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The Battle of Kursk, in its scale, military and political significance, is rightfully considered one of the key battles not only of the Great Patriotic War, but also of the Second World War. The Battle of Kursk finally established the power of the Red Army and completely broke the morale of the Wehrmacht forces. After it, the German army completely lost its offensive potential.

The Battle of Kursk, or as it is also called in Russian historiography, the Battle of Kursk, is one of the decisive battles during the Great Patriotic War, which took place in the summer of 1943 (July 5-August 23).

Historians call the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk two of the most significant victories of the Red Army against the Wehrmacht forces, which completely turned the tide of hostilities.

In this article we will find out the date of the Battle of Kursk and its role and significance during the war, as well as its causes, course and results.

The historical significance of the Battle of Kursk is difficult to overestimate. If not for the exploits Soviet soldiers During the battle, the Germans were able to seize the initiative Eastern Front and resume the offensive, again moving towards Moscow and Leningrad. During the battle, the Red Army defeated most of the Wehrmacht's combat-ready units on the Eastern Front, and it lost the opportunity to use fresh reserves, since they were already depleted.

In honor of the victory, August 23 forever became the Day of Military Glory of Russia. In addition, the battles included the largest and bloodiest tank battle in history, and also involved a huge amount of aircraft and other types of equipment.

The Battle of Kursk is also called the Battle of the Arc of Fire - all because of utmost importance this operation and the bloody battles that took hundreds of thousands of lives.

The Battle of Stalingrad, which occurred earlier than the battle on the Kursk Bulge, completely destroyed the German plans for the rapid capture of the USSR. According to the Barbarossa plan and the Blitzkrieg tactics, the Germans tried to take the USSR in one fell swoop even before winter. Now the Soviet Union had gathered its strength and was able to pose a serious challenge to the Wehrmacht.

During the Battle of Kursk from July 5 to August 23, 1943, historians estimate that at least 200 thousand soldiers were killed and more than half a million were wounded. It is important to note that many historians consider these figures to be underestimated and the losses of the parties in the Battle of Kursk may have been much more significant. It is mainly foreign historians who speak about the bias of these data.

Intelligence service

Soviet intelligence played a huge role in the victory over Germany, which was able to learn about the so-called Operation Citadel. Soviet intelligence officers began receiving reports of this operation at the beginning of 1943. April 12, 1943 on the table Soviet leader a document was laid down that contained complete information about the operation - the date of its conduct, the tactics and strategy of the German army. It was difficult to imagine what would have happened if intelligence had not done its job. Probably, the Germans would still have been able to break through the Russian defense, since the preparations for Operation Citadel were serious - they prepared for it no worse than for Operation Barbarossa.

At the moment, historians are unsure exactly who exactly delivered this important knowledge to Stalin. It is believed that this information was obtained by one of the British intelligence officers, John Cancross, as well as a member of the so-called “Cambridge Five” (a group of British intelligence officers who were recruited by the USSR in the early 1930s and worked for two governments at once).

There is also an opinion that information about the plans of the German command was conveyed by the intelligence officers of the Dora group, namely the Hungarian intelligence officer Sandor Rado.

Some historians believe that all the information about Operation Citadel was conveyed to Moscow by one of the most famous intelligence officers during the Second World War - Rudolf Ressler, who at that time was in Switzerland.

Substantial support for the USSR was provided by British agents who were not recruited by the Union. During the Ultra program, British intelligence managed to hack the German Lorenz encryption machine, which transmitted messages between members of the senior leadership of the Third Reich. The first step was to intercept the plans for the summer offensive in the area of ​​Kursk and Belgorod, after which this information was immediately sent to Moscow.

Before the start of the Battle of Kursk, Zhukov claimed that as soon as he saw the future battlefield, he already knew how the strategic offensive of the German army would proceed. However, there is no confirmation of his words - it is believed that in his memoirs he simply exaggerates his strategic talent.

Thus, the Soviet Union knew about all the details of the offensive operation “Citadel” and was able to adequately prepare for it so as not to leave the Germans a chance to win.

Preparing for battle

At the beginning of 1943, the German and Soviet armies carried out offensive actions that led to the formation of a bulge in the center of the Soviet-German front, reaching a depth of 150 kilometers. This ledge was called the “Kursk Bulge”. In April, it became clear to both sides that one of the key battles would soon begin for this ledge, which could decide the outcome of the war on the Eastern Front.

There was no consensus at German headquarters. For a long time, Hitler could not develop an exact strategy for the summer of 1943. Many generals, including Manstein, were against the offensive at the moment. He believed that the offensive would make sense if it began right now, and not in the summer, when the Red Army could prepare for it. The rest either believed it was time to go on the defensive or launch an offensive in the summer.

Despite the fact that the most experienced military leader of the Reich (Manshetein) was against it, Hitler still agreed to launch an offensive in early July 1943.

The Battle of Kursk in 1943 was the Union’s chance to consolidate the initiative after the victory at Stalingrad, and therefore the preparation for the operation was taken with previously unprecedented seriousness.

The situation at the USSR headquarters was much better. Stalin was aware of the German plans; he had a numerical advantage in infantry, tanks, guns and aircraft. Knowing how and when the Germans would attack, Soviet soldiers prepared defensive fortifications and laid minefields to meet them in order to repel the attack and then launch a counteroffensive. Experience played a huge role in successful defense Soviet military leaders, who, over two years of military operations, were still able to develop the tactics and strategy of waging war for the best military leaders of the Reich. The fate of Operation Citadel was sealed even before it began.

Plans and strengths of the parties

The German command planned to conduct a major offensive operation on the Kursk Bulge under the name (code name) "Citadel". In order to destroy the Soviet defense, the Germans decided to launch descending attacks from the north (area of ​​the city of Orel) and from the south (area of ​​the city of Belgorod). Having broken the enemy defenses, the Germans had to unite in the area of ​​​​the city of Kursk, thus completely encircling the troops of the Voronezh and Central Fronts. In addition, the German tank units had to turn in an eastern direction - to the village of Prokhorovka, and destroy the armored reserves of the Red Army so that they could not come to the aid of the main forces and would not help them get out of the encirclement. Such tactics were not at all new for German generals. Their tank flank attacks worked for four. Using such tactics, they were able to conquer almost all of Europe and inflict many crushing defeats on the Red Army in 1941-1942.

To carry out Operation Citadel, the Germans concentrated 50 divisions with a total number of 900 thousand people in Eastern Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Of these, 18 divisions were tank and motorized. Such a large number of tank divisions was common for the Germans. The Wehrmacht forces always used lightning attacks from tank units to prevent the enemy from even having a chance to group and fight back. In 1939 it was tank divisions played a key role in the capture of France, which surrendered before it could fight.

The commanders-in-chief of the Wehrmacht forces were Field Marshal von Kluge (Army Group Center) and Field Marshal Manstein (Army Group South). The strike forces were commanded by Field Marshal Model, the 4th Panzer Army and Task Force Kempf were commanded by General Hermann Hoth.

Before the start of the battle, the German army received long-awaited tank reserves. Hitler sent more than 100 heavy Tiger tanks, almost 200 Panther tanks (first used at the Battle of Kursk) and less than a hundred Ferdinand or Elefant (Elephant) tank destroyers to the Eastern Front.

"Tigers", "Panthers" and "Ferdinands" were some of the most powerful tanks during the Second World War. Neither the Allies nor the USSR at that time had tanks that could boast such firepower and armor. If Soviet soldiers had already seen the “Tigers” and learned to fight against them, then the “Panthers” and “Ferdinands” caused many problems on the battlefield.

The Panthers were medium tanks that were slightly inferior in armor to the Tigers and were armed with a 7.5 cm KwK 42 cannon. These guns had an excellent rate of fire and fired over long distances with great accuracy.

"Ferdinand" - heavy self-propelled anti-tank installation(tank destroyer), which was one of the most famous during the Second World War. Despite the fact that its numbers were small, it offered serious resistance to USSR tanks, since at that time it had almost best armor and firepower. During the Battle of Kursk, the Ferdinands showed their power, perfectly withstanding hits from anti-tank guns, and even coped with artillery hits. However, its main problem was the small number of anti-personnel machine guns, and therefore the tank destroyer was very vulnerable to infantry, which could get close to it and blow them up. It was simply impossible to destroy these tanks with head-on shots. The weak points were on the sides, where they later learned to fire sub-caliber shells. The most vulnerable point in the tank’s defense was the weak chassis, which was disabled, and then the stationary tank was captured.

In total, Manstein and Kluge received less than 350 new tanks at their disposal, which was catastrophically insufficient, given the number of Soviet armored forces. It is also worth highlighting that approximately 500 tanks used during the Battle of Kursk were obsolete models. These are Pz.II and Pz.III tanks, which were already out of date at that time.

The 2nd Panzer Army during the Battle of Kursk included elite Panzerwaffe tank units, including the 1st SS Panzer Division "Adolf Hitler", the 2nd SS Panzer Division "DasReich" and the famous 3rd Panzer Division "Totenkopf" (it aka "Death's Head").

The Germans had a modest number of aircraft to support infantry and tanks - about 2,500 thousand units. In the number of guns and mortars, the German army was more than twice as inferior to the Soviet army, and some sources indicate a threefold advantage of the USSR in guns and mortars.

The Soviet command realized its mistakes in conducting defensive operations in 1941-1942. This time they built a powerful defensive line capable of holding off a massive offensive by German armored forces. According to the command's plans, the Red Army was supposed to wear down the enemy with defensive battles, and then launch a counter-offensive at the most unfavorable moment for the enemy.

During the Battle of Kursk, the commander of the Central Front was one of the most talented and effective generals in the army - Konstantin Rokossovsky. His troops took upon themselves the task of defending the northern front of the Kursk ledge. The commander of the Voronezh Front on the Kursk Bulge was a native of the Voronezh region, Army General Nikolai Vatutin, on whose shoulders fell the task of defending the southern front of the salient. USSR Marshals Georgy Zhukov and Alexander Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the Red Army.

The ratio of troop numbers was far from being on Germany's side. According to estimates, the Central and Voronezh Fronts had 1.9 million soldiers, including units of the Steppe Front (Steppe Military District). The number of Wehrmacht fighters did not exceed 900 thousand people. In terms of the number of tanks, Germany was less than twice as inferior: 2.5 thousand versus less than 5 thousand. As a result, the balance of forces before the Battle of Kursk looked like this: 2:1 in favor of the USSR. Great Patriotic War historian Alexey Isaev says that the strength of the Red Army during the battle is overestimated. His point of view is subject to great criticism, since he does not take into account the troops of the Steppe Front (the number of fighters of the Steppe Front who participated in the operations amounted to more than 500 thousand people).

Kursk defensive operation

Before giving a full description of the events on the Kursk Bulge, it is important to show a map of actions to make it easier to navigate the information. Battle of Kursk on the map:

This picture shows the diagram of the Battle of Kursk. A map of the Battle of Kursk can clearly show how combat units acted during the battle. On the map of the Battle of Kursk you will also see symbols that will help you assimilate the information.

The Soviet generals received all the necessary orders - the defense was strong and the Germans would soon face resistance, which the Wehrmacht had not received in the entire history of its existence. On the day the Battle of Kursk began, the Soviet army pulled up a huge amount of artillery to the front in order to provide a response artillery barrage, which the Germans would not expect.

The beginning of the Battle of Kursk (defensive stage) was scheduled for the morning of July 5 - the offensive was supposed to take place immediately from the northern and southern fronts. Before the tank attack, the Germans carried out large-scale bombing, to which the Soviet army responded in kind. At this point, the German command (namely Field Marshal Manstein) began to realize that the Russians had learned about Operation Citadel and were able to prepare a defense. Manstein told Hitler more than once that this offensive at the moment no longer made sense. He believed that it was necessary to carefully prepare the defense and try to first repel the Red Army and only then think about counterattacks.

Start - Arc of Fire

On the northern front, the offensive began at six o'clock in the morning. The Germans attacked a little west of the Cherkassy direction. The first tank attacks ended in failure for the Germans. The strong defense led to heavy losses in the German armored units. And yet the enemy managed to penetrate 10 kilometers deep. On the southern front the offensive began at three o'clock in the morning. The main blows fell on the settlements of Oboyan and Korochi.

The Germans were unable to break through the defenses of the Soviet troops, since they were carefully prepared for battle. Even the Wehrmacht's elite tank divisions were barely making any progress. As soon as it became clear that German forces could not break through on the northern and southern fronts, the command decided that it was necessary to strike in the Prokhorovsk direction.

On July 11, heavy fighting began near the village of Prokhorovka, which escalated into the largest tank battle in history. Soviet tanks in the Battle of Kursk outnumbered German tanks, but despite this, the enemy resisted to the end. July 13-23 - The Germans are still trying to carry out offensive attacks, which end in failure. On July 23, the enemy completely exhausted its offensive potential and decided to go on the defensive.

Tank battle

It is difficult to answer how many tanks participated on both sides, since the data is from various sources are different. If we take average data, then the number of USSR tanks reached about 1 thousand vehicles. While the Germans had about 700 tanks.

The tank battle (battle) during the defensive operation on the Kursk Bulge took place on July 12, 1943. Enemy attacks on Prokhorovka began immediately from the western and southern directions. Four tank divisions were advancing in the west and about 300 more tanks were sent from the south.

The battle began early in the morning and the Soviet troops gained an advantage, since the rising sun shone directly into the Germans’ tank observation devices. The battle formations of the sides quickly became mixed up, and just a few hours after the start of the battle it was difficult to tell where whose tanks were.

The Germans found themselves in a very difficult position, since the main strength of their tanks lay in long-range guns, which were useless in close combat, and the tanks themselves were very slow, while in this situation maneuverability was key. The 2nd and 3rd tank (anti-tank) armies of the Germans were defeated near Kursk. Russian tanks, on the contrary, gained an advantage, since they had a chance to target the vulnerable spots of heavily armored German tanks, and they themselves were very maneuverable (this is especially true for the famous T-34).

However, the Germans still gave a serious rebuff with their anti-tank guns, which undermined the morale of the Russian tank crews - the fire was so dense that the soldiers and tanks did not have time and could not form formations.

While the bulk of the tank forces were engaged in battle, the Germans decided to use the Kempf tank group, which was advancing on the left flank of the Soviet army. To repel this attack it was necessary to use the tank reserves of the Red Army. In the southern direction, already by 14.00, Soviet troops began to push back German tank units, which did not have fresh reserves. In the evening, the battlefield was already far behind the Soviet tank units and the battle was won.

Tank losses on both sides during the battle of Prokhorovka during the Kursk defensive operation were as follows:

• about 250 Soviet tanks;
• 70 German tanks.

The above figures are irrecoverable losses. The number of damaged tanks was significantly greater. For example, after the Battle of Prokhorovka, the Germans had only 1/10 fully combat-ready vehicles.

The Battle of Prokhorovka is called the largest tank battle in history, but this is not entirely true. In fact, this is the largest tank battle that lasted only one day. But the largest battle took place two years earlier, also between the forces of the Germans and the USSR on the Eastern Front near Dubno. During this battle, which began on June 23, 1941, 4,500 tanks collided with each other. The Soviet Union had 3,700 units of equipment, while the Germans had only 800 units.

Despite such a numerical advantage of the Union tank units, there was not a single chance of victory. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the quality of the Germans' tanks was much higher - they were armed with new models with good anti-tank armor and weapons. Secondly, in Soviet military thought at that time there was a principle that “tanks do not fight tanks.” Most tanks in the USSR at that time had only bulletproof armor and could not penetrate the thick German armor themselves. That is why the first largest tank battle became a catastrophic failure for the USSR.

Results of the defensive phase of the battle

The defensive stage of the Battle of Kursk ended on July 23, 1943 with the complete victory of Soviet troops and the crushing defeat of the Wehrmacht forces. As a result of the bloody battles, the German army was exhausted and bleeding, a significant number of tanks were either destroyed or partially lost their combat effectiveness. The German tanks that took part in the battle of Prokhorovka were almost completely disabled, destroyed, or fell into enemy hands.

The loss ratio during the defensive phase of the Battle of Kursk was as follows: 4.95:1. Soviet army lost five times as many soldiers, while German losses were much smaller. However, a huge number of German soldiers were wounded, as well as tank troops destroyed, which significantly undermined the combat power of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front.

As a result of the defensive operation, Soviet troops reached the line they occupied before the German offensive, which began on July 5. The Germans went into deep defense.

During the Battle of Kursk, a radical change occurred. After the Germans exhausted their offensive capabilities, the Red Army counteroffensive began on the Kursk Bulge. From July 17 to July 23, Soviet troops carried out the Izyum-Barvenkovskaya offensive operation.

The operation was carried out by the Southwestern Front of the Red Army. Her key goal there was a fettering of the Donbass enemy group so that the enemy could not transfer fresh reserves to the Kursk Bulge. Despite the fact that the enemy threw perhaps his best tank divisions into battle, the forces of the Southwestern Front still managed to capture bridgeheads and pin down and encircle the Donbass German group with powerful blows. Thus, the Southwestern Front significantly helped in the defense of the Kursk Bulge.

Mius offensive operation

From July 17 to August 2, 1943, the Mius offensive operation was also carried out. The main task of the Soviet troops during the operation was to pull fresh German reserves from the Kursk Bulge to the Donbass and defeat the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht. To repel the attack in the Donbass, the Germans had to transfer significant air forces and tank units to protect the city. Despite the fact that Soviet troops failed to break through the German defenses near Donbass, they still managed to significantly weaken the offensive on the Kursk Bulge.

The offensive stage of the Battle of Kursk continued successfully for the Red Army. The next important battles on the Kursk Bulge took place near Orel and Kharkov - the offensive operations were called “Kutuzov” and “Rumyantsev”.

The offensive operation "Kutuzov" began on July 12, 1943 in the area of ​​​​the city of Orel, where Soviet troops were confronted by two German armies. As a result of bloody battles, the Germans were unable to hold a bridgehead; on July 26, they retreated. Already on August 5, the city of Orel was liberated by the Red Army. It was on August 5, 1943 that for the first time during the entire period of hostilities with Germany, a small parade with fireworks took place in the capital of the USSR. Thus, it can be judged that the release of Orel was extremely important task for the Red Army, which she successfully dealt with.

Offensive operation "Rumyantsev"

The next main event of the Battle of Kursk during its offensive phase began on August 3, 1943 on the southern face of the arc. As already mentioned, this strategic offensive was called “Rumyantsev”. The operation was carried out by forces of the Voronezh and Steppe Front.

Just two days after the start of the operation, on August 5, the city of Belgorod was liberated from the Nazis. And two days later, the forces of the Red Army liberated the city of Bogodukhov. During the offensive on August 11, Soviet soldiers managed to cut the German Kharkov-Poltava railway line. Despite all the counterattacks of the German army, the Red Army forces continued to advance. As a result of fierce fighting on August 23, the city of Kharkov was recaptured.

The Battle of Kursk was already won by Soviet troops at that moment. The German command also understood this, but Hitler gave a clear order to “stand until the last.”

The Mginsk offensive operation began on July 22 and lasted until August 22, 1943. The main goals of the USSR were as follows: to finally disrupt the German plan of attack on Leningrad, to prevent the enemy from transferring forces to the west and to completely destroy the 18th Army of the Wehrmacht.

The operation began with a powerful artillery strike in the enemy direction. The forces of the parties at the start of the operation on the Kursk Bulge looked like this: 260 thousand soldiers and about 600 tanks on the side of the USSR, and 100 thousand people and 150 tanks on the side of the Wehrmacht.

Despite strong artillery bombardment, the German army put up fierce resistance. Although the Red Army forces managed to immediately capture the first echelon of the enemy’s defense, they were unable to advance further.

At the beginning of August 1943, having received fresh reserves, the Red Army again began to attack German positions. Thanks to numerical superiority and powerful mortar fire, USSR soldiers managed to capture the enemy’s defensive fortifications in the village of Porechye. However, the spacecraft again could not advance further - the German defense was too dense.

A fierce battle between the opposing sides during the operation unfolded over Sinyaevo and Sinyaevskie Heights, which were captured by Soviet troops several times, and then they went back to the Germans. The fighting was fierce and both sides suffered heavy losses. German defense was so strong that the spacecraft command decided to stop the offensive operation on August 22, 1943 and switch to a defensive defense. Thus, the Mgin offensive operation did not bring final success, although it played an important strategic role. To repel this attack, the Germans had to use reserves that were supposed to go to Kursk.

Smolensk offensive operation

Until the Soviet counteroffensive in the Battle of Kursk 1943 began, it was extremely important for the Headquarters to defeat as many enemy units as possible that the Wehrmacht could send under the Kursk to contain the Soviet troops. In order to weaken the enemy’s defenses and deprive him of the help of reserves, the Smolensk offensive operation was carried out. The Smolensk direction adjoined the western region of the Kursk salient. The operation was codenamed "Suvorov" and began on August 7, 1943. The offensive was launched by the forces of the left wing of the Kalinin Front, as well as the entire Western Front.

The operation ended in success, since it marked the beginning of the liberation of Belarus. However, most importantly, the military leaders of the Battle of Kursk achieved pinning down as many as 55 enemy divisions, preventing them from heading to Kursk - this significantly increased the chances of the Red Army forces during the counteroffensive near Kursk.

To weaken the enemy’s positions near Kursk, the Red Army carried out another operation - the Donbass offensive. The parties’ plans for the Donbass basin were very serious, because this place served as an important economic center - Donetsk mines were extremely important for the USSR and Germany. There was a huge German group in the Donbass, which numbered more than 500 thousand people.

The operation began on August 13, 1943 and was carried out by the forces of the Southwestern Front. On August 16, the Red Army forces met serious resistance on the Mius River, where there was a heavily fortified defensive line. On August 16, the forces of the Southern Front entered the battle and managed to break through the enemy defenses. Of all the regiments, the 67th stood out especially in battles. The successful offensive continued and on August 30 the spacecraft liberated the city of Taganrog.

On August 23, 1943, the offensive phase of the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of Kursk itself ended, but the Donbass offensive operation continued - the spacecraft forces had to push the enemy beyond the Dnieper River.

Now important strategic positions were lost for the Germans and the threat of dismemberment and death loomed over Army Group South. To prevent this, the leader of the Third Reich nevertheless allowed her to retreat beyond the Dnieper.

On September 1, all German units in this area began to retreat from Donbass. On September 5, Gorlovka was liberated, and three days later, during the fighting, Stalino, or as the city is now called, Donetsk, was taken.

The retreat for the German army was very difficult. The Wehrmacht forces were running out of ammunition for artillery pieces. During the retreat, German soldiers actively used “scorched earth” tactics. The Germans killed civilians and burned villages and small towns along their route. During the Battle of Kursk 1943, retreating through cities, the Germans plundered everything they could get their hands on.

On September 22, the Germans were pushed back across the Dnieper River in the area of ​​the cities of Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk. After this, the Donbass offensive operation came to an end, ending complete success Red Army.

All of the above operations led to the fact that the Wehrmacht forces, as a result of the fighting in the Battle of Kursk, were forced to retreat beyond the Dnieper in order to build new defensive lines. Victory in the Battle of Kursk was the result of increased courage and morale Soviet soldiers, the skill of commanders and the competent use of military equipment.

The Battle of Kursk in 1943, and then the Battle of the Dnieper, finally secured the initiative on the Eastern Front for the USSR. No one doubted anymore that victory in the Great Patriotic War would be for the USSR. Germany’s allies also understood this, and they began to gradually abandon the Germans, leaving the Reich even less chance.

Many historians also believe that the Allied offensive on the island of Sicily, which at that moment was occupied mainly by Italian troops, played an important role in the victory over the Germans during the Battle of Kursk.

On July 10, the Allies launched an attack on Sicily and Italian troops surrendered to British and American forces with virtually no resistance. This greatly spoiled Hitler’s plans, since in order to retain Western Europe he had to transfer some troops from the Eastern Front, which again weakened the German positions near Kursk. Already on July 10, Manstein told Hitler that the offensive near Kursk must be stopped and go into deep defense beyond the Dnieper River, but Hitler still hoped that the enemy would not be able to defeat the Wehrmacht.

Everyone knows that the Battle of Kursk during the Great Patriotic War was bloody and the date of its beginning is associated with the death of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. However, there were also funny (interesting) facts during the Battle of Kursk. One of these cases involves the KV-1 tank.

During a tank battle, one of the Soviet KV-1 tanks stalled and the crew ran out of ammunition. He was opposed by two German Pz.IV tanks, which could not penetrate the KV-1’s armor. German tank crews tried to get to the Soviet crew by sawing through the armor, but nothing worked. Then two Pz.IVs decided to drag the KV-1 to their base to deal with the tankers there. They hooked up the KV-1 and began towing it. About halfway there, the KV-1 engine suddenly started and soviet tank dragged two Pz.IVs with him to his base. The German tank crews were shocked and simply abandoned their tanks.

Results of the Battle of Kursk

If victory in Battle of Stalingrad completed the period of defense of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War, the end of the Battle of Kursk marked a radical turning point in the course of hostilities.

After a report (message) about the victory in the Battle of Kursk arrived on Stalin’s desk, the General Secretary stated that this was only the beginning and very soon the Red Army troops would oust the Germans from the occupied territories of the USSR.

The events after the Battle of Kursk, of course, did not unfold simply for the Red Army. Victories were accompanied by huge losses, because the enemy stubbornly held the line.

The liberation of cities after the Battle of Kursk continued, for example, already in November 1943, the capital of the Ukrainian SSR, the city of Kyiv, was liberated.

A very important result of the Battle of Kursk - change in the Allies' attitude towards the USSR. A report to the US President, written in August, stated that the USSR now occupied a dominant position in World War II. There is proof of this. If Germany allocated only two divisions for the defense of Sicily against the combined forces of Great Britain and the United States, then on the Eastern Front the USSR attracted the attention of two hundred German divisions.

The US was very worried about the Russian successes on the Eastern Front. Roosevelt said that if the USSR continued to pursue such success, the opening of a “second front” would be unnecessary and the United States would then not be able to influence the fate of Europe without benefit for itself. Consequently, the opening of a “second front” should follow as quickly as possible, while US assistance was needed at all.

The failure of Operation Citadel entailed the disruption of further strategic offensive operations of the Wehrmacht, which had already been prepared for execution. A victory at Kursk would make it possible to develop an offensive against Leningrad, and after that the Germans set off to occupy Sweden.

The result of the Battle of Kursk was the undermining of Germany's authority among its allies. The successes of the USSR on the Eastern Front provided the opportunity for the Americans and British to expand in Western Europe. After such a crushing defeat for Germany, the leader of fascist Italy, Benito Mussolini, broke the agreement with Germany and left the war. Thus, Hitler lost his faithful ally.

Success, of course, came at a heavy price. The losses of the USSR in the Battle of Kursk were enormous, as were the German ones. The balance of forces has already been shown above - now it’s worth looking at the losses in the Battle of Kursk.

In fact, it is quite difficult to establish the exact number of deaths, since data from different sources differ greatly. Many historians take average figures - 200 thousand dead and three times as many wounded. The least optimistic data speaks of more than 800 thousand dead on both sides and the same number of wounded. The sides also lost a huge number of tanks and equipment. Aviation in the Battle of Kursk played almost a key role and aircraft losses amounted to about 4 thousand units on both sides. At the same time, aviation losses are the only ones where the Red Army lost no more than the German ones - each lost about 2 thousand aircraft. For example, the ratio of human losses looks like 5:1 or 4:1 according to different sources. Based on the characteristics of the Battle of Kursk, we can come to the conclusion that the effectiveness of Soviet aircraft at this stage of the war was in no way inferior to German ones, whereas at the beginning of hostilities the situation was radically different.

Soviet soldiers near Kursk showed extraordinary heroism. Their exploits were noted even abroad, especially by American and British publications. The heroism of the Red Army was also noted by German generals, including Manschein, who was considered the best military leader of the Reich. Several hundred thousand soldiers received awards “For participation in the Battle of Kursk.”

Another interesting fact– children also took part in the Battle of Kursk. Of course, they did not fight on the front line, but they provided serious support in the rear. They helped deliver supplies and shells. And before the start of the battle, with the help of children, hundreds of kilometers of railways were built, which were necessary for the rapid transportation of military personnel and supplies.

Finally, it is important to secure all the data. Date of the end and beginning of the Battle of Kursk: July 5 and August 23, 1943.

Key dates of the Battle of Kursk:

• July 5 – 23, 1943 – Kursk strategic defensive operation;
• July 23 – August 23, 1943 – Kursk strategic offensive operation;
• July 12, 1943 – bloody tank battle near Prokhorovka;
• July 17 – 27, 1943 – Izyum-Barvenkovskaya offensive operation;
• July 17 – August 2, 1943 – Mius offensive operation;
• July 12 – August 18, 1943 – Oryol strategic offensive operation “Kutuzov”;
• August 3 – 23, 1943 – Belgorod-Kharkov strategic offensive operation “Rumyantsev”;
• July 22 – August 23, 1943 – Mginsk offensive operation;
• August 7 – October 2, 1943 – Smolensk offensive operation;
• August 13 – September 22, 1943 – Donbass offensive operation.

Results of the Battle of the Arc of Fire:

• a radical turn of events during the Great Patriotic War and World War II;
• the complete fiasco of the German campaign to capture the USSR;
• The Nazis lost confidence in the invincibility of the German army, which lowered the morale of the soldiers and led to conflicts in the ranks of the command.

During the winter offensive of the Red Army and the subsequent counter-offensive of the Wehrmacht in Eastern Ukraine, a protrusion up to 150 kilometers deep and up to 200 kilometers wide, facing west (the so-called “Kursk Bulge”), formed in the center of the Soviet-German front. Throughout April - June, there was an operational pause at the front, during which the parties prepared for the summer campaign.

Plans and strengths of the parties

The German command decided to carry out a major strategic operation on the Kursk salient in the summer of 1943. It was planned to launch converging attacks from the areas of the cities of Orel (from the north) and Belgorod (from the south). The strike groups were supposed to unite in the Kursk area, encircling the troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts of the Red Army. The operation received the code name “Citadel”. At a meeting with Manstein on May 10-11, the plan was adjusted according to Gott’s proposal: the 2nd SS Corps turns from the Oboyan direction towards Prokhorovka, where terrain conditions allow for a global battle with the armored reserves of the Soviet troops. And, based on losses, continue the offensive or go on the defensive. (from the interrogation of the chief of staff of the 4th Tank Army, General Fangor)

Kursk defensive operation

The German offensive began on the morning of July 5, 1943. Since the Soviet command knew exactly the start time of the operation - 3 o'clock in the morning (the German army fought according to Berlin time - translated into Moscow time as 5 o'clock in the morning), at 22:30 and 2:20 Moscow time the forces of two fronts carried out counter-artillery preparation with an amount of ammunition 0.25 ammo. German reports noted significant damage to communication lines and minor losses in manpower. There was also an unsuccessful air raid by the 2nd and 17th Air Armies (more than 400 attack aircraft and fighters) on the enemy’s Kharkov and Belgorod air hubs.

Battle of Prokhorovka

On July 12, in the Prokhorovka area, the largest counter fire in history took place. tank battle. On the German side, according to V. Zamulin, the 2nd SS Panzer Corps, which had 494 tanks and self-propelled guns, took part in it, including 15 Tigers and not a single Panther. According to Soviet sources, about 700 tanks and assault guns took part in the battle on the German side. On the Soviet side, the 5th Tank Army of P. Rotmistrov, numbering about 850 tanks, took part in the battle. After a massive air strike [source not specified 237 days], the battle on both sides entered its active phase and continued until the end of the day. By the end of July 12, the battle ended with unclear results, only to resume on the afternoon of July 13 and 14. After the battle, German troops were unable to advance any significantly, despite the fact that the losses of the Soviet tank army, caused by tactical errors of its command, were much greater. Having advanced 35 kilometers between July 5 and 12, Manstein’s troops were forced, after trampling on the achieved lines for three days in vain attempts to break into the Soviet defenses, to begin withdrawing troops from the captured “bridgehead.” During the battle, a turning point occurred. Soviet troops, which went on the offensive on July 23, pushed back the German armies in the south of the Kursk Bulge to their original positions.

Losses

According to Soviet data, about 400 German tanks, 300 vehicles, and over 3,500 soldiers and officers remained on the battlefield of the Battle of Prokhorovka. However, these numbers have been called into question. For example, according to G. A. Oleinikov’s calculations, more than 300 German tanks could not have taken part in the battle. According to research by A. Tomzov, citing data from the German Federal Military Archive, during the battles of July 12-13, the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler division irretrievably lost 2 Pz.IV tanks, 2 Pz.IV and 2 Pz.III tanks were sent for long-term repairs , in the short term - 15 Pz.IV and 1 Pz.III tanks. The total losses of tanks and assault guns of the 2nd SS Tank Tank on July 12 amounted to about 80 tanks and assault guns, including at least 40 units lost by the Totenkopf division.

- At the same time, the Soviet 18th and 29th Tank Corps of the 5th Guards Tank Army lost up to 70% of their tanks

The central front, involved in the battle in the north of the arc, suffered losses of 33,897 people from July 5-11, 1943, of which 15,336 were irrevocable, its enemy - Model’s 9th Army - lost 20,720 people during the same period, which gives a loss ratio of 1.64:1. The Voronezh and Steppe fronts, which took part in the battle on the southern front of the arc, lost from July 5-23, 1943, according to modern official estimates (2002), 143,950 people, of which 54,996 were irrevocable. Including the Voronezh Front alone - 73,892 total losses. However, the chief of staff of the Voronezh Front, Lieutenant General Ivanov, and the head of the operational department of the front headquarters, Major General Teteshkin, thought differently: they believed that the losses of their front were 100,932 people, of which 46,500 were irrevocable. If, contrary to Soviet documents from the war period, the official numbers are considered correct, then taking into account the German losses on the southern front of 29,102 people, the ratio of losses of the Soviet and German sides here is 4.95: 1.

- During the period from July 5 to July 12, 1943, the Central Front consumed 1079 wagons of ammunition, and the Voronezh Front used 417 wagons, almost two and a half times less.

Results of the defensive phase of the battle

The reason that the losses of the Voronezh Front so sharply exceeded the losses of the Central Front was due to the smaller massing of forces and assets in the direction of the German attack, which allowed the Germans to actually achieve an operational breakthrough on the southern front of the Kursk Bulge. Although the breakthrough was closed by the forces of the Steppe Front, it allowed the attackers to achieve favorable tactical conditions for their troops. It should be noted that only the absence of homogeneous independent tank formations did not give the German command the opportunity to concentrate its armored forces in the direction of the breakthrough and develop it in depth.

Oryol offensive operation (Operation Kutuzov). On July 12, the Western (commanded by Colonel-General Vasily Sokolovsky) and Bryansk (commanded by Colonel-General Markian Popov) fronts launched an offensive against the enemy’s 2nd Tank and 9th armies in the Orel region. By the end of the day on July 13, Soviet troops broke through the enemy’s defenses. On July 26, the Germans left the Oryol bridgehead and began to retreat to the Hagen defensive line (east of Bryansk). On August 5 at 05-45, Soviet troops completely liberated Oryol.

Belgorod-Kharkov offensive operation (Operation Rumyantsev). On the southern front, the counter-offensive by the forces of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts began on August 3. On August 5, at approximately 18-00, Belgorod was liberated, on August 7 - Bogodukhov. Developing the offensive, Soviet troops cut the Kharkov-Poltava railway on August 11, and captured Kharkov on August 23. The German counterattacks were unsuccessful.

- On August 5, the first fireworks display of the entire war was given in Moscow - in honor of the liberation of Orel and Belgorod.

Results of the Battle of Kursk

- The victory at Kursk marked the transition of the strategic initiative to the Red Army. By the time the front stabilized, Soviet troops had reached their starting positions for the attack on the Dnieper.

- After the end of the battle on the Kursk Bulge, the German command lost the opportunity to conduct strategic offensive operations. Local massive offensives, such as the Watch on the Rhine (1944) or the Balaton operation (1945), were also unsuccessful.

- Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, who developed and carried out Operation Citadel, subsequently wrote:

- It was the last attempt to maintain our initiative in the East. With its failure, tantamount to failure, the initiative finally passed to the Soviet side. Therefore, Operation Citadel is a decisive, turning point in the war on the Eastern Front.

- - Manstein E. Lost victories. Per. with him. - M., 1957. - P. 423

- According to Guderian,

- As a result of the failure of the Citadel offensive, we suffered a decisive defeat. The armored forces, replenished with such great difficulty, were put out of action for a long time due to large losses in men and equipment.

- - Guderian G. Memoirs of a Soldier. - Smolensk: Rusich, 1999

Discrepancies in loss estimates

- The losses of the parties in the battle remain unclear. Thus, Soviet historians, including Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences A. M. Samsonov, talk about more than 500,000 killed, wounded and prisoners, 1,500 tanks and over 3,700 aircraft.

However, German archival data indicate that the Wehrmacht lost 537,533 people on the entire Eastern Front in July-August 1943. These figures include those killed, wounded, sick, and missing (the number of German prisoners in this operation was insignificant). And even despite the fact that the main fighting at that time took place in the Kursk region, the Soviet figures for German losses of 500 thousand look somewhat exaggerated.

- In addition, according to German documents, on the entire Eastern Front the Luftwaffe lost 1,696 aircraft in July-August 1943.

On the other hand, even Soviet commanders during the war did not consider Soviet military reports about German losses to be accurate. Thus, General Malinin (chief of staff of the front) wrote to lower headquarters: “Looking at the daily results of the day about the amount of manpower and equipment destroyed and captured trophies, I came to the conclusion that these data are significantly inflated and, therefore, do not correspond to reality.”

Date of battle July 5, 1943 - August 23, 1943 This battle was included in modern history as one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. It is also known as the largest tank battle in the history of mankind.
Conditionally the Battle of Kursk can be divided into two stages:

• Kursk defensive (July 5 – 23)
• Oryol and Kharkov-Belgorod (July 12 – August 23) offensive operations.

The battle lasted 50 days and nights and influenced the entire subsequent course of hostilities.

Forces and means of the warring parties

Before the start of the battle, the Red Army concentrated an army of unprecedented numbers: the Central and Voronezh Front numbered more than 1.2 million soldiers and officers, over 3.5 thousand tanks, 20 thousand guns and mortars and more than 2800 aircraft different types. In reserve was the Steppe Front numbering: 580 thousand soldiers, 1.5 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns artillery installations, 7.5 thousand guns and mortars. Its air cover was provided by over 700 aircraft.
The German command managed to raise reserves and by the beginning of the battle it had fifty divisions with a total number of over 900 thousand soldiers and officers, 2,700 tanks and self-propelled guns, 10 thousand guns and mortars, as well as approximately 2.5 thousand aircraft. For the first time in the history of World War II, the German command used a large number of its latest equipment: Tiger and Panther tanks, as well as heavy self-propelled units- "Ferdinand."
As can be seen from the above data, the Red Army had an overwhelming superiority over the Wehrmacht, being on the defensive it could quickly respond to all offensive actions of the enemy.

Defensive operation

This phase of the battle began with a preemptive massive artillery preparation by the Red Army at 2.30 a.m., which was repeated at 4.30 a.m. German artillery preparation began at 5 am and the first divisions went on the offensive after it...
During bloody battles, German troops advanced 6-8 kilometers along the entire front line. The main attack took place at Ponyri station, a key railway junction on the Orel-Kursk line, and the village of Cherkasskoye, on the Belgorod-Oboyan highway section. In these directions, German troops managed to advance to Prokhorovka station. It was here that the largest tank battle of this war took place. From the outside Soviet Union 800 tanks under the command of General Zhadov took part in the battle, against 450 German tanks under the command of SS Oberstgruppenführer Paul Hausser. In the battle at Prokhorovka, Soviet troops lost about 270 tanks - German losses amounted to over 80 tanks and self-propelled guns.

Offensive

On July 12, 1943, the Soviet command launched Operation Kutuzov. During which, after bloody local battles, Red Army troops on July 17-18 pushed the Germans to the Hagen defensive line east of Bryansk. Fierce resistance by German troops continued until August 4, when the Belgorod group of fascists was liquidated and Belgorod was liberated.
On August 10, the Red Army launched an offensive in the Kharkov direction, and on August 23, the city was stormed. Urban fighting continued until August 30, but the day of the liberation of the city and the end of the Battle of Kursk is considered to be August 23, 1943.