Battle of Kursk or the Kursk Bulge (see article) Part of the Eastern Front of World War II Disabled Soviet T-34 being towed by a turretless armored recovery tank, under enemy fire. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1941 to 1958 It is widely regarded as having been the world's best Tank when the Soviet Union An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV is a type of Armoured fighting vehicle used to repair battle- or mine-damaged as well as broken-down armoured vehicles during combat Date German Kursk :July 4 – July 20, 1943 Soviet Kursk : July 4 – August 23, 1943 Location 51°30′4″N 36°3′5″E / 51.50111, 36.05139 (Battle of Kursk)Coordinates: 51°30′4″N 36°3′5″E / 51.50111, 36.05139 (Battle of Kursk) Kursk, USSR Result Decisive Soviet strategic victory Belligerents  Nazi Germany  Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Günther von Kluge Hermann Hoth Walther Model Hans Seidemann Robert Ritter von Greim Georgiy Zhukov Konstantin Rokossovskiy Nikolay Vatutin Ivan Konyev Strength 2,700 tanks 800,000 infantry 2,109 aircraft[1] 3,600 tanks 20,000 guns[2] 1,300,000 infantry and supporting troops 2,792 aircraft[3] Casualties and losses German Kursk[4] : 50,000 dead, wounded, or captured 300 tanks 200 aircraft , Soviet Kursk[5] : 500,000 dead, wounded, or captured 900 tanks 200 aircraft German Kursk[4] : 180,000 dead, wounded, or captured 1,600 tanks 1,000 aircraft , Soviet Kursk[5] : 863,303 all causes 6,064 tanks 1,626 aircraft

The eastern front at the time of Operation Citadel. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. History KurskOld2jpg|thumb|200px|Pre-1917 view of Kursk]] Archaeology indicates that the site of Kursk was settled in the fifth or fourth century B The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Erich von Manstein ( November 24, 1887 &ndash June 9 1973) served the German military as a lifelong professional soldier Günther “Hans” von Kluge ( October 30, 1882 – August 19, 1944) was a German military leader Hermann "Papa" Hoth ( 12 April 1885 - 25 January 1971) was an officer in the German Military from Otto Moritz Walter Model ('modəl (24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945 was a German general and later field marshal during World War II. Hans Seidemann ( 18 January 1901 - 21 December 1967) was a World War II Luftwaffe general Robert Ritter von Greim (Robert Greim 22 June, 1892 &ndash 24 May, 1945) was a German Field Marshal, pilot Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovskiy (Рокоссо́вский Константи́н Константи́нович Konstanty Ksawerowicz Rokossowski ( &ndash August 3 1968 was Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin (Николай Федорович Ватутин ( December 16, 1901 - April 14, 1944) was a Soviet Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев ( &ndash May 21, 1973) was a Soviet military commander who led Red Orange areas show the destruction of an earlier Soviet breakthrough that ended with the Kharkov offensive operation. The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov ( Green areas show German advances on Kursk.

The Battle of Kursk (Russian: Курская битва) refers to a series of German and Soviet operations which, for Wehrmacht's OKH, were a part of the strategic Operation Citadel Offensive (German: Unternehmen Zitadelle); it was one of the major strategic operations on the Eastern Front of World War II. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 The Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH was Germany 's Army High Command from 1936 to 1945 The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including It was also the last German blitzkrieg offensive in the east executed by the German forces on a strategic scale during the war, with the hope of another great encirclement of Red Army forces. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Blitzkrieg (German for "lightning war" is a popular name for an Offensive operational-level Military doctrine which involves an initial The operations, which included the famous battle at Prokhorovka, remains both the largest series of armored operations and the most costly single day of aerial warfare to date. The Battle of Prokhorovka was the largest tank battle in Military history, fought by armoured formations of Wehrmacht and the Red Army. An armoured fighting vehicle ( AFV) is a military Vehicle, protected by armour and armed with Weapons Most AFVs are equipped for driving in rugged Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of Armoured fighting vehicles in Modern warfare. Air power redirects here for electrical and mechanical energy supplied by air movement see Wind power

For the Soviet historians the series of operations conducted as part of the Summer-Autumn Campaign of 1943 (1 July - 31 December) include^[6]:

• Kursk Strategic Defensive Operation (5 July 1943 - 23 July 1943)

Orel-Kursk Defensive Operation (5 July 1943 - 11 July 1943)

Belgorod-Kursk Defensive Operation (5 July 1943 - 23 July 1943)

Denial air operations over the Kursk Bulge (5 July 1943 - 23 July 1943)

Interdiction air operations over the Kursk Bulge (5 July 1943 - 12 July 1943)

Air superiority operations in Operation Kutuzov

• Orel Strategic Counter-offensive Operation (codenamed Operation Kutuzov) (12 July 1943 - 18 August 1943)

Volkhov-Orel Offensive Operation (12 July 1943 - 18 August 1943)

Kromy-Orel Offensive Operation (15 July 1943 - 18 August 1943)

Air superiority operations in Operation Rumyantsev

• Belgorod-Kharkov Counter-offensive Offensive Operation (codenamed Operation Rumyantsev) (3 August 1943 - 23 August 1943)

Belgorod-Bogodukhov Offensive Operation (3 August 1943 - 23 August 1943)

Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive Operation (3 August 1943 - 23 August 1943)

Battle of Prokhorovka (12 July 1943)

Zmiyev Offensive Operation (12 August 1943 - 23 August 1943)

The exact definition of the operations varies. The Battle of Kursk (Курская битва refers to a series of German and Soviet operations on the Eastern Front of World War II The Battle of Kursk (Курская битва refers to a series of German and Soviet operations on the Eastern Front of World War II The Battle of Kursk (Курская битва refers to a series of German and Soviet operations on the Eastern Front of World War II Operation Kutuzov was a military operation by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht during World War II. Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev (Полководец Румянцев literally "Regiment leader Rumyantsev" after 18th-century Field Marshal Peter Rumyantsev The Battle of Kursk (Курская битва refers to a series of German and Soviet operations on the Eastern Front of World War II The Germans saw it only as the Operation Citadel offensive, while the Soviet and Russian historians continue today to combine Citadel and the subsequent Soviet counter-offensives, Operation Kutuzov and Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev as a single strategic event. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 A counterattack Operation Kutuzov was a military operation by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht during World War II. Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev (Полководец Румянцев literally "Regiment leader Rumyantsev" after 18th-century Field Marshal Peter Rumyantsev

Kursk is further notable for the deliberately defensive operation strategy on the Red Army's part. Military strategy is a National defence policy implemented by Military organisations to pursue desired strategic goals Derived from the Greek Having good intelligence on Hitler's intentions, the Red Army established and managed to conceal elaborate layered defense works, mine fields, and stage and disguise large reserve forces poised for a tactical and strategic counter-attack typical of defensive battle plans. A counterattack ^[7] Though the Germans planned and initiated an offensive strike, the well-planned defense not only frustrated their ambitions, but also enabled the Soviets to follow up with counter-offensives that exhausted the German abilities in the Theater, thereby seizing the initiative for the remainder of the war. In that sense it may be seen as the second phase of the turning point that began with the German defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad, whose aftermath set the scene by establishing the Kursk Salient (also known as the "Kursk Bulge"), the reduction of which was the objective of the German armies entering in July. The Battle of Stalingrad is a commonly used name in English sources for several large operations by Germany and its allies and Soviet forces conducted with the The subsequent counter-attacks retook Orel and Belgorod on August 5, and Kharkov on August 23, pushing back the Germans across a broad front. History While there are no historical records archaeological evidence proves that a fortress settlement existed between the Oka and Orlik Rivers as early as the 12th century Belgorod (Бе́лгород is a city in western Russia, situated on the Seversky Donets river just 40 km north from the Ukrainian border at. Events 642 - Battle of Maserfield - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia. Kharkiv or Kharkov (Харків Харьков is the second largest city in Ukraine. Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire This was the first successful strategic Soviet summer offensive of the war.

Kursk was a further demonstration that the conflict in the East contained the largest scale of warfare in history, in terms of manpower involved. So well designed was the Soviet defensive planning, that when entering the archetypal counter-attack phase, the Soviets were able to attack along four separate axes of advance, and execute a planned stop at a phase line, thus avoiding the pitfalls of overextending during the counter-attack and earning this operation's deserved place as a model strategic operation in a war college curricula. ^[8] Keegan comments Although often thought of as a tank battle, Kursk as a whole arguably demonstrated the triumph of artillery, infantry and engineers over armour. Sir John Desmond Patrick Keegan OBE (born 15 May, 1934) is a British Military historian, lecturer and journalist The Soviet plan was to soak up the German assault in a colossal web of defensive positions, and only then launch their armoured counter-attack. It was also an important air battle, in which the balance now shifted in the favour of the Soviets. ^[9]

Background

In the winter of 1942–1943 the Red Army conclusively won the Battle of Stalingrad. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Battle of Stalingrad is a commonly used name in English sources for several large operations by Germany and its allies and Soviet forces conducted with the One complete German army had been lost, along with about 800,000 German and Axis troops, seriously depleting Axis strength in the east. The 6th Army was a German Field army which saw action in World War I and World War II. The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries

In 1917, the Germans had built the famous Hindenburg Line on the Western Front, shortening their lines and thereby increasing their defensive strength. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Hindenburg Line (also known as the Siegfried Line) was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the German army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining They planned on repeating this strategy in Russia and started construction of a massive series of defensive works known as the Panther-Wotan line. Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for The Panther-Wotan Line was a Defensive line partially built by the Wehrmacht in 1943 on the Eastern Front. They intended to retreat to the line late in 1943 and bleed the Soviets against it while their own forces recuperated.

In February and March of 1943, German Field Marshal Erich von Manstein had completed an offensive during the Third Battle of Kharkov, leaving the front line running roughly from Leningrad in the north to Rostov in the south. Field Marshal General, in German Generalfeldmarschall ( (usually translated simply as Field marshal, and sometimes written only as Feldmarschall Erich von Manstein ( November 24, 1887 &ndash June 9 1973) served the German military as a lifelong professional soldier The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov ( A front line is a line of confrontation in an Armed conflict, most commonly a War. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Rostov-on-Don (Росто́в-на-Дону́ Rostov-na-Donu rɐ'stof nə dɐ'nu is the city and the administrative center of Rostov Oblast and the In the middle lay a large 200km (120mi) wide and 150km (90mi) deep Soviet-held salient (bulge) in the lines between German forward positions near Orel in the north, and Von Manstein's recently captured Kharkov in the south. History While there are no historical records archaeological evidence proves that a fortress settlement existed between the Oka and Orlik Rivers as early as the 12th century Kharkiv or Kharkov (Харків Харьков is the second largest city in Ukraine.

German plans

Von Manstein pressed for a new offensive along the same lines he had just successfully pursued at Kharkov, when he cut off an overextended Red Army offensive. He suggested tricking the Red Army into attacking in the south against the desperately re-forming Sixth Army, leading them into the Donets Basin in the eastern Ukraine. The 6th Army was a German Field army which saw action in World War I and World War II. Donets Basin, also known as Donbas or Donbass (Донецький басейн usually abbreviated to Донбас translit Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. He would then turn south from Kharkov on the eastern side of the Donets River towards Rostov and trap the entire southern wing of the Red Army against the Sea of Azov. The river Seversky Donets (Северский Донец Сіверський Донець alternatively Donetz) flows into the Don River Russia Rostov-on-Don (Росто́в-на-Дону́ Rostov-na-Donu rɐ'stof nə dɐ'nu is the city and the administrative center of Rostov Oblast and the The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya The Sea of Azov (Азо́вское мо́ре - Azovskoye more; Азо́вське мо́ре - Azovs'ke more, Azaq deñizi is the world's shallowest sea linked

OKH did not approve von Manstein's plan, and instead turned their attention to the obvious bulge in the lines between Orel and Kharkov. The Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH was Germany 's Army High Command from 1936 to 1945 Three Red Army armies occupied the ground in and around the salient, and pinching it off would trap almost a fifth of the Red Army's manpower. It would also result in a much straighter and shorter line, and capture the strategically useful railway town of Kursk located on the main north-south railway line running from Rostov to Moscow. History KurskOld2jpg|thumb|200px|Pre-1917 view of Kursk]] Archaeology indicates that the site of Kursk was settled in the fifth or fourth century B Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of

In March the plans crystallized. Walter Model's Ninth Army would attack southwards from Orel while Hermann Hoth's Fourth Panzer Army and Army Detachment "Kempf" under the overall command of Manstein would attack northwards from Kharkov. Otto Moritz Walter Model ('modəl (24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945 was a German general and later field marshal during World War II. The 9th Army (9 Armee was a World War II field army The 9th Army was activated on May 15, 1940 with General Johannes Blaskowitz in command Hermann "Papa" Hoth ( 12 April 1885 - 25 January 1971) was an officer in the German Military from The 4th Panzer Army (German 4Panzer-Armee) was before being designated a full army the Panzer Group 4 ( Panzergruppe 4) a German Panzer German Army Detachment Kempf (ARMEE-ABTEILUNG "KEMPF" was a Wehrmacht formation on the Eastern Front during WWII They planned to meet near Kursk, but if the offensive went well they would have permission to continue forward on their own initiative, with a general plan to create a new line at the Don River far to the east. The Don (Дон is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 Kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast

Contrary to his recent behavior, Hitler gave the General Staff considerable control over the planning of the operation. The Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH was Germany 's Army High Command from 1936 to 1945 Over the next few weeks, they continued to increase the scope of the forces attached to the front, stripping the entire German line of practically anything remotely useful for deployment in the upcoming operation. They first set the attack for May 4, but then delayed it until June 12, and finally until July 4 in order to allow more time for new weapons to arrive from Germany, especially the new Panther tanks. Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples The Panther ( was a Tank fielded by Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945

The basic concept behind the German offensive was the traditional (and, for the Germans, hitherto usually successful) double-envelopment, or Kesselschlacht (cauldron battle). The pincer movement or double envelopment is a basic element of Military strategy which has been used to some extent in many Wars and is considered The German Army had long favored such a Cannae-style method, and the tools of Blitzkrieg made these types of tactics even more effective. For the 11th century battle in the Byzantine conquest of the Mezzogiorno, see Battle of Cannae (1018. Blitzkrieg (German for "lightning war" is a popular name for an Offensive operational-level Military doctrine which involves an initial Blitzkrieg depended on mass, shock, and speed to surprise an enemy and defeat him through disruption of command and supply rather than by destroying all his forces in a major pitched battle. A pitched battle is a Combat fought on a Battlefield expected to be site of engagement by both sides

However, such breakthroughs were easier to achieve if they hit an unexpected location, as the Germans had achieved attacking through the Ardennes in 1940, and towards Stalingrad and the Caucasus in 1942. In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East The OKH's plan for the attack on the Kursk salient, "Operation Citadel", violated the principle of surprise: anyone who could read a map could confidently predict the obvious point of attack. A number of German commanders questioned the idea, notably Guderian, who asked Hitler:

Was it really necessary to attack Kursk, and indeed in the east that year at all? Do you think anyone even knows where Kursk is? The entire world doesn't care if we capture Kursk or not. Heinz Wilhelm Guderian ( 17 June, 1888 – 14 May, 1954) was a military theorist and innovative General of the German What is the reason that is forcing us to attack this year on Kursk, or even more, on the Eastern Front? Perhaps more surprisingly Hitler replied: I know. The thought of it turns my stomach.

The interview ended inconclusively; Operation Citadel was postponed until mid-June.

The German force numbered 50 divisions, including 17 panzer and panzergrenadier, among them the elite Wehrmacht Großdeutschland Division, and the Waffen-SS divisions 1st SS Panzer Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, 2nd SS Panzer Das Reich, and 3rd SS Panzer Totenkopf grouped into the II SS Panzer Corps. A panzer, pronunced, is a German Tank, especially in the context of World War II. (abbreviated PzGren or Pzg) (Literally armored grenadeer is a German term for motorised or Mechanized infantry, as introduced during Infanterie-Division Großdeutschland (mot Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland Panzer-Korps Großdeutschland The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler ( SS-LAH) founded in September 1933 was Adolf Hitler 's personal Bodyguard Regiment. The SS Division Das Reich (germ 2SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich) was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded by the Waffen-SS during SS Division Totenkopf ("Death's Head" or "Skull" is also known as 3 The IISS-Panzerkorps was a German Waffen-SS armoured Corps which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World The High Command concentrated all their armor, the Tiger and new Panther tanks, and the new Elefant tank destroyer, being used as assault guns. Tiger I ( is the common name of a German heavy Tank of World War II. The Panzerjäger Tiger (P Elefant (SdKfz 184 was a Panzerjäger ( tank hunter) of the German Wehrmacht in A self-propelled anti-tank gun or tank destroyer, is a type of Armoured fighting vehicle designed specifically to engage enemy armor forces and not produced for an infantry An assault gun is a Gun or Howitzer mounted on a motor vehicle or armored chassis designed for use in the Direct fire They also massed a high proportion of their available air units and artillery, and despite the problems of the German plan it was a formidable concentration of armor.

Soviet plans

To the West! calls this Soviet poster, while a Soviet soldier destroys the German To the East! sign

The Red Army had also begun planning for their own upcoming summer offensives, and had settled on a plan that mirrored that of the Germans. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign Attacks in front of Orel and Kharkov would flatten out the line, and potentially lead to a breakout near the Pripyat Marshes. Kharkiv or Kharkov (Харків Харьков is the second largest city in Ukraine. The Pinsk Marshes (Пинские болота or Pripyat Marshes ( Pripet Marshes, Припятские болота are a vast territory of Wetlands However, Soviet commanders had considerable concerns over the German plans.

The locations of all previous German attacks had caught the Red Army by surprise, but in this case Kursk seemed the obvious target. Moscow received warning of the German plans through the Lucy spy ring in Switzerland. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of In World War II Espionage, the Lucy spy ring was an anti-German operation which operated in Switzerland. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation This was almost unnecessary, since Marshal Zhukov had already correctly predicted the site of the German attack as early as April 8, when he wrote his initial report to Stavka (the Red Army General Staff), in which he also recommended the strategy eventually followed by the Red Army. Marshal of the Soviet Union ( Marshal Sovietskovo Soyuza Советского Союза'' was the de facto highest military rank of the Soviet Union. Events 217 - Roman Emperor Caracalla is Assassinated (and succeeded by his Praetorian Stavka (Ставка was the term used to refer to command element of Armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya

Stalin and some Stavka officers wanted to strike first. Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party The pattern of the war up until this point had been one of German offensive success. Blitzkrieg had worked against all opposing armies, including the Red Army. On the other hand, Soviet offensive actions during both winters showed their own offensives now worked well. However, the overwhelming majority of Stavka members, most notably Zhukov, advised waiting for the Germans to exhaust themselves, first. Zhukov's opinion swayed the argument.

The German delay in launching their offensive gave the Red Army four months in which to prepare, and with every passing day they turned the salient into one of the most heavily defended points on earth. Two Fronts, the Central and Voronezh, manned the defensive lines, and the Steppe Front was available to act as a reserve. The Central Front was a Front (ie a military formation of roughly Army Group size of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The Voronezh Front (Воронежский Фронт was a front (military subdivision of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War The Steppe Front was a Front (military subdivision, effectively an Army group sized formation of the Soviet Army during the Second World War The Red Army and thousands of civilians laid about one million land mines and dug about 5000km (3000mi) of trenches, to a depth of 175km (95mi). A land mine is an Explosive device designed to be placed on or in the ground to explode when triggered by an operator or the Proximity of a vehicle person A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground Trenches are generally defined by being deeper than they are wide (as opposed to a wider Gully or Ditch In addition, they massed a huge army of their own, including some 1,300,000 men, 3,600 tanks, 20,000 artillery pieces and 2,400 aircraft. Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine The Red Army could build up forces faster than the Germans; each month they pulled further ahead in men and material.

Many of the troops assigned to the defense of the salient were recent veterans of the Stalingrad battle, but the Red Army also added over one million new men to its ranks in the first half of 1943. The Battle of Stalingrad is a commonly used name in English sources for several large operations by Germany and its allies and Soviet forces conducted with the Thus, the Red Army was larger than in 1942, even after the losses at Stalingrad. The long delay between the identification of the likely site of the German attack and the beginning of the offensive gave the new units an unusually long time to train.

The density of artillery in the salient was unusual; there were more artillery regiments in the salient than infantry regiments. The Red Army was determined to grind down attacking German units with a combination of mines and artillery fire. Indirect fire from howitzers would stop the German infantry, while direct fire from 45mm (1.7"), 57mm (2.24"), and 85mm (3. A howitzer is a type of Artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles M-42 was a 45-mm Soviet light semi-automatic Anti-tank gun. Full official name is 45-mm anti-tank gun model 1942 (M-42 (Russian 45-мм противотанковая The ZiS-2 (Russian ЗиС-2) was a Soviet 57-mm anti-tank gun used during World War II. 3") towed anti-tank guns and 76.2mm (3") divisional field guns would destroy the tanks. Anti-tank refers to any method of combating military Armored fighting vehicles notably Tanks The most common anti-tank systems The 76-mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3 ( 76-мм дивизионная пушка обр In the 13th Army sector (facing the German Ninth Army on the northern face of the salient) the density of anti-tank guns was 23. 7 guns per kilometer of defended front. In the 6th and 7th Guards Army sectors in the south, the density was lower at about 10 guns per kilometer. The 6th Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army formed four times during World War II and active with the Russian Ground Forces up until 1998 The Red Army 's 7th Guards Army was re-designated from the Soviet 64th Army on April 16, 1943.

At Kursk, the Red Army committed more than a million men, more than 3,275 tanks and 25,000 guns and mortars. Red Army riflemen like these had to hold off "tank fists" and German assault infantry supported by dive-bombers and heavy artillery fire. Soviet losses at Kursk amounted to 177,847 men killed, missing or wounded.

The preparation of the battlefield by Red Army military engineers was thorough. A military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive defensive and logistical structures for Warfare Other duties include the Reports indicate 503,993 anti-tank mines and 439,348 anti-personnel mines were laid in the defended area. An anti-tank mine, (abbreviated to "AT mine" is a type of Land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including Tanks and Armoured fighting A land mine is an Explosive device designed to be placed on or in the ground to explode when triggered by an operator or the Proximity of a vehicle person On average, 1,500 antitank and 1,700 anti-personnel mines were laid per kilometer of front. In the sectors eventually attacked, densities were never lower than 1,400 per kilometer and sometimes reached as high as 2,000 per kilometer. Red Army engineers also constructed miles of trenches, laid barbed wire, built anti-tank obstacles, and constructed thousands of gun and mortar positions. Barbed wire, also known as barb wire (and frequently in dialect form spelled bob or bobbed) is a type of fencing Wire constructed Dummy positions were built to attract German artillery fire. Camouflaging of these positions and minefields was excellent; the first warning most German units would have of the presence of Soviet minefields or dug-in guns would be their own vehicles exploding.

Set in the larger vista of the war on the Eastern Front, Kursk is significant because it demonstrated the Soviet high command and staff now worked more effectively than OKH—largely due to Stalin finally being prepared to act on the advice of his professional intelligence and staff officers, while Hitler was systematically ignoring his. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign The Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH was Germany 's Army High Command from 1936 to 1945 This was evidenced by the defeat of the Blitzkrieg in summer campaigning weather (albeit at a very high price) and the ability of the Red Army forces to move from defensive to offensive operations due to better staff work, larger reserves and better planning. In these senses Kursk, and not Stalingrad, can be viewed as the turning point in the war: certainly the initiative passed decisively from Wehrmacht to the Red Army.

Operation Citadel

Both sides had collected large forces to be committed for what was a strategically significant sector of the Eastern Front.

Main article: Battle of Kursk order of battle

Preliminary Actions

It took four months before the Germans felt ready, by which time they had collected 200 of the new Panther tanks (only 40 were available at the beginning of the operation due to technical problems with the new type), 90 Elefant Panzerjägers and every flyable Henschel Hs 129 ground attack aircraft, as well as 270 Tigers, late model Panzer Mark-IVs and even a number of captured T-34s. Battle of Kursk Order of Battle is a list of the significant land units that fought in the Battle of Kursk between July and August 1943 The Panther ( was a Tank fielded by Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945 The Panzerjäger Tiger (P Elefant (SdKfz 184 was a Panzerjäger ( tank hunter) of the German Wehrmacht in Panzerjäger ( German "tank-hunters" are German Armoured fighting vehicles of the Second World War. The Henschel Hs 129 was a World War II Ground attack aircraft fielded by the German Luftwaffe. Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft designed to attack targets on the ground and are often deployed as Close air support for and in proximity to their own ground forces Tiger I ( is the common name of a German heavy Tank of World War II. The Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a Medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1941 to 1958 It is widely regarded as having been the world's best Tank when the Soviet Union In total they assembled some 2,700 tanks and assault guns, 1,800 aircraft and 800,000 men. It formed one of the greatest concentrations of German fighting power ever put together. Even so, Hitler expressed doubts about its adequacy.

By this time, Allied action in Western Europe was beginning to have a significant impact on German military strength. Although actions in North Africa hardly constituted the Red Army's longed-for second front, the operation there did begin to tell on the Germans, and in the last quarter of 1942 and the first half of 1943, 40% of Luftwaffe losses occurred in the battles over Malta and Tunisia. During World War II, the North African Campaign, also known as the Desert War, took place in the North African desert from June 10, 1940 In Military terminology a two-front war is one in which fighting takes place on two geographically separate fronts ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands Tunisia (تونس Tūnis officially the Tunisian Republic ( is a country located in North Africa. German air superiority was no longer guaranteed. Air superiority is the dominance in the Air power of one side's air forces over the other side's during a Military campaign. The Soviet Air Forces far outnumbered the Luftwaffe, and were quickly gaining in technology as well. The Soviet Air Force, also known under the abbreviation VVS, transliterated from Russian: ВВС, Военно-воздушные силы ( Voenno-Vozdushnye Both Air Forces possessed very effective series of ground-attack aircraft capable of decimating armour; the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik and the German Junkers Ju 87G (Initially Ju 87D-3/5 with a pair of added Bordkanone 37mm gunpods). The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from Stu rz' ka' mpfflugzeug, " Dive bomber " was a two-seat (pilot and rear gunner ^[10]

Waffen-SS panzergrenadiers and Wehrmacht Tiger tanks during the start of Operation Citadel

The start date for the offensive had been moved repeatedly as delays in preparation had forced the Germans to postpone the attack. The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" (abbreviated PzGren or Pzg) (Literally armored grenadeer is a German term for motorised or Mechanized infantry, as introduced during Finally, on July 1 the orders to attack on July 5 were issued. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. The following day, Marshal Vasilyevskiy warned the Front commanders (N. F. Vatutin, K. K. Rokossovskiy and I. S. Konyev) that the long-awaited German offensive would begin sometime between July 3 and July 6. Marshal of the Soviet Union ( Marshal Sovietskovo Soyuza Советского Союза'' was the de facto highest military rank of the Soviet Union. Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky (Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Василе́вский &ndash December 5 1977 was a Soviet military commander promoted Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin (Николай Федорович Ватутин ( December 16, 1901 - April 14, 1944) was a Soviet Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovskiy (Рокоссо́вский Константи́н Константи́нович Konstanty Ksawerowicz Rokossowski ( &ndash August 3 1968 was Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев ( &ndash May 21, 1973) was a Soviet military commander who led Red Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England For months, the Soviets had been receiving detailed information on the planning of the offensive from their Red Orchestra (German: Rote Kapelle) espionage organization, whose sources included officers in the Nazi administration, among others in Hermann Göring’s aviation ministry. Hermann Wilhelm Göring (also spelled Goering) (12 January 1893 15 October 1946 was a German Politician, Military leader and a leading member

Preliminary fighting started on 4 July 1943 in the south, as Fourth Panzer Army had elected to try to take the Soviet outposts prior to the main assault on July 5. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The 4th Panzer Army (German 4Panzer-Armee) was before being designated a full army the Panzer Group 4 ( Panzergruppe 4) a German Panzer Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. Thus they deliberately sacrificed tactical surprise. However, the Red Army forward positions were on small hills overlooking German assembly areas, so it is likely surprise would have been lost in any case.

In the afternoon, Stuka dive bombers blew a two-mile-wide gap in the front lines on the north in a short period of 10 minutes, and then turned for home while the German artillery opened up to continue the pounding. The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from Stu rz' ka' mpfflugzeug, " Dive bomber " was a two-seat (pilot and rear gunner Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine Hoth's armored spearhead, the III Panzer Corps, then advanced on the Soviet positions around Zavidovka. An armoured spearhead (US English armored spearhead) is a formation of Armoured fighting vehicles mostly Tanks that form the front of an offensive thrust III Corps was a Corps level formation of the German Army during World War II. At the same time, the Großdeutschland Division attacked Butovo in torrential rain, and the 11th Panzer Division took the high ground around Butovo. To the west of Butovo the going proved tougher for Großdeutschland and the 3rd Panzer Division, which met stiff Soviet resistance and did not secure their objectives until midnight. The German 3rd Panzer Division ( 3 Panzer-Division) was established in 1935. The II SS Panzer Corps launched preliminary attacks to secure observation posts, and again met with stiff resistance until assault troops equipped with flamethrowers cleared the bunkers and outposts. The IISS-Panzerkorps was a German Waffen-SS armoured Corps which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of Fire. A military bunker is a hardened shelter often buried partly or fully underground designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks

At 22:30, the Red Army hit back with an artillery bombardment in the north and south. Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine This barrage, by over 3,000 guns and mortars, expended up to one-half of the artillery supply for the entire operation. The goal was to delay and disorganize the German attack. In the northern face, the Central Front artillery fired mostly against German artillery positions and managed to suppress 50 of the 100 German batteries they targeted. The result was much weaker German artillery fire on the opening day of the attack. Also, German units attacked at staggered times on July 5 due to the disruption caused by this bombardment. Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. In the south, the Red Army chose to fire largely against the German infantry and tanks in their assembly areas. This was partially successful in delaying the German attack, but caused few casualties.

Main operations

The Northern Face

The real operation opened on 5 July 1943. Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. The Red Army, now aware even of the exact time of the planned German offensive, launched a massive attack by the Soviet Air Force on the Luftwaffe airbases in the area, in an attempt to counter the classic German tactic of eliminating local air support within the first hour of operation. The Soviet Air Force, also known under the abbreviation VVS, transliterated from Russian: ВВС, Военно-воздушные силы ( Voenno-Vozdushnye ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. The next few hours turned into possibly the largest air operation ever fought.

The Red Army co-ordination of the attack had failed. Red Air Force fighters were dispatched too soon, arriving over German airbases before the arrival of the Red Air Force bomber forces, eventually retiring due to lack of fuel. The German fighters had nothing to prevent them from taking off and engaging the approaching attackers. ^[11]. The Red Air Force suffered the loss of 120 aircraft. ^[12]

At Kursk, the Red Army constructed an elaborate defensive system. The core of each Red Army defensive position was its anti-tank defenses, organized into a network covered by the interlocking fires of multiple anti-tank guns.

The Luftwaffe directed an all out effort against Red Army positions on the northern flank during the first day of the operation, while Soviet deployment errors granted the Luftwaffe initial air-superiority. General-Leytenant Rudenko, unsure whether this was the major German attack, ordered only one-third of his fighter strength to engage the masses of German aircraft, while the rest stood down. The out-numbered Red Army units were engaged over their own rear-areas and suffered heavily. The German fighters had flown ahead of the bomber and Stuka units to prevent Red Army intervention over the battlefield. The unprotected Stuka and Kampfgruppen then began their assault on the Red Army positions unhindered. The Soviets fed their aerial strength in piecemeal and it suffered heavy losses. ^[13] In the first three days of fighting over the northern flank Luftflotte 6 lost a total of 39 aircraft against Soviet losses of 386. Luftflotte 6 (Air Fleet 6 was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. ^[14]

The 9th Army attack in the north fell far short of its objectives on July 5. The 9th Army (9 Armee was a World War II field army The 9th Army was activated on May 15, 1940 with General Johannes Blaskowitz in command Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. The attack sector had been correctly anticipated by the Red Army Central Front. The Central Front was a Front (ie a military formation of roughly Army Group size of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. Attacking on a 45-kilometer-wide front, the Germans found themselves trapped in the huge defensive minefields, and needed engineering units to come up and clear them under artillery fire. A land mine is an Explosive device designed to be placed on or in the ground to explode when triggered by an operator or the Proximity of a vehicle person Although a few Goliath and Borgward remote-control engineering vehicles were available to clear lanes in the minefields, they were not generally successful. The Goliath tracked mine was an unmanned German-engineered demolition vehicle also known as the Beetle tank to Allies Even when the vehicles cleared mines, they had no on-board marking system to show following tanks where the cleared lanes were. Red Army units covered the minefields with small arms and artillery fire, delaying and inflicting losses on German engineers clearing mines manually. Thus German losses in the Red Army minefields were high. For example, the German 653rd Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion began the attack with 49 Ferdinand self-propelled guns; 37 of them had been lost in the minefields before 17:00 on July 5. The Panzerjäger Tiger (P Elefant (SdKfz 184 was a Panzerjäger ( tank hunter) of the German Wehrmacht in Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. Although most of the lost vehicles were mobility kills rather than permanent losses, they were out of action until they could be repaired. A mobility kill (or M-kill) in Armoured warfare refers to damage inflicted by a weapon on a vehicle that immobilises it but does not totally destroy it leaving While idle they added nothing to German combat power and were easier for Red Army artillery to knock out permanently. Since the Germans were advancing, any repairable vehicles could be fixed and put back into action.

There are a number of factors that explain the 9th Army’s lack of progress. The combination of Soviet defensive planning and, on the German side, the lack of concentration of force were the main factors. German armor was committed piecemeal rather than in strength and often without sufficient infantry support. ^[15] Soviet defensive preparation was also a major factor. The Central Front under Marshal Rokossovskiy had correctly anticipated the likely areas of German attack and had fortified those areas very heavily, holding other areas more thinly. Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for The 13th Army, which bore the brunt of the German attack, was far stronger in men and anti-tank guns than the other Central Front units, and indeed held the strongest defensive positions in the entire salient. Anti-tank refers to any method of combating military Armored fighting vehicles notably Tanks The most common anti-tank systems A major planning error by the Soviet Supreme High Command and the General Staff was their expectation that the main weight of the German attack would come in the north on the Central Front. Thus they concentrated more strength there. Also, the Central front chose to defend the tactical zone (to a depth of 20 km) very heavily, leaving far fewer units in the depths of the defense. Model's army had fewer tanks than Manstein had in the south, and the 9th Army also committed major units piecemeal due to some disruption caused by the Soviet pre-emptive artillery barrage. Finally, the 9th Army led with reinforced infantry divisions that were already in the line facing the Red Army, rather than attacking with uncommitted units. The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists

Review of attack frontages and depth of German penetration shows clearly that the Red Army defensive tactics were succeeding. Beginning with a 45-kilometer-wide attack frontage on July 5, on the 6th, the 9th Army attacked on a 40-kilometer front. Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. This dropped to 15 kilometers wide by July 7, and only 2 kilometers each on July 8-9. Events 1456 - A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000 Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Each day, the depth of the German advance slowed: 5 kilometers on the first day, 4 on the second, never more than 2 km each succeeding day. By the 10th, Ninth Army was stopped in its tracks.

After a week, the Wehrmacht had moved only 12 km forward, and on the 12th the Soviets launched their own offensive against the Second Panzer Army and the German Ninth Army at Orel. The 2nd Panzer Army (2Panzerarmee was a German Tank army that was a large armoured formation within the Wehrmacht Heer field forces during World War II The situation became critical for the German forces, the 11th Guards Army could cut off both German Armies. The Luftwaffe was called upon to halt the offensive, and its actions proved decisive to saving the German armies from encirclement. The Luftwaffe organised a massive aerial offensive to blunt the threat. On 16 July the Luftwaffe flew 1,595 sorties, double that of the previous days. ^[16] In daylight hours the Sturzkampfgeschwader and Schlachtgeschwader attacked Red Army armoured units while the Kampfgruppen targeted the rear-supply lines. In Military history and Military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe (pl Another 1,100 sorties were flown on 18 July. The Junkers Ju 87G units took a heavy toll of Red Army tank forces. So heavy were Soviet losses, the air attacks forced a Soviet retreat. The Soviet tanks that had managed to reach German positions had been quickly routed. The 1st Tank Corps had only 33 tanks remaining on 20 July. ^[17]. ^[18] Model sent a message to von Greim thanking him, "the Luftwaffe's intervention was absolutely decisive to prevent a second, more disastrous Stalingrad". ^[19]

The 9th Army had to withdraw, their part in the offensive over. Because the German armor was not concentrated and used with the same intensity as in the South, the German armor losses were comparatively light - 143 armored vehicles were total losses in the period July 5 -14 1943. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[20] However, this failed to keep up with the steady influx of new soldiers and matériel for the Red Army. Materiel (from the French "matériel" for equipment or hardware related to the word Material) is a term used in English to refer to the The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya Few Red Army guns were captured, and those Red Army units that did retreat did so on orders. The German attack failed to penetrate beyond the Red Army tactical zone.

Southern Face

German advance in the South

In the south, the Voronezh Front fared less well against the 4th Panzer Army with its LII Corps, XLVIII Panzer Corps and II SS Panzer Corps. The Voronezh Front (Воронежский Фронт was a front (military subdivision of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War The 4th Panzer Army (German 4Panzer-Armee) was before being designated a full army the Panzer Group 4 ( Panzergruppe 4) a German Panzer The XLVIII Panzer Corps ( German XLVIII Panzerkorps) originally called the XLVIII Motorized Corps, was a Corps level formation of the German The IISS-Panzerkorps was a German Waffen-SS armoured Corps which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World The II SS Panzer Corps attacked on a narrower frontage against two Red Army rifle regiments. The armored spearhead of Hoth's 4th Panzer Army forced its way forward, and by the 6th had reached some 15 km past the lines. An armoured spearhead (US English armored spearhead) is a formation of Armoured fighting vehicles mostly Tanks that form the front of an offensive thrust Hermann "Papa" Hoth ( 12 April 1885 - 25 January 1971) was an officer in the German Military from Again, Red Army planning played a big role. In the south the Red Army had not been able to pinpoint the German attack sectors; this forced them to spread out their defenses more evenly. For example, three of the four Armies of the Voronezh Front had about 10 antitank guns per kilometer of front; this contrasts sharply with the Central Front's distribution of guns, which was twice as heavy in the active sectors. Also, the Voronezh Front made the decision to hold the tactical zone much more thinly, leaving a much higher proportion of units in deeper positions compared to the Central Front. Finally, the Voronezh Front was weaker than the Central Front, yet it faced much stronger German forces.

The German forces made steady progress against the Red Army defenses, but, as in the north, attack frontages (width) and penetration depth tended to drop as the attack proceeded. The trend was not as marked as in the north, however. Beginning with a 30-kilometer-wide attack frontage on July 5, this dropped to 20-kilometers wide by July 7 and 15 km by July 9. Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. Events 1456 - A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Likewise, the depth of the penetration dropped from 9 km on July 5 to 5 km on July 8 and 2-3 km each day thereafter until the attack was cancelled. Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England. Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000

Red Army minefields and artillery were again successful in delaying the German attack and inflicting losses. The ability of dug-in Red Army units to delay the Germans was vital to allow their own reserves to be brought up into threatened sectors. Over 90,000 additional mines were laid during the operations by small mobile groups of engineers, generally working at night immediately in front of the expected German attack areas. There were no large-scale captures of prisoners nor any great loss of artillery, again indicating that Soviet units were giving ground in good order.

German losses can be seen in the example of the Großdeutschland Division, which began the operation with 118 tanks. Infanterie-Division Großdeutschland (mot Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland Panzer-Korps Großdeutschland On July 10, after five days of fighting, the division reported it had 3 Tigers, 6 Panthers, and 11 Pzkw-III and Pzkw-IV tanks operational. Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. XLVIII Panzer Corps reported, overall, 38 Panthers operational with 131 awaiting repair, out of the 200 it started with on July 5. Events 1295 - Scotland and France form an alliance the beginnings of the Auld Alliance, against England.

Nevertheless, it was obvious that the threat of a German breakthrough in the south had to be reckoned with. The Steppe Front had been formed in the months prior to the operation as a central reserve for such an eventuality. The Steppe Front was a Front (military subdivision, effectively an Army group sized formation of the Soviet Army during the Second World War Units of the Steppe Front began movement to the south as early as July 9. Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. This included the 5th Guards Tank Army and other combined-arms armies. The 5th Guards Tank Army was a Soviet Guards armoured formation which fought in many notable actions during World War II.

The German flank, however, stood unprotected as the Red Army 7th Guards Army stalled Kempf's divisions, aided by heavy rain, after the Germans had crossed the Donets River. The Red Army 's 7th Guards Army was re-designated from the Soviet 64th Army on April 16, 1943. The river Seversky Donets (Северский Донец Сіверський Донець alternatively Donetz) flows into the Don River Russia The 5th Guards Tank Army, reinforced with two additional Tank Corps, moved into positions to the east of Prokhorovka and had started to prepare a counterattack of their own when II SS Panzer Corps arrived and an intense struggle ensued. The Red Army managed to halt the SS—but only just. Little now stood in the way of the 4th Panzer Army, and a German breakthrough looked like a very real possibility. The Soviets therefore decided to deploy the rest of 5th Guards Tank Army.

Prokhorovka

Main article: Battle of Prokhorovka

Memorial on Prokhorovka Field

On the morning of July 12, II SS Panzer Corps advanced on Prokhorovka at the same time that 5th Guards Tank Army launched a series of attacks as part of multi-front counteroffensive scheduled for July 12 and in an attempt to catch the Germans off balance. The Battle of Prokhorovka was the largest tank battle in Military history, fought by armoured formations of Wehrmacht and the Red Army. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. The IISS-Panzerkorps was a German Waffen-SS armoured Corps which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World Prokhorovka (Про́хоровка is an Urban-type settlement in Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located along the Psyol River southwest The 5th Guards Tank Army was a Soviet Guards armoured formation which fought in many notable actions during World War II. The SS and Guards units collided west of Prokhorovka in open country punctuated by farms, rolling hills and gullies. What happened next is open to debate with the release of new information from archives.

The battle can best be described as a very costly tactical loss but an operational draw for the Red Army. Neither the 5th Guards Tank Army nor the II SS Panzer Corps accomplished their missions that day. Tank losses have been a contentious subject ever since. Red Army losses have been claimed as low as 200 or as high as 822 tanks, but the loss records now show that they were probably from 150 to 300 complete losses, with a similar number damaged. Likewise, German loss claims have reached as low as 80 or into the hundreds, including "dozens" of Tigers. This number is impossible to establish because of the German philosophy in counting lost tanks. The number of complete losses for the period 10 July-13 July for the LSSAH and Das Reich divisions was three. Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Additional to that is an unknown number of damaged tanks, many of which would have been lost in repair depots during the subsequent retreat as a consequence of the Red Army post-Kursk counteroffensive Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev. Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev (Полководец Румянцев literally "Regiment leader Rumyantsev" after 18th-century Field Marshal Peter Rumyantsev Nipe puts the number of operational tank reductions in the whole Corps at 70-80, but it is unclear how many of these would have been in short-term or long-term repair. In any event, the losses for both the II SS Panzer Corps and the 5th Guards Tank Army in the “greatest tank battle of all time,” fell short of the mythic proportions sometimes attributed to the Prokhorovka engagement.

The End in the South

Significantly, earlier in the operation the attacking German units had been squeezed into ever-narrowing frontages by the defenders. Elite Red Army Guards Airborne units were holding firm on the flanks of the very narrow German penetration. The Germans could not squeeze many units into this narrow front, nor did they have the combat power to widen the penetration. Thus as the attacking Corps moved forward, they continually lost strength due to the need to hold their own flanks.

While the German offensive had been stopped in the north by July 10, in the south the overall operation of Citadel still hung in the balance, even after July 12. Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. German forces on the southern wing, exhausted and heavily depleted, nevertheless had breached the first two defensive belts and believed (wrongly) that they were about to break through the last belt. In fact at least five more defensive zones awaited them, although they were not as strong as the initial belts (and some of them did not have troops deployed). Red Army defenders had been weakened, and major parts of their reserve forces had been committed. Still, the available uncommitted Red Army reserves were far larger than the few available German reserves.

Hitler cancels the operation

On the night of July 9/10, the Western Allies mounted an amphibious invasion of Sicily. The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Three days later, Hitler summoned von Kluge and von Manstein to his Wolfsschanze headquarters in East Prussia and declared his intention to "temporarily" call off Operation Zitadelle. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately Günther “Hans” von Kluge ( October 30, 1882 – August 19, 1944) was a German military leader Erich von Manstein ( November 24, 1887 &ndash June 9 1973) served the German military as a lifelong professional soldier East Prussia (Ostpreußen; Rytų Prūsija or Rytprūsiai; Prusy Wschodnie Восточная Пруссия or Vostochnaya Prussiya) refers to the main part Von Manstein attempted to dissuade him, arguing that Zitadelle was on the brink of victory. Hitler gave von Manstein a few more days to continue the offensive, but on 17 July he cancelled the operation and ordered the entire SS Panzer Korps to be transferred to Italy.

Hitler's decision to call off the operation at the height of the tactical battle has since been strongly criticized by German generals in their memoirs, and also by some historians. For example, it has been pointed out that the SS Panzer Korps would have taken three months to be transferred to Sicily, and thus could not possibly have affected the outcome there, while its contribution to the Kursk operation was vital. ^[21] Other scholars, however, are of the opinion that Zitadelle had already clearly failed and that Hitler was right in canceling the operation, if not for the right reasons.

In any event, only one German division, 1st SS Panzer Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, departed for Italy without their equipment, the others remaining behind in the USSR to try and stem the Red Army counteroffensive launched in the wake of the failed German offensive. The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler ( SS-LAH) founded in September 1933 was Adolf Hitler 's personal Bodyguard Regiment.

Red Army counteroffensives

Main articles: Operation Kutuzov and Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev

Operation Kutuzov, the Red Army counteroffensive at Orel, decisively changed the situation. Operation Kutuzov was a military operation by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht during World War II. Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev (Полководец Румянцев literally "Regiment leader Rumyantsev" after 18th-century Field Marshal Peter Rumyantsev Operation Kutuzov was a military operation by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht during World War II. German Ninth Army units had to be redeployed to resist this attack instead of continuing their own offensive; units from the southern pincer were given warning orders on July 15 to withdraw back to the start lines held on July 4. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples The purpose of the withdrawal was to shorten the front, enabling the Germans to re-form a reserve.

To the south the Red Army needed more time to re-group after the losses sustained in July, and could not launch its counteroffensive again until 3 August when Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev commenced. Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Aided by diversionary attacks on the Mius river further south, the Red Army took von Manstein's hard-won Belgorod. Mius (Миус is a River in Eastern Europe that flows through Ukraine and Russia. Belgorod (Бе́лгород is a city in western Russia, situated on the Seversky Donets river just 40 km north from the Ukrainian border at. Fireworks in Moscow marked the capture of Belgorod and Orel, a celebration that henceforward became an institution with the recapture of each Soviet city. A firework is classified as a low explosive pyrotechnic device used primarily for aesthetic and entertainment purposes Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of On 11 August the Red Army reached Kharkov, a city Hitler had sworn to defend at all costs. Events 2492 BC - Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation The German units had reduced manpower and shortages of equipment.

Counter offensives end

A cathedral on the Field of Prokhorovka. It commemorates the Red Army victory in the battle of the 5th Guards Tank Army

Field Marshal von Manstein believed the outcome of the offensive phase of Kursk to be much more grey than black and white. Erich von Manstein ( November 24, 1887 &ndash June 9 1973) served the German military as a lifelong professional soldier For although the Germans were forced to withdraw, the Germans “managed to, at least, partly destroy the mobile units of the enemy’s operational reserves. ” However, despite the losses it suffered in the defensive phase of the Kursk operations, the Red Army managed to go over to a very successful offensive within two weeks, pushing the Germans back to the Dnieper and towards western Ukraine, and Manstein saw the overall campaign as a disaster for the Germans. For the rocket see Dnepr rocket. For other uses see Dnieper (disambiguation.

By 22 August, utter exhaustion had affected both sides, and the operations of the Kursk Bulge ended. Events 392 - Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor. It was followed by a series of successful Red Army operations that led to the crossing of the Dnieper, and the liberation of Kiev during the autumn of 1943.

The campaign was a decisive Soviet success. For the first time, a major German offensive had been stopped prior to achieving a breakthrough. The Germans, despite using more technologically advanced armor than previous years, were unable to break through the in-depth defenses of the Red Army, and were surprised by the significant operational reserves available to the Red Army in these operations. This was an outcome that few confidently predicted, and it changed the pattern of operation on the eastern front. The victory had not been cheap however. The Red Army, although preventing the Germans from achieving the goals of Citadel, lost considerably more men and matériel than the Wehrmacht. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945

German casualties listed in German sources during the operation-proper (as opposed to the following Red Army counter-offensives north and south of the salient) in the period 5 to 20 July 1943 were between 50,000^[22] and 57,000. ^[23] German tank write-offs were between 278^[24] and 323. ^[25] Yet the numbers of destroyed tanks alone does not tell the entire story. For example, Zetterling and Frankson list only 33 tanks destroyed for the three divisions of the SS Panzer Corps as of 17 July, but the number of operational tanks on 17 July as of 19:15 had dropped by 139, leading one to assume that 106 tanks were damaged and not able to take part in the battle, at least temporarily. ^[26] Red Army casualties were 177,847 as listed in Krivosheev. ^[27] However, Restayn and Moller point out^[28] that Krivosheev's figures for Central Front strength show a decline in strength during the period 5 to 11 July 1943 of approximately 92,700, of which only 33,897 are accounted for as dead or wounded with no explanation given for the further 58,893 losses. Restayn and Moller consider that the missing 58,893 should be accounted for as casualties, in which case total Red Army casualties in this period would be approximately 235,000 (ie 177,847 plus 58,893). Red Army armor losses, again according to Krivosheev, were 1,614 tanks and assault guns destroyed. ^[29]

From this point on, a new pattern emerged. The initiative had firmly passed to the Red Army, while the Germans spent the rest of the war reacting to their moves. A new front had opened in Italy, diverting some of Germany's resources and attention. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Both sides had their losses, but only the Soviets had the manpower and the industrial production to recover fully. The Germans never regained the initiative after Kursk and never again launched a major offensive in the East.

Moreover, the loss further convinced Hitler of the incompetence of his General Staff. The Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH was Germany 's Army High Command from 1936 to 1945 He continued his interference in military matters progressively, so that by war's end he was involved in tactical decisions. The opposite applied to Stalin, however. After seeing Stavka's planning justified on the battlefield, he trusted his advisors more, and stepped back from operational planning, only rarely overruling military decisions. Stavka (Ставка was the term used to refer to command element of Armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history

Predictable results ensued for both sides: the German Army went from loss to loss as Hitler attempted personally to micromanage the day-to-day operations of what soon became a three-front war, while the Red Army gained more freedom and became more and more fluid as the war continued. In Business Management, micromanagement is a management style where a manager closely observes or controls the work of his or her subordinates or employees

Notes

Bibliography

• The role of intelligence in Soviet military strategy in World War II, Presidio Press, Novato, ISBN 0891413804
• Bergström, Christer (2007). Kursk - The Air Battle: July 1943. Chervron/Ian Allen. ISBN 978-1-903223-88-8. .  
• Glantz, David M.; Jonathan M. David M Glantz (born 11 January 1942 in Port Chester, New York) is an American military historian and the editor of The Journal of House (2004). The Battle of Kursk. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 0700613358.  
• Glantz, David M.; Harold S. David M Glantz (born 11 January 1942 in Port Chester, New York) is an American military historian and the editor of The Journal of Orenstein (1999). The Battle for Kursk 1943: The Soviet General Staff Study. Frank Cass. ISBN 0714649333.  
• Krivosheev, Grigoriy (1997). Soviet Casualties and Combat Losses in the twentieth century. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1853672807.  
• Manstein, Erich von (2000). Erich von Manstein ( November 24, 1887 &ndash June 9 1973) served the German military as a lifelong professional soldier Verlorene Siege (in German). Monch. ISBN 3763752536.  
• Mawdsley, Evan (2007). Thunder in the East: The Nazi-Soviet War, 1941-1945. A Hodder Arnold Publication. ISBN 0340613920.  
• Mulligan, Timothy P. (1987). "Spies, Ciphers and 'Zitadelle': Intelligence and the Battle of Kursk, 1943" (pdf). Journal of Contemporary History 22 (2): 235-260. doi:10.1177/002200948702200203. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.  
• Newton, Stephen H. (2003). Kursk: The German View. Westview Press. ISBN 0306811502.  
• Nipe, George (1996). Decision In the Ukraine, Summer 1943, II. SS and III. Panzerkorps. J. J. Fedorowicz Publishing Inc. . ISBN 0921991355.  
• Restayn, J. ; N. Moller (2002). Operation "Citadel", A Text and Photo Album, Volume 1: The South. J. J. Fedorowicz Publishing Inc. . ISBN 0921991703.  
• Restayn, J. ; N. Moller (2006). Operation "Citadel", A Text and Photo Album, Volume 2: The North. J. J. Fedorowicz Publishing Inc. . ISBN 092199172X.  
• Robbins, David L. (2004). Last Citadel. Orion mass market paperback. ISBN 0752859250.  
• Zetterling, Niklas; Anders Frankson (2000). Kursk 1943: A statistical analysis. Routledge. ISBN 0714650528.  

External links

• Battle of Kursk in Images
• Battle of Kursk
• (Russian) Battle of Kursk, a lot of information on the official website of the Ministry of Defense of Russian Federation.
• Remson, Andrew and Anderson, Debbie. "Mine and Countermine Operations in the Battle of Kursk", 25 April 2000 (Prepared for the U. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. S. Army Communications-Electronics Command)
• A Review Essay: Books on the Battle of Kursk
• The Battle of Kursk: Myths and Reality
• Kursk battle map
• Pictures of the battle - a Soviet view
• Battle of Kursk on the Web (directory)
• "Soviet Defensive Tactics at Kursk, July 1943" by Col. David M. Glantz for the Combat Studies Institute (1986)
• Russia and the USSR in wars of the XX century by G. F. Krivosheev (in Russian)
• Kursk - Raw Data to Download Information from the US Army KOSAVE II study on the southern face battle.
• German newsreels showing the Battle of Kursk
• Kursk from a website on Zhukov