battle of kursk battle of kursk tanks used

On July 5th, 1943, the Germans moved to attack.

These forces were fielding a mix of Panther and Tiger medium/heavy tanks including the latest model forms then available in the war. Generaloberst Hoth and his 4th Army was situated to the south.

Army Group Center was home to Generaloberst Walter Model's 9th Army consisting of three Panzer Corps. The German force was made primarily of two large army groups positioned north and south of the salient. The Soviets prepared for a huge defensive fight and key frontline positions were armed with anti-tank weaponry backed by artillery and tanks. However, to conceal the counter-attack, many of these key units were held in reserve. Hundreds and thousands of tanks, artillery (some 20,000 pieces alone), and men were moved into the region. Soviet Army forces were being concentrated en mass. So while the Germans readied their side of the chessboard, the Soviets were already preparing the massive counter-attack to follow. Unknown to the Germans was the Soviet partisan movement watching and detailing every move the Army made and relaying this information back to the Soviet Army. The German Army was waiting for the right time to strike and deliver a timely blow that would send the Russians reeling.Ī plan was enacted to deliver such a blow and attention to every detail was paid. To the salient's north lay the German 9th Army and to its south was the 4th Panzer Army.

Their respective fronts became the Bryansk, Voronezh and South-West Fronts. The salient ran from Novosil in the northeast and westward to Kursk and finally to the south close to Belgorod. The actions centered around the city of Kursk to which a large salient (or bulge) had developed from the previous year's fighting with the strategic city left right in the middle. Operation Citadel would go down as the last great German operation along the East Front - an attempt to reclaim some footing after their disastrous defeat at Stalingrad.

Battle of kursk battle of kursk tanks used