| WW2 footage. German Wartime Newsreel (Die Deutsche Wochenschau Nr. 687, 03-Nov-1943). Battle of the Lower Dnieper" of 1943 was one of the largest strategic operations in the history of the Second World War, involving almost 4000000 troops on both sides and stretching on a 1400 kilometers long front. During this four-month operation, the eastern bank of the Dnieper was recovered from German forces by five of the Red Army's Fronts, which conducted several river assault crossings to establish several bridgeheads on the western bank. Kiev was liberated in a separate strategic operation following success of the Lower Dnieper strategic offensive operation. One of the costliest operations of the war, the casualties are estimated at being from 1700000 to 2700000 on both sides. |