The Battle for the Dnieper and the price of victory: how the fate of Ukraine’s capital was decided in the autumn of 1943
The memory of those who defended their homeland remains sacred.
Kyiv Liberation Day, 6 November: the history and facts of the battle
Every year on 6 November, Ukraine commemorates the Day of Kyiv’s Liberation from the Nazi Occupiers. It was on this very day in 1943, during the large-scale Kyiv Offensive, that, following fierce and bloody battles, the troops drove the Nazi invaders out of the Ukrainian capital, which had been under occupation for 778 days — since September 1941.
The liberation of the city marked one of the key stages of the Battle of the Dnieper — one of the largest and bloodiest military operations in world history, which turned the tide of the Second World War on the Eastern Front.
The cost of the crossing over the Dnieper and the course of the operation
The advance on the capital was accompanied by extremely heavy casualties. The Nazi command had transformed the high right bank of the Dnieper into a well-fortified ‘Eastern Wall’, considering it impregnable. To break through the defences, several bridgeheads were established, the main ones being Bukryn (south of Kyiv) and Lyutizh (north of the city).
The key factors in the battle for Kyiv were:
Bloody battles on the Bukryn bridgehead
In this sector, the troops suffered enormous losses whilst attempting to break through the enemy’s tightly organised defences, drawing significant Nazi forces towards them.
A rapid redeployment manoeuvre
Consequently, the main assault was shifted to the Lyutiz bridgehead, from where the decisive assault began on 3 November.
The liberation of the capital
Having broken through the enemy lines, the troops entered the burning city, and by the morning of 6 November, Kyiv had been completely cleared of the occupying forces.
The destruction of the capital and the memory of the heroic deed
During the years of Nazi occupation, Kyiv suffered catastrophic destruction: Khreshchatyk was blown up, the bridges across the Dnipro and industrial plants were destroyed, and the Cathedral of the Dormition at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was reduced to ruins. The most horrific chapter of the occupation was the mass extermination of civilians and prisoners of war at Babi Yar, where tens of thousands of innocent people lost their lives.
Kyiv Liberation Day serves as a reminder of the immense price of peace and freedom. Today, as the Ukrainian people once again take up arms to defend their capital and the nation’s independence against renewed aggression, the memory of the heroism of those who liberated their homeland takes on a special and profound significance.
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