page_title: 206th Rifle Division
section_title: Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive Operation
hierarchical_section_title: 206th Rifle Division / Battle of Kursk / Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive Operation
caption_attribution_description: English: Battle of Kursk, southern sector. Operation Zitadelle + Operation Rumanyantcev 5.7.43-23.8.43
context_page_description: The 206th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. Its first formation in March, 1941 was based on the last prewar shtat for rifle divisions. When the German invasion began it was still organizing well away from the front near Krivoi Rog but was soon sent to the Kiev Fortified Sector where it eventually came under command of the 37th Army. It was deeply encircled by the German offensive in September and destroyed, but not officially stricken from the Soviet order of battle until late December.
  At that time a new division was forming which was soon redesignated as the 206th, based on the shtat of December 6. It spent the first half of 1942 forming up and was still not fully equipped when it was sent to the front as part of 40th Army in Voronezh Front. It saw its first action in the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive and shortly after in the Voronezh–Kastornoye Offensive, as part of 38th Army, helping to defeat and drive the Axis forces west from the territory that became the Kursk salient.
context_section_description: After the German offensive came to a halt in mid-July the STAVKA made its long-delayed plans for its own summer offensive. Voronezh and Steppe Fronts would attack to regain Belgorod and then push towards Kharkov and the Dniepr River. 40th Army was to attack with its shock group, consisting of the 206th and 100th Divisions of 47th Corps, the 2nd Tank Corps, a Guards heavy tank regiment, and a large number of supporting antitank, artillery and mortar units. This group deployed along an 8 km front between Vysokii and Kresanov to break through the German defense on the sector from Terebreno to Lipovye Balki and attack along the Vorsklitsa River to secure the flank of the 27th Army.
  The overall offensive began on August 3 but did not involve 27th and 40th Armies until August 5. The 40th's shock group attacked at 0715 hours, following a two-hour artillery preparation against the positions of the German 57th Infantry Division, which had been severely damaged in the Kastornoye pocket months before. Its resistance was soon crushed; the two Soviet armies broke through along a 26km-wide sector and by the end of the day had advanced from 8km-12km, reaching a line from Starosele to Kasilovo to Ivanovskaya Lisitsa to Nikitskoye despite counterattacks by 11th Panzer Division which were beaten off. What remained of the 57th Infantry pulled back to Tomarovka.
  Following this success 40th Army was ordered to advance in the direction of Trostyanets with 47th Army, still in Front reserve, coming up behind. On August 6, 40th Army's shock group fought against the 323rd Infantry Division in the Dorogoshch area. It quickly broke the German defenses and began rolling them up towards the west, reaching a line from Krasnopole to Popovka to Slavgorodok. Army Group South now committed the 7th Panzer and Großdeutschland Divisions in an attempt to stop the 40th and 27th Armies. During August 8-11 40th Army attacked towards Boromlya. On the first day it pushed aside remnants of 11th Panzer, as well as 57th and 323rd Infantry, and took the area around Zhigaylovka by the end of the day. By August 9 it was facing increasing resistance; its right flank units advanced 4-5km and captured a German stronghold at Chernetchina. Meanwhile the 10th Tank Corps, operating in cooperation with the Army, broke through the German defense, covered 20km, and seized Trostyanets.
  On August 10 the 40th Army advanced another 10-12km and captured Grebennikovka and Boromlya. Its left flank units were engaged in stubborn fighting in Trostyanets, beating back counterattacks by Großdeutschland well into the next day, when Maj. Gen. Serafim Petrovich Merkulov took over command of the 206th from Colonel Rutko. During August 12-16 the 38th and 40th Armies were fighting along a line from Verkhnyaya Syrovatka to Trostyanets and were unable to advance. The offensive was renewed on the morning of August 17 with the commitment of 47th Army from the reserve; the division was transferred to that Army on the same day. Following a 50-minute artillery and air bombardment the combined forces of the three Armies broke through the German defense and advanced 10-12km, reaching a line from Bezdrik to Velikii Istorop. The next day 47th Army advanced another 20km, after which it was ordered to cut the road from Lebedyn to Akhtyrka to help isolate the group of German forces massed around the latter place. This was accomplished on August 19.
  The 47th and part of 40th Army engaged in heavy fighting on August 20 with German forces transferred from Akhtyrka and made a further advance of between 5 and 10km. This cut the last road to that town from the west. The next day the 47th resumed the offensive with the goal of enveloping the Akhtyrka area from the west and southwest. While the German force there evaded encirclement, over the next three days it was defeated and Akhtyrka was liberated. By the end of August 27 the right-flank armies of Voronezh Front had reached the Psel River and a line to the south as far as Kotelva. From here the Front was to undertake a new offensive to the west toward Gadyach and t
caption: Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive Operation. Note direction of advance of 40th Army.
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