Where did the Kursk Bulge pass? 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 heavy losses in people and equipment. "We will be a hundred

In order to realize this opportunity, the German military leadership launched preparations for a major summer offensive in this direction. It hoped to defeat the main forces of the Red Army on the central sector of the Soviet-German front, by delivering a series of powerful counter-attacks, to regain the strategic initiative and change the course of the war in its favor. The concept of the operation (code name "Citadel") provided for strikes in converging directions from the north and south at the base of the Kursk ledge on the 4th day of the operation to surround and then destroy the Soviet troops. Subsequently, it was planned to strike at the rear of the South Western front(Operation Panther) and launch an offensive in a northeast direction in order to reach the deep rear of the central group Soviet troops and creating a threat to Moscow. The best generals of the Wehrmacht and the most combat-ready troops were involved in Operation Citadel, a total of 50 divisions (including 16 tank and motorized) and big number separate units that were part of the 9th and 2nd armies of the Army Group Center (Field Marshal G. Kluge), the 4th Panzer Army and the Kempf task force of the Army Group South (Field Marshal E. Manstein). They were supported by aviation of the 4th and 6th air fleets. In total, this grouping consisted of over 900 thousand people, about 10 thousand guns and mortars, up to 2700 tanks and assault guns, and about 2050 aircraft. This amounted to about 70% of tank, up to 30% of motorized and more than 20% of infantry divisions, as well as over 65% of all combat aircraft operating on the Soviet-German front, which were concentrated on a sector that was only about 14% of its length.

In order to achieve the rapid success of its offensive, the German command relied on the massive use of armored vehicles (tanks, assault guns, armored personnel carriers) in the first operational echelon. Entered into service German army medium and heavy tanks T-IV, T-V ("panther"), T-VI ("tiger"), assault guns "Ferdinand" had good armor protection and strong artillery weapons. Their 75-mm and 88-mm guns with a direct range of 1.5-2.5 km were 2.5 times the range of the 76.2-mm gun of the main Soviet T-34 tank. Due to the high initial speed of the projectiles, increased armor penetration was achieved. The Hummel and Vespe armored self-propelled howitzers, which were part of the artillery regiments of tank divisions, could also be successfully used for direct fire at tanks. In addition, excellent Zeiss optics were installed on them. This allowed the enemy to achieve a certain superiority in tank equipment. In addition, new aircraft entered service with the German aviation: the Focke-Wulf-190A fighter, the Henkel-190A and Henkel-129 attack aircraft, which were supposed to maintain air supremacy and reliable support for tank divisions.

The German command attached particular importance to the surprise operation "Citadel". To this end, it was envisaged to conduct disinformation of the Soviet troops on a large scale. To this end, intensive preparations for Operation Panther continued in the Army Zone South. Demonstrative reconnaissance was carried out, tanks were advanced, crossing facilities were concentrated, radio communications were carried out, the actions of agents were activated, rumors were spread, etc. In the band of the army group "Center", on the contrary, everything was carefully disguised. But although all the activities were carried out with great care and method, they did not give effective results.

In order to secure the rear areas of their strike groups, the German command in May-June 1943 undertook large punitive expeditions against the Bryansk and Ukrainian partisans. Thus, more than 10 divisions acted against 20 thousand Bryansk partisans, and in the Zhytomyr region the Germans attracted 40 thousand soldiers and officers. But the enemy failed to defeat the partisans.

When planning the summer-autumn campaign of 1943, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (VGK) planned to carry out a broad offensive, delivering the main blow in the southwestern direction in order to defeat Army Group South, liberate the Left-Bank Ukraine, Donbass and overcome the river. Dnieper.

The Soviet command began to develop a plan for the upcoming actions for the summer of 1943 immediately after the end of the winter campaign at the end of March 1943. The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the General Staff, all front commanders who defended the Kursk ledge took part in the development of the operation. The plan provided for the main attack in the south-western direction. Soviet military intelligence managed to timely reveal the preparation of the German army for a major offensive on the Kursk Bulge and even set a date for the start of the operation.

The Soviet command faced a difficult task - to choose a course of action: attack or defend. In his report on April 8, 1943 to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief with an assessment of the general situation and his thoughts on the actions of the Red Army for the summer of 1943 in the Kursk Bulge region, the marshal reported: . It would be better if we exhausted the enemy on our defenses, knocked out his tanks, and then, introducing fresh reserves, by going over to the general offensive, we finally finished off the main enemy grouping. The chief of the general staff adhered to the same views: “A thorough analysis of the situation and foresight of the development of events made it possible to draw the correct conclusion: the main efforts must be concentrated north and south of Kursk, bleed the enemy here in a defensive battle, and then go on the counteroffensive and defeat him” .

As a result, an unprecedented decision was made to go over to the defensive in the area of the Kursk salient. The main efforts were concentrated in the areas north and south of Kursk. There was a case in the history of the war when the strongest side, which had everything necessary for the offensive, chose from several possible options the most optimal course of action - defense. Not everyone agreed with this decision. The commanders of the Voronezh and Southern fronts, the generals, continued to insist on a preemptive strike in the Donbass. They were supported, and some others. The final decision was made in late May - early June, when it became known exactly about the "Citadel" plan. Subsequent analysis and the actual course of events showed that the decision to deliberately defend in the face of significant superiority in forces in this case was the most rational type of strategic action.

The final decision for the summer and autumn of 1943. The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command worked out in mid-April: they were to expel German occupiers for the line Smolensk - r. Sozh - the middle and lower reaches of the Dnieper, crush the so-called defensive "eastern rampart" of the enemy, and also eliminate the enemy foothold in the Kuban. The main blow in the summer of 1943 was supposed to be delivered in the southwestern direction, and the second in the western direction. On the Kursk ledge, it was decided to deplete and bleed the shock groups of German troops by deliberate defense, and then complete their defeat by going over to the counteroffensive. The main efforts were concentrated in the areas north and south of Kursk. The events of the first two years of the war showed that the defense of the Soviet troops did not always withstand the massive attacks of the enemy, which led to tragic consequences.

To this end, it was supposed to make the most of the advantages of a pre-created multi-lane defense, bleed the enemy's main tank groupings, wear out his most combat-ready troops, and gain strategic air supremacy. Then, going over to a decisive counteroffensive, complete the defeat of the enemy groupings in the area of the Kursk salient.

The troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts were mainly involved in the defensive operation near Kursk. The headquarters of the Supreme High Command understood that the transition to deliberate defense was associated with a certain risk. Therefore, by April 30, the Reserve Front was formed (later renamed the Steppe Military District, and from July 9 - the Steppe Front). It included the 2nd reserve, 24th, 53rd, 66th, 47th, 46th, 5th guards tank armies, 1st, 3rd and 4th guards, 3rd, 10th and 18th tank armies, 1st and 5th th mechanized corps. All of them were stationed in the areas of Kastornoye, Voronezh, Bobrovo, Millerovo, Rossosh and Ostrogozhsk. The field control of the front was located not far from Voronezh. Five tank armies, a number of separate tank and mechanized corps, a large number of rifle corps and divisions were concentrated in the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (RVGK), as well as in the second echelons of the fronts, at the direction of the Supreme High Command. From April 10 to July, the Central and Voronezh Fronts received 10 rifle divisions, 10 anti-tank artillery brigades, 13 separate anti-tank artillery regiments, 14 artillery regiments, eight regiments of guards mortars, seven separate tank and self-propelled artillery regiments. In total, 5635 guns, 3522 mortars, 1284 aircraft were transferred to two fronts.

By the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, the Central and Voronezh Fronts and the Steppe Military District included 1909 thousand people, more than 26.5 thousand guns and mortars, over 4.9 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery installations (ACS), about 2.9 thousand aircraft.

After achieving the goals of the strategic defensive operation, it was planned that the Soviet troops would go over to the counteroffensive. At the same time, the defeat of the Oryol grouping of the enemy (plan "Kutuzov") was assigned to the troops of the left wing of the Western (Colonel-General V.D. Sokolovsky), Bryansk (Colonel-General) and the right wing of the Central Fronts. The offensive operation in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction (the plan "Commander Rumyantsev") was planned to be carried out by the forces of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts in cooperation with the troops of the Southwestern Front (General of the Army R.Ya. Malinovsky). The coordination of the actions of the troops of the fronts was entrusted to the representatives of the Headquarters of the Supreme Command of Marshals of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky, colonel-general of artillery, and aviation - to air marshal.

The troops of the Central, Voronezh Fronts and the Steppe Military District created a powerful defense, which included 8 defensive lines and lines with a total depth of 250-300 km. The defense was built as an anti-tank, anti-artillery and anti-aircraft defense with a deep separation of battle formations and fortifications, with a widely developed system of strong points, trenches, communications and barriers.

On the left bank of the Don was equipped state border defense. The depth of the defense lines was 190 km on the Central Front, and 130 km on the Voronezh Front. At each front, three army and three front defensive lines were created, equipped in engineering terms.

Both fronts had six armies each: the Central Front - 48, 13, 70, 65, 60th combined arms and 2nd tank; Voronezh - 6th, 7th guards, 38th, 40th, 69th combined arms and 1st tank. The width of the defense lines of the Central Front was 306 km, and the Voronezh - 244 km. All combined-arms armies were located in the first echelon on the Central Front, and four combined-arms armies were located on the Voronezh Front.

The commander of the Central Front, General of the Army, having assessed the situation, came to the conclusion that the enemy would deliver the main blow in the direction of Olkhovatka in the defense zone of the 13th Combined Arms Army. Therefore, it was decided to reduce the width of the defense zone of the 13th Army from 56 to 32 km and bring its composition to four rifle corps. Thus, the composition of the armies increased to 12 rifle divisions, and its operational formation became two-echelon.

Commander of the Voronezh Front, General N.F. It was more difficult for Vatutin to determine the direction of the enemy's main attack. Therefore, the defense zone of the 6th Guards Combined Arms Army (it was she who defended herself in the direction of the main attack of the 4th tank army of the enemy) was 64 km. In the presence of two rifle corps and one rifle division in its composition, the army commander was forced to build army troops in one echelon, allocating only one rifle division to the reserve.

Thus, the depth of defense of the 6th Guards Army initially turned out to be less than the depth of the strip of the 13th Army. Such an operational formation led to the fact that the commanders of rifle corps, trying to create a defense as deep as possible, built a battle formation in two echelons.

Great importance was attached to the creation of artillery groupings. Special attention turned to the massing of artillery in the likely directions of enemy strikes. People's Commissar On April 10, 1943, he issued a special order on the use of the artillery of the reserve of the High Command in battle, the assignment of reinforcement artillery regiments to the armies and the formation of anti-tank and mortar brigades for the fronts.

In the defense zones of the 48th, 13th and 70th armies of the Central Front, on the intended direction of the main attack of Army Group Center, 70% of all guns and mortars of the front and 85% of all artillery of the RVGK were concentrated (including the second echelon and reserves of the front). Moreover, 44% of the artillery regiments of the RVGK were concentrated in the zone of the 13th Army, where the point of impact of the main enemy forces was aimed. This army, which had 752 guns and mortars with a caliber of 76 mm and above, was given the 4th breakthrough artillery corps, which had 700 guns and mortars and 432 rocket artillery installations, for reinforcement. This saturation of the army with artillery made it possible to create a density of up to 91.6 guns and mortars per 1 km of the front (including 23.7 anti-tank guns). There was no such density of artillery in any of the previous defensive operations.

Thus, the desire of the command of the Central Front to solve the problems of the insurmountability of the defense being created already in the tactical zone, not giving the enemy the opportunity to break out of it, clearly loomed, which significantly complicated the further struggle.

The problem of using artillery in the defense zone of the Voronezh Front was solved somewhat differently. Since the troops of the front were built in two echelons, the artillery was distributed between the echelons. But even on this front, in the main direction, which accounted for 47% of the entire front defense zone, where the 6th and 7th Guards Armies were stationed, it was possible to create a sufficiently high density - 50.7 guns and mortars per 1 km of the front. 67% of the guns and mortars of the front and up to 66% of the RVGK artillery (87 out of 130 artillery regiments) were concentrated in this direction.

The command of the Central and Voronezh fronts paid great attention to the use of anti-tank artillery. They included 10 anti-tank brigades and 40 separate regiments, of which seven brigades and 30 regiments, that is, the vast majority of anti-tank weapons, were located on the Voronezh Front. On the Central Front, more than one third of all artillery anti-tank weapons became part of the artillery anti-tank reserve of the front, as a result, the commander of the Central Front, K.K. Rokossovsky got the opportunity to quickly use his reserves to fight enemy tank groups in the most threatened areas. On the Voronezh front, the bulk of the anti-tank artillery was transferred to the armies of the first echelon.

Soviet troops outnumbered the enemy grouping opposing them near Kursk in personnel by 2.1, artillery - by 2.5, tanks and self-propelled guns - by 1.8, aircraft - by 1.4 times.

On the morning of July 5, the main forces of the enemy strike groupings, weakened by the pre-emptive artillery counter-preparation of the Soviet troops, went on the offensive, throwing up to 500 tanks and assault guns against the defenders in the Orel-Kursk direction, and about 700 tanks and assault guns in the Belgorod-Kursk direction. German troops attacked the entire defense zone of the 13th Army and the flanks of the 48th and 70th armies adjoining it in a 45 km wide zone. The enemy's northern group delivered the main blow with the forces of three infantry and four tank divisions to Olkhovatka against the troops of the left flank of the 13th army of the general. Four infantry divisions advanced against the right flank of the 13th and the left flank of the 48th Army (commander - general) to Maloarkhangelsk. Three infantry divisions attacked the right flank of the General's 70th Army in the direction of Gnilets. The advance of the ground forces was supported by air strikes. Heavy and stubborn battles ensued. The command of the 9th German Army, which did not expect to meet such a powerful rebuff, was forced to repeat an hour-long artillery preparation. In increasingly fierce battles, warriors of all branches of the armed forces fought heroically.

Defensive operations of the Central and Voronezh fronts during the Battle of Kursk

But the enemy tanks, despite the losses, continued to stubbornly move forward. The front command promptly reinforced the troops defending in the Olkhovat direction with tanks, self-propelled artillery mounts, rifle formations, field and anti-tank artillery. The enemy, intensifying the actions of his aviation, also brought heavy tanks into battle. On the first day of the offensive, he managed to break through the first line of defense of the Soviet troops, advance 6-8 km and reach the second line of defense in the area north of Olkhovatka. In the direction of Gnilets and Maloarkhangelsk, the enemy was able to advance only 5 km.

Having met the stubborn resistance of the defending Soviet troops, the German command brought into battle almost all the formations of the attack group of the Army Group Center, but they could not break through the defense. In seven days they managed to advance only 10-12 km, without breaking through the tactical defense zone. By July 12, the enemy's offensive capabilities on the northern face of the Kursk Bulge had dried up, he stopped his attacks and went on the defensive. It should be noted that the enemy did not conduct active offensive operations in other directions in the defense zone of the troops of the Central Front.

Having repelled enemy attacks, the troops of the Central Front began to prepare for offensive operations.

On the southern face of the Kursk salient, in the zone of the Voronezh Front, the struggle was also of an exceptionally tense character. As early as July 4, the forward detachments of the 4th German Tank Army tried to shoot down the outposts of the General's 6th Guards Army. By the end of the day, they managed to reach the leading edge army defense. On July 5, the main forces began to operate in two directions - on Oboyan and Korocha. The main blow fell on the 6th Guards Army, and the auxiliary - on the 7th Guards Army from the Belgorod region to Korocha.

Memorial "Beginning of the Battle of Kursk on the southern ledge". Belgorod region

The German command sought to develop achieved success, continuing to build up their efforts along the Belgorod-Oboyan highway. By the end of July 9, the 2nd SS Panzer Corps not only broke through to the army (third) defense line of the 6th Guards Army, but also managed to wedge into it about 9 km southwest of Prokhorovka. However, he failed to break into the operational space.

On July 10, Hitler ordered the commander of Army Group South to bring about a decisive turning point in the course of the battle. Convinced of the complete impossibility of breaking the resistance of the troops of the Voronezh Front in the Oboyan direction, Field Marshal E. Manstein decided to change the direction of the main attack and now advance on Kursk in a roundabout way - through Prokhorovka. At the same time, an auxiliary strike group attacked Prokhorovka from the south. The 2nd SS Panzer Corps was brought up to the Prokhorovka direction, which included the elite divisions "Reich", "Dead Head", "Adolf Hitler", as well as parts of the 3rd Panzer Corps.

Having discovered the maneuver of the enemy, the front commander, General N.F. Vatutin advanced the 69th Army in this direction, and then the 35th Guards Rifle Corps. In addition, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command decided to strengthen the Voronezh Front at the expense of strategic reserves. As early as July 9, she ordered the general commander of the Steppe Front to move the 4th Guards, 27th and 53rd armies to the Kursk-Belgorod direction and transfer them to General N.F. Vatutin 5th Guards and 5th Guards Tank Armies. The troops of the Voronezh Front were to thwart the enemy's offensive by inflicting a powerful counterattack (five armies) on his grouping, wedged in the Oboyan direction. However, on July 11, it was not possible to launch a counterattack. On this day, the enemy captured the line planned for the deployment of tank formations. Only by bringing into battle four rifle divisions and two tank brigades of the 5th Guards Tank Army, the general managed to stop the enemy two kilometers from Prokhorovka. Thus, the oncoming battles of the forward detachments and units in the Prokhorovka area began already on July 11.

Tankers, in cooperation with the infantry, counterattack the enemy. Voronezh front. 1943

On July 12, both opposing groups went on the offensive, striking in the Prokhorovka direction on both sides of the Belgorod-Kursk railway. A fierce battle unfolded. The main events took place southwest of Prokhorovka. From the northwest, formations of the 6th Guards and 1st Tank armies attacked Yakovlevo. And from the northeast, from the Prokhorovka area, in the same direction, the 5th Guards Tank Army with attached two tank corps and the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps of the 5th Guards Combined Arms Army attacked in the same direction. To the east of Belgorod, the strike was undertaken by rifle formations of the 7th Guards Army. After a 15-minute artillery raid, the 18th and 29th tank corps of the 5th Guards Tank Army and the 2nd and 2nd Guards Tank Corps attached to it on the morning of July 12 went on the offensive in the general direction of Yakovlevo.

Even earlier, at dawn, on the river. Psyol in the defense zone of the 5th Guards Army, the tank division "Dead Head" launched an offensive. However, the divisions of the SS Panzer Corps "Adolf Hitler" and "Reich", which directly opposed the 5th Guards Tank Army, remained on the occupied lines, having prepared them overnight for defense. On pretty narrow section from Berezovka (30 km northwest of Belgorod) to Olkhovatka, a battle took place between two tank strike groups. The battle went on all day. Both sides suffered heavy losses. The fight was extremely fierce. The losses of the Soviet tank corps amounted to 73% and 46%, respectively.

As a result of a fierce battle in the Prokhorovka region, neither side was able to solve the tasks assigned to it: the Germans - to break through to the Kursk region, and the 5th Guards Tank Army - to reach the Yakovlevo region, defeating the opposing enemy. But the enemy's path to Kursk was closed. The motorized divisions of the SS "Adolf Hitler", "Reich" and "Dead Head" stopped the attacks and entrenched themselves on the achieved lines. The 3rd German tank corps advancing on Prokhorovka from the south was able to push the formations of the 69th army by 10-15 km that day. Both sides suffered heavy losses.

The collapse of hope.
German soldier on the Prokhorovsky field

Despite the fact that the counterattack of the Voronezh Front slowed down the advance of the enemy, it did not achieve the goals set by the Supreme Command Headquarters.

In fierce battles on July 12 and 13, the enemy strike force was stopped. However, the German command did not abandon its intention to break through to Kursk, bypassing Oboyan from the east. In turn, the troops participating in the counterattack of the Voronezh Front did everything to fulfill the tasks assigned to them. The confrontation between the two groups - the advancing German and the Soviet counterattack - continued until July 16, mainly on the lines that they occupied. In these 5-6 days (after July 12) there were continuous battles with enemy tanks and infantry. Attacks and counterattacks followed each other day and night.

On the Belgorod-Kharkov direction. Broken enemy equipment after a Soviet air raid

On July 16, the 5th Guards Army and its neighbors received an order from the commander of the Voronezh Front to switch to a tough defense. The next day, the German command began to withdraw its troops to their original positions.

One of the reasons for the failure was that the most powerful grouping of Soviet troops struck at the most powerful enemy grouping, but not in the flank, but in the forehead. The Soviet command did not use the favorable configuration of the front, which made it possible to strike under the base of the enemy penetration in order to encircle and subsequently destroy the entire grouping of German troops operating north of Yakovlevo. In addition, Soviet commanders and staffs, the troops as a whole, did not yet properly master combat skills, and military leaders did not yet possess the art of the offensive. There were also omissions in the interaction of infantry with tanks, ground forces with aviation, between formations and units.

On the Prokhorovsky field, the number of tanks fought against their quality. The 5th Guards Tank Army had 501 T-34 tanks with a 76-mm cannon, 264 T-70 light tanks with a 45-mm cannon, and 35 Churchill III heavy tanks with a 57-mm cannon received by the USSR from England. This tank had very low speed and poor maneuverability. Each corps had a regiment of SU-76 self-propelled artillery mounts, but not a single SU-152. The Soviet medium tank had the ability to pierce armor 61 mm thick at a distance of 1000 m and 69 mm thick at 500 m with an armor-piercing projectile. Tank armor: frontal - 45 mm, side - 45 mm, turret - 52 mm. The German medium tank T-IVH had armor thickness: frontal - 80 mm, side - 30 mm, turret - 50 mm. The armor-piercing projectile of its 75-mm cannon at a range of up to 1500 m pierced armor over 63 mm. The German heavy tank T-VIH "Tiger" with an 88-mm gun had armor: frontal - 100 mm, side - 80 mm, towers - 100 mm. Its armor-piercing projectile pierced armor 115 mm thick. He pierced the armor of the thirty-four at a distance of up to 2000 m.

A company of American M3s General Lee tanks supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease is advancing to the front line of defense of the Soviet 6th Guards Army. July 1943

The 2nd SS Panzer Corps, which opposed the army, had 400 modern tanks: about 50 heavy tanks "tiger" (88-mm cannon), dozens of high-speed (34 km / h) medium tanks "panther", modernized T-III and T-IV ( cannon 75 mm) and heavy assault guns "Ferdinand" (cannon 88 mm). To hit a heavy tank, the T-34 had to approach it by 500 m, which was far from always possible; the rest of the Soviet tanks had to come even closer. In addition, the Germans placed some of their tanks in caponiers, which ensured their invulnerability from the side. Fighting with the hope of success in such conditions was possible only in close combat. As a result, losses increased. Near Prokhorovka, Soviet troops lost 60% of tanks (500 out of 800), while German troops lost 75% (300 out of 400; according to German data, 80-100). For them it was a disaster. For the Wehrmacht, such losses were difficult to replace.

The repulse of the most powerful blow by the troops of the Army Group "South" was achieved as a result of the joint efforts of the formations and troops of the Voronezh Front with the participation of strategic reserves. Thanks to the courage, steadfastness and heroism of soldiers and officers of all branches of the armed forces.

Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul on the Prokhorovsky field

The counteroffensive of the Soviet troops began on July 12 with strikes from the northeast and east of the formations of the left wing of the Western and troops of the Bryansk Fronts against the German 2nd Tank Army and the 9th Army of Army Group Center, which were defending in the Oryol direction. On July 15, troops of the Central Front attacked Kromy from the south and southeast.

Soviet counteroffensive during the Battle of Kursk

Concentric strikes by troops from the fronts broke through the enemy's defenses in depth. Advancing in converging directions on Oryol, Soviet troops liberated the city on August 5. Pursuing the retreating enemy, by August 17-18 they reached the Hagen defensive line, prepared in advance by the enemy on the outskirts of Bryansk.

As a result of the Oryol operation, Soviet troops defeated the enemy's Oryol grouping (defeated 15 divisions) and advanced westward up to 150 km.

Residents of the liberated city of Orel and Soviet soldiers at the entrance to the cinema before showing the newsreel-documentary film "Battle of Oryol". 1943

The troops of the Voronezh (from July 16) and Steppe (from July 19) fronts, pursuing the retreating enemy troops, by July 23 reached the lines occupied before the start of the defensive operation, and on August 3 launched a counteroffensive in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction.

Forcing the Seversky Donets by soldiers of the 7th Guards Army. Belgorod. July 1943

With a swift blow, their armies defeated the troops of the German 4th Panzer Army and the Kempf task force, and liberated Belgorod on August 5.

Soldiers of the 89th Belgorod-Kharkov Guards Rifle Division
pass along the street of Belgorod. August 5, 1943

Battle of Kursk was one of biggest battles Second World War. On both sides, more than 4 million people, over 69 thousand guns and mortars, more than 13 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, up to 12 thousand aircraft were involved in it. Soviet troops defeated 30 divisions (including 7 tank) of the enemy, whose losses amounted to over 500 thousand people, 3 thousand guns and mortars, more than 1.5 thousand tanks and assault guns, over 3.7 thousand aircraft . The failure of Operation Citadel forever buried the myth of “seasonality” created by Nazi propaganda Soviet strategy, that the Red Army can only advance in winter. The collapse of the offensive strategy of the Wehrmacht once again showed the adventurism of the German leadership, which overestimated the capabilities of its troops and underestimated the strength of the Red Army. The Battle of Kursk led to a further change in the balance of forces at the front in favor of the Soviet Armed Forces, finally secured their strategic initiative and created favorable conditions to launch a general offensive on a broad front. The defeat of the enemy on the "Fiery Arc" became milestone in achieving a radical change in the course of the war, the overall victory of the Soviet Union. Germany and its allies were forced to go on the defensive in all theaters of World War II.

Cemetery German soldiers near Glazunovka station. Oryol region

As a result of the defeat of significant Wehrmacht forces on the Soviet-German front, more than profitable terms to deploy the actions of the American-British troops in Italy, the beginning of the disintegration of the fascist bloc was laid - the Mussolini regime collapsed, and Italy withdrew from the war on the side of Germany. Under the influence of the victories of the Red Army, the scale of the resistance movement in the countries occupied by German troops increased, and the authority of the USSR as the leading force of the anti-Hitler coalition was strengthened.

In the Battle of Kursk, the level of military art of the Soviet troops increased. In the field of strategy, the Soviet Supreme High Command creatively approached the planning of the summer-autumn campaign of 1943. decision expressed in the fact that the side with the strategic initiative and overall superiority in forces went over to the defensive, deliberately giving an active role to the enemy in the initial phase of the campaign. Subsequently, as part of a single process of campaigning, following the defense, it was planned to launch a decisive counteroffensive and deploy a general offensive in order to liberate the Left-Bank Ukraine, Donbass and overcome the Dnieper. The problem of creating an insurmountable defense on an operational-strategic scale was successfully solved. Its activity was ensured by the saturation of the fronts with a large number of mobile troops (3 tank armies, 7 separate tank and 3 separate mechanized corps), artillery corps and artillery divisions of the RVGK, formations and units of anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery. It was achieved by carrying out artillery counter-preparation on the scale of two fronts, extensive maneuvering of strategic reserves to reinforce them, and delivering massive air strikes against enemy groupings and reserves. The headquarters of the Supreme High Command skillfully determined the plan of conducting a counteroffensive in each direction, creatively approaching the choice of the directions of the main attacks and methods of defeating the enemy. Thus, in the Oryol operation, Soviet troops used concentric strikes in converging directions, followed by fragmentation and destruction of the enemy grouping in parts. In the Belgorod-Kharkov operation, the main blow was delivered by the adjacent flanks of the fronts, which ensured a quick break-in of the enemy's strong and deep defenses, cutting his grouping into two parts and the exit of Soviet troops to the rear of the enemy's Kharkov defensive area.

In the Battle of Kursk, the problem of creating large strategic reserves and their effective use was successfully solved, strategic air supremacy was finally won, which was held by Soviet aviation until the end of World War II. The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command skillfully carried out strategic interaction not only between the fronts participating in the battle, but also with those operating in other directions (the troops of the Southwestern and Southern fronts on pp. Seversky Donets and Mius fettered the actions of German troops on a wide front, which made it difficult for the Wehrmacht command to transfer from here his troops near Kursk).

The operational art of the Soviet troops in the Battle of Kursk for the first time solved the problem of creating a deliberate positional insurmountable and active operational defense up to 70 km deep. The deep operational formation of the troops of the fronts made it possible during a defensive battle to firmly hold the second and army defense lines and front lines, preventing the enemy from breaking through into the operational depth. High activity and greater stability of the defense were given by a wide maneuver of the second echelons and reserves, artillery counter-preparation and counter-attacks. During the counteroffensive, the problem of breaking through the enemy’s defense in depth was successfully solved by decisive massing of forces and means in the breakthrough areas (from 50 to 90% of their total number), skillful use of tank armies and corps as mobile groups of fronts and armies, close interaction with aviation , which carried out in full on the scale of the fronts an air offensive, which to a large extent ensured the high pace of the offensive ground forces. Gained valuable experience in managing tank battles both in a defensive operation (near Prokhorovka) and during an offensive when repulsing counterattacks by large enemy armored groupings (in the areas of Bogodukhov and Akhtyrka). The problem of ensuring stable command and control of troops in operations was solved by bringing command posts closer to the combat formations of the troops and the widespread introduction of radio equipment in all organs and command posts.

Memorial complex "Kursk Bulge". Kursk

At the same time, during the Battle of Kursk, there were also significant shortcomings that negatively affected the course of hostilities and increased the losses of the Soviet troops, which amounted to: irretrievable - 254,470 people, sanitary - 608,833 people. They were partly due to the fact that by the beginning of the enemy offensive, the development of a plan for artillery counter-preparation in the fronts had not been completed, because. reconnaissance could not accurately identify the places of concentration of troops and placement of targets on the night of July 5. Counter-training began prematurely, when the enemy troops had not yet completely occupied initial position for the offensive. In a number of cases, fire was fired at the squares, which allowed the enemy to avoid heavy losses, put the troops in order in 2.5-3 hours, go on the offensive and on the first day wedged into the defense of the Soviet troops for 3-6 km. The counterattacks of the fronts were hastily prepared and were often delivered against the enemy, who had not exhausted his offensive potential, so they did not reach the final goal and ended with the transition of the counterattacking troops to the defense. During the Oryol operation, excessive haste was allowed during the transition to the offensive, not due to the situation.

In the Battle of Kursk, Soviet soldiers showed courage, steadfastness and mass heroism. Over 100 thousand people were awarded orders and medals, 231 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 132 formations and units received the title of guards, 26 were awarded the honorary titles of Oryol, Belgorod, Kharkov and Karachev.

The material was prepared by the Research Institute

(military history) Military Academy
General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

(Used illustrations from the book Arc of Fire. Battle of Kursk July 5 - August 23, 1943 Moscow and / d Belfry)

Date of the 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 opposing sides

Before the start of the battle, the Red Army concentrated an unprecedented number of troops: the Central and Voronezh Fronts 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 artillery mounts, 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, 2700 tanks and self-propelled guns, 10 thousand guns and mortars, and also 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: the Tiger and Panther tanks, as well as heavy self-propelled guns - the 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 pre-emptive massive artillery preparation by the Red Army at 2.30 am, at 4.30 it was repeated. The 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 section of the Belgorod-Oboyan highway. In these areas, the 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 near 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. In the course of which, after bloody battles of local significance, the troops of the Red Army on July 17-18 squeezed 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 stormed. City battles continued until August 30, but August 23, 1943 is considered the day of the liberation of the city and the end of the Battle of Kursk.

Preparation of the Kursk strategic defensive operation (April - June 1943)

6.4. Directive of the Supreme Command Headquarters on the creation of a Reserve Front (from April 15 - Stepnoy MD) consisting of 5 combined arms, 1 tank and 1 air armies and several rifle, cavalry, tank (mechanized) corps.

8.4. Report of Marshal G.K. Zhukov to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on the possible actions of the Germans and Soviet troops in the spring and summer of 1943 and on the advisability of switching to deliberate defense in the Kursk region.

10.4. Request of the General Staff by the commanders of the troops of the fronts about their views on assessing the situation and possible actions of the enemy.

12–13.4. Based on the report of Marshals G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky, General A.I. Antonov, and also taking into account the considerations of the commanders of the fronts, the Supreme Command made a preliminary decision on the transition to deliberate defense in the Kursk region.

15.4. Order No. 6 of the Wehrmacht Headquarters on preparations for an offensive operation near Kursk (code name "Citadel")

6–8.5. Operations of the Soviet Air Force to destroy enemy aircraft at airfields and in the air on the central sector of the Soviet-German front.

8.5. Orientation by the General Headquarters of the commanders of the troops of the Bryansk, Central, Voronezh and South-Western fronts on the timing of a possible enemy offensive.

10.5. Directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command to the commander of the troops of the Western, Bryansk, Central, Voronezh and South-Western Fronts on improving defense.

May June. Organization of defense in the zones of the Bryansk, Central, Voronezh and Southwestern fronts, the creation of defense lines in depth, the replenishment of troops, the accumulation of reserves and materiel. Continuation of the operations of the Soviet Air Force to destroy enemy aircraft at airfields and in the air.

2.7. The directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command by the commander of the fronts, indicating the timing of the possible start of the enemy offensive (3–6.7).

4.7. The Germans conducted reconnaissance in combat in the defense zones of the 6th and 7th Guards. armies of the Voronezh Front. The advance of several reinforced enemy battalions was repulsed.

5.7. At 02:20 based on intelligence data on the start time German offensive(scheduled for 0300 min. 5.7) artillery counter-preparation was carried out and air strikes were carried out against enemy troops concentrated in the initial areas.

5.7. The Germans with the main forces of Army Groups "Center" and "South" went on the offensive on the northern (05.30) and southern (06.00) faces of the Kursk salient, inflicting massive blows in the general direction of Kursk.

The troops of the Central Front (commander General K.K. Rokossovsky) participated in the operation - 48, 13, 70, 65, 60th, 2nd tank, 16th air armies, 9th and 19th shopping malls - in the Oryol direction; Voronezh Front (commanded by General N.F. Vatutin) - 38th, 40th, 6th guards, 7th guards, 69th, 1st guards. tank, 2nd air army, 35th guards. sk, 5th Guards. shopping mall - in the Belgorod direction. Strategic reserves were deployed in their rear, united in the Steppe Military District (since July 9, the Steppe Front, commanded by General I.S. Konev), - 4 Guards, 5 Guards, 27, 47, 53rd, 5th Guards. tank, 5th air armies, one sk, three mk, three mk and three kk - with the task of preventing a deep breakthrough of the enemy, and in the transition to a counteroffensive, increase the force of the blow.

5.7. At 05:30 The shock group of the 9th German Army (9 divisions, including 2 tank divisions; 500 tanks, 280 assault guns), with the support of aviation, attacked the positions at the junction of the 13th (General N.P. Pukhov) and the 70th (General I. V. Galanin) of the armies in the area of 45 km, concentrating the main efforts on the Olkhovat direction. By the end of the day, the enemy managed to penetrate into the defense of the armies for 6–8 km and reach the second defensive zone.

6.7. By the decision of the front commander, a counterattack was launched against the wedged enemy in the Olkhovatka area by part of the forces of the 13th and 2nd tank armies and 19th tank armies. The advance of the enemy here was stopped.

7.7. The transfer by the Germans of the main efforts to the strip of the 13th Army in the direction of Ponyri. Counterattacks 15, 18 Guards. sk and 3 tk.

7-11.7. Repeated attempts by the 9th German Army to break through the defenses of the Central Front were unsuccessful. During the seven days of the offensive, the enemy advanced only 10–12 km.

12.7. The transition of the 9th German Army to the defense in the zone of the Central Front. Completion of the defensive operation.

13.7. At a meeting at Hitler's headquarters, a decision was made to switch to the defense of the troops of the 9th Army in the north and to continue the offensive by the troops of the 4th Panzer Army in the south of the Kursk salient.

5.7. At 06:00 after artillery preparation and massive air raids, the shock group of Army Group South, consisting of the 4th Panzer Army and the Kempf task force (1,500 tanks), went on the offensive.

The enemy sent the main forces (2 SS TCs, 48 TCs, 52 AKs) against the 6th Guards. army of General I. M. Chistyakov in the Oboyan direction.

Against the 7th Guards. The army of General M.S. Shumilov in the Korochan direction was attacked by three tank and three infantry divisions of 3 tk, 42 ak and ak "Raus".

The intense battles that unfolded lasted all day and were of a fierce nature.

The counterattack undertaken by part of the forces of the 1st Guards. the tank army of General M. E. Katukov did not give a positive result.

By the end of the first day of the battle, the enemy managed to penetrate the defenses of the 6th Guards. army for 8-10 km.

On the night of July 6, by decision of the front commander, the 1st Guards. tank army, 5th and 2nd guards. shopping malls were deployed on the second defensive strip of the 6th Guards. army on a 52-kilometer front.

6.7. The enemy in the Oboyan direction broke through the main line of defense of the 6th Guards. army, and by the end of the day, advancing 10-18 km, broke through in a narrow area and the second line of defense of this army.

In the Korochan direction, the 3rd TC of the enemy went to the second line of defense of the 7th Guards. army.

7.7. At night, I. V. Stalin gave a personal instruction to General N. F. Vatutin to wear down the enemy on prepared lines and not allow him to break through before the start of our active operations on the Western, Bryansk and other fronts.

7-10.7. There were fierce tank battles in the Oboyan and Korochan directions. The German tank group managed to break through to the army defensive zone of the 6th Guards. army, and in the Korochan direction, the enemy broke into the second line of defense of the 7th Guards. army. However, the further advance of the Germans was delayed, but not stopped. The Germans, having advanced to a depth of 35 km and having failed to overcome the resistance of the front's tank troops on the Oboyan Highway, decided to break through to Kursk from the south through Prokhorovka.

9.7. In the alarming situation that had arisen on the Voronezh Front, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command ordered the commander of the Steppe Front to advance the 4th Guards, 27th, 53rd Army to the Kursk-Belgorod direction and transfer the 5th Guards to N.F. Vatutin. Army of General A. S. Zhadov, 5th Guards. the tank army of General P. A. Rotmistrov and a number of separate tank corps. The commander of the Voronezh Front and Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky, who was on this front, decided to launch a powerful counterattack on the German group advancing on Kursk from the south.

11.7. The enemy unexpectedly delivered a strong tank and air strike and pressed the formations and units of the 1st Guards. tank, 5th, 6th, 7th guards. armies and captured the line planned for the deployment of the 5th Guards. tank army. After that, the 1st Guards. tank and 6th guards. armies were unable to participate in the counterattack.

12.7. One of the largest oncoming tank battles took place, which received the name "Prokhorovskoye" in history. About 1500 tanks participated in it from both sides. The battle took place simultaneously in two areas: the main forces of the parties fought on the Prokhorovka field - 18, 29, 2 and 2 guards. shopping mall 5th Guards. tank army and division of the 5th Guards. army, they were opposed by the SS divisions "Adolf Hitler" and "Reich" of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps; in the Korochan direction against the 3rd German TC, brigades of the 5th Guards operated. mk 5th guards. tank army.

23.7. The defensive operation of the Voronezh Front was completed.

12.7. A turning point in the Battle of Kursk in favor of the Red Army. On this day, simultaneously with the battle of Prokhorov, the offensive of the troops of the Western and Bryansk fronts began in the Oryol direction. The plans outlined by the German command suffered a complete collapse.

It should be noted that as a result of tense air battles during the Kursk defensive operation, Soviet aviation firmly seized air supremacy.

Includes Oryol and Belgorod-Kharkov strategic offensive operations.

The left wing of the Western Front (commanded by General V. D. Sokolovsky) took part - the 11th Guards, 50th, 11th and 4th Tank Armies; Bryansk Front (commander General M.M. Popov) - 61st, 3rd, 63rd, 3rd Guards. tank and 15th air armies; the right wing of the Central Front - 48, 13, 70 and 2 tank armies.

12–19.7. Breakthrough of the enemy defense by the troops of the Western Front. Promotion of the 11th Guards. army of General I. Kh. Baghramyan, 1, 5, 25 shopping malls to a depth of 70 km and the expansion of the breakthrough to 150 km.

15.7. The operation includes the Central Front.

12–16.7. Breakthrough of the enemy defense by the troops of the Bryansk Front - 61st (General P. A. Belov), 63rd (General V. Ya. Kolpakchi), 3rd (General A. V. Gorbatov) armies, 1 guards, 20 shopping malls to a depth of 17–22 km.

19.7. The commander of the Bryansk Front, at the direction of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, introduces the 3rd Guards into battle. tank army of General P.S. Rybalko (800 tanks). The army, together with combined arms formations, breaking through numerous defensive lines, suffered heavy losses. In addition, she repeatedly regrouped from one direction to another and was eventually transferred to the Central Front.

19.7. Fierce fighting in all directions. The slowdown in the advance of the Soviet troops.

20.7. The commissioning of the 11th Army, General I.I. Fedyuninsky, who arrived from the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, General I.I.

26.7. Entering into battle the 4th Panzer Army of General V. M. Badanov, transferred from the reserve of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command to the Western Front (650 tanks). She broke through along with the 11th Guards. army, the enemy's defensive lines and in 10 days advanced 25–30 km. In just 30 days, the army fought 150 km and was withdrawn for resupply at the end of August.

29.7. The troops of the 61st Army of the Bryansk Front captured a large enemy defense center, the city of Bolkhov.

3–5.8. Departure of the Supreme Commander in the army. He visited the headquarters of the Western and Kalinin fronts.

5.8. The liberation of Orel by the troops of the 3rd and 69th armies of the Bryansk Front. By order of I.V. Stalin, who was in the army, the first artillery salute was given in Moscow in honor of the liberation by the Soviet troops of the years. Belgorod and Orel.

7.8. The armies of the Western Front went on the offensive north of the Oryol bridgehead, which forced the Germans to weaken resistance in the Bryansk direction, and the Soviet troops began to pursue the enemy.

12.8. The troops of the 65th and 70th armies of the Central Front liberated the city of Dmitrovsk-Orlovsky.

13.8. The commander of the troops of the Central Front received a directive from the General Staff, which noted serious shortcomings in the use of tanks.

15.8. The troops of the Bryansk Front liberated the city of Karachev.

18.8. Soviet troops reached the approaches to Bryansk and created the conditions for a new operation. For 37 days of the Oryol operation, Soviet troops advanced 150 km to the west, liquidated the enemy bridgehead, from which the Germans threatened Moscow for two years.

Belgorod-Kharkov strategic offensive"Commander Rumyantsev" (August 3-23)

The troops of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts (38th, 47th, 40th, 27th, 6th guards, 5th guards, 52nd, 69th, 7th guards armies, 5th guards and 1st guards tank armies) were involved in the operation , 5th separate shopping mall and 1 separate MK).

3–4.8. Breakthrough of the enemy defense by the troops of the Voronezh Front, the introduction of tank armies and corps into the breakthrough and their exit into the operational depth.

5.8. Liberation of the city of Belgorod by units of the 69th and 7th Guards. armies.

6.8. Promotion of tank formations to a depth of 55 km.

7.8. Promotion of tank formations to a depth of 100 km. Capturing important strongholds of the enemy Bogodukhov and Grayvoron.

11.8. Exit of tank troops to the area of Akhtyrka - Trostyanets.

11–16.8. Enemy counterattack on the troops of the 1st Guards. tank army.

17.8. The troops of the Steppe Front started fighting on the outskirts of Kharkov.

18.8. Enemy counterattack from the Akhtyrka area against the 27th Army. Directive of the Headquarters of the Supreme Command to the commander of the Voronezh Front on the shortcomings in the conduct of the operation.

23.8. With the introduction of new forces, the Voronezh Front succeeded in completing the task and, by 25.8, again liberated Akhtyrka.

23.8. The troops of the Steppe Front, with the assistance of the Voronezh and Southwestern Fronts (53rd, 69th, 7th Guards, 57th Army and 5th Guards Tank Army), after stubborn battles, liberated Kharkov. During the operation, the troops advanced 140 km in 20 days.

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Kursk in brief about the battle

The offensive of the German army
The offensive of the Red Army
General results
About the Battle of Kursk even shorter
Video about the Battle of Kursk

How did the Battle of Kursk begin?

Hitler decided that it was in the location of the Kursk Bulge that a turning point in the seizure of territory should occur. The operation was called "Citadel" and was supposed to involve the Voronezh and Central fronts.
But, in one thing, Hitler was right, Zhukov and Vasilevsky agreed with him, the Kursk Bulge was to become one of the main battles and, undoubtedly, the main one of the future ones.
That is how Zhukov and Vasilevsky reported to Stalin. Zhukov was able to roughly estimate the possible forces of the invaders.

German weapons were updated and increased in volume. Thus, a grandiose mobilization was carried out. The Soviet army, namely those fronts that the Germans were counting on, were approximately equal in terms of their equipment.
In some ways, the Russians were winning.
In addition to the Central and Voronezh fronts (under the command of Rokossovsky and Vatutin, respectively), there was also a secret front - Stepnoy, under the command of Konev, about which the enemy did not know anything.
The steppe front became insurance for two main directions.
The Germans have been preparing for this offensive since the spring. But when they launched an attack in the summer, this did not come as an unexpected blow to the Red Army.
The Soviet army also did not sit idle. Eight defensive lines were built at the supposed site of the battle.

Tactics of warfare on the Kursk Bulge

It was thanks to the developed qualities of a military leader, and the work of intelligence, that the command of the Soviet army was able to understand the plans of the enemy and the defense-offensive plan came up perfectly.
Defensive lines were built with the help of the population living near the battlefield.
The German side built the plan in such a way that the Kursk Bulge should help to make the front line more even.
If this succeeded, then the next stage would be to develop an offensive in the center of the state.

The offensive of the German army

The offensive of the Red Army

General results

Intelligence as an important part of the Battle of Kursk

About the Battle of Kursk even shorter
One of the largest battlefields during the Great Patriotic War was the Kursk Bulge. The battle is briefly described below.

Everything fighting that occurred during the Battle of Kursk took place from July 5 to August 23, 1943. The German command hoped to destroy all Soviet troops representing the Central and Voronezh fronts during this battle. At that time, they were actively defending Kursk. If the Germans had been successful in this battle, the initiative in the war would have returned to the Germans. In order to implement their plans, the German command allocated more than 900 thousand soldiers, 10 thousand guns of various calibers, and 2.7 thousand tanks and 2050 aircraft were allocated in support. New tanks of the Tiger and Panther class, as well as new Focke-Wulf 190 A fighters and Heinkel 129 attack aircraft took part in this battle.

The command of the Soviet Union hoped to bleed the enemy during his offensive, and then conduct a large-scale counterattack. Thus, the Germans did exactly what the Soviet army expected. The scope of the battle was truly grandiose, the Germans sent almost the entire army and all available tanks to the attack. However, the Soviet troops stood to the death, and the defensive lines were not surrendered. On the Central Front, the enemy advanced 10-12 kilometers; on Voronezh, the depth of the enemy’s passage was 35 kilometers, but the Germans could not go further.

The outcome of the battle on the Kursk Bulge was determined by the battle of tanks near the village of Prokhorovka, which took place on July 12. It was the largest tank battle in history, more than 1.2 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units were thrown into battle. On this day, the German troops lost more than 400 tanks, and the invaders were driven back. After that, the Soviet troops went on an active offensive, and on August 23 the Battle of Kursk was over with the liberation of Kharkov, and with this event the further defeat of Germany became inevitable.

After the Battle of Stalingrad, which ended in disaster for Germany, the Wehrmacht attempted revenge the very next year, 1943. This attempt went down in history as the Battle of Kursk and became the final turning point in the Great Patriotic War and World War II.

Prehistory of the Battle of Kursk

During the counteroffensive from November 1942 to February 1943, the Red Army managed to defeat a large group of Germans, encircle and force the surrender of the 6th Wehrmacht Army near Stalingrad, and also liberate very vast territories. So, in January-February, Soviet troops managed to capture Kursk and Kharkov and thereby cut through the German defenses. The gap reached about 200 kilometers wide and 100-150 deep.

Realizing that a further Soviet offensive could lead to the collapse of the entire Eastern Front, the Nazi command in early March 1943 took a number of vigorous actions in the Kharkov region. A strike group was created very quickly, which by March 15 again captured Kharkov and made an attempt to cut off the ledge in the Kursk region. However, here the German advance was stopped.

As of April 1943, the line of the Soviet-German front was practically even throughout its entire length, and only in the Kursk region did it bend, forming a large ledge that jutted into the German side. The configuration of the front made it clear where the main battles would unfold in the summer campaign of 1943.

Plans and forces of the parties before the Battle of Kursk

In the spring, heated debate broke out in the German leadership regarding the fate of the summer 1943 campaign. Part of the German generals (for example, G. Guderian) generally proposed to refrain from the offensive in order to accumulate forces for a large-scale offensive campaign in 1944. However, most of the German military leaders were strongly in favor of the offensive as early as 1943. This offensive was supposed to be a kind of revenge for the humiliating defeat at Stalingrad, as well as the final turning point of the war in favor of Germany and its allies.

Thus, for the summer of 1943, the Nazi command again planned an offensive campaign. However, it is worth noting that from 1941 to 1943 the scale of these campaigns steadily decreased. So, if in 1941 the Wehrmacht launched an offensive along the entire front, then in 1943 it was only a small section of the Soviet-German front.

The meaning of the operation, called the "Citadel", was the offensive of large Wehrmacht forces at the base of the Kursk Bulge and their strike in the general direction of Kursk. The Soviet troops in the ledge were bound to be surrounded and destroyed. After that, it was planned to launch an offensive into the formed gap in the Soviet defense and go to Moscow from the southwest. This plan, if it had been successfully implemented, would have been a real disaster for the Red Army, because there were a very large number of troops in the Kursk salient.

The Soviet leadership learned the important lessons of the spring of 1942 and 1943. So, by March 1943, the Red Army was thoroughly exhausted by offensive battles, which led to the defeat near Kharkov. After that, it was decided not to start the summer campaign with an offensive, since it was obvious that the Germans were also planning to attack. Also, the Soviet leadership had no doubts that the Wehrmacht would attack precisely on the Kursk Bulge, where the configuration of the front line contributed to this as much as possible.

That is why, after weighing all the circumstances, the Soviet command decided to wear down the German troops, inflict serious losses on them and then go on the offensive, finally securing the turning point in the war in favor of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.

For the attack on Kursk, the German leadership concentrated a very large grouping, the number of which was 50 divisions. Of these 50 divisions, 18 were armored and motorized. From the sky, the German group was covered by aviation of the 4th and 6th air fleets of the Luftwaffe. Thus, the total number of German troops at the beginning of the battle of Kursk was approximately 900 thousand people, about 2,700 tanks and 2,000 aircraft. Due to the fact that the northern and southern groups of the Wehrmacht on the Kursk Bulge were part of different groups armies ("Center" and "South"), the leadership was carried out by the commanders of these army groups - Field Marshals Kluge and Manstein.

The Soviet grouping on the Kursk Bulge was represented by three fronts. The northern front of the ledge was defended by the troops of the Central Front under the command of General of the Army Rokossovsky, the southern - by the troops of the Voronezh Front under the command of General of the Army Vatutin. Also in the Kursk ledge were the troops of the Steppe Front, commanded by Colonel General Konev. The general command of the troops in the Kursk Salient was carried out by Marshals Vasilevsky and Zhukov. The number of Soviet troops was approximately 1 million 350 thousand people, 5000 tanks and about 2900 aircraft.

The beginning of the Battle of Kursk (5 - 12 July 1943)

On the morning of July 5, 1943, German troops launched an offensive against Kursk. However, the Soviet leadership knew about the exact time of the start of this offensive, thanks to which it was able to take a number of countermeasures. One of the most significant measures was the organization of artillery counter-training, which made it possible in the first minutes and hours of the battle to inflict serious losses and significantly reduce the offensive capabilities of the German troops.

Nevertheless, the German offensive began, and in the early days he managed to achieve some success. The first line of Soviet defense was broken through, but the Germans failed to achieve serious successes. On the northern face of the Kursk Bulge, the Wehrmacht attacked in the direction of Olkhovatka, but, failing to break through the Soviet defenses, turned towards the settlement of Ponyri. However, here, too, the Soviet defense managed to withstand the onslaught of the German troops. As a result of the battles on July 5-10, 1943, the German 9th Army suffered monstrous losses in tanks: about two-thirds of the vehicles were out of action. On July 10, units of the army went on the defensive.

The situation unfolded more dramatically in the south. Here, the German army managed to penetrate the Soviet defenses in the first days, but did not break through it. The offensive was carried out in the direction of the settlement of Oboyan, which was held by the Soviet troops, who also inflicted significant damage on the Wehrmacht.

After several days of fighting, the German leadership decided to shift the direction of the lava strike to Prokhorovka. The implementation of this decision would make it possible to cover large area than planned. However, units of the Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army stood in the way of the German tank wedges.

On July 12, one of the largest tank battles in history took place in the Prokhorovka area. From the German side, about 700 tanks participated in it, while from the Soviet side - about 800. Soviet troops launched a counterattack on Wehrmacht units in order to eliminate the enemy's penetration into the Soviet defenses. However, this counterattack did not achieve significant results. The Red Army only managed to stop the advance of the Wehrmacht in the south of the Kursk salient, but it was possible to restore the position at the beginning of the German offensive only two weeks later.

By July 15, having suffered huge losses as a result of continuous violent attacks, the Wehrmacht had practically exhausted its offensive capabilities and was forced to go on the defensive along the entire length of the front. By July 17, the withdrawal of German troops to their original lines began. Given the current situation, as well as pursuing the goal of inflicting a serious defeat on the enemy, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command already on July 18, 1943 authorized the transition of Soviet troops on the Kursk Bulge to a counteroffensive.

Now the German troops were forced to defend themselves in order to avoid a military catastrophe. However, parts of the Wehrmacht, seriously exhausted in offensive battles, could not offer serious resistance. The Soviet troops, reinforced with reserves, were full of power and readiness to crush the enemy.

To defeat the German troops covering the Kursk Bulge, two operations were developed and carried out: "Kutuzov" (to defeat the Oryol group of the Wehrmacht) and "Rumyantsev" (to defeat the Belgorod-Kharkov group).

As a result of the Soviet offensive, the Oryol and Belgorod groupings of German troops were defeated. On August 5, 1943, Orel and Belgorod were liberated by Soviet troops, and the Kursk Bulge practically ceased to exist. On the same day, Moscow for the first time saluted the Soviet troops, who liberated the cities from the enemy.

The last battle of the Battle of Kursk was the liberation of the city of Kharkov by the Soviet troops. The battles for this city took on a very fierce character, however, thanks to the decisive onslaught of the Red Army, the city was liberated by the end of August 23. It is the capture of Kharkov that is considered the logical conclusion of the Battle of Kursk.

Side losses

Estimates of the losses of the Red Army, as well as the Wehrmacht troops, have different estimates. Even more ambiguous are the large differences between the estimates of the losses of the parties in different sources.

So, Soviet sources indicate that during the Battle of Kursk, the Red Army lost about 250 thousand people killed and about 600 thousand wounded. At the same time, some Wehrmacht data indicate 300 thousand killed and 700 thousand wounded. Losses of armored vehicles range from 1,000 to 6,000 tanks and self-propelled guns. The losses of Soviet aviation are estimated at 1600 aircraft.

However, regarding the estimate of the losses of the Wehrmacht, the data differ even more. According to German data, the losses of German troops ranged from 83 to 135 thousand people killed. But at the same time, Soviet data indicate the number of dead Wehrmacht soldiers at about 420 thousand. Losses of German armored vehicles range from 1,000 tanks (according to German data) to 3,000. Aviation losses amount to approximately 1,700 aircraft.

The results and significance of the Battle of Kursk

Immediately after the Battle of Kursk and directly during it, the Red Army began a series of large-scale operations to liberate Soviet lands from German occupation. Among these operations: "Suvorov" (operation to liberate Smolensk, Donbass and Chernigov-Poltava.

Thus, the victory at Kursk opened up vast operational scope for the Soviet troops to operate. The German troops, bloodless and defeated as a result of summer battles, ceased to be a serious threat until December 1943. However, this absolutely does not mean that the Wehrmacht at that time was not strong. On the contrary, fiercely snarling, the German troops sought to hold at least the line of the Dnieper.

For the command of the allies, who landed troops on the island of Sicily in July 1943, the battle of Kursk became a kind of "help", since the Wehrmacht was now unable to transfer reserves to the island - the Eastern Front was more priority. Even after the defeat near Kursk, the command of the Wehrmacht was forced to transfer fresh forces from Italy to the east, and in their place to send units battered in battles with the Red Army.

For the German command, the Battle of Kursk was the moment when plans to defeat the Red Army and defeat the USSR finally became an illusion. It became clear that for a sufficiently long time the Wehrmacht would be forced to refrain from conducting active operations.

The Battle of Kursk was the completion of a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic and World War II. After this battle, the strategic initiative finally passed into the hands of the Red Army, thanks to which, by the end of 1943, vast territories of the Soviet Union were liberated, including such big cities like Kiev and Smolensk.

In international terms, the victory in the Battle of Kursk was the moment when the peoples of Europe, enslaved by the Nazis, perked up. The people's liberation movement in the countries of Europe began to grow even faster. It culminated in 1944, when the decline of the Third Reich became very clear.

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