Kozelsk offensive

Kozelsk offensive
Part of the Eastern Front of World War II
Date 22 August 1942 – 9 September 1942 (2 weeks and 4 days) Location southwestern Kaluga Oblast, Soviet Union Result Soviet offensive defeat
Belligerents
Soviet Union	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Georgy Zhukov Prokofy Romanenko Ivan Bagramyan Pavel Belov	Rudolf Schmidt
Units involved
3rd Tank Army 16th Army 61st Army 1st Guards Cavalry Corps	2nd Panzer Army
Strength
218,000 men[1] About 700 tanks[2]	About 200 tanks and assault guns[2]
Casualties and losses
12,134 killed 22,415 wounded 500 tanks[2]	Unknown

The Kozelsk offensive (Russian: Козельская наступательная операция) was an offensive conducted by parts of the Red Army's Western Front against the German 2nd Panzer Army in southwestern Kaluga Oblast on the Eastern Front of World War II between 22 August and 9 September 1942.

The attack of the 2nd Panzer Army in early August created a small salient in the Soviet line. The Western Front sent the 3rd Tank Army, with the 16th and 61st Armies and the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps as support, to launch an attack to cut off the German troops in the salient. The Soviet offensive bogged down in the face of unfavorable terrain and German defenses and air superiority. Although the three armies managed to reduce the size of the salient by around 9 kilometers (5.6 mi), they suffered heavy losses, especially in tanks. The offensive failed to achieve its objective, but tied down German armored units in a secondary sector.