(see Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation) 

Following its withdrawal from Belgorod on the night of 5/6 August 1943, the XI Army Corps under the command of General Erhard Raus now held defensive positions south of the city between the Donets and Lopan rivers north of Kharkov.The XI Army Corps consisted of a "Kampfgruppe" (battlegroup) from the 167th Infantry Division, the 168th, 106th, 198th, 320th Infantry Divisions, and the 6th Panzer Division which acted as was the corps reserve.