Russian Tankovy Batallion breaks through German lines.

Date: 12th August 1943
Theatre of operations: Kharkov, Ukraine
Location: Approximately 2 miles North of Kharkov

Combatants
German: Elements of 11 Panzer Regiment, 6 Panzer Division:
HQ: Panzer IVF-2 x 2
1st Zug: 2 x Panzer IVF-1, 1 x Panzer IIIJ(late)
2nd Zug: 2 x Panzer IVF-2, 1 x Panzer IIJ(late)
1 Assault Gun Zug platoon with 3 StuG III
Motorcycle reconnaissance section: 2 squads.

Soviet forces: Elements of the 173rd tank brigade, 57th Guards Tank Army
- Battalion HQ: 1 x T-34 Obr 1941
- 2 companies of T-34 Obr 1941 (14 tanks in total including 3 x T-34/57)
- 1 company of infantry
- 1 company of Su-152 heavy assault guns reported in vicinity but played no role in combat operations.

Lead up
Following the battle of Kursk, the Red Army commenced retook Belogorod and commenced operations to retake Kharkov. By the 12th of August, 1943, Soviet armour had appeared 20 miles behind corps frontline and the German forces were desperately attempting to avoid an encirclement
With 168th infantry division being destroyed by the Soviet 57th and 69th armies, it fell to the corps reserves in the form of the 6th Panzer Division to try to stop the Soviet breakthrough.

Events
A Panzer company of the 11th regiment, 6th Panzer Division had prepared to take up positions at the small village of Orstkaya in a bid to stop forward elements of the 179th Tank Brigade.

The Germans had been unable to dig into positions and a lack of transport meant that the infantry had been unable to deploy other than a 2 squad reconnaissance troop.

The only units deployed in the village itself were the reconnaissance troops, 2 Panzer IVF-2’s of the command element and a single Assault Gun Platoon equipped with 3 Stug III’s. Two platoons of Panzer III/IV’s were to be later deployed as reinforcements.

The Soviet attack commenced with one company of T-34’s attempting to flank the village near a small stream while another headed down the side of the village. The T-34’s gained an early success by destroying a single StuG III.

The German response was immediate. A single platoon of tanks equipped with 2 Panzer IVF-2’s and a single Panzer III arrived from the left flank. They combined their fire with the remaining StuG’s and command Panzer IVF-2’s to destroy a single T-34 and bail out several others.

The Soviets continued to push down the flank. The 2nd company crossed the stream on using an old stone bridge.
The 2nd German Panzer platoon arrived and together with the rest of the German armour managed to destroy or disable at least 5 T-34’s (4 from 2nd company).

It was at this point that an infantry company assigned to the 179th Tank brigade occupied key positions behind the village. They quickly dug in and engaged in a firefight with the reconnaissance troops who had been unable to dig into the stony ground near one of the farm houses. 4 Germans were killed or wounded in the firefight along with at least 12 Russians.

The Soviet tanks finally managed to engaged the 2nd German Panzer platoon and destroyed 2 tanks (1 Panzer IIIJ(late) and 1 Panzer IVF-1) and bailing the second Panzer IVF-1, thereby leaving the German‘s left flank exposed.
With the Russian forces now encircling the Germans on at least 3 sides and with reports of a company of Soviet heavy assault guns closing in on their position, the German commander ordered his forces to withdraw.

Conclusions
The encounter at Orstkaya was neither a defining battle of the overall push to liberate Kharkov from the Germans, it displayed a typical situation in the Eastern Front and in particular the situation in Kharkov in the summer of 1943. In spite of being better trained, more experienced and in many regards better equipped than Soviet units, the Germans were too stretched to be able to defend the area effectively and had lost the initiative. The Germans lack of numbers was critical as they were unable to prevent Soviet formations from breaking through wide yet barely defended stretches of territory.

For their part the Soviet tactics displayed the typical bluntness of the pre-Bagration era. The elements of the 179th tank brigade that were involved displayed extremely poor handling tactics and were it not for the T-34’s relatively thick hide, the assault would have been a failure.

For more information about the Belgorod Kharkov Offensive Operation please refer to the following:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgorod-Khar%27kov_Offensive_Operation