Donbass Strategic Offensive (July 1943) Donbass Strategic Offensive (July 1943) The Donbass Strategic Offensive was a military campaign fought in the Donets Basin from 17 July 1943 and 2 August 1943 between the German and Soviet armed forces on the Eastern Front of World War II. The Germans contained the Soviet offensive in its northern portion after initial gains and pushed the southern portion back to its starting point. In July 1943, while the Battle of Kursk was raging to the north, two German armies of Army Group South in the Donets Basin confronted two Soviet army groups on a 660-kilometer front. Stavka launched two
Bombing of Wuppertal in World War II Bombing of Wuppertal in World War II During the Second World War, the city of Wuppertal suffered numerous Allied air raids, primarily nighttime attacks from the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command during the British-waged Battle of the Ruhr bomber offensive. The largest raids were on the night of 29-30 May 1943, heavy enough to cause a firestorm, then on 24-25 June. The wartime-era German "Feuerwehr" fire brigades were ill-equipped to fight these fires. The RAF's airstrikes destroyed areas of Wuppertal's northeastern Barmen, central Elberfeld and southeastern Ronsdorf communities, mainly through incendiary area bombing, resulting in destructive firestorms. Other Allied aircraft