Mirgorod direction offensive
The Mirgorod direction offensive (3 August 1943 – 23 August 1943) was an operation conducted as part of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev between the Red Army and Wehrmacht forces. It was one of the operations that followed the Battle of Kursk. In the offensive, the Red Army pushed through the Wehrmacht lines after the Wehrmacht retreated after the Battle of Kursk. It represented a turning point on the Eastern Front. Prelude During the Battle of Kursk, German armored units south of the Kursk salient failed to penetrate the defences between the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts in the Belgorod sector on 8 July. The Red Army's Belgorod-Kharkov Strategic Counter-Offensive followed Operation Citadel and included as its objectives the immediate liberation of Belgorod and Kharkiv, assigned to the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts. On 23 July 1943, German forces of the XLVIII Panzercorps and LII Armeecorps returned to their old, well fortified positions, stretching to some 60 kilometres west of Tomarovka. Their combat strength had been reduced by as much as 50% following the Battle. The Battle Early on 3 August 1943, after a heavy Artillery barrage which lasted hours and overwhelming Soviet air support, the Forces of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts from