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Situation and strengths of the parties

In the early spring of 1943, after the end of the winter-spring battles, a huge protrusion formed on the Soviet-German front line between the cities of Orel and Belgorod, directed to the west. This bend was unofficially called the Kursk Bulge. At the bend of the arc were located the troops of the Soviet Central and Voronezh fronts and the German army groups “Center” and “South”.

Some representatives of the highest command circles in Germany proposed that the Wehrmacht switch to defensive actions, exhausting the Soviet troops, restoring its own strength and strengthening the occupied territories. However, Hitler was categorically against it: he believed that the German army was still strong enough to inflict damage on the Soviet Union. major defeat and again seize the elusive strategic initiative. An objective analysis of the situation showed that the German army was no longer capable of attacking on all fronts at once. Therefore, it was decided to limit offensive actions to only one segment of the front. Quite logically, the German command chose the Kursk Bulge to strike. According to the plan, German troops were to strike in converging directions from Orel and Belgorod in the direction of Kursk. With a successful outcome, this ensured the encirclement and defeat of the troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts of the Red Army. The final plans for the operation, codenamed "Citadel", were approved on May 10-11, 1943.

Unravel the plans of the German command regarding exactly where the Wehrmacht will advance in summer period 1943, was not difficult. The Kursk salient, extending many kilometers into the territory controlled by the Nazis, was a tempting and obvious target. Already on April 12, 1943, at a meeting at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the USSR, it was decided to move to a deliberate, planned and powerful defense in the Kursk region. The Red Army troops had to hold back the onslaught of Nazi troops, wear down the enemy, and then launch a counteroffensive and defeat the enemy. After this, it was planned to launch a general offensive in the western and southwestern directions.

In case the Germans decided not to attack in the Kursk Bulge area, a plan of offensive actions was also created with forces concentrated on this section of the front. However, the defensive plan remained a priority, and it was its implementation that the Red Army began in April 1943.

The defense on the Kursk Bulge was built thoroughly. In total, 8 defensive lines with a total depth of about 300 kilometers were created. Huge attention was devoted to mining the approaches to the defense line: according to various sources, the density of minefields was up to 1500-1700 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines per kilometer of front. Anti-tank artillery was not distributed evenly along the front, but was collected in so-called “anti-tank areas” - localized concentrations of anti-tank guns that covered several directions at once and partially overlapped each other’s sectors of fire. In this way, the maximum concentration of fire was achieved and shelling of one advancing enemy unit was ensured from several sides at once.

Before the start of the operation, the troops of the Central and Voronezh Fronts totaled about 1.2 million people, about 3.5 thousand tanks, 20,000 guns and mortars, as well as 2,800 aircraft. The Steppe Front, numbering about 580,000 people, 1.5 thousand tanks, 7.4 thousand guns and mortars, and about 700 aircraft, acted as a reserve.

On the German side, 50 divisions took part in the battle, numbering, according to various sources, from 780 to 900 thousand people, about 2,700 tanks and self-propelled guns, about 10,000 guns and approximately 2.5 thousand aircraft.

Thus, by the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, the Red Army had a numerical advantage. However, we should not forget that these troops were located on the defensive, and therefore, the German command had the opportunity to effectively concentrate forces and achieve the required concentration of troops in breakthrough areas. In addition, in 1943, the German army received a fairly large number of new heavy tanks "Tiger" and medium "Panther", as well as heavy self-propelled guns "Ferdinand", of which there were only 89 in the army (out of 90 built) and which, however, , themselves posed a considerable threat, provided they were used correctly in the right place.

The first stage of the battle. Defense

Both commands of the Voronezh and Central Fronts predicted the date of the German troops' transition to the offensive quite accurately: according to their data, the attack should have been expected in the period from July 3 to July 6. The day before the start of the battle, Soviet intelligence officers managed to capture the “tongue”, who reported that the Germans would begin the assault on July 5.

The northern front of the Kursk Bulge was held by the Central Front of Army General K. Rokossovsky. Knowing the time of the start of the German offensive, at 2:30 a.m. the front commander gave the order to conduct a half-hour artillery counter-training. Then, at 4:30, the artillery strike was repeated. The effectiveness of this measure was quite controversial. According to reports from Soviet artillerymen, the Germans suffered significant damage. However, apparently, this was still not true. We know for sure about small losses in manpower and equipment, as well as about the disruption of enemy wire lines. In addition, the Germans now knew for sure that a surprise attack would not work - the Red Army was ready for defense.

At 5:00 am the German artillery preparation began. It had not yet ended when the first echelons of Nazi troops went on the offensive following the barrage of fire. German infantry, supported by tanks, launched an offensive along the entire defensive line of the 13th Soviet army. The main blow fell on the village of Olkhovatka. The most powerful attack was experienced by the right flank of the army near the village of Maloarkhangelskoye.

The battle lasted approximately two and a half hours, and the attack was repulsed. After this, the Germans shifted their pressure to the left flank of the army. The strength of their onslaught is evidenced by the fact that by the end of July 5, the troops of the 15th and 81st Soviet divisions were partially surrounded. However, the Nazis had not yet succeeded in breaking through the front. In just the first day of the battle, German troops advanced 6-8 kilometers.

On July 6, Soviet troops attempted a counterattack with two tank, three rifle divisions and a rifle corps, supported by two regiments of guards mortars and two regiments of self-propelled guns. The impact front was 34 kilometers. At first, the Red Army managed to push the Germans back 1-2 kilometers, but then the Soviet tanks came under heavy fire from German tanks and self-propelled guns and, after 40 vehicles were lost, were forced to stop. By the end of the day, the corps went on the defensive. The counterattack attempted on July 6 did not have serious success. The front managed to be “pushed back” by only 1-2 kilometers.

After the failure of the attack on Olkhovatka, the Germans shifted their efforts in the direction of the Ponyri station. This station was of serious strategic importance, covering railway Orel - Kursk. Ponyri were well protected by minefields, artillery and tanks buried in the ground.

On July 6, Ponyri was attacked by about 170 German tanks and self-propelled guns, including 40 Tigers of the 505th heavy tank battalion. The Germans managed to break through the first line of defense and advance to the second. Three attacks that followed before the end of the day were repulsed by the second line. The next day, after persistent attacks, German troops managed to get even closer to the station. By 15:00 on July 7, the enemy captured the “1 May” state farm and came close to the station. The day of July 7, 1943 became a crisis for the defense of Ponyri, although the Nazis still failed to capture the station.

At the Ponyri station, German troops used the Ferdinand self-propelled guns, which turned out to be a serious problem for the Soviet troops. Soviet guns were practically unable to penetrate the 200 mm frontal armor of these vehicles. Therefore, the Ferdinanda suffered the greatest losses from mines and air raids. The last day when the Germans stormed the Ponyri station was July 12.

From July 5 to July 12, heavy fighting took place in the 70th Army's zone of action. Here the Nazis launched an attack with tanks and infantry, with German air superiority in the air. On July 8, German troops managed to break through the defense, occupying several settlements. The breakthrough was localized only by introducing reserves. By July 11, Soviet troops received reinforcements as well as air support. The dive bomber strikes caused quite significant damage to German units. On July 15, after the Germans had already been completely driven back, in the field between the villages of Samodurovka, Kutyrki and Tyoploye, military correspondents filmed damaged German equipment. After the war, this chronicle began to be mistakenly called “footage from near Prokhorovka,” although not a single “Ferdinand” was near Prokhorovka, and the Germans failed to evacuate two damaged self-propelled guns of this type from near Tyoply.

In the zone of action of the Voronezh Front (commander - General of the Army Vatutin), combat operations began in the afternoon of July 4 with attacks by German units on the positions of the front's military outposts and lasted until late at night.

On July 5, the main phase of the battle began. On the southern front of the Kursk Bulge, the battles were much more intense and were accompanied by more serious losses of Soviet troops than on the northern one. The reason for this was the terrain, which was more suitable for the use of tanks, and a number of organizational miscalculations at the level of the Soviet front-line command.

The main blow of the German troops was delivered along the Belgorod-Oboyan highway. This section of the front was held by the 6th Guards Army. The first attack took place at 6 a.m. on July 5 in the direction of the village of Cherkasskoye. Two attacks followed, supported by tanks and aircraft. Both were repulsed, after which the Germans shifted the direction of the attack towards the village of Butovo. In the battles near Cherkassy, the enemy almost managed to achieve a breakthrough, but at the cost of heavy losses, Soviet troops prevented it, often losing up to 50-70% of the units' personnel.

During July 7-8, the Germans managed, while suffering losses, to advance another 6-8 kilometers, but then the attack on Oboyan stopped. The enemy was looking for a weak point in the Soviet defense and seemed to have found it. This place was the direction to the still unknown Prokhorovka station.

The Battle of Prokhorovka, considered one of the largest tank battles in history, began on July 11, 1943. On the German side, the 2nd SS Panzer Corps and the 3rd Wehrmacht Panzer Corps took part in it - a total of about 450 tanks and self-propelled guns. The 5th Guards Tank Army under Lieutenant General P. Rotmistrov and the 5th Guards Army under Lieutenant General A. Zhadov fought against them. There were about 800 Soviet tanks in the Battle of Prokhorovka.

The battle at Prokhorovka can be called the most discussed and controversial episode of the Battle of Kursk. The scope of this article does not allow us to analyze it in detail, so we will limit ourselves to only reporting approximate loss figures. The Germans irretrievably lost about 80 tanks and self-propelled guns, the Soviet troops lost about 270 vehicles.

Second phase. Offensive

On July 12, 1943, Operation Kutuzov, also known as the Oryol offensive operation, began on the northern front of the Kursk Bulge with the participation of troops of the Western and Bryansk fronts. On July 15, troops of the Central Front joined it.

On the German side, a group of troops consisting of 37 divisions was involved in the battles. According to modern estimates, the number of German tanks and self-propelled guns that took part in the battles near Orel was about 560 vehicles. Soviet troops had a serious numerical advantage over the enemy: in the main directions, the Red Army outnumbered German troops by six times in the number of infantry, five times in the number of artillery and 2.5-3 times in tanks.

German infantry divisions defended themselves on well-fortified terrain, equipped with wire fences, minefields, machine gun nests and armored caps. Enemy sappers built anti-tank obstacles along the river banks. It should be noted, however, that work on the German defensive lines had not yet been completed when the counteroffensive began.

On July 12 at 5:10 am, Soviet troops began artillery preparation and launched an air strike on the enemy. Half an hour later the assault began. By the evening of the first day, the Red Army, waging heavy fighting, advanced to a distance of 7.5 to 15 kilometers, breaking through the main defensive line of German formations in three places. Offensive battles continued until July 14. During this time, the advance of Soviet troops was up to 25 kilometers. However, by July 14, the Germans managed to regroup their troops, as a result of which the Red Army offensive was stopped for some time. The Central Front offensive, which began on July 15, developed slowly from the very beginning.

Despite the stubborn resistance of the enemy, by July 25 the Red Army managed to force the Germans to begin withdrawing troops from the Oryol bridgehead. In early August, battles began for the city of Oryol. By August 6, the city was completely liberated from the Nazis. After this, the Oryol operation entered its final phase. On August 12, fighting began for the city of Karachev, which lasted until August 15 and ended with the defeat of the group of German troops defending this settlement. By August 17-18, Soviet troops reached the Hagen defensive line, built by the Germans east of Bryansk.

The official date for the start of the offensive on the southern front of the Kursk Bulge is considered to be August 3. However, the Germans began a gradual withdrawal of troops from their positions as early as July 16, and from July 17, units of the Red Army began pursuing the enemy, which by July 22 turned into a general offensive, which stopped at approximately the same positions that Soviet troops occupied at the start of the Battle of Kursk . The command demanded the immediate continuation of hostilities, but due to the exhaustion and fatigue of the units, the date was postponed by 8 days.

By August 3, the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts had 50 rifle divisions, about 2,400 tanks and self-propelled guns, and more than 12,000 guns. At 8 o'clock in the morning, after artillery preparation, Soviet troops began their offensive. On the first day of the operation, the advance of units of the Voronezh Front ranged from 12 to 26 km. The troops of the Steppe Front advanced only 7-8 kilometers during the day.

On August 4-5, battles took place to eliminate the enemy group in Belgorod and liberate the city from German troops. By evening, Belgorod was taken by units of the 69th Army and the 1st Mechanized Corps.

By August 10, Soviet troops cut the Kharkov-Poltava railway. There were about 10 kilometers left to the outskirts of Kharkov. On August 11, the Germans struck in the Bogodukhov area, significantly weakening the pace of the offensive of both fronts of the Red Army. Fierce fighting continued until August 14.

The steppe front reached the near approaches to Kharkov on August 11. On the first day, the attacking units were not successful. Fighting on the outskirts of the city continued until July 17. Both sides suffered heavy losses. In both Soviet and German units, it was not uncommon to have companies numbering 40-50 people, or even less.

The Germans launched their last counterattack at Akhtyrka. Here they even managed to make a local breakthrough, but this did not change the situation globally. On August 23, a massive assault on Kharkov began; This day is considered the date of the liberation of the city and the end of the Battle of Kursk. In fact, the fighting in the city stopped completely only on August 30, when the remnants of German resistance were suppressed.

Despite the artistic exaggerations associated with Prokhorovka, the Battle of Kursk was indeed the last attempt by the Germans to win back the situation. Taking advantage of the negligence of the Soviet command and inflicting a major defeat on the Red Army near Kharkov in the early spring of 1943, the Germans received another “chance” to play the summer offensive card according to the models of 1941 and 1942.

But by 1943, the Red Army was already different, just like the Wehrmacht, it was worse than itself two years ago. Two years of bloody meat grinder were not in vain for him, plus the delay in starting the offensive on Kursk made the very fact of the offensive obvious to the Soviet command, which quite reasonably decided not to repeat the mistakes of the spring-summer of 1942 and voluntarily conceded to the Germans the right to launch offensive actions in order to wear down them on the defensive, and then destroy the weakened strike forces.

In general, the implementation of this plan once again showed how much the level of strategic planning of the Soviet leadership had increased since the start of the war. And at the same time, the inglorious end of the “Citadel” once again showed the subsidence of this level among the Germans, who tried to reverse the difficult strategic situation with obviously insufficient means.

Actually, even Manstein, the most intelligent German strategist, had no special illusions about this decisive battle for Germany, reasoning in his memoirs that if everything had turned out differently, then it would have been possible to somehow jump from the USSR to a draw, that is, in fact admitted that after Stalingrad there was no talk of victory for Germany at all.

In theory, the Germans, of course, could push through our defenses and reach Kursk, encircling a couple of dozen divisions, but even in this wonderful scenario for the Germans, their success did not lead them to solving the problem of the Eastern Front, but only led to a delay before the inevitable end, because By 1943, Germany's military production was already clearly inferior to that of the Soviet Union, and the need to plug the “Italian hole” did not make it possible to assemble any large forces to conduct further offensive operations on the Eastern Front.

But our army did not allow the Germans to amuse themselves with the illusion of even such a victory. The strike groups were bled dry during a week of heavy defensive battles, and then the roller coaster of our offensive began, which, starting in the summer of 1943, was practically unstoppable, no matter how much the Germans resisted in the future.

In this regard, the Battle of Kursk is truly one of the iconic battles of the Second World War, and not only due to the scale of the battle and the millions of soldiers and tens of thousands of military equipment involved. It finally demonstrated to the whole world and, above all, to the Soviet people, that Germany was doomed.

Remember today all those who died in this epoch-making battle and those who survived it, reaching from Kursk to Berlin.

Below is a selection of photographs of the Battle of Kursk.

Commander of the Central Front, Army General K.K. Rokossovsky and member of the Front Military Council, Major General K.F. Telegin at the forefront before the start of the Battle of Kursk. 1943

Soviet sappers install TM-42 anti-tank mines in front of the front line of defense. Central Front, Kursk Bulge, July 1943

Transfer of "Tigers" for Operation Citadel.

Manstein and his generals are at work.

German traffic controller. Behind is an RSO crawler tractor.

Construction of defensive structures on the Kursk Bulge. June 1943.

At a rest stop.

On the eve of the Battle of Kursk. Testing infantry with tanks. Red Army soldiers in a trench and a T-34 tank that overcomes the trench, passing over them. 1943

German machine gunner with MG-42.

Panthers are preparing for Operation Citadel.

Self-propelled howitzers "Wespe" of the 2nd battalion of the artillery regiment "Grossdeutschland" on the march. Operation Citadel, July 1943.

German Pz.Kpfw.III tanks before the start of Operation Citadel in a Soviet village.

The crew of the Soviet tank T-34-76 "Marshal Choibalsan" (from the "Revolutionary Mongolia" tank column) and the attached troops on vacation. Kursk Bulge, 1943.

Smoke break in German trenches.

A peasant woman tells Soviet intelligence officers about the location of enemy units. North of the city of Orel, 1943.

Sergeant Major V. Sokolova, medical instructor of anti-tank artillery units of the Red Army. Oryol direction. Kursk Bulge, summer 1943.

A German 105-mm self-propelled gun "Wespe" (Sd.Kfz.124 Wespe) from the 74th self-propelled artillery regiment of the 2nd tank division of the Wehrmacht passes next to an abandoned Soviet 76-mm ZIS-3 gun in the area of the city of Orel. German offensive operation "Citadel". Oryol Region, July 1943.

The Tigers are on the attack.

Photojournalist of the newspaper "Red Star" O. Knorring and cameraman I. Malov are filming the interrogation of the captured chief corporal A. Bauschof, who voluntarily went over to the side of the Red Army. The interrogation is conducted by Captain S.A. Mironov (right) and translator Iones (center). Oryol-Kursk direction, July 7, 1943.

German soldiers on the Kursk Bulge. Part of the body of the radio-controlled B-IV tank is visible from above.

German B-IV robot tanks and Pz.Kpfw control tanks destroyed by Soviet artillery. III (one of the tanks has the number F 23). Northern face of the Kursk Bulge (near the village of Glazunovka). July 5, 1943

Tank landing of sapper demolitions (sturmpionieren) from the SS division "Das Reich" on the armor of the StuG III Ausf F assault gun. Kursk Bulge, 1943.

Destroyed Soviet T-60 tank.

The Ferdinand self-propelled gun is on fire. July 1943, village of Ponyri.

Two damaged Ferdinands from the headquarters company of the 654th battalion. Ponyri station area, July 15-16, 1943. On the left is the headquarters "Ferdinand" No. II-03. The car was burned with bottles of kerosene mixture after its undercarriage was damaged by a shell.

The Ferdinand heavy assault gun, destroyed by a direct hit from an aerial bomb from a Soviet Pe-2 dive bomber. Tactical number unknown. Area of Ponyri station and state farm "May 1".

Heavy assault gun "Ferdinand", tail number "723" from the 654th division (battalion), knocked out in the area of the "1 May" state farm. The track was destroyed by projectile hits and the gun was jammed. The vehicle was part of the "Major Kahl's strike group" as part of the 505th heavy tank battalion of the 654th division.

A tank column is moving towards the front.

Tigers" from the 503rd heavy tank battalion.

Katyushas are firing.

Tiger tanks of the SS Panzer Division "Das Reich".

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

Soviet soldiers near a damaged Panther. July 1943.

Heavy assault gun "Ferdinand", tail number "731", chassis number 150090 from the 653rd division, blown up by a mine in the defense zone of the 70th army. Later, this car was sent to an exhibition of captured equipment in Moscow.

Self-propelled gun Su-152 Major Sankovsky. His crew destroyed 10 enemy tanks in the first battle during the Battle of Kursk.

T-34-76 tanks support the infantry attack in the Kursk direction.

Soviet infantry in front of a destroyed Tiger tank.

Attack of T-34-76 near Belgorod. July 1943.

Abandoned near Prokhorovka, faulty "Panthers" of the 10th "Panther Brigade" of the von Lauchert tank regiment.

German observers are monitoring the progress of the battle.

Soviet infantrymen hide behind the hull of a destroyed Panther.

The Soviet mortar crew changes its firing position. Bryansk Front, Oryol direction. July 1943.

An SS grenadier looks at a T-34 that has just been shot down. It was probably destroyed by one of the first modifications of the Panzerfaust, which were first widely used at the Kursk Bulge.

Destroyed German Pz.Kpfw tank. V modification D2, shot down during Operation Citadel (Kursk Bulge). This photograph is interesting because it contains the signature “Ilyin” and the date “26/7”. This is probably the name of the gun commander who knocked out the tank.

Leading units of the 285th Infantry Regiment of the 183rd Infantry Division engage the enemy in captured German trenches. In the foreground is the body of a killed German soldier. Battle of Kursk, July 10, 1943.

Sappers of the SS division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" near a damaged T-34-76 tank. July 7, area of the village of Pselets.

Soviet tanks on the attack line.

Destroyed Pz IV and Pz VI tanks near Kursk.

Pilots of the Normandie-Niemen squadron.

Reflecting a tank attack. Ponyri village area. July 1943.

Shot down "Ferdinand". The corpses of his crew lie nearby.

The artillerymen are fighting.

Damaged German equipment during the battles in the Kursk direction.

A German tankman examines the mark left by a hit in the Tiger's frontal projection. July, 1943.

Red Army soldiers next to a downed Ju-87 dive bomber.

Damaged "Panther". I made it to Kursk as a trophy.

Machine gunners on the Kursk Bulge. July 1943.

Self-propelled gun Marder III and panzergrenadiers at the starting line before the attack. July 1943.

Broken Panther. The tower was torn down by an explosion of ammunition.

Burning German self-propelled gun "Ferdinand" from the 656th regiment on the Oryol front of the Kursk Bulge, July 1943. The photo was taken through the driver's hatch of the Pz.Kpfw control tank. III robotic tanks B-4.

Soviet soldiers near a damaged Panther. A huge hole from a 152-mm St. John's wort is visible in the turret.

Burnt tanks of the column "For Soviet Ukraine". On the tower torn down by the explosion one can see the inscription “For Radianska Ukraine” (For Soviet Ukraine).

Killed German tankman. In the background is a Soviet T-70 tank.

Soviet soldiers inspect a German heavy self-propelled artillery installation of the Ferdinand tank destroyer class, which was knocked out during the Battle of Kursk. The photo is also interesting because of the SSH-36 steel helmet, rare for 1943, on the soldier on the left.

Soviet soldiers near a disabled Stug III assault gun.

A German B-IV robot tank and a German BMW R-75 motorcycle with a sidecar destroyed on the Kursk Bulge. 1943

Self-propelled gun "Ferdinand" after the detonation of ammunition.

The crew of an anti-tank gun fires at enemy tanks. July 1943.

The picture shows a damaged German medium tank PzKpfw IV (modifications H or G). July 1943.

The commander of the Pz.kpfw VI "Tiger" tank No. 323 of the 3rd company of the 503rd battalion of heavy tanks, non-commissioned officer Futermeister, shows the mark of a Soviet shell on the armor of his tank to Sergeant Major Heiden. Kursk Bulge, July 1943.

Statement of combat mission. July 1943.

Pe-2 front-line dive bombers on a combat course. Oryol-Belgorod direction. July 1943.

Towing a faulty Tiger. On the Kursk Bulge, the Germans suffered significant losses due to non-combat breakdowns of their equipment.

T-34 goes on the attack.

The British Churchill tank, captured by the "Der Fuhrer" regiment of the "Das Reich" division, was supplied under Lend-Lease.

Tank destroyer Marder III on the march. Operation Citadel, July 1943.

and in the foreground on the right is a damaged Soviet T-34 tank, further on the left edge of the photo is a German Pz.Kpfw. VI "Tiger", another T-34 in the distance.

Soviet soldiers inspect an exploded German tank Pz IV ausf G.

Soldiers from the unit of Senior Lieutenant A. Burak, with the support of artillery, are conducting an offensive. July 1943.

A German prisoner of war on the Kursk Bulge near a broken 150-mm infantry gun sIG.33. The dead man lies on the right German soldier. July 1943.

Oryol direction. Soldiers under the cover of tanks go on the attack. July 1943.

German units, which include captured Soviet T-34-76 tanks, are preparing for an attack during the Battle of Kursk. July 28, 1943.

RONA (Russian People's Liberation Army) soldiers among captured Red Army soldiers. Kursk Bulge, July-August 1943.

Soviet tank T-34-76 destroyed in a village on the Kursk Bulge. August, 1943.

Under enemy fire, tankers pull a damaged T-34 from the battlefield.

Soviet soldiers rise to attack.

An officer of the Grossdeutschland division in a trench. Late July-early August.

Participant in the battles on the Kursk Bulge, reconnaissance officer, guard senior sergeant A.G. Frolchenko (1905 - 1967), awarded the Order of the Red Star (according to another version, the photo shows Lieutenant Nikolai Alekseevich Simonov). Belgorod direction, August 1943.

A column of German prisoners captured in the Oryol direction. August 1943.

German SS soldiers in a trench with an MG-42 machine gun during Operation Citadel. Kursk Bulge, July-August 1943.

On the left is an Sd.Kfz anti-aircraft self-propelled gun. 10/4 based on a half-track tractor with a 20-mm FlaK 30 anti-aircraft gun. Kursk Bulge, August 3, 1943.

The priest blesses Soviet soldiers. Oryol direction, 1943.

A Soviet T-34-76 tank knocked out in the Belgorod area and a tanker killed.

A column of captured Germans in the Kursk area.

German PaK 35/36 anti-tank guns captured on the Kursk Bulge. In the background is a Soviet ZiS-5 truck towing a 37 mm 61-k anti-aircraft gun. July 1943.

Soldiers of the 3rd SS Division "Totenkopf" ("Death's Head") discuss a defensive action plan with the Tiger commander from the 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion. Kursk Bulge, July-August 1943.

German prisoners in the Kursk region.

Tank commander, Lieutenant B.V. Smelov shows a hole in the turret of a German Tiger tank, knocked out by Smelov’s crew, to Lieutenant Likhnyakevich (who knocked out 2 fascist tanks in the last battle). This hole was made by an ordinary armor-piercing shell from a 76-mm tank gun.

Senior Lieutenant Ivan Shevtsov next to the German Tiger tank he destroyed.

Trophies of the Battle of Kursk.

German heavy assault gun "Ferdinand" of the 653rd battalion (division), captured in good condition along with its crew by soldiers of the Soviet 129th Oryol Rifle Division. August 1943.

The eagle is taken.

The 89th Rifle Division enters liberated Belgorod.

The Battle of Kursk (summer 1943) radically changed the course of World War II.

Our army stopped the Nazi offensive and irrevocably took the strategic initiative in the further course of the war into its own hands.

Wehrmacht plans

Despite the huge losses, by the summer of 1943 the fascist army was still very strong, and Hitler intended to take revenge for his defeat in . To restore its former prestige, it needed a major victory at any cost.

To achieve this, Germany carried out total mobilization and strengthened its military industry, mainly due to the capabilities of the occupied territories Western Europe. This, of course, gave the expected results. And since there was no longer a second front in the West, the German government directed all its military resources to the Eastern Front.

He managed not only to restore his army, but also to replenish it with the latest models of military equipment. The largest offensive operation, Operation Citadel, was carefully planned, and was given great strategic importance. To implement the plan, the fascist command chose the Kursk direction.

The task was this: to break through the defenses of the Kursk ledge, reach Kursk, surround it and destroy the Soviet troops who defended this territory. All efforts were directed toward this idea of the lightning defeat of our troops. It was planned to defeat the million-strong group of Soviet troops on the Kursk ledge, encircle and take Kursk in literally four days.

This plan is set out in detail in order No. 6 of April 15, 1943 with a poetic conclusion: “The victory at Kursk should be a torch for the whole world.”

Based on our intelligence data, the enemy’s plans regarding the direction of his main attacks and the timing of the offensive became known at Headquarters. Headquarters carefully analyzed the situation, and as a result it was decided that it would be more profitable for us to start the campaign with a strategic defensive operation.

Knowing that Hitler would attack only in one direction and concentrate the main striking forces here, our command came to the conclusion that it was defensive battles that would bleed the German army and destroy its tanks. After this, it will be advisable to crush the enemy by breaking up his main group.

Marshal reported this to Headquarters on 04/08/43: “wear down” the enemy on the defensive, knock out his tanks, and then bring in fresh reserves and go on a general offensive, finishing off the main forces of the Nazis. Thus, the Headquarters deliberately planned to make the beginning of the Battle of Kursk defensive.

Preparing for battle

From mid-April 1943, work began on the creation of powerful defensive positions on the Kursk salient. They dug trenches, trenches and ammunition magazines, built bunkers, prepared firing positions and observation posts. Having finished work in one place, they moved on and again began to dig and build, repeating the work at the previous position.

At the same time, they prepared fighters for the upcoming battles, conducting training sessions close to real combat. A participant in these events, B. N. Malinovsky, wrote about this in his memoirs in the book “We Didn’t Choose Our Fate.” During these preparatory work, he writes, they received military reinforcements: people, equipment. At the beginning of the battle, our troops here numbered up to 1.3 million people.

Steppe Front

The strategic reserves, consisting of formations that had already participated in the battles for Stalingrad, Leningrad and other battles of the Soviet-German front, were first united into the Reserve Front, which was formed on April 15, 1943. was named the Steppe Military District (commander I.S. Konev), and later - during the Battle of Kursk - 07/10/43, it began to be called the Steppe Front.

It included troops of the Voronezh and central fronts. Command of the front was entrusted to Colonel General I. S. Konev, who after the Battle of Kursk became an army general, and in February 1944 - Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Battle of Kursk

The battle began on July 5, 1943. Our troops were ready for it. The Nazis carried out fire raids from an armored train, bombers fired from the air, the enemies dropped leaflets in which they tried to intimidate Soviet soldiers with the upcoming terrible offensive, claiming that no one would be saved in it.

Our fighters immediately entered the battle, earned Katyushas, and our tanks and self-propelled guns went to meet the enemy with his new Tigers and Ferdinands. Artillery and infantry destroyed their vehicles in prepared minefields, with anti-tank grenades and simply with gasoline bottles.

Already in the evening of the first day of the battle, the Soviet Information Bureau reported that on July 5, 586 fascist tanks and 203 aircraft were destroyed in the battle. By the end of the day, the number of enemy aircraft shot down had grown to 260. Fierce fighting continued until July 9.

The enemy had undermined his forces and was forced to order a temporary halt to the offensive in order to make some changes to the original plan. But then the fighting resumed. Our troops still managed to stop the German offensive, although in some places the enemy broke through our defenses 30-35 km deep.

Tank battle

A large-scale tank battle played a huge role in the turning point of the Battle of Kursk in the Prokhorovka area. About 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns were involved in it on both sides.

General valor was demonstrated in this battle by the general of the 5th Guards. tank army P. A. Rotmistrov, General of the 5th Guards Army A. S. Zhdanov and heroic fortitude - the entire personnel.

Thanks to the organization and courage of our commanders and fighters, the offensive plans of the fascists were finally buried in this fierce battle. The enemy's forces were exhausted, he had already brought his reserves into the battle, had not yet entered the defensive stage, and had already stopped the offensive.

This was a very convenient moment for our troops to transition from defense to counteroffensive. By July 12, the enemy was drained of blood, and the crisis of his offensive had ripened. This was a turning point in the Battle of Kursk.

Counteroffensive

On July 12, the Western and Bryansk fronts went on the offensive, and on July 15, the Central Front. And on July 16, the Germans had already begun to withdraw their troops. Then the Voronezh Front joined the offensive, and on July 18 - the Steppe Front. The retreating enemy was pursued, and by July 23 our troops had restored the situation that existed before the defensive battles, i.e. back to the starting point, as it were.

For the final victory in the Battle of Kursk, it was necessary to massively introduce strategic reserves, and in the most important direction. The Steppe Front proposed such tactics. But Headquarters, unfortunately, did not accept the decision of the Steppe Front and decided to introduce strategic reserves in parts and not simultaneously.

This led to the fact that the end of the Battle of Kursk was delayed in time. There was a pause from July 23 to August 3. The Germans retreated to previously prepared defensive lines. And our command needed time to study the enemy’s defenses and organize the troops after the battles.

The commanders understood that the enemy would not leave his prepared positions, and would fight to the last, just to stop the advance of the Soviet troops. And then our offensive continued. There were still many bloody battles with huge losses on both sides. The Battle of Kursk lasted 50 days and ended on August 23, 1943. The Wehrmacht's plans completely failed.

The meaning of the Battle of Kursk

History has shown that the Battle of Kursk became a turning point during the Second World War, the starting point for the transfer of strategic initiative to the Soviet army. lost half a million people and a huge amount of military equipment in the Battle of Kursk.

This defeat of Hitler also influenced the situation on an international scale, because it provided the preconditions for Germany’s loss of allied cooperation with. And in the end, the struggle on the fronts where the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition fought was greatly facilitated.

The beginning of the combat path of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps

The defeat of the Nazi army at Stalingrad in the winter of 1942-1943 shook the fascist bloc to its core. For the first time since the beginning of World War II, Hitler's Germany faced the formidable specter of inevitable defeat in all its inevitability. Its military power, the morale of the army and the population were thoroughly undermined, and its prestige in the eyes of its allies was seriously shaken. In order to improve the internal political situation in Germany and prevent the collapse of the fascist coalition, the Nazi command decided in the summer of 1943 to conduct a major offensive operation on the central section of the Soviet-German front. With this offensive, it hoped to defeat the group of Soviet troops located on the Kursk ledge, again seize the strategic initiative and turn the tide of the war in its favor. By the summer of 1943, the situation on the Soviet-German front had already changed in favor of the Soviet Union. By the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, the overall superiority in forces and means was on the side of the Red Army: in people by 1.1 times, in artillery by 1.7 times, in tanks by 1.4 times and in combat aircraft by 2 times.

The Battle of Kursk occupies a special place in the Great Patriotic War. It lasted 50 days and nights, from July 5 to August 23, 1943. This battle has no equal in its ferocity and tenacity of struggle.

Wehrmacht goal: The general plan of the German command was to encircle and destroy the troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts defending in the Kursk area. If successful, it was planned to expand the offensive front and regain the strategic initiative. To implement his plans, the enemy concentrated powerful strike forces, which numbered over 900 thousand people, about 10 thousand guns and mortars, up to 2,700 tanks and assault guns, and about 2,050 aircraft. Great hopes were placed on the latest Tiger and Panther tanks, Ferdinand assault guns, Focke-Wulf-190-A fighter aircraft and Heinkel-129 attack aircraft.

The goal of the Red Army: The Soviet command decided to first bleed the enemy's strike forces in defensive battles and then launch a counteroffensive.

The battle that began immediately took on a grand scale and was extremely tense. Our troops did not flinch. They faced avalanches of enemy tanks and infantry with unprecedented tenacity and courage. The advance of enemy strike forces was suspended. Only at the cost of huge losses did he manage to wedge into our defenses in some areas. On the Central Front - 10-12 kilometers, on Voronezh - up to 35 kilometers. Hitler's Operation Citadel, the largest in the entire Second World War, finally buried world war oncoming tank battle near Prokhorovka. It happened on July 12. 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns simultaneously participated in it on both sides. This battle was won by Soviet soldiers. The Nazis, having lost up to 400 tanks during the day of battle, were forced to abandon the offensive.

On July 12, the second stage of the Battle of Kursk began - the counteroffensive of Soviet troops. On August 5, Soviet troops liberated the cities of Orel and Belgorod. On the evening of August 5, in honor of this major success, a victorious salute was given in Moscow for the first time in two years of war. From that time on, artillery salutes constantly announced the glorious victories of Soviet weapons. On August 23, Kharkov was liberated.

Thus ended the Battle of the Kursk Arc of Fire. During it, 30 selected enemy divisions were defeated. Nazi troops lost about 500 thousand people, 1500 tanks, 3 thousand guns and 3700 aircraft. For courage and heroism, over 100 thousand Soviet soldiers who took part in the Battle of the Arc of Fire were awarded orders and medals. The Battle of Kursk ended a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War in favor of the Red Army.

Losses in the Battle of Kursk.

Type of loss	Red Army	Wehrmacht	Ratio
Personnel
Guns and mortars
Tanks and self-propelled guns
Aircraft

UDTK on the Kursk Bulge. Oryol offensive operation

The 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps, part of the 4th Tank Army, received its baptism of fire in the Battle of Kursk.

T-34 tanks - 202 units, T-70 - 7, BA-64 armored vehicles - 68,

self-propelled 122 mm guns - 16, 85 mm guns - 12,

M-13 installations - 8, 76 mm guns - 24, 45 mm guns - 32,

37 mm guns - 16, 120 mm mortars - 42, 82 mm mortars - 52.

The army, commanded by Lieutenant General of Tank Forces Vasily Mikhailovich Badanov, arrived on the Bryansk Front on the eve of the fighting that began on July 5, 1943, and during the counter-offensive of the Soviet troops it was brought into battle in the Oryol direction. The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps under the command of Lieutenant General Georgy Semenovich Rodin had the task: advancing from the Seredichi area to the south, cut off enemy communications on the Bolkhov-Khotynets line, reach the area of the village of Zlyn, and then straddle the Orel-Bryansk railway and highway and cut off the escape route of the Oryol group of Nazis to the west. And the Urals carried out the order.

On July 29, Lieutenant General Rodin assigned the task to the 197th Sverdlovsk and 243rd Molotov tank brigades: to cross the Nugr River in cooperation with the 30th motorized rifle brigade (msbr), capture the village of Borilovo and then advance in the direction settlement Vishnevsky. The village of Borilovo was located on a high bank and dominated the surrounding area, and from the bell tower of the church it was visible for several kilometers in circumference. All this made it easier for the enemy to conduct defense and complicated the actions of the advancing units of the corps. At 20:00 on July 29, after a 30-minute artillery barrage and a volley of guards mortars, two tank motorized rifle brigades began crossing the Nugr River. Under the cover of tank fire, the company of Senior Lieutenant A.P. Nikolaev, as on the Ors River, was the first to cross the Nugr River, capturing the southern outskirts of the village of Borilovo. By the morning of July 30, the battalion of the 30th Motorized Rifle Brigade, with the support of tanks, despite stubborn enemy resistance, captured the village of Borilovo. All units of the Sverdlovsk brigade of the 30th UDTK were concentrated here. By order of the corps commander, at 10:30 the brigade began an offensive in the direction of height 212.2. The assault was difficult. It was completed by the 244th Chelyabinsk Tank Brigade, which was previously in the reserve of the 4th Army, brought into battle.

Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Petrovich Nikolaev, company commander of a motorized rifle battalion of the 197th Guards Sverdlovsk Tank Brigade. From personal archiveON THE.Kirillova.

On July 31, in liberated Borilov, the heroically killed tank crews and machine gunners were buried, including tank battalion commanders: Major Chazov and Captain Ivanov. The massive heroism of the corps soldiers, shown in battles from July 27 to 29, received highly appreciated. In the Sverdlovsk brigade alone, 55 soldiers, sergeants and officers were awarded government awards for these battles. In the battle for Borilovo, Sverdlovsk medical instructor Anna Alekseevna Kvanskova accomplished a feat. She rescued the wounded and, replacing incapacitated artillerymen, brought shells to firing positions. A. A. Kvanskova was awarded the Order of the Red Star, and was subsequently awarded the Order of Glory III and II degrees for her heroism.

Guard Sergeant Anna Alekseevna Kvanskova assists the lieutenantA.A.Lysin, 1944.

Photo by M. Insarov, 1944. CDOOSO. F.221. OP.3.D.1672

The exceptional courage of the Ural warriors, their willingness to carry out a combat mission without sparing their lives, aroused admiration. But mixed with it was the pain of the losses suffered. It seemed that they were too large compared to the results achieved.

A column of German prisoners of war captured in battles in the Oryol direction, USSR, 1943.

Damaged German equipment during the battles on the Kursk Bulge, USSR, 1943.

The Battle of Kursk (also known as the Battle of Kursk) is the largest and most key battle during the Great Patriotic War and the entire Second World War. It was attended by 2 million people, 6 thousand tanks and 4 thousand aircraft.

The Battle of Kursk lasted 49 days and consisted of three operations:

Kursk strategic defensive (July 5 - 23);
Orlovskaya (July 12 - August 18);
Belgorodsko-Kharkovskaya (August 3 – 23).

The Soviets involved:

1.3 million people + 0.6 million in reserve;
3444 tanks + 1.5 thousand in reserve;
19,100 guns and mortars + 7.4 thousand in reserve;
2172 aircraft + 0.5 thousand in reserve.

Fought on the side of the Third Reich:

900 thousand people;
2,758 tanks and self-propelled guns (of which 218 are under repair);
10 thousand guns;
2050 aircraft.

Source: toboom.name

This battle claimed many lives. But a lot of military equipment “sailed” to the next world. In honor of the 73rd anniversary of the start of the Battle of Kursk, we remember which tanks fought back then.

T-34-76

Another modification of the T-34. Armor:

forehead - 45 mm;
side - 40 mm.

Gun - 76 mm. The T-34-76 was the most popular tank that took part in the Battle of Kursk (70% of all tanks).

Source: lurkmore.to

Light tank, also known as “firefly” (slang from WoT). Armor - 35-15 mm, gun - 45 mm. The number on the battlefield is 20-25%.

Source: warfiles.ru

A heavy vehicle with a 76mm barrel, named after the Russian revolutionary and Soviet military leader Klim Voroshilov.

Source: mirtankov.su

KV-1S

He is also “Kvass”. High-speed modification of the KV-1. “Fast” implies reducing armor in order to increase the maneuverability of the tank. This doesn't make it any easier for the crew.

Source: wiki.warthunder.ru

SU-152

Heavy self-propelled artillery unit, built on the basis of the KV-1S, armed with a 152 mm howitzer. In the Kursk Bulge there were 2 regiments, that is, 24 pieces.

Source: worldoftanks.ru

SU-122

Medium-heavy self-propelled gun with a 122-mm pipe. 7 regiments, that is, 84 pieces, were thrown into the “execution near Kursk”.

Source: vspomniv.ru

Churchill

Lend-Lease Churchills also fought on the side of the Soviets - no more than a couple of dozen. The armor of the animals is 102-76 mm, the gun is 57 mm.

Source: tanki-v-boju.ru

Ground armored vehicles of the Third Reich

Full name: Panzerkampfwagen III. Popularly known as PzKpfw III, Panzer III, Pz III. Medium tank, with a 37 mm cannon. Armor - 30-20 mm. Nothing special.

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