Operation Zvesda was a Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

 offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II begun on 2 February 1943. The attack was the responsibility of the Voronezh Front

Voronezh Front

The Voronezh Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River....

 under the command of Filipp Golikov

Filipp Golikov

Filipp Ivanovich Golikov, was a Soviet military commander, promoted Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1961.Golikov saw service during the Russian Civil War...

. Its main objectives were the cities of Kharkov and Kursk

Kursk

Kursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. The area around Kursk was site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history...

. While initially successful and capturing both cities, the Soviets overextended themselves, allowing German Field Marshal Erich von Manstein

Erich von Manstein

Erich von Manstein was a field marshal in World War II. He became one of the most prominent commanders of Germany's World War II armed forces...

 to launch a counteroffensive and inflict a defeat on the Soviets in the Third Battle of Kharkov

Third Battle of Kharkov

The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov , between 19 February and 15 March 1943...

.