Belgorod–Kharkov offensive operation

Belgorod-Kharkov offensive operation
	Part of the Eastern Front of World War II
	; Map of the offensive
Date	3–23 August 1943; (2 weeks and 6 days)
Location	Kharkov region, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Result	Soviet victory
Belligerents
Germany	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Erich von Manstein	Ivan Konev
Strength
200,000 men; 237 tanks and assault guns at the outset	1,144,000 men ; 2,418 tanks; 13,633 guns and rocket launchers
Casualties and losses
25,068–26,2898,933–10,154 killed or missing; 16,135 wounded; 240 tanks lost; unknown guns	177,586–255,56643,282–71,611 killed or missing; 183,955 wounded; 1,864 tanks lost; 423 artillery guns; 153 aircraft

The Belgorod–Kharkov strategic offensive operation, or simply Belgorod–Kharkov offensive operation, was a Soviet strategic summer offensive that aimed to liberate Belgorod and Kharkov, and destroy Nazi German forces of the 4th Panzer Army and Army Detachment Kempf. The operation was codenamed Operation General Rumyantsev (Russian: Полководец Румянцев), after the 18th-century Field Marshal Peter Rumyantsev and was conducted by the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts (army groups) in the southern sector of the Kursk Bulge. The battle was referred to as the Fourth Battle of Kharkov (German: Vierte Schlacht bei Charkow) by the Germans.

The operation began in the early hours of 3 August 1943, with the objective of following up the successful Soviet defensive effort in the Battle of Kursk. The offensive was directed against the German Army Group South's northern flank. By 23 August, the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts had finally liberated Kharkov from German occupation and the last time that Kharkov changed hands in the Eastern Front. The operation led to the retreat of the German forces in Ukraine behind the Dnieper River and set the stage for the Second Battle of Kiev in autumn 1943.