The defensive battle on the southwestern approaches to the Kursk region at the end of september 1941: Little-known pages of the defense of Sumy

Relevance. 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. In this regard, the issues of studying various aspects of the war are becoming particularly relevant. The article presents the results of a study of the fighting that unfolded west of Sumy on September 27-28, 1941.

The purpose of the article is to study the offensive actions of the XXXXVIII Motorized Corps, undertaken to capture Sumy on September 27-28, 1941, and to organize the defense of the Red Army units and formations opposing it.

Objectives: assessment of the forces and means involved by the parties during the fighting on the outskirts of Sumy; study of the directions of the main and auxiliary strikes of the XXXXVIII motorized corps; analyzing the objectives of the parties and evaluating the results achieved.

Methodology. The principles of objectivity and historicism have become the methodological basis of this historical research. To achieve these goals, a comparative analysis of the documents of military units and formations that took part in the battles on the outskirts of Sumy in September 1941 was carried out.

Results. The rapid occupation of Sumy by the XXXXVIII Motorized Corps proved impossible. German troops faced stubborn resistance from units and formations of the Southwestern Front. The hull connections suffered significant losses. The attack on Sumy was stopped. The corps was withdrawn and relocated to support the right flank of the 2nd Tank Group advancing on Moscow.

Conclusion. The first attempt to capture Sumy by Nazi troops was made even before the beginning of the Sumy-Kharkov defensive operation, on September 27-28, 1941. The troops of the Southwestern Front prevented the breakthrough of units and formations of the XXXXVIII Motorized Corps in any sector of the front. The battle on the outskirts of Sumy at the end of September 1941 has the characteristics of an independent operation of an operational and tactical level and deserves the name Sumy Defensive operation 1941.

1. The Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945. Events. People. Documents: Brief history guide. Moscow: Politizdat; 1990. 464 p. (In Russ.)

2. Zolotarev V.A., Saksonov O.V., Tyushkevich S.A. The military history of Russia. Moscow: Kuchkovo pole; 2002. 736 p. (In Russ.)

3. The All-Russian Book of Memory, 1941-1945: An overview volume. Moscow: Voenizdat; 1995. 554 p. (In Russ.)

4. The History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945. Vol. 2. Reflection by the Soviet people of the treacherous attack of Fascist Germany on the USSR. Creating conditions for a radical turning point in the war (June 1941–November 1942). Moscow: Voenizdat; 1961. 681 p. (In Russ.)

5. The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Vol. 3. Battles and battles that changed the course of the war. Moscow: Kuchkovo pole; 2012. 864 p. (In Russ.)

6. The Soviet Military Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. Radio control – Tachanka. Moscow: Voenizdat; 1980. 686 p. (In Russ.)

7. The Soviet Military Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. Tashkent ‒ Cell. Moscow: Voenizdat; 1980. 687 p. (In Russ.)

8. The Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. Moscow: Sov. entsikl; 1985. 832 p. (In Russ.)

9. From the Soviet Information Bureau. Summaries 1941-1945. Book 1 (June – December, 1941). Moscow: MIA “Rossiya Segodnya”; 2016. 603 p. (In Russ.)

10. Sumy region during the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union (1941-1945). Khar'kov: Khar'kov. kn. izd-vo, 1963. 455 p. (In Russ.)

11. Sumy region during the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 Collection of documents and materials. 2nd ed. Kiev: Naukova dumka; 1988. 443 p. (In Russ.)

12. Isaev A.V. Boilers of the 41st. The story of the Second World War, which we did not know. Moscow: Yauza, Eksmo; 2005. 400 p. (In Russ.)

13. CAMO RF (The Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation). F. 500. Op. 12475. D. 287 (1). (In Russ.)

14. Guderian G. Memories of a soldier. Smolensk: Rusich; 1999. 656 p. (In Russ.)

15. TsAMO RF. F. 3467. Op. 1. D. 1. (In Russ.)

16. TsAMO RF. F. 1044. Op. 1. D. 8. (In Russ.)

17. TsAMO RF. F. 395. Op. 9136. D. 16. (In Russ.)

18. Vershigora P.P. People with a clear conscience. Vol. 1. Moscow: Voenizdat; 1947. 408 p. (In Russ.)

19. TsAMO RF. F. 229. Op. 161. D. 177. (In Russ.)