| Conflict: | Voronezh–Kharkov offensive |
| Partof: | the Eastern Front of World War II |
| Place: | Voronezh Oblast, Kursk Oblast, Belgorod Oblast, Kharkov Oblast |
| Date: | January 13 to March 3, 1943 |
| Result: | Soviet victory |
| Combatant1: | |
| Commander1: | Maximilian von Weichs Gusztáv Jány Italo Gariboldi |
| Commander2: | Filipp Golikov Max Reyter Nikolai Vatutin |
| Units1: | Army Group B 2nd Army 8th Army |
| Units2: | Voronezh Front Bryansk Front Southwestern Front |
| Strength1: | 30 divisions |
| Strength2: | 502,400 men |
| Casualties1: | 246,000 killed and captured, 75,000 wounded or sick, 3,400 artillery pieces, 578 tanks [1] |
| Casualties2: | 37,423[2] [3] 13,876 killed 23,547 wounded/sick |
The Voronezh–Kharkov strategic offensive operation was a successful strategic offensive operation of the Red Army's Voronezh, Bryansk and South-Western fronts, carried out from January 13 to March 3, 1943 with the aim of defeating the German Army Group B and liberating a large territory and the important industrial and administrative centers Voronezh, Kursk, Belgorod and Kharkov.
In the winter of 1942/43, the Red Army launched several large offensives on the southern part of the Eastern Front in the wake of the Battle of Stalingrad. In late December, at the same time as the German 6th Army was increasingly enclosed in Stalingrad by the troops of Konstantin Rokossovsky, the troops of the Southwestern Front defeated the Italian 8th Army as part of the Operation Little Saturn and reached the line Novaya Kalitwa – Markovka – Volozhin – Chernikovsky.
The Stawka planned in the course of these successes a major strategic operation, which aimed at cutting off all German forces in the Caucasus, by taking Rostov-on-Don. At the same time, the Voronezh Front, in cooperation with the left wing of the Bryansk Front and the right wing of the Southwestern Front, was tasked with a strong offensive towards Voronezh and Kursk, which aimed to retake Kharkov.
The Voronezh-Kharkov strategic offensive operation had three phases:
The operation took 50 days. The width of the front of hostilities was between 250–400 km. The depth of advance of Soviet troops was between 360–520 km, or an average daily advance of 7–10 km.
Army Group B (Field Marshal Maximilian von Weichs):
The Voronezh-Kharkov Operation was a clear defeat for Army Group B. The 8th Italian Army and the 2nd Hungarian Army were almost completely destroyed.
Several large cities were liberated: Voronezh, Kursk, Belgorod, Kharkov, Rossosh, Valuyki, Ostrogozhsk, Kastornoye, Stary Oskol, Novy Oskol, Shchigry, Oboyan, Bogodukhov, Akhtyrka and Sevsk.
In the ensuing Third Battle of Kharkov, German troops recaptured Kharkov (March 16) and Belgorod (March 18) from the overstretched Soviet Army.
During the operation, the Soviets lost in total: 153,561 soldiers, of which 55,475 were killed and 98,086 people were wounded.