battle of kursk how many tanks were destroyed in the battle of kursk

On the one hand because the overall goal, the encirclement of Kursk couldn't be achieved, on the other hand because of the allied invasion of Sicily forced the German leadership to redeploy troops elsewhere.Īlthough the battles near Prokhorovka were military operations in the context of »Operation Citadel«, they have been glorified in post-war times as the ✻attle of Prokhorovka« and the »Greatest Tank Battle in History«. Nevertheless the German Wehrmacht abandoned the operation on July 13. Despite being outnumbered, the German tanks inflicted terribly casualties on the Red Army. Following some quick success the armoured forces met with a bigger group of Soviet tanks which had been brought up as reinforcements on July 12. On July 11 the German troops started an attack near Prokhorovka. The stronger and bigger section of the German army was in the south and was able to advance about 30 km.

In the north the Red Army brought the German attack to a halt within days.

In the morning of J»Operation Citadel« started: About 900,000 German soldiers and 2,700 tanks faced 1,3 million Red Army soldiers and 3,400 tanks. Additional troops and tanks were redeployed to Kursk, the battlefield was mined and honeycombed with antitank ditches. Their plan was to attack the Germans after a successful defensive battle and to drive them back further. The Soviet command also expected a German attack. Because of various shortages Hitler postponed the attack until summer, hoping to be able to attack with a larger army. Therefor the Wehrmacht High Command in 1943 planned to encircle the Russian troops in the Kursk bulge in a pincer movement. This sector was of of a highly strategic importance since it had become a stronghold for the Soviet forces and because from Kursk the Wehrmacht would be able to advance south or even towards Moscow. In 1942/43 the Red Army could successfully drive back the Wehrmacht westwards, their advances resulting in the 200 km deep Kursk salient (also known as the Kursk bulge).

Battle of kursk how many tanks were destroyed in the battle of kursk