Atlas of Battles

battle, major, interwar and Second World War

Battle for Velikiye Luki

Battle for Velikiye Luki was a battle fought in 1942 at Velikiye Luki, in what is now Russia; it ran into the following year. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at Velikiye Luki. It was part of Q261776. The recorded result: Soviet victory.

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Battle for Velikiye Luki
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought1942ran into the following year
WhereVelikiye Luki, Russia56.350N, 30.517E, placed at the location, approximate
OutcomeSoviet victory
BelligerentsNazi GermanyagainstSoviet Union
Part ofQ261776

Where it sits in Q261776

Operation Seydlitz, 1942Battle of Rzhev, 1942Battle for Velikiye Luki, 194219421942Battle for Velikiye Luki, 1942
3 placed engagements of Q261776 in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1942 (year precision)
to 1943
PlaceVelikiye Luki, Russia
56.350N, 30.517E
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
StrengthLIX Korps – ~50,000 (on 19 Nov); Reinforcement forces: ~50,0003rd Shock Army – 95,608 (on 19 Nov); Reinforcement forces: 86,700
Casualties and lossesWestern estimate: 5,000 KIA and MIA; 15,000 WIA; Soviet estimate: ~60,000; killed, missing or wounded, 4,500 captured104,022; 31,674 killed or missing; 72,348 wounded
Commanders
  • Kurt von der Chevallerie
  • Maksim Purkayev
  • Kuzma Galitsky
Battle for Velikiye LukiBattle for Velikiye LukiSiege of Velikiye LukiBattle of NevelKholm PocketSiege of OpochkaBattle of KlyastitsyBattle of NevelKholm PocketSiege of OpochkaBattle of KlyastitsyVitsyebskNelidovoPolatsk100 km56.350N, 30.517E
Placed at Velikiye Luki; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle for Velikiye Luki
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle for Velikiye Luki today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-09-11. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 92 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 90 to 166 m, 76 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 31% grassland, 30% tree cover, 29% built-up.

grassland: 31%tree cover: 30%built-up: 29%cropland: 7%water: 4%grassland 31%tree cover 30%built-up 29%cropland 7%water 4%
west to east, 10.0 km92 to 152 mnorth to south, 10.0 km92 to 125 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1942

Battle for Velikiye Luki is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 350 in present-day Russia.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q701195, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Velikiye Luki, revision 1370592318, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.