6-10 km east and southeast of Smolensk, and on September 25, with a blow from the north, east and southeast, they liberated Smolensk - the most important strategic defense center of the Nazi troops on westbound. On the same day, the troops of the left wing of the Western Front under the command of General V.S. Popov captured Roslavl - an important communications center and a powerful stronghold of the enemy's defense.

Having lost such important defense centers as Smolensk and Roslavl, the enemy tried to detain our troops on the Sozha and Vikhr rivers. However, these attempts of the enemy were thwarted.

Skillfully using mobile formations in cooperation with combined arms formations, the troops of the Kalinin and Western fronts forced the Sozh, Vihra and, pursuing the enemy, liberated the cities of Rudnya, Krasnoe, Mstislavl, Krichev.

In close cooperation with the troops of the left wing of the Western Front, the offensive was carried out by the troops of the Bryansk Front, which were conducting the Bryansk offensive operation at that time. In mid-September, the troops of the Bryansk Front crossed the Desna, and on September 17 they liberated the cities of Bryansk and Bezhitsa. By September 30, they reached the Krichev-Vetka line, and by October 2 - to the Pronya River in the section from Petukhovka to Slavgorod and further to the eastern bank of the Sozh River.

Partisans operating behind enemy lines on the territory of the Smolensk and Kalinin regions played an important role in the success of the offensive of the troops of the Western and Kalinin Fronts. To fight them, the Hitlerite command was forced to allocate four security divisions (281, 201, 286 and 203rd).

Having reached the Rudnya, Dribin, Slavgorod line on October 2, the troops of the Western and Kalinin fronts met organized enemy resistance. Attempts to continue the offensive in the Orsha and Mogilev directions were unsuccessful.

As a result of the third stage of the Smolensk offensive operation, the troops of the Western and left wings of the Kalinin Fronts inflicted a serious defeat on the enemy, liberated a number of large cities and over 5 thousand settlements. In 17 days of the offensive, after breaking through the enemy's defenses north of Dukhovshchina and west of Yelnya, the front troops advanced 100-180 km. The greatest progress was in the Roslavl direction.

At the end of the Smolensk operation, a battle unfolded between the troops of the Central and Ukrainian fronts for the Dnieper and Right-Bank Ukraine. In this situation, it was necessary to continue the operations of the troops of the Kalinin and Western fronts in the Vitebsk, Orsha and Mogilev sectors against the main forces of Army Group Center. By carrying out a number of operations in these sectors, the forces of the Kalinin and Western Fronts did not allow the enemy to transfer forces to the southern sector, where the main task of the campaign was being solved.

The Smolensk offensive operation, carried out by the troops of the Western and Kalinin Fronts, was an integral part of the general offensive of the Soviet Army, which unfolded on the Soviet-German front in August - September 1943, and was of great strategic importance.

As a result of this operation, a serious defeat was inflicted on the main forces of the 3rd tank, 4th and part of the forces of the 9th enemy armies, which were part of Army Group Center. During the offensive, Soviet troops broke through 4, and in some places 5 fortified enemy lines, defeated 5 infantry, tank and motorized divisions, and inflicted a heavy defeat on eleven infantry and three tank and motorized divisions of the enemy. The Soviet Army drove out the German fascist invaders from the Smolensk region and laid the foundation for the liberation of Belarus. The front was far removed from the capital of our Motherland - Moscow. Soviet troops liberated over 7,500 settlements, including the cities: Smolensk, Roslavl, Yartsevo, Yelnya, Spas-Demensk, Dorogobuzh, Velizh, Dukhovshchina, Demidov, etc.

The active offensive operations of the forces of the Kalinin and Western Fronts pinned down large enemy forces in the western direction, preventing the Nazi command from carrying out any transfers to other directions. This contributed to the successful completion of the Battle of Kursk, the conduct of operations to liberate the Left-Bank Ukraine and Donbass, as well as the successful deployment of the Battle of the Dnieper and Right-Bank Ukraine. The implementation of the Smolensk operation significantly expanded the general front of active operations of the Soviet troops.

In the Smolensk offensive operation, the task of breaking through the well-prepared, deeply echeloned enemy defense was solved. It should be borne in mind that the Hitlerite command attached great importance to the organization of a strong defense in the western direction, since this direction led to its vital facilities. The formations of the troops of the Western and Kalinin Fronts pushed to the west posed a real threat to the flanks and rear areas of enemy groupings operating in the Baltic States and south of the Roslavl-Bryansk line. Therefore, the fascist German command in the Smolensk and Roslavl areas kept the most combat-ready and equipped divisions with combat experience, and also transferred large forces and equipment here during the operation, not even considering the weakening of their grouping operating in the Orel region.

As a result of the successful implementation of the Smolensk offensive operation, our troops broke into the heavily fortified multi-lane and deeply echeloned enemy defenses and advanced 200-225 km westward. During the offensive, the Soviet Army crossed the Dnieper, Dniester, Sozh, knocked out the enemy from the interfluve of the Western Dvina and the Dnieper, liberated thousands of settlements and a number of large cities, including the most important strategic center of enemy defense in the western direction, the ancient Russian city, the regional center - Smolensk ...