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The Yelets offensive operation is a front-line offensive operation of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War, undertaken from December 6 to 16, 1941, by the troops of the right wing of the South-Western Front during the counteroffensive near Moscow. The purpose of the operation is to encircle and destroy the enemy grouping in the area of the city of Yelets, in the future to strike at the rear of the troops of the 2nd German Panzer Army. As a result of the Yelets operation, the troops of the right wing of the Southwestern Front, advancing 80-100 km, liquidated the Yelets ledge, surrounded and destroyed more than 2 divisions, and inflicted a serious defeat on the 2nd German army. They diverted part of the forces of the 2nd TA to themselves, thus providing significant assistance to the troops of the left wing of the Western Front, who were performing the main task. A characteristic feature of the Yelets operation is its preparation in a limited time frame. It was carried out at a relatively high pace, in difficult winter conditions.

The enemy continued to press on the 13th Army and the 3rd Army of General Ya. G. Kreizer, which was defending to the north. To the south, in the direction of Kastornoye, the enemy's 9th Panzer and 16th Motorized Divisions failed to move forward. The Military Council of the Southwestern Front decided to defeat the German Yelets grouping, which would improve the situation on the neighboring Western Front as well. In the rear of the 13th Army in the Terbuna area, a cavalry-mechanized group of troops under the command of Lieutenant General F. Ya. Kostenko was urgently created from the reserves of the front: 5th Cavalry Corps, 1st Guards Rifle Division, 129th Tank and I am a motorized rifle brigade.

The counteroffensive against the German 2nd Field Army began on the northern flank of the 13th Army with the actions of the mobile group of troops of General K.S. Moskalenko, which pulled back part of the forces of the enemy group. From the line of the city of Efremov, the enemy was attacked by the formations of the 3rd Army of General Ya. G. Kreizer. The main blow was delivered by the troops of F. Ya. Kostenko. For the German command, the appearance of this group of troops on December 7 was a complete surprise. The 5th Cavalry Corps and the 1st Guards Rifle Division broke through to the flank and rear of the enemy grouping in the general direction of Yelets and to the west. The 34th motorized rifle brigade was sent to Livny to cover the enemy in depth. At the same time, the 13th Army was advancing to the southwest. All this threatened the complete encirclement of the German group. In the battles in the area of the city of Yelets, two enemy infantry divisions were completely defeated. The enemy lost 12,000 killed and wounded on the battlefield. On December 12, General Kryuchenkon's cavalrymen defeated the corps headquarters (the corps commander managed to leave the headquarters by plane). The encircled enemy troops tried to force their way to the west, violently attacking the 3rd and 32nd Cavalry Divisions. On December 15, the commander of the German 134th Infantry Division, General Kochenhausen, personally led the encircled Germans to a breakthrough. The cavalrymen resisted, General Cohenhausen was killed in this attack, the remaining Germans surrendered or fled through the forests.

Yelets (founded in 1146) is a city in Russia, the administrative center of the Yelets district of the Lipetsk region. It forms an independent administrative unit within the region - the urban district "city of Yelets". It is located 78 km west of Lipetsk. It is located on the banks of the Bystraya Pine River at the confluence of the Elchik River. Population - 106978 people. October 8, 2007 Yelets was awarded the title of "City of Military Glory".