THE BATTLE OF KURSK 179
THE BATTLE
OF KURSK
In the summer of 1943, German forces in the USSR found
themselves facing a huge, well-fortified Soviet salient around the
city of Kursk, some 280 miles (450 km) south of Moscow. The
resulting battle to remove the salient became a monumental clash
of armor and was one of the largest tank battles of the war.
In early 1943, Soviet advances,
combined with German retreats and
counterattacks (see pp.152–153), resulted
in a huge salient around Kursk. A vast,
pivotal battle for the salient—an area
of land 112 miles (180 km) wide and
62 miles (100 km) deep—followed in
the summer, involving more than 8,000
tanks and 1.7 million men on both
sides. Some 4,000 aircraft also played a
vital role, both sides having recognized
the effectiveness of air power—such as
the lethal German Stuka dive-bomber—
against tank armor.
The eventual Soviet victory at Kursk
was a turning point in the war: it was
the first time that a German strategic“The battle of Kursk ... and the liberation of Kiev, left
Hitlerite Germany facing catastrophe.”
VASILY IVANOVICH CHUIKOV, SOVIET GENERAL, 1968offensive had been halted before it
could break through enemy lines;
and it was Germany’s final strategic
offensive on the Eastern Front, where
until now it had been dominant. From
this point onward, Germany was on
the defensive: the Wehrmacht had
lost its armored supremacy, and
the Luftwaffe had surrendered its
dominance in the sky.
The Soviets’ victory cost them
three times more casualties than the
Germans, but the losses were huge on
both sides. Overall, more than 230,000
men were killed, missing, or wounded
in battle, and more than 2,000 tanks
and 600 aircraft were destroyed.RIVAL GERMAN AND SOVIET TANKS
The main Soviet tank at Kursk was the T-34
medium tank, supported by T-70 light tanks
and Lend-Lease tanks supplied by the US
and Britain. The Germans deployed mainly
Panzer IV tanks, along with limited numbers
of powerful Tiger heavy tanks and the new
Panther medium tanks. The Panther suffered
numerous technical problems during the
battle and did not have enough firepower
against enemy infantry; by contrast, the
Soviets’ highly mobile and rugged T-34 could
be repaired quickly on the front line.The powerful Tiger tank was heavily
featured in propaganda as a symbol of
German mightApr–Jul Heavily defended front lines
are drawn up, manned by the Soviet
Central and Voronezh Fronts.A FORTIFIED SALIENT
The battle for control of the Kursk
salient began on July 5, 1943, with
a massive German onslaught that
was at first held off by dense
fortifications, then forced back
by superior Soviet numbers.KEY
German-held territory, Jul 42
3
41TIMELINEMAR 1943 MAY JUL5SEP△ Soviet counterattack
Soviet troops follow their T-34 tanks during a counterattack near Kursk.
The Soviets defended the salient with great bravery, often running close to
German tanks to throw grenades under their tracks.KurskOboyanProkhorovkaOrelKromyNovosilMalorakhangelskPonyri
Olkhovatka
Ponyri StationLgovSumyGadyachKotelvaGotnya
StationBelgorodTomarovkaKharkovKirovBryanskPoltavaSei
mPselVorsklaDonetsD
esn
aSvapaSeimU
S
S RU
K(^) R
(^) A
(^) I
(^) N
(^) E
Soviet
Bryansk
Front
Soviet
13th Army
Soviet
Central Front
Soviet Voronezh
Front
Soviet
Steppe
Front
Soviet
West Front
Soviet
South-west
Front
German Army Group
Center
German
9th Army
German 2nd
Panzer Army
German 4th
Panzer Army
German Army
Group South
Front line, Aug 5
Front line, Aug 23
THE SOVIETS ADVANCE
JULY 12–AUGUST 23, 1943
As the Germans faltered, the Soviets attacked
Army Group Center around Orel, north of
Kursk, on July 12. The Germans were forced
back across their defensive Hagen Line by August
18, and suffered huge losses. To the south, the
Voronezh and Steppe Fronts advanced on
August 3 and converged on Kharkov, forcing
the Germans out by August 23.
5
Soviet advances
German Hagen Line
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