The #Battle of Smolensk in August to September 1943 was the second time the #SovietUnion and the #ThirdReich fought over the city on the Dnieper during the Second World War (1939-45). By the #summer of 1943, the plan by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) to permanently occupy the USSR was in tatters. The Soviet Red #Army was relentlessly pushing back and recapturing lost cities. Smolensk was to be next in a prolonged three-phase battle that ended any hopes Hitler might have had of winning the German-Soviet #War. Despite logistical #challenges, the Red Army's sheer numbers and #artillery #power allowed them to prevail.

@world_history