Battle of Kursk. USSR in World War II: Great Patriotic War
Battle of Kursk in terms of its scale, military as well as political significance, it is rightfully considered one of the key battles not only of the Great Patriotic War, but also of the Second World War. The battle on the Kursk Bulge finally established the power of the Red Army and completely broke the morale of the Wehrmacht forces. After it, the German army completely lost its offensive potential.
The Battle of Kursk, or as it is also called in Russian historiography - the Battle of the Kursk Bulge - is one of the decisive battles during the Great Patriotic War, which took place in the summer of 1943 (July 5-August 23).
Historians call the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk the two most significant victories of the Red Army against the forces of the Wehrmacht, which completely turned the tide of hostilities.
In this article, we will learn the date of the Battle of Kursk and its role and significance during the war, as well as its causes, course and results.
The historical significance of the Battle of Kursk can hardly be overestimated. If it were not for the exploits of the Soviet soldiers during the battle, the Germans were able to seize the initiative on the Eastern Front and resume the offensive, moving again to Moscow and Leningrad. During the battle, the Red Army defeated most of the combat-ready units of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front, and he lost the opportunity to use fresh reserves, as they were already depleted.
In honor of the victory, August 23 forever became the Day of Russian Military Glory. In addition, the largest and bloodiest tank battle in history took place during the battles, as well as a huge amount of aircraft and other types of equipment.
The Battle of Kursk is also called the Battle of the Fiery Arc - all because of essential this operation and the bloody battles that took hundreds of thousands of lives.
The Battle of Stalingrad, which took place earlier than the Battle of Kursk, completely destroyed the plans of the Germans regarding the rapid capture of the USSR. According to the Barbarossa plan and the blitzkrieg tactics, the Germans tried to take the USSR in one fell swoop even before winter. Now the Soviet Union gathered its strength and was able to seriously challenge the Wehrmacht.
During the Battle of Kursk on July 5-August 23, 1943, according to historians, at least 200 thousand soldiers died, more than half a million were wounded. At the same time, it is important to note that many historians consider these figures to be underestimated and the losses of the parties in the Battle of Kursk may be much more significant. Mostly foreign historians speak about the bias of these data.
Intelligence service
A huge role in the victory over Germany was played by Soviet intelligence, which was able to learn about the so-called Operation Citadel. Soviet intelligence officers began to receive messages about this operation as early as the beginning of 1943. On April 12, 1943, a document was placed on the table of the Soviet leader, which contained complete information about the operation - the date of its implementation, tactics and strategy. German army. It was hard to imagine what would happen if intelligence did not do its job. Probably, the Germans would still have managed to break through the Russian defenses, since the preparations for Operation Citadel were serious - they were preparing for it no worse than for Operation Barbarossa.
At the moment, historians are not sure exactly who delivered this crucial knowledge to Stalin. It is believed that this information was obtained by one of the British intelligence officers John Cancross, as well as a member of the so-called "Cambridge Five" (a group of British intelligence officers that was recruited by the USSR in the early 1930s and worked for two governments at once).
There is also an opinion that intelligence officers of the Dora group, namely the Hungarian intelligence officer Sandor Rado, transmitted information about the plans of the German command.
Some historians believe that one of the most famous intelligence officers of the Second World War period, Rudolf Ressler, who at that time was in Switzerland, transferred all the information about Operation Citadel to Moscow.
Significant support for the USSR was provided by British agents who were not recruited by the Union. During the Ultra program, British intelligence managed to hack the German Lorenz cipher machine, which transmitted messages between members of the top leadership of the Third Reich. The first step was to intercept plans for a summer offensive in the Kursk and Belgorod region, after which this information was immediately sent to Moscow.
Before the start of the Battle of Kursk, Zhukov claimed that as soon as he saw the future battlefield, he already knew how the strategic offensive of the German army would go. However, there is no confirmation of his words - it is believed that in his memoirs he simply exaggerates his strategic talent.
Thus, the Soviet Union knew about all the details of the offensive operation "Citadel" and was able to adequately prepare for it, so as not to leave the Germans a chance to win.
Preparing for battle
At the beginning of 1943, offensive actions were carried out by the German and Soviet armies, which led to the formation of a ledge in the center of the Soviet-German front, reaching a depth of 150 kilometers. This ledge was called the "Kursk Bulge". In April, it became clear to both sides that one of the key battles that could decide the outcome of the war on the Eastern Front would soon begin over this ledge.
There was no consensus in the German headquarters. For a long time, Hitler could not work out an exact strategy for the summer of 1943. Many generals, including Manstein, were opposed to the offensive at the moment. He believed that the offensive would make sense if it began right now, and not in the summer, when the Red Army could prepare for it. The rest either believed that it was time to go on the defensive, or to launch an offensive in the summer.
Despite the fact that the most experienced commander of the Reich (Manshetein) was against it, Hitler nevertheless agreed to launch an offensive in early July 1943.
The Battle of Kursk in 1943 is the Union's chance to consolidate the initiative after the victory at Stalingrad, and therefore the preparation of the operation was treated with a previously unprecedented seriousness.
The state of affairs at the headquarters of the USSR was much better. Stalin was aware of the plans of the Germans, he had a numerical advantage in infantry, tanks, guns and aircraft. Knowing how and when the Germans would advance, the Soviet soldiers prepared defensive fortifications to meet them and set up minefields to repel the attack, and then go on the counteroffensive. A huge role in the successful defense was played by the experience of Soviet military leaders, who, in two years of hostilities, were still able to work out the tactics and strategy of warfare of the best military leaders of the Reich. The fate of Operation Citadel was sealed before it even began.
Plans and forces of the parties
The German command planned to conduct a major offensive operation on the Kursk Bulge under the name (code name) "Citadel". In order to destroy the Soviet defense, the Germans decided to inflict descending strikes from the north (the region of the city of Orel) and from the south (the region of the city of Belgorod). Having broken the enemy defenses, the Germans were to unite in the area of the city of Kursk, thus taking the troops of the Voronezh and Central fronts into a complete encirclement. In addition, the German tank units were supposed to turn east - to the village of Prokhorovka, and destroy the armored reserves of the Red Army so that they could not come to the aid of the main forces and help them get out of the encirclement. Such tactics were not at all new for German generals. Their tank flanking attacks worked for four. Using such tactics, they were able to conquer almost all of Europe and inflict many crushing defeats on the Red Army in 1941-1942.
To carry out Operation Citadel, the Germans concentrated in Eastern Ukraine, on the territory of Belarus and Russia, 50 divisions with a total number of 900 thousand people. Of these, 18 divisions were armored and motorized. Such a large number of Panzer divisions were commonplace for the Germans. The forces of the Wehrmacht have always used lightning-fast attacks of tank units in order not to give the enemy even a chance to group up and fight back. In 1939, it was the tank divisions that played a key role in the capture of France, which surrendered before it could fight.
The commanders-in-chief of the Wehrmacht were Field Marshal von Kluge (Army Group Center) and Field Marshal Manstein (Army Group South). The strike forces were commanded by Field Marshal Model, the 4th Panzer Army and the Kempf task force were commanded by General Herman Goth.
The German army before the start of the battle received the long-awaited tank reserves. Hitler sent more than 100 heavy Tiger tanks, almost 200 Panther tanks (first used at the Battle of Kursk) and less than a hundred Ferdinand or Elefant (Elephant) tank destroyers to the Eastern Front.
"Tigers", "Panthers" and "Ferdinands" - were one of the most powerful tanks during the Second World War. Neither the Allies nor the USSR at that time had tanks that could boast such firepower and armor. If the "Tigers" Soviet soldiers have already seen and learned to fight against them, then the "Panthers" and "Ferdinands" caused a lot of problems on the battlefield.
The Panthers are medium tanks that are slightly less armored than the Tigers and were armed with a 7.5 cm KwK 42 cannon. These guns had an excellent rate of fire and fired over long distances with great accuracy.
"Ferdinand" is a heavy self-propelled anti-tank installation (PT-ACS), which was one of the most famous during the Second World War. Despite the fact that its numbers were small, it offered serious resistance to the tanks of the USSR, as it possessed at that time almost the best armor and firepower. During the Battle of Kursk, the Ferdinands showed their power, perfectly withstanding hits from anti-tank guns, and even coped with artillery hits. However, its main problem was the small number of anti-personnel machine guns, and therefore the tank destroyer was very vulnerable to infantry, which could get close to it and blow them up. It was simply impossible to destroy these tanks with head-on shots. The weak points were on the sides, where they later learned to shoot with sub-caliber shells. The weakest point in the defense of the tank is the weak chassis, which was disabled, and then the stationary tank was captured.
In total, Manstein and Kluge received less than 350 new tanks at their disposal, which was catastrophically insufficient, given the number of Soviet armored forces. It is also worth highlighting that approximately 500 tanks used during the Battle of Kursk were obsolete models. These are the Pz.II and Pz.III tanks, which were already irrelevant at that time.
During the Battle of Kursk, the 2nd Panzer Army included elite Panzerwaffe tank units, including the 1st SS Panzer Division "Adolf Hitler", the 2nd SS Panzer Division "DasReich" and the famous 3rd Panzer Division "Totenkopf" (she or "Death's Head").
The Germans had a modest number of aircraft to support infantry and tanks - about 2,500 thousand units. In terms of guns and mortars, the German army was more than twice as inferior to the Soviet one, and some sources point to a threefold advantage of the USSR in guns and mortars.
The Soviet command realized its mistakes in conducting defensive operations in 1941-1942. This time they built a powerful defensive line that could hold off the massive offensive of the German armored forces. According to the plans of the command, the Red Army was to wear down the enemy with defensive battles, and then launch a counteroffensive at the most disadvantageous moment for the enemy.
During the Battle of Kursk, the commander of the Central Front was one of the most talented and productive army generals, Konstantin Rokossovsky. His troops took on the task of defending the northern front of the Kursk salient. The commander of the Voronezh Front on the Kursk Bulge was General of the Army Nikolai Vatutin, a native of the Voronezh Region, on whose shoulders the task of defending the southern front of the ledge fell. Marshals of the USSR Georgy Zhukov and Alexander Vasilevsky were in charge of coordinating the actions of the Red Army.
The ratio of the number of troops was far from on the side of Germany. According to estimates, the Central and Voronezh fronts had 1.9 million soldiers, including units of the troops of the Steppe Front (Steppe Military District). The number of Wehrmacht fighters did not exceed 900 thousand people. In terms of the number of tanks, Germany was less than two times inferior to 2.5 thousand against less than 5 thousand. As a result, the balance of power before the Battle of Kursk looked like this: 2:1 in favor of the USSR. The historian of the Great Patriotic War Alexei Isaev says that the size of the Red Army during the battle is overestimated. His point of view is subject to great criticism, since he does not take into account the troops of the Steppe Front (the number of soldiers of the Steppe Front who participated in the operations totaled more than 500 thousand people).
Kursk defensive operation
Before giving a full description of the events on the Kursk Bulge, it is important to show a map of actions in order to make it easier to navigate the information. Battle of Kursk on the map:
This picture shows the scheme of the Battle of Kursk. The map of the Battle of Kursk can clearly show how combat formations acted during the battle. On the map of the Battle of Kursk you will also see conventions to help you digest the information.
The Soviet generals received all the necessary orders - the defense was strong and the Germans were soon waiting for resistance, which the Wehrmacht had not received in the entire history of its existence. On the day that the Battle of Kursk began, the Soviet army brought a huge amount of artillery to the front to give a response artillery barrage that the Germans would not expect.
The beginning of the Battle of Kursk (defensive stage) was planned for the morning of July 5 - the offensive was to take place immediately from the northern and southern fronts. Before the tank attack, the Germans carried out large-scale bombardments, to which the Soviet army responded in kind. At this point, the German command (namely Field Marshal Manstein) began to realize that the Russians had learned about Operation Citadel and were able to prepare the defense. Manstein repeatedly told Hitler that this offensive at the moment no longer made sense. He believed that it was necessary to carefully prepare the defense and try first to repulse the Red Army and only then think about counterattacks.
Start - Arc of Fire
On the northern front, the offensive began at six o'clock in the morning. The Germans attacked a little west of the Cherkasy direction. The first tank attacks ended in failure for the Germans. A solid defense led to heavy losses in the German armored units. And yet the enemy managed to break through 10 kilometers deep. On the southern front, the offensive began at three o'clock in the morning. The main blows fell on the settlements of Oboyan and Korochi.
The Germans could not break through the defenses of the Soviet troops, as they were carefully prepared for battle. Even the elite panzer divisions of the Wehrmacht were hardly moving forward. As soon as it became clear that the German forces could not break through on the northern and southern fronts, the command decided that it was necessary to strike in the direction of Prokhorov.
On July 11, fierce fighting began near the village of Prokhorovka, which escalated into the largest tank battle in history. Soviet tanks in the Battle of Kursk outnumbered the German ones, but despite this, the enemy resisted to the end. July 13-23 - The Germans are still trying to carry out offensive attacks, which end in failure. On July 23, the enemy completely exhausted his offensive potential and decided to go on the defensive.
tank battle
It is difficult to say how many tanks were involved on both sides, since the data from various sources differ. If we take the average data, then the number of tanks of the USSR reached about 1 thousand vehicles. Whereas the Germans had about 700 tanks.
The tank battle (battle) during the defensive operation on the Kursk Bulge took place on July 12, 1943. Enemy attacks on Prokhorovka began immediately from the western and southern directions. Four panzer divisions were advancing in the west and about 300 more tanks were heading in from the south.
The battle began early in the morning and the Soviet troops gained an advantage, as the rising sun shone on the Germans directly into the viewing devices of the tanks. The battle formations of the parties mixed up quite quickly, and already a few hours after the start of the battle it was difficult to make out where whose tanks were.
The Germans found themselves in a very difficult position, since the main strength of their tanks was in long-range guns, which were useless in close combat, and the tanks themselves were very slow, while in this situation much was decided by maneuverability. The 2nd and 3rd tank (anti-tank) armies of the Germans were defeated near Kursk. The Russian tanks, on the contrary, gained an advantage, as they had a chance to target the weak spots of heavily armored German tanks, and they themselves were very maneuverable (especially the famous T-34s).
However, the Germans nevertheless gave a serious rebuff from their anti-tank guns, which undermined the morale of the Russian tankers - the fire was so dense that the soldiers and tanks did not have time and could not form orders.
While the bulk of the tank troops were tied up in battle, the Germans decided to use the Kempf tank group, which was advancing on the left flank of the Soviet troops. To repel this attack, the tank reserves of the Red Army had to be used. In the southern direction, by 14.00, Soviet troops began to push the German tank units, which did not have fresh reserves. In the evening, the battlefield was already far behind the Soviet tank units and the battle was won.
Tank losses on both sides during the battle of Prokhorovka during the Kursk defensive operation looked like this:
- about 250 Soviet tanks;
- 70 German tanks.
The above figures are irretrievable losses. The number of damaged tanks was much larger. For example, the Germans after the battle of Prokhorovka had only 1/10 fully combat-ready vehicles.
The battle of Prokhorovka is called the largest tank battle in history, but this is not entirely true. In fact, this is the largest tank battle that took place in just one day. But the largest battle took place two years earlier also between the forces of the Germans and the USSR on the Eastern Front near Dubno. During this battle, which began on June 23, 1941, 4,500 tanks collided with each other. The Soviet Union had 3700 pieces of equipment, while the Germans had only 800 units.
Despite such a numerical advantage of the tank units of the Union, there was not a single chance of victory. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the quality of the German tanks was much higher - they were armed with new models with good anti-tank armor and weapons. Secondly, in Soviet military thought at that time there was a principle that "tanks do not fight tanks." Most of the tanks in the USSR at that time had only bulletproof armor and could not penetrate the thick German armor themselves. That is why the first largest tank battle was a catastrophic failure for the USSR.
Results of the defensive phase of the battle
The defensive stage of the Battle of Kursk ended on July 23, 1943 with the complete victory of the Soviet troops and the crushing defeat of the Wehrmacht forces. As a result of bloody battles, the German army was exhausted and drained of blood, a significant number of tanks were either destroyed or partially lost their combat effectiveness. The German tanks participating in the battle near Prokhorovka were almost completely disabled, destroyed or fell into the hands of the enemy.
The ratio of losses during the defensive phase of the Battle of Kursk was as follows: 4.95:1. The Soviet army lost five times as many soldiers, while the German losses were much smaller. However, a huge number of German soldiers were wounded, as well as tank troops were destroyed, which significantly undermined the combat power of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front.
As a result of the defensive operation, the Soviet troops reached the line, which they occupied before the German offensive, which began on July 5. The Germans went on the defensive.
During the Battle of Kursk there was a radical change. After the Germans exhausted their offensive capabilities, the Red Army counteroffensive began on the Kursk Bulge. From July 17 to July 23, the Izyum-Barvenkovskaya offensive operation was carried out by Soviet troops.
The operation was carried out by the Southwestern Front of the Red Army. Its key goal was to pin down the Donbas grouping of the enemy so that the enemy could not transfer fresh reserves to the Kursk salient. Despite the fact that the enemy threw his almost best tank divisions into battle, the forces of the South Western front nevertheless, they managed to capture bridgeheads and with powerful blows to tie down and surround the Donbass group of Germans. Thus, the Southwestern Front significantly helped in the defense of the Kursk Bulge.
Miusskaya offensive operation
From July 17 to August 2, 1943, the Mius offensive operation was also carried out. The main task of the Soviet troops during the operation was to pull the fresh reserves of the Germans from the Kursk Bulge to the Donbass and defeat the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht. To repel the attack in the Donbass, the Germans had to transfer significant aviation and tank units to defend the city. Despite the fact that the Soviet troops failed to break through the German defenses near the Donbass, they still managed to significantly weaken the offensive on the Kursk Bulge.
The offensive phase of the Battle of Kursk continued successfully for the Red Army. The next important battles on the Kursk Bulge took place near Orel and Kharkov - the offensive operations were called "Kutuzov" and "Rumyantsev".
The offensive operation "Kutuzov" began on July 12, 1943 in the area of the city of Orel, where two German armies opposed the Soviet troops. As a result of bloody battles, the Germans were unable to hold bridgeheads on July 26, they retreated. Already on August 5, the city of Orel was liberated by the Red Army. It was on August 5, 1943, for the first time in the entire period of hostilities with Germany, that a small parade with fireworks took place in the capital of the USSR. Thus, it can be judged that the liberation of Orel was an extremely important task for the Red Army, which it successfully coped with.
Offensive operation "Rumyantsev"
The next main event of the Battle of Kursk during its offensive phase began on August 3, 1943 on the southern face of the arc. As already mentioned, this strategic offensive was called "Rumyantsev". The operation was carried out by the forces of the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts.
Already two days after the start of the operation - on August 5, the city of Belgorod was liberated from the Nazis. And two days later, the forces of the Red Army liberated the city of Bogodukhov. During the offensive on August 11, Soviet soldiers managed to cut the Kharkov-Poltava railway communication line of the Germans. Despite all the counterattacks of the German army, the forces of the Red Army continued to advance. As a result of fierce fighting on August 23, the city of Kharkov was recaptured.
The battle for the Kursk Bulge was already won by the Soviet troops at that moment. This was understood by the German command, but Hitler gave a clear order to "stand to the last."
The Mginskaya offensive operation began on July 22 and continued until August 22, 1943. The main goals of the USSR were as follows: to finally thwart the plan of the German offensive against Leningrad, prevent the enemy from transferring forces to the west and completely destroy the 18th Wehrmacht Army.
The operation began with a powerful artillery strike in the enemy direction. The forces of the parties at the time of the start of the operation on the Kursk Bulge looked like this: 260 thousand soldiers and about 600 tanks on the side of the USSR, and 100 thousand people and 150 tanks on the side of the Wehrmacht.
Despite strong artillery preparation, the German army put up fierce resistance. Although the forces of the Red Army managed to immediately capture the first echelon of the enemy's defense, they could not advance further.
In early August 1943, having received fresh reserves, the Red Army again began to attack German positions. Thanks to the numerical superiority and powerful mortar fire, the Soviet soldiers managed to capture the enemy's defensive fortifications in the village of Porechie. However, the spacecraft again could not advance further - the German defense was too dense.
A fierce battle between the opposing sides during the operation unfolded for Sinyaevo and Sinyaevo Heights, which were captured by Soviet troops several times, and then they passed back to the Germans. The fighting was fierce and both sides suffered heavy losses. The German defense was so strong that the command of the spacecraft decided to stop the offensive operation on August 22, 1943 and go on the defensive. Thus, the Mginskaya offensive operation did not bring final success, although it played an important strategic role. To repel this attack, the Germans had to use the reserves, which were supposed to go to Kursk.
Smolensk offensive operation
Until the Soviet counter-offensive in the Battle of Kursk 1943 began, it was extremely important for the Headquarters to defeat as many enemy units as possible, which the Wehrmacht could send under the Course to contain the Soviet troops. To weaken the defense of the enemy and deprive him of the help of reserves, the Smolensk offensive operation was carried out. The Smolensk direction adjoined the western region of the Kursk salient. The operation was codenamed "Suvorov" and began on August 7, 1943. The offensive was launched by the forces of the left wing of the Kalinin Front, as well as the entire Western Front.
The operation ended in success, as in its course the beginning of the liberation of Belarus was laid. However, most importantly, the commanders of the Battle of Kursk achieved the pinning down of as many as 55 enemy divisions, preventing them from going to Kursk - this significantly increased the chances of the Red Army forces during the counteroffensive near Kursk.
To weaken the positions of the enemy near Kursk, the Red Army carried out another operation - the Donbass Offensive. The parties' plans for the Donbas basin were very serious, because this place served as an important economic center - the Donetsk mines were extremely important for the USSR and Germany. There was a huge German grouping in the Donbass, which numbered more than 500 thousand people.
The operation began on August 13, 1943 and was carried out by the forces of the Southwestern Front. On August 16, the Red Army forces met serious resistance on the Mius River, where there was a heavily fortified defensive line. On August 16, the forces of the Southern Front entered the battle, which managed to break through the enemy defenses. Especially in the battles, the 67th showed up from all the regiments. The successful offensive continued and already on August 30, the spacecraft liberated the city of Taganrog.
On August 23, 1943, the offensive phase of the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of Kursk itself ended, however, the Donbass offensive operation continued - the forces of the spacecraft had to push the enemy across the Dnieper River.
Now important strategic positions were lost for the Germans and the threat of dismemberment and death hung over Army Group South. To prevent this, the leader of the Third Reich nevertheless allowed her to move beyond the Dnieper.
On September 1, all German units in the area began to retreat from the Donbass. On September 5, Gorlovka was liberated, and three days later, during the fighting, Stalino was taken or, as the city is now called, Donetsk.
The retreat for the German army was very difficult. The Wehrmacht forces were running out of ammunition for artillery pieces. During the retreat, the German soldiers actively used the tactics of "scorched earth". The Germans killed civilians and burned villages as well as small towns along their path. During the Battle of Kursk in 1943, retreating in cities, the Germans plundered everything that came to hand.
On September 22, the Germans were thrown back across the Dnieper River in the area of the cities of Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk. After that, the Donbas offensive operation came to an end, ending with the complete success of the Red Army.
All the operations undertaken above led to the fact that the Wehrmacht forces, as a result of the fighting in the Battle of Kursk, were forced to withdraw beyond the Dnieper in order to build new defensive lines. The victory in the Battle of Kursk was the result of the increased courage and fighting spirit of Soviet soldiers, the skill of commanders and the competent use of military equipment.
The Battle of Kursk in 1943, and then the Battle of the Dnieper, finally secured the initiative on the Eastern Front for the USSR. No one else doubted that the victory in the Great Patriotic War would be for the USSR. This was understood by the allies of Germany, who began to gradually abandon the Germans, leaving the Reich even less chance.
Many historians also believe that the Allied offensive on the island of Sicily, which at that moment was occupied mainly by Italian troops, played an important role in the victory over the Germans during the Battle of Kursk.
On July 10, the Allies launched an offensive in Sicily and the Italian troops surrendered to the British and American forces with little or no resistance. This greatly spoiled Hitler's plans, since in order to hold Western Europe he had to transfer part of the troops from the Eastern Front, which again weakened the position of the Germans near Kursk. Already on July 10, Manstein told Hitler that the offensive near Kursk must be stopped and went into deep defense across the Dnieper River, but Hitler still hoped that the enemy would not be able to defeat the Wehrmacht.
Everyone knows that the Battle of Kursk during the Great Patriotic War was bloody and the date of its beginning is associated with the death of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. However, there were also funny (interesting) facts during the Battle of Kursk. One of these cases is associated with the KV-1 tank.
During a tank battle, one of the Soviet KV-1 tanks stalled and the crew ran out of ammunition. He was opposed by two German Pz.IV tanks, which could not penetrate the armor of the KV-1. German tankers tried to get to the Soviet crew by sawing through the armor, but nothing came of it. Then two Pz.IVs decided to drag the KV-1 to their base in order to deal with the tankers there. They hitched up the KV-1 and started towing it. Somewhere in the middle of the way, the KV-1 engine suddenly started up and the Soviet tank dragged two Pz.IVs with it to its base. The German tankers were shocked and simply abandoned their tanks.
Results of the Battle of Kursk
If the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad ended the period of defense of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War, then the end of the Battle of Kursk marked a radical turning point in the course of hostilities.
After the report (message) on the victory in the Battle of Kursk came to Stalin's desk, the Secretary General said that this was only the beginning and very soon the Red Army troops would oust the Germans from the occupied territories of the USSR.
The events after the Battle of Kursk, of course, did not unfold simply for the Red Army. The victories were accompanied by huge losses, because the enemy stubbornly held the defense.
The liberation of cities after the Battle of Kursk continued, for example, already in November 1943, the capital of the Ukrainian SSR, the city of Kyiv, was liberated.
A very important result of the Battle of Kursk - change in the attitude of the allies towards the USSR. In a report to the US President, written in August, it was said that the USSR now occupies a dominant position in World War II. There is proof of this. If Germany allocated only two divisions for the defense of Sicily from the combined troops of Great Britain and the United States, then on the Eastern Front the USSR attracted the attention of two hundred German divisions.
The United States was very worried about the successes of the Russians on the Eastern Front. Roosevelt said that if the USSR continued to pursue such success, the opening of a "second front" would be unnecessary and the United States would then not be able to influence the fate of Europe without benefit to itself. Therefore, the opening of a "second front" should follow as soon as possible while US assistance was needed at all.
The failure of Operation Citadel led to the disruption of further strategic offensive operations of the Wehrmacht, which were already prepared for execution. The victory near Kursk would allow developing an offensive against Leningrad, and after that the Germans went to occupy Sweden.
The result of the Battle of Kursk was the undermining of Germany's authority among its allies. The successes of the USSR on the Eastern Front made it possible for the Americans and the British to turn around in Western Europe. After such a crushing defeat of Germany, the leader of fascist Italy, Benito Mussolini, broke off agreements with Germany and left the war. Thus, Hitler lost his true ally.
Success, of course, had to be paid dearly. The losses of the USSR in the Battle of Kursk were huge, as, indeed, were the German ones. The balance of power has already been shown above - now it's worth looking at the losses in the Battle of Kursk.
In fact, it is rather difficult to establish the exact number of deaths, since data from different sources vary greatly. Many historians take average figures - these are 200 thousand dead and three times as many wounded. The least optimistic data speaks of more than 800 thousand dead on both sides and the same number of wounded. The parties also lost a huge number of tanks and equipment. Aviation in the Battle of Kursk played almost a key role and the loss of aircraft amounted to about 4 thousand units on both sides. At the same time, aviation losses are the only ones where the Red Army lost no more than the German one - each lost about 2 thousand aircraft. For example, the ratio of human losses looks like this 5:1 or 4:1 according to various sources. Based on the characteristics of the Battle of Kursk, we can conclude that the effectiveness of Soviet aircraft at this stage of the war was in no way inferior to the German ones, while at the beginning of hostilities the situation was radically different.
Soviet soldiers near Kursk showed extraordinary heroism. Their exploits were even celebrated abroad, especially by American and British publications. The heroism of the Red Army was also noted by the German generals, including Manshein, who was considered the best commander of the Reich. Several hundred thousand soldiers received awards "For participation in the Battle of Kursk."
Another interesting fact- children also participated in the Battle of Kursk. Of course, they did not fight on the front lines, but they provided serious support in the rear. They helped deliver supplies and shells. And before the start of the battle, hundreds of kilometers were built with the help of children railways, which were needed for the rapid transport of military and supplies.
Finally, it is important to fix all the data. Date of the end and beginning of the Battle of Kursk: July 5 and August 23, 1943.
Key dates of the Battle of Kursk:
- July 5 - 23, 1943 - Kursk strategic defensive operation;
- July 23 - August 23, 1943 - Kursk strategic offensive operation;
- July 12, 1943 - a bloody tank battle near Prokhorovka;
- July 17 - 27, 1943 - Izyum-Barvenkovskaya offensive operation;
- July 17 - August 2, 1943 - Miusskaya offensive operation;
- July 12 - August 18, 1943 - Oryol strategic offensive operation "Kutuzov";
- August 3 - 23, 1943 - Belgorod-Kharkov strategic offensive operation "Rumyantsev";
- July 22 - August 23, 1943 - Mginskaya offensive operation;
- August 7 - October 2, 1943 - Smolensk offensive operation;
- August 13 - September 22, 1943 - Donbass offensive operation.
Results of the Battle of the Fiery Arc:
- a radical turn of events during the Great Patriotic War and World War II;
- complete fiasco of the German campaign to seize the USSR;
- the Nazis lost confidence in the invincibility of the German army, which lowered the morale of the soldiers and led to conflicts in the ranks of the command.
Kursk battle lasted 50 days and nights - from July 5 to August 23, 1943. Before the Battle of Kursk, Germany celebrated little success, having managed to recapture the cities of Belgorod and Kharkov. Hitler, seeing a short-term success, decided to develop it. The offensive was planned for the Kursk Bulge. The salient, cut into the depths of German territory, could be surrounded and captured. The operation, approved on May 10-11, was called "Citadel".
Side forces
The advantage was on the side of the Red Army. The number of Soviet troops was 1,200,000 people (versus 900,000 for the enemy), the number of tanks - 3,500 (2,700 for the Germans) units, guns - 20,000 (10,000), aircraft 2,800 (2,500).
The German army was replenished with heavy (medium) tanks "Tiger" ("Panther"), self-propelled guns (ACS) "Ferdinand", aircraft "Focke-Wulf 190". An innovation from the Soviet side was the "St.
Side Plans
The Germans decided to deliver a lightning strike, quickly capture the Kursk salient, and then continue a large-scale offensive. The Soviet side decided at first to defend itself, inflicting counterattacks, and when the enemy was exhausted and exhausted, to go on the offensive.
Defense
It was possible to find out that Battle of Kursk will begin on 07/05/1943. Therefore, at 2:30 and 4:30, the Central Front carried out two half-hour artillery counterattacks. At 5:00, the enemy's guns responded, and then the enemy went on the offensive, exerting strong pressure (2.5 hours) on the right flank in the direction of the village of Olkhovatka.
When the attack was repulsed, the Germans intensified the onslaught on the left flank. They even managed to partially encircle two (15, 81) Soviet divisions, but failed to break through the front (advance 6-8 km). Then the Germans made an attempt to capture the Ponyri station in order to control the Oryol-Kursk railway.
170 tanks and self-propelled guns "Ferdinand" broke through the first line of defense on July 6, but the second survived. On July 7, the enemy came close to the station. The 200 mm frontal armor became impenetrable for Soviet guns. Ponyri station was held by anti-tank mines and powerful Soviet air raids.
The tank battle near the village of Prokhorovka (Voronezh Front) lasted 6 days (10-16). Almost 1200 tanks on both sides. The overall victory was for the Red Army, but more than 300 tanks were lost against 80 of the opponent. Medium tanks The T-34s could hardly withstand the heavy Tigers, and the light T-70 was generally unsuitable in open areas. This is where the losses come from.
Offensive.
While the troops of the Voronezh and Central Fronts were repulsing enemy attacks, units of the Western and Bryansk Fronts (July 12) went over to the attack. Within three days (12-14), waging heavy fighting, the Soviet army was able to advance up to 25 kilometers.
And on July 15, the Central Front also launched an offensive. After 10 days, the Red Army captured the Orlovsky bridgehead, and on August 5, the city of Orel and Belgorod.
August 23, when Kharkov was taken, is considered the day of the end of the Battle of Kursk, although the fighting in the city stopped on August 30.
№1 Fill in the empty cells of the table using the data in the list below
1) M. A. Egorov, M. V. Kantaria 2) September 1941 - April 19423) Ya. F. Pavlov 4) Battle of Kursk
№2
Eventthe date
Member(s)
Operation "Bagration"
__________(BUT)
I. Kh. Bagramyan, I. D. Chernyakhovsky
Operation Overlord
__________(B)
__________(AT)
__________(G)
August-December 1943
G. K. Zhukov, I. S. KonevK. K. Rokossovsky
Battle for Moscow
__________(D)
__________(E)
1) M. A. Egorov, M. V. Kantaria 2) September 1941 - April 1942
3) D. Eisenhower 4) Battle of Kursk
№ 3. Fill in the empty cells of the table using the data presented in the list below.
1) November-December 1943 2) Vistula-Oder operation5) I. V. Stalin, F. D. Roosevelt, W. Churchill 6) June-August 1944
7) August 9-September 2, 1945 8) I. S. Konev 9) Iasi-Kishinev operation
№ 4 Fill in the empty cells of the table using the data presented in the list below.
EventName locality(territories)
Year
__________(BUT)
v. Prokhorovka
__________(B)
__________(AT)
Stalingrad
1942
The first air night ram during the Great Patriotic War
__________(G)
__________(D)
The first meeting of Soviet and American troops during the Great Patriotic War
__________(E)
1945
1) Torgau 2) 1943 3) Moscow and Moscow Region 4) Budapest
5) the encirclement of the 6th German army under the command of F. Paulus 6) the first meeting of the leaders of the "Big Three" countries 7) 1941. 8) the largest tank battle during the Great Patriotic War 9) 1944
№5. What event of the Great Patriotic War is shown on the map.
№6. What military operation of the Great Patriotic War is marked on the map.
№7. Write the name of the city indicated on the diagram by the number "4".
№8. Indicate the name of the city, indicated on the diagram by the number "2", in the area of \u200b\u200bwhich the troops of the two fronts of the Red Army united.
Municipal educational institution
Upper Toiden Secondary School
An essay about:
"Battle of Kursk"
Prepared
Kononova Love
15 years old (childhood disabled)
2009 – 2010 academic year
Russia, beloved Motherland,
We will not forget your military days,
You were proud of your strength in all ages,
their invincible sons.
And how near Prokhorovka in the summer of forty-three,
two forces met in a tank battle.
They stood to death, and left for immortality
My grandfather and great-grandfather, having become in the same ranks ...
E. Likarchuk.
In the history of our state there are events that do not fade in the memory of generations. With a deep spiritual and moral connection, they connect the past and the present, reconcile our responsibility to the future. This is how we evaluate the years of the Great Patriotic War. Today, on the eve of the 65th anniversary of the Victory in this war, not only the greatness of the national feat, but also its human dimension appears with particular clarity. The military merits of the Soviet people are invaluable.
The Great Patriotic War claimed a lot human lives. People fought for their Fatherland. There were a lot of battles during the war, but I was especially struck by the battle on the Kursk Bulge near the village of Prokhorovka. It was the largest tank battle of World War II. It happened on July 12, 1943. The German command, after the defeat of its troops at Stalingrad, intended to conduct a major offensive operation in the Kursk region (Operation Citadel). Significant enemy forces were involved in its implementation - 50 divisions (including 16 tank and mechanized) and a number of separate parts Army Group "Center" (General - Field Marshal G. Kluge) and Army Group "South" (General - Field Marshal E. Manstein). As part of the enemy strike groups, there were over 900 thousand people, about 10 thousand guns and mortars, up to 2700 tanks and self-propelled guns (most of them were new designs - "tigers", "panthers" and "Ferdinands") and about 2050 aircraft. The German-fascist command attached decisive importance to this offensive. It was to end with a quick and decisive success. The general plan of the operation was as follows: with two simultaneous counter strikes in the general direction to Kursk - from Orel to the south and from the Kharkov region to the north - to encircle and destroy the troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts on the Kursk ledge. The subsequent offensive operations of the Wehrmacht were made dependent on the results of the battle on the Kursk Bulge. The success of these operations was to serve as a signal for an attack on Leningrad. The enemy prepared carefully for the operations. Soviet troops were also actively preparing for offensive operations. By the beginning of July, the Central and Voronezh Fronts had 1336 thousand people, over 19 thousand guns and mortars, 3444 tanks and self-propelled guns. In the rear of the Kursk ledge, the Steppe Military District (from July 9 - the front) was deployed, which was the strategic reserve of the Headquarters.
So, intense combat training took place in all ground and air forces, each fighter and commander was preparing to meet the enemy.
And this meeting took place .... The enemy offensive was to begin at 3 o'clock in the morning on July 5 . However, just before it began, the Soviet troops carried out artillery counter-preparation and inflicted heavy damage on the enemy in the places of his concentration. The German offensive began only after 2.5 hours, and its course was different from what was planned. Thanks to the measures taken, it was possible to restrain the advance of the enemy.
On July 12, the Bryansk Front and the reinforced 11th Guards Army of the Western Front went on the offensive and, despite the deeply echeloned, highly engineered defense and the stubborn resistance of the enemy, broke through it and began to move forward in the direction of Orel. So here, in the Orel region, the long-prepared Nazi general offensive finally failed. The German troops had to experience the bitterness of a heavy defeat and feel the power of Soviet weapons that fell with all their might on a hated enemy. However, in the Belgorod region, the enemy still inflicted very strong blows On July 6, a bloody battle broke out in the Oboyan direction. Many hundreds of aircraft, tanks and self-propelled guns simultaneously participated on both sides. But the enemy could not overturn the steel defense of our troops. Tankers and artillerymen courageously fought off repeated attacks of the enemy. Only on July 6, the enemy lost more than 200 tanks, tens of thousands of soldiers and about 100 combat aircraft here. Having pulled up reserves and regrouped his forces, the enemy at dawn on July 7 brought into action a new strong grouping of tanks. At the same time, their bulk was thrown against the 6th Guards Army and the 1st Tank Army in the direction of Oboyan - Prokhorovka. On the morning of July 7, fierce enemy attacks began again. In the air and on the ground there was an incessant rumble of battle, the rattle of tanks and the noise of engines. The troops of the Voronezh Front, fighting with strong aviation support, did not allow the enemy to break through the second line of defense, but he managed to wedge in somewhere.
Then the front command brought into action in this sector, which has now become dangerous, the 2nd and 5th Guards Tank Corps, as well as several rifle divisions and artillery units transferred from other directions.
In two days, the enemy lost less than 200 tanks and many other equipment. His infantry units already numbered no more than half of their original strength in their ranks. Having regrouped during July 10, its main forces into more narrow section, the enemy again threw them in the direction of Prokhorovka, hoping to crush our weakened troops. During July 11, a heavy battle continued in the Prokhorovka direction. By the end of the day, a dangerous crisis had set in on the sector of the Voronezh Front. According to the previously developed plan, the Stavka pulled up the 5th Guards Combined Arms and 5th Guards Tank Armies from its reserve here, to the Prokhorovka area, and on the morning of July 12 brought them into battle. On this day, the largest oncoming tank battle in history took place in the Prokhorovka area, in which 1200 tanks and self-propelled guns took part on both sides. Having entered the business, our troops had more than 800 tanks and self-propelled artillery installations in service. In total, the enemy had at least as many tanks in the Oboyan and Prokhorov directions, but the morale of his troops was already broken. The fierce fight lasted until late in the evening. . Clouds of dust and smoke hung over the battlefield. It was a turning point in the battle in the Belgorod direction. Bloodless and having lost faith in victory, the Nazi troops gradually switched to defensive operations. On July 16, the enemy finally stopped the attacks and began to withdraw their rear lines to Belgorod. The Voronezh Front and the troops of the Steppe Front, brought into battle on July 18, proceeded to pursue the enemy. By the end of July 23, they had basically restored the position that they had occupied before the start of the battle.
As a result of the Battle of Kursk, 30 enemy divisions (including 7 tank divisions) were completely defeated. The enemy lost over 500 thousand people, 1.5 thousand tanks, over 3.7 thousand aircraft, 3 thousand guns.
Thus, the plan of the Wehrmacht called "Citadel" to capture Orel, Kursk, Belgorod, the encirclement of the Red Army was thwarted. As in all other battles in Russian history, it was not the strength of the armor that won, but the strength of the Russian people, their wisdom, will, spirituality, deep faith in the holy just cause .
The battle in the area of Kursk, Orel and Belgorod is one of the greatest battles of the Great Patriotic War and World War II in general. Here, not only were select and powerful groups of Germans defeated, but faith in the Nazi fascist leadership and in Germany's ability to resist the growing might of the Soviet Union was irretrievably undermined in the German army and people.
So, the Nazis lost the greatest battle that they were preparing, straining all their strength and capabilities to take revenge for the defeat of their troops in 1942/43 on the Volga and near Leningrad.
More than half a century separates us from those formidable military springs, but the payment for the Victory will never depreciate. And about them, now living veterans, and those who did not come from the war, we simply must remember. After all, if they had not defeated the enemy, then we would not have been on earth. Let's always remember this. And about these details:
I've seen hand-to-hand combat many times.
Once - in reality and a thousand - in a dream.
Who says that war is not scary,
He knows nothing about the war.
These are poems by Yulia Drunina. They are about what has not yet been said the last word about war.
This is our pain, our memory and great gratitude to the fallen.
Literature: Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
"Memories and Reflections".
Volume 1 - 8th edition - Moscow; Press Agency News Publishing, 1987.
This period in the history of the Great Patriotic War is called the period of "radical change". It was at this time, after exhausting battles, that the initiative in the battles passed to the Red Army.
Of great importance in this period is the second stage of the Battle of Stalingrad on November 19 - February 2, 1943. It was the victory at Stalingrad that became the cause of all subsequent victories. During Operation Uranus, Generals Eremenko, Vatutin and Rokossovsky managed to encircle Paulus's army.
Army Group Don under the command of Erich von Manstein was unable to release the army, and, thanks to the skill of the Soviet commanders in chief and the heroism of the Russians, Paulus surrendered on January 31, and on January 2 the army finally admitted defeat. As a result of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, the morale of the Soviet people was raised, and the national liberation movement in Europe resumed with renewed vigor.
Another, no less significant event was the partial breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad on January 18, 1943. The Soviet command was interested in the liberation of the city, it had an important ideological and cultural significance, thousands of inhabitants also remained in it. The need to prepare for the operation was clear, but success was doubtful - many attempts had already been made to break through the blockade - the state of isolation of the city, during which the inhabitants could not be supplied with the necessities of life.
However, during Operation Iskra, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts under the command of Govorov and Meretskov managed to partially break through the blockade. The result of this important event was the improvement of life in the city, the people of Leningrad had hopes for the future, and a new patriotic upsurge took place in the ranks of the Red Army.
The Battle of Kursk on July 5 - August 23, 1943 continued the turning point in the Great Patriotic War. The reason for the battle was the emergence of the so-called "Kursk ledge" - the position of the Soviet troops in the form of an arc. The Germans intended to break through the front on both sides of the ledge and encircle the Russian armies, this idea was part of the Citadel plan. In response, the Soviet high command decided to deliberately wear down the enemy, and then unexpectedly defeat him. The operation took place with heavy losses, especially during the tank battle near Prokhorovka on July 12, but ended with the victory of the Red Army. At the Kursk Bulge, General Rokossovsky and General Vatutin showed themselves as talented military leaders, who managed to defeat the Germans, who had at their disposal latest tanks"Tiger", self-propelled units "Ferdinand". As a result of the victory, a “radical turning point” ended, Orel, Belgorod and Kharkov and more than half of the territories occupied by the Germans were liberated, Germany began to lose satellite countries - states under its influence.
Thus, it can be said with confidence that the period of November 19, 1942 - the end of 1943 played a decisive role in the development of the actions of the entire Great Patriotic War. At that time, the most important operations were carried out, the liberation of territories began, and the prestige of the USSR on the world stage had already increased. The balance of power has changed in favor of the USSR, victory in the war has become obvious