Date of the battle July 5, 1943 - August 23, 1943 This battle went down in modern history as one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War. It is also known as the largest tank battle in the history of mankind.
Conventionally, the Battle of the Kursk Bulge 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 opposing sides
Before the start of the battle, the Red Army concentrated an unprecedented number of troops: 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 2,800 aircraft of various types. The reserve was the Steppe Front numbering: 580 thousand soldiers, 1.5 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery installations, 7.5 thousand guns and mortars. Its air cover was carried out by over 700 aircraft.
The German command managed to pull up 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 about 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 technology: Tiger and Panther tanks, as well as heavy self-propelled guns - 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.
Promotional video:
Defensive operation
This phase of the battle began with a preemptive massive artillery preparation of the Red Army at 2.30 am, and at 4.30 it was repeated. German artillery preparation began at 5 am and the first divisions went on the offensive after it …
During the bloody battles, German troops advanced 6-8 kilometers along the entire front line. The main attack fell on the Ponyri station - a key railway junction of the Orel-Kursk line and the village of Cherkasskoye - on the Belgorod - Oboyan highway section. In these areas, German troops managed to advance to the Prokhorovka station. It was here that the largest tank battle of this war took place. On the part of the Soviet Union, 800 tanks under the command of General Zhadov participated 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 battles of local significance, the troops of the Red Army on July 17-18 pushed the Germans to the Hagen defensive line east of Bryansk. The fierce resistance of the 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 assaulted. City battles continued until August 30, but the day of the liberation of the city and the end of the Battle of Kursk is August 23, 1943.
The result of the Battle of Kursk
It is difficult to summarize the results of this landmark battle of World War II. According to estimates of Soviet and foreign historians, over 3.5 million people died in the battle on both sides. The ratio of losses for the entire operation is 4/1 not in favor of the USSR.
However, this victory was the beginning of the collapse of Nazi Germany.