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Battle of Kursk Chronology of GLORY.
If the Battle of Moscow was an example of heroism and selflessness, when there really was nowhere to retreat, and the Battle of Stalingrad made Berlin plunge into mourning tones for the first time, then it finally announced to the world that now the German soldier would only retreat. Not a single piece of native land will be given to the enemy! It is not for nothing that all historians, both civilian and military, agree in one opinion - Battle of Kursk finally predetermined the outcome of the Great Patriotic War, and with it, the outcome of the Second World War. There is also no doubt that the significance of the Battle of Kursk was correctly understood by the entire world community.
Before approaching this heroic page of our Motherland, we will make a small footnote. Today, and not only today, Western historians attribute the victory in World War II to the Americans, Montgomery, Eisenhower, but not to heroes. Soviet army. We must remember and know our history, and we must be proud that we belong to the peoples who saved the world from a terrible disease - fascism!
1943 year. The war is entering a new phase, the strategic initiative is already in the hands of the Soviet army. Everyone understands this, including the German staff officers, who, nevertheless, are developing a new offensive. The last offensive of the German army. In Germany itself, things are no longer as rosy as at the beginning of the war. The allies land in Italy, the Greek and Yugoslav forces are gaining strength, all positions have been lost in North Africa. And the vaunted German army itself has already undergone changes. Now everyone is under arms. The notorious Aryan type of the German soldier is diluted with all nationalities. The Eastern Front is a nightmare for any German. And only the possessed Goebbels continues to broadcast about the invincibility of German weapons. But does anyone believe in this, except for himself, yes, the Fuhrer?
The Battle of Kursk is a prelude.
It can be said that Battle of Kursk briefly characterized new round in the distribution of forces on the eastern front. The Wehrmacht needed a victory, a new offensive was needed. And it was planned for the Kursk direction. The German offensive was codenamed Operation "Citadel". It was planned to inflict two blows on Kursk from Orel and Kharkov, Surround the Soviet units, defeat them and rush into a further offensive to the south. It is characteristic that the German generals still continued to plan the defeat and encirclement of the Soviet units, although more recently, they themselves were surrounded and completely defeated at Stalingrad. The eyes of the staff officers blurred, or the directives from the Fuhrer have already become something akin to the orders of the Almighty.
Photo of German tanks and soldiers before the Battle of Kursk
The Germans gathered huge forces for the offensive. About 900 thousand soldiers, more than 2 thousand tanks, 10 thousand guns and 2 thousand aircraft.
However, the situation of the first days of the war was no longer possible. The Wehrmacht had neither numerical, nor technical, and most importantly, no strategic advantage. From the Soviet side Battle of Kursk More than one million soldiers, 2,000 aircraft, almost 19,000 guns and about 2,000 tanks were ready to join. And, most importantly, the strategic and psychological superiority of the Soviet army was no longer in doubt.
The plan to counter the Wehrmacht was simple and at the same time absolutely brilliant. It was supposed to bleed the German army in heavy defensive battles, and then launch a counteroffensive. The plan worked brilliantly, as shown by herself. .
Intelligence and the Battle of Kursk.
Admiral Canaris, head of the Abwehr, German military intelligence, never suffered so many professional defeats as during the war on the eastern front. Well-trained agents, saboteurs and spies of the Abwehr, and on the Kursk Bulge goofed up. Having learned nothing about the plans of the Soviet command, about the disposition of troops, the Abwehr became an unwitting witness to another triumph Soviet intelligence. The fact is that the plan of the German offensive was already on the table of the commanders of the Soviet troops in advance. Day, time of the beginning of the offensive, all Operation "Citadel" were known. Now all that remained was to position the mousetrap and close the trap. The game of cat and mouse began. And how can one not resist and not say that our troops were now a cat?!
The Battle of Kursk is the beginning.
And so it all began! The morning of July 5, 1943, the silence over the steppes is living out its last moments, someone is praying, someone is writing the last lines of a letter to their beloved, someone is simply enjoying another moment of life. A few hours before the German offensive, a wall of lead and fire collapsed on the positions of the Wehrmacht. Operation Citadel got the first hole. Artillery strikes were carried out along the entire front line, on German positions. The essence of this warning strike was not even so much in dealing damage to the enemy, but in psychology. Psychologically broken German troops went on the attack. The original plan was no longer working. For a day of stubborn fighting, the Germans were able to advance 5-6 kilometers! And these are unsurpassed tactics and strategists, whose shod boots trampled European soil! Five kilometers! Every meter, every centimeter of Soviet land was given to the aggressor with incredible losses, with inhuman labor.
The main blow of the German troops fell in the direction - Maloarkhangelsk - Olkhovatka - Gnilets. The German command sought to get to Kursk along the shortest path. However, it was not possible to break the 13th Soviet Army. The Germans threw into battle up to 500 tanks, including a new development, the heavy Tiger tank. It did not work out to disorient the Soviet troops with a wide front of the offensive. The retreat was well organized, the lessons of the first months of the war were taken into account, besides, the German command could not offer something new in offensive operations. And it was no longer necessary to count on the high morale of the Nazis. Soviet soldiers defended their country, and warriors - heroes were simply invincible. How can one not remember the Prussian king Frederick II, who was the first to say that a Russian soldier can be killed, but impossible to defeat! Maybe if the Germans had listened to their great ancestor, there would not have been this catastrophe called the World War.
Photo of the Battle of Kursk (on the left, Soviet soldiers are fighting from a German trench, on the right, an attack by Russian soldiers)
First day of the battle Kursk Bulge
was coming to an end. It was already clear that the Wehrmacht had missed the initiative. The General Staff demanded that the commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal Kluge, introduce reserves and second echelons! And it's only one day!
At the same time, the forces of the Soviet 13th Army were replenished with a reserve, and the command of the central front decided to retaliate on the morning of July 6th.
Battle of Kursk - confrontation.
The Russian commanders responded adequately to the German staff officers. And if one German mind had already been left in the cauldron near Stalingrad, then on Kursk Bulge German generals were opposed by no less talented military leaders.
German operation "Citadel" supervised by two of the most talented generals, this cannot be taken away from them, Field Marshal von Kluge and General Erich von Manstein. The coordination of the Soviet fronts was carried out by marshals G. Zhukov and A. Vasilevsky. The fronts were directly commanded by: Rokossovsky - the Central Front, N. Vatutin - the Voronezh Front, and I. Konev - the Steppe Front.
Only lasted six days Operation "Citadel", for six days the German units tried to move forward, and all these six days the stamina and courage of a simple Soviet soldier thwarted all the plans of the enemy.
July 12 has found a new, full-fledged owner. Troops of two Soviet fronts, Bryansk and Western, launched an offensive operation against German positions. This date can be taken as the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. From that day until the end of the war german weapons no longer knew the joy of victory. Now the Soviet army was waging an offensive war, a war of liberation. During the offensive, the cities were liberated: Orel, Belgorod, Kharkov. German attempts to counterattack had no success. It was no longer the strength of the weapon that determined the outcome of the war, but its spirituality, its purpose. The Soviet heroes liberated their land, and nothing could stop this force, it seemed that the land itself helps the soldiers go on and on, freeing city after city, village after village.
49 days and nights went fierce battle on the Kursk Bulge, and at that time the future of each of us was completely determined.
Kursk Bulge. Photo of Russian infantrymen going into battle under cover of a tank
Battle of Kursk Photo of the greatest tank battle
Battle of Kursk Photo of Russian infantrymen against the background of a wrecked German tank "Tiger"
Battle of Kursk. Photo of a Russian tank against the background of a wrecked "tiger"
The Battle of Kursk is the greatest tank battle.
Neither before nor after has the world known such a battle. More than 1,500 tanks from both sides throughout the day on July 12, 1943, fought the hardest battles on a narrow heel of land near the village of Prokhorovka. Initially, inferior to the Germans in the quality of tanks and in quantity, the Soviet tankers covered their names with endless glory! People burned in tanks, were blown up by mines, the armor could not withstand the hit of German shells, but the battle continued. At that moment, nothing else existed, neither tomorrow nor yesterday! The dedication of the Soviet soldier, who once again surprised the world, did not allow the Germans to either win the battle itself or strategically improve their positions.
Battle of Kursk. Photos of destroyed German self-propelled guns
Battle of Kursk! Photo of a destroyed German tank. Ilyin's work (inscription)
Battle of Kursk. Photo of a destroyed German tank
Battle of Kursk. In the photo, Russian soldiers inspect a wrecked German self-propelled gun
Battle of Kursk In the photo, Russian tank officers inspect the holes in the "Tiger"
Battle of Kursk. Satisfied with the work! Hero face!
Battle of Kursk - Results
Operation Citadel showed the world that Nazi Germany was no longer capable of waging aggression. The turning point of the Second World War, according to absolutely all historians and military experts, came precisely on Kursk Bulge. Underestimate significance of the Kursk battles are difficult.
While German troops suffered huge losses on the eastern front, they had to be replenished by transferring reserves from other parts of conquered Europe. Not surprisingly, the Anglo-American landing in Italy coincided with Battle of Kursk. Now the war has come to Western Europe.
The German army itself was finally and irrevocably broken psychologically. Talk about the superiority of the Aryan race came to naught, and the representatives of this very race themselves were no longer demigods. Many remained lying in the endless steppes near Kursk, and those who survived no longer believed that the war would be won. It was the turn to think about protecting our own Vaterland. So, all of us, now living, can proudly say that Battle of Kursk briefly and she definitely proved once again that strength is not in anger and the desire for aggression, strength is in love for the Motherland!
Battle of Kursk. Photo of a downed "tiger"
Battle of Kursk. Pictured is a shot down self-propelled gun from a direct hit by a bomb dropped from an aircraft
Battle of Kursk Photo of a killed German soldier
Kursk Bulge! In the photo, a killed crew member of a German self-propelled gun
A nation that forgets its past has no future. So once said the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. In the middle of the last century, "fifteen sister republics", united by "Great Russia", inflicted a crushing defeat on the plague of mankind - fascism. The fierce battle was marked by a number of victories of the Red Army, which can be called key. The topic of this article is one of the decisive battles of the Second World War - the Kursk Bulge, one of the fateful battles that marked the final mastery of the strategic initiative by our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. From that time on, the German occupiers began to be smashed at all frontiers. A purposeful movement of fronts to the West began. Since that time, the Nazis have forgotten what it means "forward to the East."
Historical parallels
The Kursk confrontation took place on 07/05/1943 - 08/23/1943 on the primordially Russian Land, over which the great noble prince Alexander Nevsky once held his shield. His prophetic warning to Western conquerors (who came to us with a sword) about imminent death from the onslaught of the Russian sword that met them once again gained strength. It is characteristic that the Kursk Bulge was somewhat similar to the battle given by Prince Alexander by the Teutonic Knights on 04/05/1242. Of course, the weapons of the armies, the scale and time of these two battles are incommensurable. But the scenario of both battles is somewhat similar: the Germans with their main forces tried to break through the Russian battle formation in the center, but were crushed by the offensive actions of the flanks.
If we pragmatically try to say what is unique about the Kursk Bulge, the summary will be as follows: unprecedented in history (before and after) operational-tactical density per 1 km of the front.
Battle disposition
The offensive of the Red Army after the Battle of Stalingrad from November 1942 to March 1943 was marked by the defeat of about 100 enemy divisions, driven back from the North Caucasus, the Don, the Volga. But due to the losses suffered by our side, by the beginning of the spring of 1943, the front had stabilized. On the map of hostilities in the center of the front line with the Germans, in the direction of the Nazi army, a ledge stood out, to which the military gave the name Kursk Bulge. The spring of 1943 brought a lull to the front: no one attacked, both sides forcedly accumulated forces in order to again seize the strategic initiative.
Preparation of Nazi Germany
After the Stalingrad defeat, Hitler announced mobilization, as a result of which the Wehrmacht grew, more than covering the losses incurred. "Under arms" were 9.5 million people (including 2.3 million reservists). 75% of the most combat-ready active troops (5.3 million people) were on the Soviet-German front.
The Führer was eager to seize the strategic initiative in the war. The turning point, in his opinion, was to occur precisely on that sector of the front, where the Kursk Bulge was located. To implement the plan, the Wehrmacht headquarters developed the strategic operation "Citadel". The plan envisaged the application of attacks converging to Kursk (from the north - from the region of the city of Orel; from the south - from the region of the city of Belgorod). In this way, the troops of the Voronezh and Central fronts fell into the "cauldron".
Under this operation, 50 divisions were concentrated in this sector of the front, incl. 16 armored and motorized, totaling 0.9 million selected, fully equipped troops; 2.7 thousand tanks; 2.5 thousand aircraft; 10 thousand mortars and guns.
In this grouping, the transition to new weapons was mainly carried out: Panther and Tiger tanks, Ferdinand assault guns.
In preparing the Soviet troops for battle, one should pay tribute to the military talent of the Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief G.K. Zhukov. Together with the Chief of the General Staff A.M. Vasilevsky, he reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin the assumption that the Kursk Bulge would become the main future battlefield, and also predicted the approximate strength of the advancing enemy grouping.
Along the front line, the Nazis were opposed by the Voronezh (commander - General Vatutin N.F.) and the Central Fronts (commander - General Rokossovsky K.K.) with a total number of 1.34 million people. They were armed with 19 thousand mortars and guns; 3.4 thousand tanks; 2.5 thousand aircraft. (As you can see, the advantage was on their side). Secretly from the enemy, behind the listed fronts, the reserve Steppe Front (commander I.S. Konev) was located. It consisted of a tank, aviation and five combined arms armies, supplemented by separate corps.
The control and coordination of the actions of this group was carried out personally by G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky.
tactical battle plan
The idea of Marshal Zhukov assumed that the battle on the Kursk Bulge would have two phases. The first is defensive, the second is offensive.
A bridgehead in depth (300 km deep) was equipped. The total length of its trenches was approximately equal to the distance "Moscow - Vladivostok". It had 8 powerful lines of defense. The purpose of such a defense was to weaken the enemy as much as possible, to deprive him of the initiative, making the task of the attackers as easy as possible. In the second, offensive phase of the battle, two offensive operations were planned. First: the operation "Kutuzov" with the aim of eliminating the fascist group and liberating the city of "Eagle". Second: "Commander Rumyantsev" for the destruction of the Belgorod-Kharkov group of invaders.
Thus, with the actual advantage of the Red Army, the battle on the Kursk Bulge took place from the Soviet side "on defense". For offensive operations, as tactics teach, two or three times the number of troops was required.
Shelling
It so happened that the time of the offensive of the fascist troops became known in advance. On the eve of the German sappers began to make passages in the minefields. Soviet front-line intelligence started a fight with them and took prisoners. From the "tongues" it became known the time of the offensive: 03-00 07/05/1943
The reaction was prompt and adequate: On July 5, 1943, Marshal Rokossovsky K.K. (Commander of the Central Front), with the approval of the Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief G.K. It was an innovation in combat tactics. Hundreds of Katyushas, 600 guns, 460 mortars were fired at the invaders. For the Nazis, this was a complete surprise, they suffered losses.
Only at 4-30, having regrouped, they were able to carry out their artillery preparation, and at 5-30 go on the offensive. The Battle of Kursk has begun.
The beginning of the battle
Of course, our generals could not predict everything. In particular, both the General Staff and the Headquarters expected the main blow from the Nazis in the southern direction, to the city of Orel (which was defended by the Central Front, the commander was General Vatutin N.F.). In reality, the battle on the Kursk Bulge from the German troops was focused on the Voronezh front, from the north. Two battalions moved against the troops of Nikolai Fedorovich heavy tanks, eight tank divisions, an assault gun division, one motorized division. In the first phase of the battle, the first hot spot was the village of Cherkasskoye (virtually wiped off the face of the earth), where two Soviet rifle divisions held back the advance of five enemy divisions for a day.
German offensive tactics
This martial art is glorious Great War. The Kursk Bulge fully demonstrated the confrontation between the two strategies. What did the German offensive look like? Heavy equipment was moving ahead along the attack front: 15-20 Tiger tanks and Ferdinand self-propelled guns. They were followed by from fifty to a hundred Panther medium tanks, accompanied by infantry. Driven back, they regrouped and repeated the attack. The attacks were like the ebb and flow of the sea, following each other.
Let's follow the advice of the famous military historian, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Professor Zakharov Matvey Vasilievich, we will not idealize our defense of the 1943 model, we will present it objectively.
We have to talk about German tactics tank battle. The Kursk Bulge (this should be admitted) demonstrated the art of Colonel-General Herman Goth, he "jewellery", so to speak about tanks, brought his 4th Army into battle. At the same time, our 40th Army with 237 tanks, the most equipped with artillery (35.4 units per 1 km), under the command of General Kirill Semenovich Moskalenko, turned out to be much to the left, i.e. out of business. The opposing 6th Guards Army (commander I. M. Chistyakov) had a density of guns per 1 km - 24.4 with 135 tanks. Mainly on the 6th Army, far from the most powerful, came the blow of Army Group South, commanded by the most gifted strategist of the Wehrmacht, Erich von Manstein. (By the way, this man was one of the few who constantly argued on issues of strategy and tactics with Adolf Hitler, for which in 1944, in fact, he was dismissed).
Tank battle near Prokhorovka
In the current difficult situation, in order to eliminate the breakthrough, the Red Army brought into battle strategic reserves: the 5th Guards Tank Army (Commander Rotmistrov P.A.) and the 5th Guards Army (Commander Zhadov A.S.)
The possibility of a flank attack by the Soviet tank army in the area of the village of Prokhorovka was previously considered by the German General Staff. Therefore, the divisions "Dead Head" and "Leibstandarte" the direction of the strike was changed to 90 0 - for a head-on collision with the army of General Pavel Alekseevich Rotmistrov.
Tanks on the Kursk Bulge: 700 combat vehicles went into battle from the German side, 850 from ours. An impressive and terrible picture. As eyewitnesses recall, the roar was such that blood flowed from the ears. They had to shoot point-blank, from which the towers turned off. Coming to the enemy from the rear, they tried to fire on the tanks, from which the tanks flared with torches. The tankers were, as it were, in prostration - while he was alive, he had to fight. It was impossible to retreat, to hide.
Of course, it was unreasonable to attack the enemy in the first phase of the operation (if during the defense we suffered losses one to five, what would they be like during the offensive?!). At the same time, real heroism was shown by Soviet soldiers on this battlefield. 100,000 people were awarded orders and medals, and 180 of them were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In our time, the day of its end - August 23 - is annually met by residents of the country as Russia.
BATTLE OF KURSK 1943, defensive (July 5 - 23) and offensive (July 12 - August 23) operations carried out by the Red Army in the area of the Kursk ledge to disrupt the offensive and defeat the strategic grouping of German troops.
The victory of the Red Army at Stalingrad and its subsequent general offensive in the winter of 1942/43 in the vast expanse from the Baltic to the Black Sea undermined military power Germany. In order to prevent the decline in the morale of the army and the population and the growth of centrifugal tendencies within the bloc of aggressors, Hitler and his generals decided to prepare and conduct a major offensive operation on the Soviet-German front. With its success, they linked their hopes for the return of the lost strategic initiative and a turn in the course of the war in their favor.
It was assumed that the Soviet troops would be the first to go on the offensive. However, in mid-April, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command revised the method of the planned actions. The reason for this was the data of Soviet intelligence that the German command was planning to conduct a strategic offensive on the Kursk salient. The headquarters decided to wear down the enemy with a powerful defense, then go on the counteroffensive and defeat his striking forces. There was a rare case in the history of wars when the strongest side, owning the strategic initiative, deliberately chose to start fighting not offensive, but defensive. The development of events showed that this bold plan was absolutely justified.
FROM THE MEMORIES OF A. VASILEVSKY ON STRATEGIC PLANNING BY THE SOVIET COMMAND OF THE BATTLE OF KURSK, April-June 1943
(...) Soviet military intelligence managed to timely reveal the preparation of the Nazi army for a major offensive in the Kursk salient area using the latest tank technology on a massive scale, and then set the time for the enemy to go on the offensive.
Naturally, under the prevailing conditions, when the expected strike by the enemy with large forces was quite obvious, it was necessary to make the most expedient decision. The Soviet command faced a difficult dilemma: to attack or defend, and if defended, then how? (...)
Analyzing numerous intelligence data on the nature of the upcoming actions of the enemy and on his preparation for the offensive, the fronts, the General Staff and the Headquarters were more and more inclined towards the idea of transition to deliberate defense. On this issue, in particular, there was a repeated exchange of views between me and Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief GK Zhukov in late March - early April. The most concrete conversation about planning military operations for the near future took place over the phone on April 7, when I was in Moscow, at the General Staff, and G.K. Zhukov was on the Kursk ledge, in the troops of the Voronezh Front. And already on April 8, signed by G.K. Zhukov, a report was sent to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief with an assessment of the situation and considerations on the plan of action in the area of the Kursk salient, in which it was noted: it will be if we wear down the enemy on our defenses, knock out his tanks, and then, introducing fresh reserves, by going over to a general offensive, we will finally finish off the main enemy grouping.
I had to be at when he received G.K. Zhukov's report. I remember well how the Supreme Commander, without expressing his opinion, said: "We must consult with the front commanders." Having given the order to the General Staff to request the opinion of the fronts and obliging him to prepare a special meeting at Headquarters to discuss the plan for the summer campaign, in particular the actions of the fronts on the Kursk Bulge, he himself called N.F. Vatutin and K.K. Rokossovsky and asked him to submit his views by April 12 according to the actions of the fronts (...)
At the meeting held in the evening of April 12 at Headquarters, which was attended by I.V. Stalin, G.K. Zhukov, who arrived from the Voronezh Front, Chief of the General Staff A.M. Vasilevsky and his deputy A.I. Antonov, a preliminary decision was made on deliberate defense (...)
After a preliminary decision was made on a deliberate defense and on the subsequent transition to a counteroffensive, comprehensive and thorough preparations were launched for the upcoming actions. At the same time, reconnaissance of enemy actions continued. The Soviet command became precisely aware of the dates for the start of the enemy offensive, which were postponed three times by Hitler. At the end of May - beginning of June 1943, when the enemy’s plan to inflict a strong tank attack on the Voronezh and Central Fronts using large groups equipped with new military equipment for this purpose, the final decision was made on a deliberate defense.
Speaking about the plan for the Battle of Kursk, I would like to emphasize two points. Firstly, that this plan is the central part of the strategic plan for the entire summer-autumn campaign of 1943 and, secondly, that the decisive role in the development of this plan was played by the highest bodies of strategic leadership, and not other command instances (...)
Vasilevsky A.M. Strategic planning of the Battle of Kursk. Battle of Kursk M.: Nauka, 1970. S.66-83.
By the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, the Central and Voronezh Fronts had 1336 thousand people, more than 19 thousand guns and mortars, 3444 tanks and self-propelled guns, 2172 aircraft. In the rear of the Kursk ledge, the Steppe Military District (from July 9 - the Steppe Front), which was the reserve of the Headquarters, was deployed. He was supposed to prevent a deep breakthrough from both Orel and Belgorod, and when going on the counteroffensive, increase the force of the strike from the depths.
The German side introduced 50 divisions, including 16 tank and motorized divisions, into the two strike groups intended for the offensive on the northern and southern faces of the Kursk ledge, which amounted to about 70% of the Wehrmacht tank divisions on the Soviet-German front. In total - 900 thousand people, about 10 thousand guns and mortars, up to 2700 tanks and assault guns, about 2050 aircraft. An important place in the plans of the enemy was given to the massive use of new military equipment: the Tiger and Panther tanks, the Ferdinand assault guns, as well as the new Foke-Wulf-190A and Henschel-129 aircraft.
APPEAL OF THE Führer TO THE GERMAN SOLDIERS ON THE EVE OF OPERATION "CITADEL", no later than July 4, 1943
Today you are launching a great offensive battle that may have a decisive influence on the outcome of the war as a whole.
With your victory, the conviction of the futility of any resistance to the German armed forces will be strengthened stronger than before. In addition, a new cruel defeat of the Russians will further shake the faith in the possibility of the success of Bolshevism, which has already been shaken in many formations of the Soviet Armed Forces. Just like in the last big war, their faith in victory will disappear no matter what.
The Russians achieved this or that success primarily with the help of their tanks.
My soldiers! Now you finally have best tanks than the Russians.
Their seemingly inexhaustible human masses have thinned out so much in a two-year struggle that they are forced to call on the youngest and oldest. Our infantry, as always, is superior to the Russians to the same extent as our artillery, our tank destroyers, our tankers, our sappers and, of course, our aviation.
The mighty blow that will overtake the Soviet armies this morning must shake them to their foundations.
And you should know that everything can depend on the outcome of this battle.
As a soldier, I clearly understand what I demand from you. In the end, we will achieve victory, no matter how cruel and difficult this or that individual battle may be.
German homeland - your wives, daughters and sons, selflessly rallying, meet enemy air strikes and at the same time work tirelessly for the sake of victory; they look with fervent hope at you, my soldiers.
ADOLF GITLER
This order is to be destroyed at divisional headquarters.
Klink E. Das Gesetz des Handelns: Die Operation "Zitadelle". Stuttgart, 1966.
PROGRESS OF THE BATTLE. THE EVE
From the end of March 1943, the Headquarters of the Soviet Supreme High Command worked on a plan for a strategic offensive, the task of which was to defeat the main forces of Army Group South and Center and crush the enemy defenses on the front from Smolensk to the Black Sea. However, in mid-April, on the basis of army intelligence to the leadership of the Red Army, it became clear that the command of the Wehrmacht itself plans to carry out a strike under the bases of the Kursk ledge, in order to surround our troops stationed there.
The idea of an offensive operation near Kursk arose at Hitler's headquarters immediately after the end of the fighting near Kharkov in 1943. The very configuration of the front in this area pushed the Fuhrer to strike in converging directions. In the circles of the German command there were also opponents of such a decision, in particular Guderian, who, being responsible for the production of new tanks for the German army, was of the opinion that they should not be used as the main striking force in a big battle - this could lead to a waste of forces . The strategy of the Wehrmacht for the summer of 1943, according to such generals as Guderian, Manstein, and a number of others, was to be exclusively defensive, as economical as possible in terms of expenditure of forces and means.
However, the bulk of the German military leaders actively supported the offensive plans. The date of the operation, which received the code name "Citadel", was set for July 5, and the German troops received at their disposal a large number of new tanks (T-VI "Tiger", T-V "Panther"). These armored vehicles surpassed in their firepower and armor resistance the main Soviet tank T-34. By the beginning of Operation Citadel, the German forces of the Army Groups Center and South had at their disposal up to 130 Tigers and more than 200 Panthers. In addition, the Germans significantly improved the fighting qualities of their old T-III and T-IV tanks, equipping them with additional armored screens and putting an 88-mm cannon on many vehicles. In total, in the Wehrmacht strike groupings in the area of the Kursk ledge, by the beginning of the offensive, there were about 900 thousand people, 2.7 thousand tanks and assault guns, up to 10 thousand guns and mortars. On the southern wing of the ledge, the strike forces of Army Group South under the command of Manstein were concentrated, which included the 4th Panzer Army of General Hoth and the Kempf group. The troops of Army Group Center von Kluge operated on the northern wing; the core of the strike group here was the forces of the 9th Army of General Model. The southern German group was stronger than the northern one. Generals Goth and Kemp had about twice as many tanks as Model.
The headquarters of the Supreme High Command decided not to be the first to go on the offensive, but to take up a tough defense. The idea of the Soviet command was to first bleed the enemy's forces, knock out his new tanks, and only then, having brought fresh reserves into action, go on the counteroffensive. Needless to say, it was a rather risky plan. Supreme Commander-in-Chief Stalin, his deputy Marshal Zhukov, and other representatives of the Soviet high command remembered well that not once since the beginning of the war had the Red Army been able to organize defense in such a way that a pre-prepared German offensive would fizzle out at the stage of breaking through Soviet positions (at the beginning of the war near Bialystok and Minsk, then in October 1941 near Vyazma, in the summer of 1942 in the Stalingrad direction).
However, Stalin agreed with the opinion of the generals, who advised not to hurry with the start of the offensive. A defense in depth was built near Kursk, which had several lines. It was specially created as anti-tank. In addition, in the rear of the Central and Voronezh fronts, which occupied positions, respectively, on the northern and southern sections of the Kursk salient, another one was created - the Steppe Front, designed to become a reserve formation and join the battle at the moment the Red Army went on the counteroffensive.
The military factories of the country worked uninterruptedly on the production of tanks and self-propelled guns. The troops received both traditional "thirty-fours" and powerful self-propelled guns SU-152. The latter could already with great success fight the "Tigers" and "Panthers".
The organization of the Soviet defense near Kursk was based on the idea of a deep echeloning of combat formations of troops and defensive positions. 5-6 defensive lines were erected on the Central and Voronezh fronts. Along with this, a defensive line was created for the troops of the Steppe Military District, and along the left bank of the river. Don prepared the state line of defense. The total depth of the engineering equipment of the area reached 250-300 km.
In total, by the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, Soviet troops significantly outnumbered the enemy both in people and in equipment. The Central and Voronezh fronts included about 1.3 million people, and the Steppe Front standing behind them had an additional 500 thousand people. All three fronts had up to 5,000 tanks and self-propelled guns, 28,000 guns and mortars at their disposal. The advantage in aviation was also on the Soviet side - 2.6 thousand for us against about 2 thousand for the Germans.
PROGRESS OF THE BATTLE. DEFENSE
The closer the launch date of Operation Citadel drew nearer, the more difficult it was to conceal its preparations. Already a few days before the start of the offensive, the Soviet command received a signal that it would begin on July 5th. From intelligence reports it became known that the enemy offensive was scheduled for 3 hours. The headquarters of the Central (commander K. Rokossovsky) and Voronezh (commander N. Vatutin) fronts decided to carry out artillery counter-preparation on the night of July 5. It started at 1 o'clock. 10 min. After the roar of the cannonade subsided, the Germans could not recover for a long time. As a result of artillery counter-preparation carried out in advance in the areas of concentration of enemy strike groups, German troops suffered losses and launched an offensive 2.5-3 hours later than planned. Only after some time, the German troops were able to start their own artillery and aviation training. The attack of German tanks and infantry formations began at about half past six in the morning.
The German command pursued the goal of ramming through the defenses of the Soviet troops and reaching Kursk. In the zone of the Central Front, the main blow of the enemy was taken by the troops of the 13th Army. On the very first day, the Germans brought up to 500 tanks into battle here. On the second day, the command of the troops of the Central Front launched a counterattack against the advancing grouping by part of the forces of the 13th and 2nd tank armies and the 19th tank corps. The German offensive here was delayed, and on July 10 it was finally thwarted. In six days of fighting, the enemy penetrated the defenses of the Central Front only 10-12 km.
The first surprise for the German command both on the southern and northern wings of the Kursk ledge was that the Soviet soldiers were not afraid of the appearance on the battlefield of new German tanks "Tiger" and "Panther". Moreover, Soviet anti-tank artillery and guns from tanks buried in the ground opened effective fire on German armored vehicles. And yet, the thick armor of German tanks allowed them to break through in some areas Soviet defense and wedge into the battle formations of the Red Army units. However, there was no quick breakthrough. Having overcome the first defensive line, the German tank units were forced to turn to sappers for help: the entire space between the positions was heavily mined, and the passages in the minefields were well covered by artillery. While the German tankers were waiting for the sappers, they combat vehicles subjected to heavy fire. Soviet aviation managed to retain air supremacy. Increasingly, Soviet attack aircraft appeared over the battlefield - the famous Il-2.
Only on the first day of fighting, the Model group operating on the northern wing of the Kursk ledge lost up to 2/3 of the 300 tanks that participated in the first strike. Soviet losses were also high: only two companies of the German "Tigers", advancing against the forces of the Central Front, destroyed 111 T-34 tanks during the period of July 5 - 6. By July 7, the Germans, having advanced several kilometers forward, approached the large settlement of Ponyri, where a powerful battle ensued between the strike units of the 20th, 2nd and 9th German tank divisions with formations of the Soviet 2nd tank and 13th armies. The result of this battle was extremely unexpected for the German command. Having lost up to 50 thousand people and about 400 tanks, the northern strike force was forced to stop. Having advanced only 10 - 15 km, Model eventually lost the striking power of his tank units and lost the opportunity to continue the offensive.
Meanwhile, on the southern flank of the Kursk salient, events developed according to a different scenario. By July 8, the strike units of the German motorized formations "Grossdeutschland", "Reich", "Dead Head", the Leibstandarte "Adolf Hitler", several tank divisions of the 4th Panzer Army of Goth and the Kempf group managed to penetrate the Soviet defenses up to 20 and over km. The offensive initially went in the direction of the Oboyan settlement, but then, due to the strong opposition of the Soviet 1st Tank Army, 6th Guards Army and other formations in this sector, the commander of Army Group South von Manstein decided to strike east - in the direction of Prokhorovka . It was at this settlement that the largest tank battle of the Second World War began, in which up to TWO TWO Hundred TANKS and self-propelled guns took part on both sides.
The Battle of Prokhorovka is a largely collective concept. The fate of the opposing sides was not decided in one day and not on the same field. The theater of operations for the Soviet and German tank formations represented an area of more than 100 square meters. km. Nevertheless, it was this battle that largely determined the entire subsequent course not only of the Battle of Kursk, but of the entire summer campaign on the Eastern Front.
On June 9, the Soviet command decided to transfer the 5th Guards Tank Army of General P. Rotmistrov from the Steppe Front to help the troops of the Voronezh Front, who was tasked with launching a counterattack on the enemy’s wedged tank units and forcing them to retreat to their original positions. It was emphasized that the need to try to join with German tanks into close combat to limit their advantages in armor resistance and turret gun firepower.
Having concentrated in the Prokhorovka area, on the morning of July 10, Soviet tanks moved to the attack. In quantitative terms, they outnumbered the enemy in a ratio of approximately 3:2, but the fighting qualities of the German tanks allowed them to destroy many "thirty-four" even on the way to their positions. The fighting continued here from morning until evening. The Soviet tanks that broke through met the German ones almost armor to armor. But this is exactly what the command of the 5th Guards Army wanted. Moreover, soon the battle formations of the opponents were so mixed up that the "tigers" and "panthers" began to expose their side armor, which was not as strong as the frontal, to the fire of Soviet guns. When the battle finally began to subside towards the end of July 13, it was time to count the losses. And they were truly gigantic. The 5th Guards Tank Army has practically lost its combat power. But German losses also did not allow them to further develop the offensive in the Prokhorovka direction: the Germans had only up to 250 serviceable combat vehicles left in service.
The Soviet command hastily transferred new forces to Prokhorovka. The battles that continued in this area on July 13 and 14 did not lead to a decisive victory for one side or the other. However, the enemy began to gradually run out of steam. The Germans had the 24th Panzer Corps in reserve, but sending it into battle meant losing the last reserve. The potential of the Soviet side was immeasurably great. On July 15, the Stavka decided to deploy the forces of the Steppe Front of General I. Konev on the southern wing of the Kursk ledge - the 27th and 53rd armies, with the support of the 4th Guards Tank and 1st Mechanized Corps. Soviet tanks were hastily concentrated northeast of Prokhorovka and received an order on July 17 to go on the offensive. But the Soviet tankers no longer had to participate in a new oncoming battle. The German units began to gradually move away from Prokhorovka to their original positions. What's the matter?
As early as July 13, Hitler invited Field Marshals von Manstein and von Kluge to his headquarters for a meeting. On that day, he ordered the continuation of Operation Citadel and not to reduce the intensity of the fighting. Success near Kursk seemed to be just around the corner. However, just two days later, Hitler suffered a new disappointment. His plans were falling apart. On July 12, the troops of the Bryansk Front went on the offensive, and then, from July 15, the Central and Left Wings of the Western Fronts in the general direction of Orel (Operation ""). The German defense here could not stand it and cracked at the seams. Moreover, some territorial gains on the southern wing of the Kursk salient were nullified after the battle of Prokhorovka.
At a meeting at the Fuhrer's headquarters on July 13, Manstein tried to convince Hitler not to interrupt Operation Citadel. The Fuhrer did not object to the continuation of the attacks on the southern wing of the Kursk salient (although it was no longer possible to do this on the northern wing of the salient). But the new efforts of the Manstein group did not lead to decisive success. As a result, on July 17, 1943, the command of the German ground forces ordered the withdrawal of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps from the Army Group South. Manstein had no choice but to retreat.
PROGRESS OF THE BATTLE. OFFENSIVE
In mid-July 1943, the second phase of the gigantic battle of Kursk began. On July 12-15, the Bryansk, Central and Western fronts went on the offensive, and on August 3, after the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts pushed the enemy back to their original positions on the southern wing of the Kursk salient, they launched the Belgorod-Kharkov offensive operation (Operation Rumyantsev "). Fighting in all areas continued to be extremely complex and fierce. The situation was further complicated by the fact that in the offensive zone of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts (in the south), as well as in the zone of the Central Front (in the north), the main blows of our troops were inflicted not on a weak, but on a strong sector of the enemy defense. This decision was made in order to shorten the time for preparing for offensive operations as much as possible, to catch the enemy by surprise, that is, precisely at the moment when he was already exhausted, but had not yet taken up a solid defense. The breakthrough was carried out by powerful strike groups in narrow sections of the front using a large number of tanks, artillery and aircraft.
The courage of Soviet soldiers, the increased skill of their commanders, the competent use of military equipment in battles could not but lead to positive results. Already on August 5, Soviet troops liberated Orel and Belgorod. On this day, for the first time since the beginning of the war, an artillery salute was fired in Moscow in honor of the valiant formations of the Red Army that won such a brilliant victory. By August 23, units of the Red Army had pushed the enemy back to the west by 140-150 km and liberated Kharkov for the second time.
The Wehrmacht lost 30 selected divisions in the Battle of Kursk, including 7 tank divisions; about 500 thousand soldiers killed, wounded and missing; 1.5 thousand tanks; more than 3 thousand aircraft; 3 thousand guns. Even greater were the losses of the Soviet troops: 860 thousand people; over 6 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns; 5 thousand guns and mortars, 1.5 thousand aircraft. Nevertheless, the balance of forces at the front changed in favor of the Red Army. It had at its disposal an incomparably greater number of fresh reserves than the Wehrmacht.
The offensive of the Red Army, after the introduction of new formations into battle, continued to increase its pace. On the central sector of the front, the troops of the Western and Kalinin fronts began to advance towards Smolensk. This ancient Russian city, considered since the 17th century. gate to Moscow, was released on September 25. On the southern wing of the Soviet-German front, units of the Red Army in October 1943 reached the Dnieper in the Kyiv region. Capturing several bridgeheads on the right bank of the river on the move, Soviet troops carried out an operation to liberate the capital of Soviet Ukraine. On November 6, a red flag was raised over Kyiv.
It would be wrong to say that after the victory of the Soviet troops in the Battle of Kursk, the further offensive of the Red Army developed unhindered. Everything was much more difficult. So, after the liberation of Kyiv, the enemy managed to launch a powerful counterattack in the region of Fastov and Zhytomyr against the forward formations of the 1st Ukrainian Front and inflict considerable damage on us, stopping the offensive of the Red Army on the territory of the right-bank Ukraine. The situation in Eastern Belarus was even more tense. After the liberation of Smolensk and Bryansk regions By November 1943, Soviet troops reached the areas east of Vitebsk, Orsha and Mogilev. However, the subsequent attacks of the Western and Bryansk fronts against the German Army Group Center, which had taken up a tough defense, did not lead to any significant results. Time was needed to concentrate additional forces in the Minsk direction, to give rest to formations exhausted in previous battles and, most importantly, to develop a detailed plan for a new operation to liberate Belarus. All this happened in the summer of 1944.
And in 1943, the victories near Kursk and then in the battle for the Dnieper completed a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War. The offensive strategy of the Wehrmacht suffered a final collapse. By the end of 1943, 37 countries were at war with the Axis powers. The collapse of the fascist bloc began. Among the notable acts of that time was the establishment in 1943 of soldiers' and commanders' awards - the Orders of Glory I, II, and III degrees and the Order of Victory, as well as the Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky 1, 2 and 3 degrees as a sign of the liberation of Ukraine. A long and bloody struggle still lay ahead, but a radical change had already taken place.
Dates of the Battle of Kursk 07/05/1943 - 08/23/1943. The Great Patriotic War has 3 significant events:
- Liberation of Stalingrad;
- Battle of Kursk
- Capture of Berlin.
Here we will talk about the greatest tank battle in modern history.
Battle for Kursk. Situation before the battle
Before Battle of Kursk little success was celebrated by Germany, which managed to recapture the cities of Belgorod and Kharkov. Hitler, seeing a short-term success, decided to develop it. The offensive was planned for the Kursk Bulge. The salient, cut into the depths of German territory, could be surrounded and captured. The operation, approved on May 10-11, was called "Citadel".
Side forces
The advantage was on the side of the Red Army. The number of Soviet troops was 1,200,000 people (versus 900,000 for the enemy), the number of tanks - 3,500 (2,700 for the Germans) units, guns - 20,000 (10,000), aircraft 2,800 (2,500).
The German army was replenished with heavy (medium) tanks "Tiger" ("Panther"), self-propelled units(ACS) "Ferdinand", aircraft "Foke-Wulf 190". An innovation from the Soviet side was the "St.
Side Plans
The Germans decided to deliver a lightning strike, quickly capture the Kursk salient, and then continue a large-scale offensive. The Soviet side decided at first to defend itself, inflicting counterattacks, and when the enemy was exhausted and exhausted, to go on the offensive.
Defense
It was possible to find out that Battle of Kursk will begin on 05/06/1943. Therefore, at 02:30 and 04:30, the Central Front carried out two half-hour artillery counterattacks. At 5:00, the enemy's guns responded, and then the enemy went on the offensive, exerting strong pressure (2.5 hours) on the right flank in the direction of the village of Olkhovatka.
When the attack was repulsed, the Germans intensified the onslaught on the left flank. They even managed to partially encircle two (15, 81) Soviet divisions, but failed to break through the front (advance 6-8 km). Then the Germans made an attempt to capture the Ponyri station in order to control the Orel-Kursk railway.
170 tanks and self-propelled guns "Ferdinand" broke through the first line of defense on July 6, but the second survived. On July 7, the enemy came close to the station. The 200 mm frontal armor became impenetrable for Soviet guns. Ponyri station was held by anti-tank mines and powerful Soviet air raids.
The tank battle near the village of Prokhorovka (Voronezh Front) lasted 6 days (10-16). Almost 800 Soviet tanks opposed 450 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns. The overall victory was for the Red Army, but more than 300 tanks were lost against 80 of the opponent. Medium tanks The T-34s could hardly withstand the heavy Tigers, and the light T-70 was generally unsuitable in open areas. This is where the losses come from.
Offensive
While the troops of the Voronezh and Central Fronts were repulsing enemy attacks, units of the Western and Bryansk Fronts (July 12) went over to the attack. Within three days (12-14), waging heavy fighting, the Soviet army was able to advance up to 25 kilometers.
In the summer of 1943, one of the most grandiose and important battles of the Great Patriotic War took place - the Battle of Kursk. The Nazis' dream of revenge for Stalingrad, for the defeat near Moscow, resulted in one of the most key battles, on which the outcome of the war depended.
Total mobilization - selected generals, the best soldiers and officers, the latest weapons, guns, tanks, planes - such was the order of Adolf Hitler - to prepare for the most important battle and not just win, but do it spectacularly, indicatively, avenging all the previous lost battles . A matter of prestige.
(In addition, it was precisely as a result of the successful Operation Citadel that Hitler assumed the opportunity to negotiate a truce from the Soviet side. German generals repeatedly stated this.)
It was for the Battle of Kursk that the Germans prepared a military gift for Soviet military designers - a powerful and invulnerable tank "Tiger", which there was simply nothing to resist. Its impenetrable armor was too tough for Soviet-designed anti-tank guns, but new anti-tank guns have not yet been developed. During the meetings with Stalin, Marshal of Artillery Voronov said literally the following: "We do not have guns capable of successfully fighting these tanks"
The Battle of Kursk began on July 5, and ended on August 23, 1943. Every year on August 23, Russia celebrates the "Day of Military Glory of Russia - the Day of the Victory of the Soviet Troops in the Battle of Kursk."
Moiarussia collected the most Interesting Facts about this great confrontation:
Operation Citadel
In April 1943, Hitler approved a military operation code-named Zitadelle ("Citadel"). For its implementation, a total of 50 divisions were involved, including 16 tank and motorized; more than 900 thousand German soldiers, about 10 thousand guns and mortars, 2 thousand 245 tanks and assault guns, 1 thousand 781 aircraft. The location of the operation is the Kursk salient.
German sources wrote: “The Kursk ledge seemed to be a particularly suitable place for delivering such a blow. As a result of the simultaneous offensive of German troops from the north and south, a powerful grouping of Russian troops will be cut off. They also hoped to defeat those operational reserves that the enemy would bring into battle. In addition, the elimination of this ledge would significantly shorten the front line ... True, even then someone claimed that the enemy was expecting a German offensive in this particular area and ... that therefore there was a danger of losing more of their forces than inflicting losses on the Russians ... However, it was impossible to convince Hitler , and he believed that the operation "Citadel" would succeed if it was undertaken soon"
The Germans were preparing for the Battle of Kursk for a long time. The start of it was postponed twice: either the guns were not ready, or the new tanks were not delivered, or the new aircraft did not have time to pass the tests. On top of that, Hitler's fears that Italy was about to withdraw from the war. Convinced that Mussolini was not going to give up, Hitler decided to stick to the original plan. Fanatic Hitler believed that if you strike at the place where the Red Army was strongest and crush the enemy in this particular battle, then
"The victory at Kursk," he declared, would strike the imagination of the whole world.
Hitler knew that it was here, on the Kursk ledge, that the Soviet troops numbered more than 1.9 million people, more than 26 thousand guns and mortars, over 4.9 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery installations, about 2.9 thousand aircraft. He knew that he would lose this battle by the number of soldiers and equipment involved in the operation, but thanks to an ambitious strategically correct plan developed and the latest weapons, which, according to the military experts of the Soviet army, would be difficult to resist, this numerical superiority would be absolutely vulnerable and useless.
Meanwhile, the Soviet command did not waste time in vain. The headquarters of the Supreme High Command considered two options: attack first or wait? The first option was promoted by the commander of the Voronezh Front Nikolai Vatutin. The commander of the Central Front insisted on the second . Despite Stalin's initial support for Vatutin's plan, Rokossovsky's safer plan was approved - "wait, wear down and go on the counteroffensive." Rokossovsky was supported by the majority of the military command and, first of all, by Zhukov.
However, later Stalin doubted the correctness of the decision - the Germans were too passive, who, as mentioned above, had already postponed their offensive twice.
(Photo by: Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images) Waiting for latest technology- tanks "Tigers" and "Panthers", the Germans on the night of July 5, 1943 began their offensive.
That same night, Rokossovsky had a telephone conversation with Stalin:
- Comrade Stalin! The Germans are on the offensive!
- What are you happy about? - asked the surprised leader.
“Now victory will be ours, Comrade Stalin!” - answered the commander.
Rokossovsky was not mistaken.
Agent Werther
On April 12, 1943, three days before Hitler approved Operation Citadel, Stalin had on his desk the exact text of Directive No. 6 “On the plan for Operation Citadel” translated from German by the German High Command, signed by all services of the Wehrmacht. The only thing that was not on the document was the visas of Hitler himself. He put it in three days after the Soviet leader got acquainted with it. The Fuhrer, of course, did not know about this.
Nothing is known about the person who obtained this document for the Soviet command, except for his code name - "Werther". Various researchers put forward different versions of who "Werther" really was - some believe that Hitler's personal photographer was a Soviet agent.
Agent "Werther" (German: Werther) - the code name of the alleged Soviet agent in the leadership of the Wehrmacht or even in the top of the Third Reich during the Second World War, one of the prototypes of Stirlitz. For all the time he worked for Soviet intelligence, he did not allow a single misfire. It was considered the most reliable source in wartime.
Hitler's personal translator, Paul Karel, wrote about him in his book: “The heads of Soviet intelligence addressed the Swiss residency as if they were asking for information in some information bureau. And they got everything they were interested in. Even a superficial analysis of radio interception data shows that in all phases of the war in Russia, the agents of the Soviet General Staff worked first-class. Part of the transmitted information could only be obtained from the highest German military circles.
- it seems that the Soviet agents in Geneva and Lausanne were dictated to the key directly from the Fuhrer's Headquarters.
Biggest tank battle
"Kursk Bulge": Tank T-34 against the "Tigers" and "Panthers" The key moment of the Battle of Kursk is considered to be the largest tank battle in the history of the war near the village of Prokhorovka, which began on July 12.
Surprisingly, this large-scale clash of armored vehicles of the warring parties to this day causes fierce disputes among historians.
Classical Soviet historiography reported 800 tanks for the Red Army and 700 for the Wehrmacht. Modern historians tend to increase the number of Soviet tanks and decrease the number of German ones.
None of the parties managed to achieve the goals set for July 12: the Germans failed to capture Prokhorovka, break through the defenses of the Soviet troops and enter the operational space, and the Soviet troops failed to surround the enemy grouping.
Based on the memoirs of German generals (E. von Manstein, G. Guderian, F. von Mellenthin and others), about 700 Soviet tanks took part in the battle (some of them probably fell behind on the march - “on paper” the army had more than a thousand vehicles ), of which about 270 were shot down (meaning only the morning battle on July 12).
Also preserved is the version of Rudolf von Ribbentrop, son of Joachim von Ribbentrop, commander of a tank company, a direct participant in the battle:
According to the published memoirs of Rudolf von Ribbentrop, Operation Citadel pursued not strategic, but purely operational goals: to cut off the Kursk salient, destroy the Russian troops involved in it, and straighten the front. Hitler hoped to achieve military success during the front-line operation in order to try to enter into negotiations with the Russians on a truce.
In his memoirs, Ribbentrop gives a detailed description of the disposition of the battle, its course and result:
“In the early morning of July 12, the Germans had to take Prokhorovka, an important point on the way to Kursk. However, suddenly, units of the 5th Soviet Guards Tank Army intervened in the course of the battle.
The unexpected attack on the deep-seated spearhead of the German offensive - by units of the 5th Guards Tank Army, deployed overnight - was undertaken by the Russian command in a completely incomprehensible way. The Russians inevitably had to go into their own anti-tank ditch, which was clearly shown even on the maps we captured.
The Russians drove, if they ever got that far at all, into their own anti-tank ditch, where they naturally became easy prey for our defenses. Burning diesel fuel spread a thick black fumes - Russian tanks were burning everywhere, partly colliding with each other, Russian infantrymen jumping between them, desperately trying to orient themselves and easily turning into a victim of our grenadiers and artillerymen, who also stood on this battlefield.
The attacking Russian tanks - there should have been more than a hundred of them - were completely destroyed.
As a result of the counterattack, by noon on July 12, the Germans "with surprisingly small losses" occupied "almost completely" their previous positions.
The Germans were stunned by the extravagance of the Russian command, which threw hundreds of tanks with armored infantrymen to certain death. This circumstance forced the German command to think deeply about the power of the Russian offensive.
“Stalin allegedly wanted to court-martial the commander of the 5th Soviet Guards Tank Army, General Rotmistrov, who attacked us. In our opinion, he had good reasons for this. Russian descriptions of the battle - "the grave of German tank weapons" - have nothing to do with reality. We, however, felt unmistakably that the offensive had run out of steam. We saw no chance for ourselves to continue the offensive against the superior forces of the enemy, unless significant reinforcements were given. However, there were none."
It is no coincidence that after the victory at Kursk, Army Commander Rotmistrov was not even awarded, as he did not justify the high hopes placed on him by the Headquarters.
One way or another, the Nazi tanks were stopped on the field near Prokhorovka, which actually meant the disruption of the plans for the German summer offensive.
It is believed that Hitler himself ordered the termination of the Citadel plan on July 13, when he learned that the Western allies of the USSR had landed in Sicily on July 10, and the Italians had failed to defend Sicily during the fighting and the need to send German reinforcements to Italy loomed.
"Kutuzov" and "Rumyantsev"
Diorama dedicated to the Battle of Kursk. Author oleg95 When they talk about the Battle of Kursk, they often mention Operation Citadel - the German offensive plan. Meanwhile, after the onslaught of the Wehrmacht was repulsed, the Soviet troops carried out their two offensive operations, which ended in brilliant successes. The names of these operations are much less known than Citadel.
On July 12, 1943, the troops of the Western and Bryansk fronts went on the offensive in the Oryol direction. Three days later, the Central Front began its offensive. This operation was codenamed "Kutuzov". During it, a major defeat was inflicted on the German Army Group Center, whose retreat was stopped only on August 18 at the Hagen defensive line east of Bryansk. Thanks to Kutuzov, the cities of Karachev, Zhizdra, Mtsensk, Bolkhov were liberated, and on the morning of August 5, 1943, Soviet troops entered Oryol.
On August 3, 1943, the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts began an offensive operation. "Rumyantsev", named after another Russian commander. On August 5, Soviet troops captured Belgorod and then proceeded to liberate the territory of the Left-Bank Ukraine. During the 20-day operation, they defeated the opposing forces of the Nazis and went to Kharkov. On August 23, 1943, at 2 am, the troops of the Steppe Front launched a night assault on the city, which ended in success by dawn.
"Kutuzov" and "Rumyantsev" became the reason for the first victorious salute during the war years - on August 5, 1943, it was held in Moscow to commemorate the liberation of Orel and Belgorod.
Maresyev's feat
Maresyev (second from right) on the set of a film about himself. The painting "The Tale of a Real Man." Photo: Kommersant The book of the writer Boris Polevoy "The Tale of a Real Man", which was based on the life of a real military pilot Alexei Maresyev, was known to almost everyone in the Soviet Union.
But not everyone knows that the glory of Maresyev, who returned to combat aviation after the amputation of both legs, was born precisely during the Battle of Kursk.
Senior Lieutenant Maresyev, who arrived at the 63rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment on the eve of the Battle of Kursk, faced distrust. The pilots did not want to fly with him in pairs, fearing that the pilot with prostheses would not be able to cope in difficult times. The regiment commander did not let him into battle either.
Squadron commander Alexander Chislov took him to his pair. Maresyev coped with the task, and in the midst of the fighting on the Kursk Bulge he made sorties on an equal basis with everyone else.
On July 20, 1943, during a battle with superior enemy forces, Alexei Maresyev saved the lives of two of his comrades and personally destroyed two enemy Focke-Wulf 190 fighters.
This story immediately became known all over the front, after which the writer Boris Polevoy appeared in the regiment, immortalizing the name of the hero in his book. On August 24, 1943, Maresyev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Interestingly, during his participation in the battles, fighter pilot Alexei Maresyev personally shot down 11 enemy aircraft: four before being wounded and seven after returning to service after amputation of both legs.
Battle of Kursk - losses of the parties
The Wehrmacht lost 30 selected divisions in the Battle of Kursk, including seven tank divisions, over 500 thousand soldiers and officers, 1.5 thousand tanks, more than 3.7 thousand aircraft, 3 thousand guns. The losses of the Soviet troops surpassed the German ones - they amounted to 863 thousand people, including 254 thousand irretrievable. Near Kursk, the Red Army lost about six thousand tanks.
After the Battle of Kursk, the balance of forces on the front changed dramatically in favor of the Red Army, which provided it with favorable conditions for launching a general strategic offensive.
In memory of the heroic victory of Soviet soldiers in this battle and in memory of the dead, the Day of Military Glory was established in Russia, and in Kursk there is the Kursk Bulge Memorial Complex, dedicated to one of the key battles of the Great Patriotic War.
Memorial complex "Kursk Bulge" Hitler's revenge did not take place. The last attempt to sit down at the negotiating table was destroyed.
August 23, 1943 is rightfully considered one of the most significant days in the Great Patriotic War. After the defeat in this battle, the German army began one of the longest and longest retreat routes on all fronts. The outcome of the war was a foregone conclusion.
As a result of the victory of the Soviet troops in the Battle of Kursk, the greatness and stamina of the Soviet soldier was demonstrated to the whole world. Our allies have no doubts and hesitations about the right choice of side in this war. And the thought that let the Russians and the Germans destroy each other, and we look at it from the side faded into the background. The foresight and foresight of our allies prompted them to intensify their support Soviet Union. Otherwise, the winner will be only one state, which at the end of the war will get vast territories. However, that's another story...
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