The Battle of Kursk – The End

August 23, 1943 is considered the end of the battle of Kursk and this date is a date of Kharkov liberation. In the post war decades, no one disputed the fact that the final part of this battle fully depended on the battle around Kharkov and the moment it finished. However, in the year 2013 while working on the documentary dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Kharkov liberation and preparing the collection of documents “Kharkov. Forever liberated” and the book “Korotych: the way to Kharkov” several questions arose. They were about the real date of the city liberation and reduction (or better to say the absence of reduction) of battle tension on the line Kharkov-Bohodukhov-Akhtyrka in the area of Stepnoy and Voronezh fronts.

Let us look at the well-known facts. Although the salute in Moscow happened on August 23, 1943, the railway station Novaya Bavariya and the whole Krasnobavarskiy district were liberated only on August 29; this very day the first train from Belgorod arrived to the railway station Kharkov. The meeting dedicated to the city liberation was organized even later on August 30, 1943. The whole district and part of two more city districts were occupied for a week! So when in fact was Kharkov liberated – on August 23 or 29? Do we celebrate the date of city liberation and the ending of the battle of Kursk overall ON THE RIGHT DATE? The logics says that a part of something is not the “whole”. We celebrate the day of Ukraine liberation or any other republic when all occupiers were driven away from the whole territory but not on the day of capital (Kiev) liberation. Why do we then 75 years behave differently regarding Kharkov?

Look at the Soviet newspapers dated August 24-26, 1943. In the photos published in the newspapers “Komsomolskaya Pravda”, “Krasnaya Zvezda” and “Izvestiya” we can see the columns of Soviet military equipment on the Kharkov streets, antiaircraft emplacements on the Dzedzhynskiy square, fuming wards, destroyed buildings and only small groups of citizens together with soldiers and officers of the Red Army or Kharkov administration. On August 30, the mood was different – on the meeting day dedicated to the city liberation hundreds of civils welcomed the army, they laughed and were happy...

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I am not sure how one determines when exactly Kursk was over as to the time or day but it will always remain one of the most significant battles of WW2, arguably the most significant but that would set off a howl of different opinions! Though I am aware of the fall of Kharkov, also a hugely important battle, it is less well known in the West because of the huge amount of research about Kurst. I can understand the celebration because it is a well-known city. It seems to me that some in the west do not fully appreciate the huge role the Soviet Army played in defeating the Nazis.

Glad to see you post here.

 

Thank! I hope that I can soon post materials about the battles of Kharkov in February - March, August 1943. which I have long been published in Russian on the basis of archival documents.

 

Sounds like an excuse for a week long celebration. More time to learn and understand what really happened (assuming a bit of learning takes place during the celebration).

 

Holidays are tired in principle! In my country with holidays, holidays under 160 and at the same time we are one of the poorest countries in the world.

 

Welcome to the Forum, and thank you for your contribution. It has always been a feature here that perspectives are welcomed from an International membership.

 

Perhaps focusing on specifics might help with that. If the theme for each day was a particular unit that participated in the battle, a section of the battle, or even individuals involved. I.e. make it a learning opportunity where people embraced a common heritage rather than just an excuse to hoist a beverage or 6.

 

Added an illustration to the publication The Battle of Kursk – The End