#Victory80

🌟 On August 23, 1943, the Battle of Kursk — one of the largest battles in human history — ended with a decisive victory of the Soviet forces, marking a turning point not only in the Great Patriotic War but in the entire #WWII.

As a result of the battle, the strategic initiative was seized by the Red Army that managed to launch the offensive operations to expel the Nazi invaders from our Motherland.

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The Battle of Kursk, lasting approximately 50 days, encompassed a defensive phase (July 5–23) and a series of offensive operations (July 12–August 23) by the Soviet forces in the Kursk Bulge. It appeared in the spring of 1943 at the centre of the Soviet-German front, reaching Nazi defensive lines south of Soviet city of Oryol and north of Belgorod to a depth exceeding 150 kilometres.

Following the Wehrmacht’s devastating defeat at Stalingrad, the enemy sought revenge at any cost — to deliver a crushing blow on the Red Army positions along the Kursk Bulge, seize the strategic initiative, and launch a counteroffensive deep into the Soviet territory. Had they succeeded, the Nazi aggressor could reopen the path to Moscow. The operational plan was codenamed 'Citadel'.

After the intelligence was secured from abroad, the Red Army General Staff and the Supreme High Command knew beforehand of the enemy’s plans. Our military leadership decided first to destroy Hitler’s armor and aircraft, and to exhaust Nazi manpower in defensive combat before launching a full-scale offensive.

⚔️ The Battle of Kursk commenced on July 5 with a counter-artillery barrage — at dawn, thousands of Soviet guns unleashed a devastating firestorm on Wehrmacht positions, delaying their advance for several hours. The enemy committed its tank armada to battle: 16 divisions comprising 2'500 tanks — 70% of all German armor formations deployed on the Eastern Front.

The Red Army soldiers fought relentlessly, repelling enemy assaults and decimating their infantry. After a week of fierce resistance, the Red Army halted the German advance. Within days, Nazi forces suffered 50'000 casualties. The enemy offensive failed.

On July 12, the legendary tank battle at Prokhorovka unfolded — the largest armor combat in history, with up to 1'200 tanks and self-propelled guns deployed. The fascists suffered a devastating defeat: losing over 300 tanks (the backbone of their strike force in the Battle of Kursk) and exhausting reserves, their offensive capabilities were diminished, forcing them to retreat to initial positions.

Following Prokhorovka, the Red Army seized full initiative and launched a decisive counteroffensive. By mid-July, under pressure from the Western, Bryansk, and Central fronts, German troops began retreating across the entire Kursk Bulge. On August 5, the Soviet forces liberated the City of #Oryol and #Belgorod; on August 23 — #Kharkov, concluding the Battle of Kursk.

Hitler’s forces (approximately 900'000 soldiers and officers) faced total collapse near Kursk. Thirty elite wehrmacht and SS divisions, including seven panzer divisions, were completely destroyed. This crucial historic Victory enabled the Red Army to drive the Nazis westward and launch operations to liberate Soviet Ukraine and Belarus.

In the Battle of Kursk, Soviet warriors showed unparalleled courage, resilience, and mass heroism: 231 were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Kursk, Orel, and Belgorod were accorded the status of Cities of Military Glory. The Kursk Bulge memorial complex stands as a testament to this heroic triumph.

🎖 Today, August 23, is celebrated in Russia as a Day of Military Glory, commemorating the defeat of Nazi invaders in the Battle of Kursk.

#OurVictory #WeRemember #WeAreProud

🏅 On August 26, 1943, the Battle of the Dnieper began — one of the largest and most important battles of World War II between the Red Army and Nazi invaders, with approximately, to various estimates, 4 million people engaged on both sides.

Nazi Germany’s defeat at the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 resulted in Hitler's loss of the strategic initiative, forcing German troops into a rapid retreat westward.

The German command expected that hastily erected fortifications from the Baltic to the Sea of Azov (Ostwall, or Eastern Wall) would halt the Red Army’s offensive, allowing the Nazis to retain important economic regions. The Dnieper River played a key role in their defences.

According to the plan of Supreme High Command of the USSR, the forces of the Central, Voronezh, Steppe, Southwestern, and Southern Fronts were tasked with launching frontal breakthrough attacks, liberating left-bank Soviet Ukraine and Donbass, reaching the Dnieper, forcing it across a wide front, capturing bridgeheads, and preventing the enemy from organising defences in right-bank Soviet Ukraine.

At the same time, the forces of the Western Front as well as the left wing of the Kalinin and Bryansk Fronts, were to advance in the Smolensk and Bryansk-Gomel directions aiming to prevent the enemy from regrouping its forces to the south.

⚔️ The battle lasted four months and unfolded in two stages:

• During the first stage (August–September), the Soviet forces reached the Dnieper.

The greatest success was achieved by the 60th Army under General Ivan Chernyakhovsky, which broke through the German defence south of Sevsk. General Konstantin Rokossovsky, who commanded the front, subsequently directed the main strike units into the breakthrough, achieving a pivotal strategic success.

In early September, the Red Army offensive spread across left-bank Ukraine and Donbass. On September 21, Soviet forces attacked from three directions, defeating the enemy’s Chernigov group, breaking the last major defensive line on the way to the Dnieper. On the same day, the soldiers of the Central Front reached the river.

• The second stage (September–December) saw a fierce struggle for bridgeheads. Pursuing the Nazis, the Red Army soldiers and officers began crossing the Dnieper, often in icy water, using any available floating craft, under constant enemy fire. Despite these harsh conditions, Soviet assault groups successfully crossed the river, attacked the Wehrmacht’s positions, and established landing sites for the main forces.

During the Battle of the Dnieper, the Red Army dealt a crushing blow to the main forces of Army Group South and part of Army Group Centre, fully achieving the goals set by the Supreme High Command. Over 38'000 localities, including 160 cities, among them Kiev, the capital of Soviet Ukraine, were liberated.

During the 778 days of the Nazi occupation of Kiev, thousands of its residents and Soviet POWs were killed, tens of thousands of Jews were executed in the Babi Yar,t and approximately 100'000 residens were forced into hard labour in Germany by the Nazis and their collaborators – Ukrainian nationalists.

🎖 Around 400'000 Soviet soldiers and officers lost their lives in the Battle of the Dnieper. More than 2'400 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

🌟 The Red Army’s victory in the Battle of the Dnieper thwarted the Wehrmacht’s plans to stabilise the front along the river, creating conditions for an offensive in Belarus and paving the way for the liberation of right-bank Soviet Ukraine and Crimea. By breaking through the Eastern Wall, the Wehrmacht lost its last opportunity to drag the war into a protracted conflict on Soviet soil.

#Victory80

#Victory80

🌟 On August 28, the Tallinn Breakout of the Soviet Baltic Fleet towards Kronstadt — one of the largest and most difficult naval operations by the Soviet Union during #WWII — commenced.

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In the summer of 1941, the Nazis, having treacherously invaded our Motherland, advanced rapidly into the Baltic region. By August, the enemy had launched an offensive against the capital of Soviet Estonia — Tallinn. Thus, the city’s heroic defence commenced. Wehrmacht army group 'North' received a direct order from Hitler: under no circumstances were the Soviet Baltic Fleet or Red Army units to be allowed to withdraw to Kronstadt to take part in the defence of Leningrad.

By the end of August, the Soviet forces, including the Tallinn garrison, started regrouping under the heavy fire of Nazis and found themselves encircled on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. 👉 The land route to Leningrad had been severed by the enemy.

Faced with these dire circumstances, the Supreme High Command of the USSR took a vital decision: to evacuate the Baltic Fleet, the Red Army units, which were defending Tallinn, as well as civilians to Kronstadt.

In the early hours of August 28, the breakout began. A convoy of 225 warships and auxiliary vessels left Tallinn, carrying over 40'000 people on board. German Nazis and their Finnish accomplices were trying to thwart the evacuation by any means. Enemy coastal artillery opened heavy and relentless fire on Soviet vessels, while Finnish aircraft were mercilessly shooting at the Soviet people in the water.

The Gulf of Finland was sown with over 1'700 mines laid by the Nazis. “The Gulf, choked with enemy mines, resembled a dumpling soup,” — survivors later recounted.

By August 30, the Baltic Fleet finally fought its way to Kronstadt. Only 163 vessels reached the destination safely. More than 15,000 people, among them over 4,500 civilians, lost their lives during the breakout — an unprecedented number of casualties in the history of naval warfare.

Under such circumstances, the number of casualties could have been far higher, yet thanks to the unparalleled courage and heroism of Red Fleet sailors and Red Army soldiers, the main forces of the fleet were preserved and later engaged in the defence of Leningrad, shielding the city from from attacks via the Gulf of Finland.

🎖 The Tallinn Breakout stands as one of the most heroic and tragic episodes of #WWII. To this day, the depths of the Gulf of Finland remain strewn with the wreckage of vessels lost to Nazi mines — they serve as silent memorials to those three harrowing days in August 1941.

🕯 On August 28, 1978, a memorial was erected at Cape Juminda (the Gulf’s southern coast) to honour those who perished during the breakout — a granite boulder and plaque with naval mines around. Annually, commemorative ceremonies are held there with participation of the Russian Embassy in Estonia, compatriots’ organisations, veterans and their families, as well as Estonians who share our common historical memory.

💬 Russia's Ambassador to Estonia Alexander Petrov (2015−2021):

“To the north of Juminda now lies what is perhaps the largest maritime mass grave not only in the Baltic, but in the entire world.

It is the moral duty of the living to bow their heads before those who perished and honour the courage and fortitude of all who crushed the Nazi regime during WWII.”

📖 For more details, read our in-depth historical feature on the Tallinn Breakout.

#WeRemember