August 1943

Eastern Front

The Germans relinquish Orel to the 3rd and 63rd Armies.

The 6th and 5th Guards Armies hammer the tightly packed German divisions around Tomarovka as the 1st and 5th Guards Tank Armies attempt to push into their rear. The 27th Army begins its attack west of Tomarovka, being joined later in the day by the 40th Army as it pushes west toward Lebedin.

Heavy fighting rages north of Tomarovka as the 6th Guards Army makes an effort to penetrate into the town. However, German armor launch a fierce counterattack and bring the Soviet advance to a halt in the outskirts. Other elements of the 6th Guards then force the Germans to give ground. Units of the 5th Guards Army attack east of Tomarovka with armored support. Heavy fighting ensues, but agains German tanks try to hold the line together. By dusk the Soviets have penetrated south of Borisovka, while units of the 6th Guards hit the XLVIII Panzer Corps near Orlovka. By the end of the day the German position at Tomarovka has deteriorated considerably. The 3 embattled divisions of the LII Corps' right wing, now fighting as part of the XLVIII Panzer Corps, begin a fighting withdrawal in an effort to prevent their encirclement.

During a day of heavy fighting, the 1st Tank Army punches its way forward toward Bogodukhov. The new attacks by the 27th Army are lending support to this attack, preventing the LII Corps from redeploying to meed the Soviet armored threat. Leading units of the 27th aim to reach Grayvoron. In an effort to slow the Soviet attack Manstein moves the III Panzer Corps back up to Zolochev.

Near Belgorod the 53rd Army cuts the Belgorod-Kharkov road, while the 69th and 7th Guards Army begin the assault on the city itself. By evening the urban area has been cleared, the remnants of the XLVIII Panzer Corps' right wing and LI Corps' left wing pulling back along the line of the Donets. The 7th Guards finally establishes bridgeheads over the Donets south of the city.