Battle of Kursk. Chronology of FAME.
If the Battle of Moscow was an example of heroism and dedication, when there was really nowhere to retreat, and the Battle of Stalingrad forced Berlin to plunge into mournful tones for the first time, then it finally announced to the world that now the German soldier would only retreat. Not a single piece of native land will be given to the enemy again! It is not for nothing that all historians, both civilian and military, agree on one opinion: Battle of Kursk finally predetermined the outcome of the Great Patriotic War, and with it the outcome of the Second World War. There is no doubt that the significance of the Battle of Kursk was correctly understood by the entire world community.
Before approaching this heroic page of our Motherland, let’s make a small footnote. Today, and not only today, Western historians attribute the victory in World War II to the Americans, Montgomery, Eisenhower, but not to the heroes of the Soviet army. We must remember and know our history, and we must be proud that we belong to the peoples who saved the world from a terrible disease - fascism!
1943. The war is moving into a new phase, the strategic initiative is already in the hands of the Soviet army. Everyone understands this, including the German staff officers, who, nevertheless, are developing a new offensive. The last offensive of the German army. In Germany itself, things are no longer as rosy as they were at the beginning of the war. The Allies land in Italy, the Greek and Yugoslav forces are gaining strength, and all positions in North Africa are lost. And the vaunted German army itself has already undergone changes. Now everyone is being herded under arms. The notorious Aryan type of the German soldier is diluted by all nationalities. Eastern front– every German’s worst dream. And only the possessed Goebbels continues to preach about the invincibility of German weapons. But does anyone except himself and the Fuhrer believe in this?
The Battle of Kursk is a prelude.
It can be said that Battle of Kursk in brief characterized a new round in the distribution of forces on the eastern front. The Wehrmacht needed a victory, it needed a new offensive. And it was planned in the Kursk direction. The German offensive was codenamed Operation Citadel. It was planned to launch two strikes on Kursk from Orel and Kharkov, encircle the Soviet units, defeat them and launch a further offensive to the south. It is characteristic that the German generals still continued to plan the defeat and encirclement of Soviet units, although quite recently they themselves were surrounded and completely destroyed at Stalingrad. The eyes of the staff officers became blurred, or the directives from the Fuhrer became something akin to the orders of the Almighty.
Photos of German tanks and soldiers before the start of the Battle of Kursk
The Germans gathered huge forces for the offensive. About 900 thousand soldiers, more than 2 thousand tanks, 10 thousand guns and 2 thousand aircraft.
However, the situation in the first days of the war was no longer possible. The Wehrmacht had no numerical, no technical, and most importantly, no strategic advantage. From the Soviet side in Battle of Kursk More than one million soldiers, 2 thousand aircraft, almost 19 thousand guns and about 2 thousand tanks were ready to join. And, most importantly, the strategic and psychological superiority of the Soviet army was no longer in doubt.
The plan to counter the Wehrmacht was simple and at the same time absolutely brilliant. It was supposed to bleed the German army in heavy defensive battles, and then launch a counteroffensive. The plan worked brilliantly, as she showed herself .
Reconnaissance and the Battle of Kursk.
Admiral Canaris, head of the Abwehr - German military intelligence, never suffered so many professional defeats as during the war on the eastern front. Well-trained agents, saboteurs and spies of the Abwehr, and on the Kursk Bulge they went astray. Having learned nothing about the plans of the Soviet command or the disposition of troops, the Abwehr became an involuntary witness to another triumph of Soviet intelligence. The fact is that the plan for the German offensive was already on the table of the commanders of the Soviet troops in advance. Day, start time of the offensive, all Operation Citadel were known. Now all that remained was to position the mousetrap and slam the trap shut. A game of cat and mouse began. And how can one not resist saying that our troops were now the cat?!
The Battle of Kursk is the beginning.
And so it all began! The morning of July 5, 1943, the silence over the steppes is living out the last moments, someone is praying, someone is writing the last lines of a letter to their beloved, someone is simply enjoying another moment of life. A few hours before the German offensive, a wall of lead and fire collapsed on the Wehrmacht positions. Operation Citadel received the first hole. An artillery strike was carried out along the entire front line on German positions. The essence of this warning strike was not so much in causing damage to the enemy, but in psychology. Psychologically broken German troops went on the attack. The original plan was no longer working. In a day of stubborn fighting, the Germans were able to advance 5-6 kilometers! And these are unsurpassed tacticians and strategists, whose savvy boots trampled European soil! Five kilometers! Every meter, every centimeter of Soviet land was given to the aggressor with incredible losses, with inhuman labor.
The main blow of the German troops fell in the direction of Maloarkhangelsk - Olkhovatka - Gnilets. The German command sought to get to Kursk along the shortest route. However, it was not possible to break the 13th Soviet Army. The Germans threw up to 500 tanks into battle, including a new development, the Tiger heavy tank. Disorientate Soviet troops The broad front of the offensive did not work out. The retreat was well organized, the lessons of the first months of the war were taken into account, and the German command was unable to offer anything new in offensive operations. And it was no longer possible to count on the high morale of the Nazis. Soviet soldiers defended their country, and the warrior-heroes were simply invincible. How can we not remember the Prussian king Frederick II, who was the first to say that a Russian soldier can be killed, but impossible to defeat! Maybe if the Germans had listened to their great ancestor, this catastrophe called the World War would not have happened.
Photo of the Battle of Kursk (on the left, Soviet soldiers are fighting from a German trench, on the right, the attack of Russian soldiers)
First day of the Battle of Kursk was coming to an end. It was already clear that the Wehrmacht had lost the initiative. The General Staff demanded that the commander of Army Group Center, Field Marshal Kluge, introduce reserves and second echelons! But this is only one day!
At the same time, the forces of the Soviet 13th Army were replenished with reserves, and the command of the central front decided to launch a retaliatory counterattack on the morning of July 6th.
The Battle of Kursk is a confrontation.
The Russian commanders responded with dignity to the German staff officers. And if one German mind was already left in the cauldron at Stalingrad, then Kursk Bulge German generals were opposed by equally talented military leaders.
German operation"Citadel" was supervised by two most talented generals, this cannot be taken away from them, Field Marshal von Kluge and General Erich von Manstein. The coordination of the Soviet fronts was carried out by Marshals G. Zhukov and A. Vasilevsky. The fronts were directly commanded by: Rokossovsky - Central Front, N. Vatutin - Voronezh Front, and I. Konev - Steppe Front.
Lasted only six days Operation Citadel, for six days the German units tried to move forward, and all these six days the steadfastness and courage of an ordinary Soviet soldier thwarted all the enemy’s plans.
On July 12, she found a new, full-fledged owner. Troops of two Soviet fronts, Bryansk and Western, began an offensive operation against German positions. This date can be taken as the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. From that day until the end of the war, German weapons no longer knew the joy of victory. Now the Soviet army was fighting an offensive war, a war of liberation. During the offensive, the cities were liberated: Orel, Belgorod, Kharkov. German attempts to counterattack had no success. It was no longer the power of weapons that determined the outcome of the war, but its spirituality, its purpose. Soviet heroes they liberated their land, and nothing could stop this force; it seemed that the earth itself was helping the soldiers, going and going, liberating city after city, village after village.
It went on for 49 days and nights fierce battle on the Kursk Bulge, and at this time the future of each of us was completely determined.
Kursk Bulge. Photo of Russian infantrymen going into battle under the cover of a tank
Battle of Kursk. Photos of the greatest tank battle
Battle of Kursk. Photo of Russian infantrymen against the background of a destroyed German Tiger tank
Battle of Kursk. Photo of a Russian tank against the background of a destroyed "tiger"
The Battle of Kursk is the greatest tank battle.
Neither before nor after, the world has known such a battle. More than 1,500 tanks on both sides throughout the entire day of July 12, 1943, fought the hardest battles on a narrow patch of land near the village of Prokhorovka. Initially, inferior to the Germans in the quality of tanks and in quantity, Soviet tankers covered their names with endless glory! People burned in tanks, were blown up by mines, the armor could not withstand German shells, but the battle continued. At that moment nothing else existed, neither tomorrow nor yesterday! The dedication of the Soviet soldier, who once again surprised the world, did not allow the Germans to either win the battle itself or strategically improve their positions.
Battle of Kursk. Photos of destroyed German self-propelled guns
Battle of Kursk! Photo of a destroyed German tank. Work by Ilyin (inscription)
Battle of Kursk. Photo of a destroyed German tank
Battle of Kursk. In the photo, Russian soldiers inspect a damaged German self-propelled gun
Battle of Kursk. In the photo, Russian tank officers inspect the holes in the "tiger"
Battle of Kursk. I'm happy with the work! The face of a hero!
Battle of Kursk - Results
Operation Citadel showed the world that Hitler's Germany was no longer capable of aggression. The turning point of the Second World War, according to absolutely all historians and military experts, came precisely at Kursk Bulge. Underestimate meaning of Kursk battles are difficult.
While German troops suffered huge losses on the eastern front, they had to be replenished by transferring reserves from other parts of conquered Europe. It is not surprising that the Anglo-American landing in Italy coincided with Battle of Kursk. Now the war has come to Western Europe.
The German army itself was completely and irrevocably broken psychologically. Talk about the superiority of the Aryan race came to naught, and the representatives of this very race themselves were no longer demigods. Many remained lying in the endless steppes near Kursk, and those who survived no longer believed that the war would be won. The time has come to think about protecting our own “Fatherland”. So, all of us who are now living can proudly say that Battle of Kursk in brief and definitely proved once again that strength does not lie in anger and the desire for aggression, strength lies in love for the Motherland!
Battle of Kursk. Photo of a shot down "tiger"
Battle of Kursk. The photo shows a damaged self-propelled gun from a direct hit from a bomb dropped from an airplane
Battle of Kursk. Photo of a killed German soldier
Kursk Bulge! In the photo, a killed crew member of a German self-propelled gun
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 a total mobilization and strengthened its military industry, mainly due to the capabilities of the occupied territories of 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 will attack only in one direction and will concentrate the main strike forces, 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, received combat reinforcements: people, equipment. At the beginning of the battle, our troops here numbered up to 1.3 million people.
Steppe Front
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 04/15/43. 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 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 petrol 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. It was crucial moment 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. returned, as it were, to the starting point.
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. From July 23 to August 3 there was a pause. 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.
After the Battle of Stalingrad, which ended in disaster for Germany, the Wehrmacht attempted revenge the following year, 1943. This attempt went down in history as the Battle of Kursk and became the final turning point in the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War.
Background to the Battle of Kursk
During the counteroffensive from November 1942 to February 1943, the Red Army managed to defeat a large group of Germans, encircle and force the 6th Wehrmacht Army to surrender at Stalingrad, and liberate very large territories. Thus, in January-February, Soviet troops managed to capture Kursk and Kharkov and thereby cut through the German defenses. The gap reached approximately 200 kilometers in width and 100-150 in depth.
Realizing that a further Soviet offensive could lead to the collapse of the entire Eastern Front, the Nazi command in early March 1943 took a series of energetic actions in the Kharkov area. Very quickly, a strike force was created, which by March 15 again captured Kharkov and attempted to cut off the ledge in the Kursk area. However, here the German advance was stopped.
As of April 1943, the line of the Soviet-German front was practically flat along its entire length, and only in the Kursk area did it bend, forming a large ledge jutting into the German side. The configuration of the front made it clear where the main battles would unfold in the summer campaign of 1943.
Plans and forces of the parties before the Battle of Kursk
In the spring, heated debate broke out among the German leadership regarding the fate of the summer 1943 campaign. Some of the German generals (for example, G. Guderian) generally proposed to refrain from an offensive in order to accumulate forces for a large-scale offensive campaign in 1944. However, most German military leaders were strongly in favor of the offensive already in 1943. This offensive was supposed to be a kind of revenge for the humiliating defeat at Stalingrad, as well as the final turning point of the war in favor of Germany and its allies.
Thus, in the summer of 1943, the Nazi command again planned an offensive campaign. However, it is worth noting that from 1941 to 1943 the scale of these campaigns steadily decreased. So, if in 1941 the Wehrmacht led an offensive along the entire front, then in 1943 it was only a small section of the Soviet-German front.
The meaning of the operation, called “Citadel,” was the offensive of large Wehrmacht forces at the base of the Kursk Bulge and their attack in the general direction of Kursk. The Soviet troops located in the bulge would inevitably be surrounded and destroyed. After this, it was planned to launch an offensive into the gap created in the Soviet defense and reach Moscow from the southwest. This plan, if it had been successfully implemented, would have become a real disaster for the Red Army, because there were a very large number of troops in the Kursk ledge.
The Soviet leadership learned important lessons in the spring of 1942 and 1943. Thus, by March 1943, the Red Army was thoroughly exhausted by offensive battles, which led to defeat near Kharkov. After this, it was decided not to begin the summer campaign with an offensive, since it was obvious that the Germans were also planning to attack. Also, the Soviet leadership had no doubt that the Wehrmacht would advance precisely on the Kursk Bulge, where the configuration of the front line contributed most to this.
That is why, after weighing all the circumstances, the Soviet command decided to exhaust the German troops, inflict serious losses on them and then go on the offensive, finally securing the turning point in the war in favor of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.
To attack Kursk, the German leadership concentrated a very large group, numbering 50 divisions. Of these 50 divisions, 18 were tank and motorized. From the sky, the German group was covered by aircraft of the 4th and 6th Luftwaffe air fleets. Thus, the total number of German troops at the beginning of the battle of Kursk was approximately 900 thousand people, about 2,700 tanks and 2,000 aircraft. Due to the fact that the northern and southern Wehrmacht groupings on the Kursk Bulge were part of different army groups (“Center” and “South”), leadership was exercised by the commanders of these army groups - Field Marshals Kluge and Manstein.
The Soviet group on the Kursk Bulge was represented by three fronts. The northern face of the ledge was defended by troops of the Central Front under the command of Army General Rokossovsky, the southern by troops of the Voronezh Front under the command of Army General Vatutin. Also in the Kursk ledge were the troops of the Steppe Front, commanded by Colonel General Konev. The general leadership of the troops in the Kursk salient was carried out by Marshals Vasilevsky and Zhukov. The number of Soviet troops was approximately 1 million 350 thousand people, 5000 tanks and about 2900 aircraft.
Beginning of the Battle of Kursk (5 – 12 July 1943)
On the morning of July 5, 1943, German troops launched an offensive on Kursk. However, the Soviet leadership knew about the exact time of the start of this offensive, thanks to which it was able to take a number of countermeasures. One of the most significant measures was the organization of artillery counter-training, which made it possible to inflict serious losses in the first minutes and hours of the battle and significantly reduce the offensive capabilities of the German troops.
However, the German offensive began and achieved some successes in the early days. The first line of Soviet defense was broken through, but the Germans failed to achieve serious success. On the northern front of the Kursk Bulge, the Wehrmacht struck in the direction of Olkhovatka, but, unable to break through the Soviet defenses, they turned towards the settlement of Ponyri. However, here too the Soviet defense was able to withstand the onslaught of German troops. As a result of the battles on July 5-10, 1943, the German 9th Army suffered terrible losses in tanks: about two-thirds of the vehicles were out of action. On July 10, army units went on the defensive.
The situation unfolded more dramatically in the south. Here, in the first days, the German army managed to wedge itself into the Soviet defenses, but never broke through it. The offensive was carried out in the direction of the settlement of Oboyan, which was held by Soviet troops, who also inflicted significant damage on the Wehrmacht.
After several days of fighting, the German leadership decided to shift the direction of the attack to Prokhorovka. Implementing this solution would make it possible to cover large territory than planned. However, here units of the Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army stood in the way of the German tank wedges.
On July 12, one of the largest tank battles in history took place in the Prokhorovka area. On the German side, approximately 700 tanks took part in it, while on the Soviet side - about 800. Soviet troops launched a counterattack on Wehrmacht units in order to eliminate the enemy’s penetration into the Soviet defense. However, this counterattack did not achieve significant results. The Red Army only managed to stop the advance of the Wehrmacht in the south of the Kursk Bulge, but it was possible to restore the situation at the beginning of the German offensive only two weeks later.
By July 15, having suffered huge losses as a result of continuous violent attacks, the Wehrmacht had practically exhausted its offensive capabilities and was forced to go on the defensive along the entire length of the front. By July 17, the withdrawal of German troops to their original lines began. Taking into account the developing situation, as well as pursuing the goal of inflicting a serious defeat on the enemy, the Supreme High Command Headquarters already on July 18, 1943 authorized the transition of Soviet troops on the Kursk Bulge to a counteroffensive.
Now the German troops were forced to defend themselves in order to avoid a military catastrophe. However, Wehrmacht units, seriously exhausted in offensive battles, could not offer serious resistance. The Soviet troops, reinforced with reserves, were full of power and readiness to crush the enemy.
To defeat the German troops covering the Kursk Bulge, two operations were developed and carried out: “Kutuzov” (to defeat the Oryol group of the Wehrmacht) and “Rumyantsev” (to defeat the Belgorod-Kharkov group).
As a result of the Soviet offensive, the Oryol and Belgorod groups of German troops were defeated. On August 5, 1943, Orel and Belgorod were liberated by Soviet troops, and the Kursk Bulge practically ceased to exist. On the same day, Moscow for the first time saluted the Soviet troops who liberated the cities from the enemy.
The last battle of the Battle of Kursk was the liberation of the city of Kharkov by Soviet troops. The battles for this city became very fierce, but thanks to the decisive onslaught of the Red Army, the city was liberated by the end of August 23. It is the capture of Kharkov that is considered the logical conclusion of the Battle of Kursk.
Losses of the parties
Estimates of the losses of the Red Army, as well as the Wehrmacht troops, have different estimates. Even more unclear are the large differences between the estimates of the parties' losses in different sources.
Thus, Soviet sources indicate that during the Battle of Kursk the Red Army lost about 250 thousand people killed and about 600 thousand wounded. Moreover, some Wehrmacht data indicate 300 thousand killed and 700 thousand wounded. Armored vehicle losses range from 1,000 to 6,000 tanks and self-propelled guns. Losses Soviet aviation are estimated at 1600 cars.
However, regarding the assessment of Wehrmacht losses, the data differ even more. According to German data, the losses of German troops ranged from 83 to 135 thousand people killed. But at the same time, Soviet data indicate the number of dead Wehrmacht soldiers at approximately 420 thousand. The losses of German armored vehicles range from 1,000 tanks (according to German data) to 3,000. Aviation losses amount to approximately 1,700 aircraft.
Results and significance of the Battle of Kursk
Immediately after the Battle of Kursk and directly during it, the Red Army began a series of large-scale operations with the aim of liberating Soviet lands from German occupation. Among these operations: “Suvorov” (operation to liberate Smolensk, Donbass and Chernigov-Poltava.
Thus, the victory at Kursk opened up vast operational scope for action for the Soviet troops. German troops, bloodless and defeated as a result of the summer battles, ceased to be a serious threat until December 1943. However, this does not mean at all that the Wehrmacht was not strong at that time. On the contrary, snapping furiously, the German troops sought to hold at least the Dnieper line.
For the Allied command, which landed troops on the island of Sicily in July 1943, the battle of Kursk became a kind of “help”, since the Wehrmacht was no longer able to transfer reserves to the island - the Eastern Front was a higher priority. Even after the defeat at Kursk, the Wehrmacht command was forced to transfer fresh forces from Italy to the east, and in their place send units battered in battles with the Red Army.
For the German command, the battle of Kursk became the moment when plans to defeat the Red Army and defeat the USSR finally became an illusion. It became clear that for quite a long time the Wehrmacht would be forced to refrain from conducting active operations.
The Battle of Kursk marked the completion of a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War. After this battle, the strategic initiative finally passed into the hands of the Red Army, thanks to which, by the end of 1943, vast territories of the Soviet Union were liberated, including such large cities as Kyiv and Smolensk.
Internationally, the victory in the Battle of Kursk became the moment when the peoples of Europe enslaved by the Nazis took heart. The people's liberation movement in European countries began to grow even faster. Its culmination came in 1944, when the decline of the Third Reich became very clear.
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A people who forgets their past has no future. That's what he once said ancient Greek philosopher Plato. In the middle of the last century, “fifteen sister republics” united by “Great Russia” inflicted a crushing defeat on the plague of humanity - fascism. The fierce battle was marked by a number of victories of the Red Army, which can be called key. The topic of this article is one of the decisive battles of the Second World War - the Kursk Bulge, one of the fateful battles that marked the final mastery of the strategic initiative by our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. From that time on, the German occupiers began to be crushed on all fronts. The purposeful movement of fronts to the West began. From that time on, the fascists forgot what “forward to the East” meant.
Historical parallels
The Kursk confrontation took place 07/05/1943 - 08/23/1943 on the original Russian Land, over which the great noble prince Alexander Nevsky once held his shield. His prophetic warning to the Western conquerors (who came to us with a sword) about imminent death from the onslaught of the Russian sword that met them once again took effect. It is characteristic that the Kursk Bulge was somewhat similar to the battle given by Prince Alexander to the Teutonic Knights on 04/05/1242. Of course, the armament of the armies, the scale and time of these two battles are incommensurable. But the scenario of both battles is somewhat similar: the Germans with their main forces tried to break through the Russian battle formation in the center, but were crushed by the offensive actions of the flanks.
If we pragmatically try to say what is unique about the Kursk Bulge, summary will be as follows: unprecedented in history (before and after) operational-tactical density per 1 km of front.
Battle disposition
The offensive of the Red Army after the Battle of Stalingrad from November 1942 to March 1943 was marked by the defeat of about 100 enemy divisions, driven back from the North Caucasus, Don, and Volga. But due to the losses suffered by our side, by the beginning of spring 1943 the front had stabilized. On the map of the fighting in the center of the front line with the Germans, towards the Nazi army, a protrusion stood out, to which the military gave the name Kursk Bulge. The spring of 1943 brought calm to the front: no one was attacking, both sides were rapidly accumulating forces in order to again seize the strategic initiative.
Preparation for Nazi Germany
After the defeat of Stalingrad, Hitler announced mobilization, as a result of which the Wehrmacht grew, more than covering the losses incurred. There were 9.5 million people “under arms” (including 2.3 million reservists). 75% of the most combat-ready active troops (5.3 million people) were on the Soviet-German front.
The Fuhrer longed to seize the strategic initiative in the war. The turning point, in his opinion, should have occurred precisely on that section of the front where the Kursk Bulge was located. To implement the plan, the Wehrmacht headquarters developed the strategic operation “Citadel”. The plan involved delivering attacks converging on Kursk (from the north - from the Orel region; from the south - from the Belgorod region). In this way, the troops of the Voronezh and Central Fronts fell into the “cauldron”.
For this operation, 50 divisions were concentrated in this section of the front, including. 16 tank and motorized troops, totaling 0.9 million selected, fully equipped troops; 2.7 thousand tanks; 2.5 thousand aircraft; 10 thousand mortars and guns.
In this group, the transition to new weapons was mainly carried out: Panther and Tiger tanks, Ferdinand assault guns.
In preparing the Soviet troops for battle, one should pay tribute to the leadership talent of Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief G.K. Zhukov. He, together with the Chief of the General Staff A.M. Vasilevsky, reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief J.V. Stalin the assumption that the Kursk Bulge would become the main future site of the battle, and also predicted the approximate strength of the advancing enemy group.
Along the front line, the fascists were opposed by the Voronezh Front (commander - General N. F. Vatutin) and the Central Front (commander - General K. K. Rokossovsky) with a total number of 1.34 million people. They were armed with 19 thousand mortars and guns; 3.4 thousand tanks; 2.5 thousand aircraft. (As we can see, the advantage was on their side). Secretly from the enemy, the reserve Steppe Front (commander I.S. Konev) was located behind the listed fronts. It consisted of a tank, aviation and five combined arms armies, supplemented by separate corps.
Control and coordination of the actions of this group were carried out personally by G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky.
Tactical battle plan
Marshal Zhukov's plan assumed that the battle on the Kursk Bulge would have two phases. The first is defensive, the second is offensive.
A deeply echeloned bridgehead (300 km deep) was equipped. The total length of its trenches was approximately equal to the Moscow-Vladivostok distance. It had 8 powerful lines of defense. The purpose of such defense was to weaken the enemy as much as possible, deprive him of the initiative, making the task as easy as possible for the attackers. In the second, offensive phase of the battle, two offensive operations were planned. First: Operation Kutuzov with the aim of eliminating the fascist group and liberating the city of Orel. Second: “Commander Rumyantsev” to destroy the Belgorod-Kharkov group of invaders.
Thus, with the actual advantage of the Red Army, the battle on the Kursk Bulge took place on the Soviet side “from defense.” For offensive actions, as tactics teach, two to three times the number of troops was required.
Shelling
It turned out that the time of the offensive of the fascist troops became known in advance. The day before, German sappers began making passages in the minefields. Soviet front-line intelligence began a battle with them and took prisoners. The time of the offensive became known from the “tongues”: 03:00 07/05/1943.
The reaction was prompt and adequate: At 2-20 07/05/1943, Marshal Rokossovsky K.K. (commander of the Central Front), with the approval of the Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief G.K. Zhukov, carried out a preventive powerful artillery shelling by frontal artillery forces. This was an innovation in combat tactics. The invaders were fired upon by hundreds of Katyusha rockets, 600 guns, and 460 mortars. For the Nazis this was a complete surprise; they suffered losses.
Only at 4:30, having regrouped, they were able to carry out their artillery preparation, and at 5:30 go on the offensive. The Battle of Kursk has begun.
Start of the battle
Of course, our commanders could not predict everything. In particular, both the General Staff and Headquarters expected the main blow from the Nazis in the southern direction, towards the city of Orel (which was defended by the Central Front, commander - General Vatutin N.F.). In reality, the battle on the Kursk Bulge from the German troops was focused on the Voronezh Front, from the north. Two battalions of heavy tanks, eight tank divisions, a division of assault guns, and one motorized division moved against Nikolai Fedorovich’s troops. In the first phase of the battle, the first hot spot was the village of Cherkasskoe (virtually wiped off the face of the earth), where two Soviet rifle divisions held back the advance of five enemy divisions for 24 hours.
German offensive tactics
This Great War is famous for its martial art. The Kursk Bulge fully demonstrated the confrontation between two strategies. What did the German offensive look like? Heavy equipment was moving ahead along the front of the attack: 15-20 Tiger tanks and Ferdinand self-propelled guns. Following them were from fifty to a hundred medium Panther tanks, accompanied by infantry. Thrown back, they regrouped and repeated the attack. The attacks resembled the ebb and flow of the sea, following each other.
We will follow the advice of the famous military historian, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Professor Matvey Vasilyevich Zakharov, we will not idealize our defense of the 1943 model, we will present it objectively.
We have to talk about German tank battle tactics. The Kursk Bulge (this should be admitted) demonstrated the art of Colonel General Hermann Hoth; he “jewelfully,” if one can say so about tanks, brought his 4th Army into battle. At the same time, our 40th Army with 237 tanks, the most equipped with artillery (35.4 units per 1 km), under the command of General Kirill Semenovich Moskalenko, turned out to be much to the left, i.e. out of work The opposing 6th Guards Army (commander I.M. Chistyakov) had a gun density per 1 km of 24.4 with 135 tanks. Mainly the 6th Army, far from the most powerful, was hit by Army Group South, whose commander was the most gifted Wehrmacht strategist, Erich von Manstein. (By the way, this man was one of the few who constantly argued on issues of strategy and tactics with Adolf Hitler, for which, in fact, he was dismissed in 1944).
Tank battle near Prokhorovka
In the current difficult situation, in order to eliminate the breakthrough, the Red Army brought into battle strategic reserves: the 5th Guards Tank Army (commander P. A. Rotmistrov) and the 5th Guards Army (commander A. S. Zhadov)
The possibility of a flank attack by the Soviet tank army in the area of the village of Prokhorovka was previously considered by the German General Staff. Therefore, the divisions “Totenkopf” and “Leibstandarte” changed the direction of attack to 90 0 - for a head-on collision with the army of General Pavel Alekseevich Rotmistrov.
Tanks on the Kursk Bulge: 700 combat vehicles went into battle on the German side, 850 on our side. An impressive and terrible picture. As eyewitnesses recall, the roar was so loud that blood flowed from the ears. They had to shoot point-blank, which caused the towers to collapse. When approaching the enemy from the rear, they tried to fire at the tanks, causing the tanks to burst into flames. The tankers seemed to be in prostration - while they were alive, they had to fight. It was impossible to retreat or hide.
Of course, it was unwise to attack the enemy in the first phase of the operation (if during the defense we suffered losses of one in five, what would they have been like during the offensive?!). At the same time, Soviet soldiers showed real heroism on this battlefield. 100,000 people were awarded orders and medals, and 180 of them were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Nowadays, the day of its end - August 23 - is celebrated annually by residents of the country like Russia.
From Kursk and Orel
The war has brought us
to the very enemy gates,
That's how things are, brother.
Someday we will remember this
And I won’t believe it myself,
And now we need one victory, One for all, we will not stand behind the price!
(lyrics from the movie "Belorussky Station")
TO at The Russian Battle, according to historians, was a turning point inGreat Patriotic War . More than six thousand tanks took part in the battles on the Kursk Bulge. This has never happened in world history, and probably never will happen again. The actions of the Soviet fronts on the Kursk Bulge were led by Marshals Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov and Vasilevsky.
Zhukov G.K. 
Vasilevsky A.M.
If the Battle of Stalingrad forced Berlin to plunge into mourning tones for the first time, then Battle of Kursk finally announced to the world that now the German soldier would only retreat. Not a single piece of native land will be given to the enemy again! It is not for nothing that all historians, both civilian and military, agree on one opinion: Battle of Kursk finally predetermined the outcome of the Great Patriotic War, and with it the outcome of the Second World War.
From a radio speech by the British Prime Minister W. Churchill : “I readily admit that most of the Allied military operations in the West in 1943 could not have been carried out in the form and time in which they were carried out, if not forheroic, magnificent exploits and victories of the Russian army , who defends her native land, subjected to a cowardly, unprovoked attack, with unprecedented energy, skill and devotion, protects at a terrible price - the price of Russian blood.
No government in the history of mankind would have been able to survive such severe and cruel wounds that Hitler inflicted on Russia...Russia not only survived and recovered from these terrible wounds, but also inflicted military vehicle fatal damage. No other power in the world could do this.”
Historical parallels
The Kursk confrontation took place 07/05/1943 - 08/23/1943 on the primordially Russian Land, over which the great noble prince Alexander Nevsky once held his shield. His prophetic warning to the Western conquerors (who came to us with a sword) about imminent death from the onslaught of the Russian sword that met them once again took effect. It is characteristic that the Kursk Bulge was somewhat similar to the battle fought by Prince Alexander the Teutonic Knights on Lake Peipsi on April 5, 1242. Of course, the armament of the armies, the scale and time of these two battles are incommensurable. But the scenario of both battles is somewhat similar: the Germans with their main forces tried to break through the Russian battle formation in the center, but were crushed by the offensive actions of the flanks. If we pragmatically try to say what makes the Kursk Bulge unique, a brief summary will be as follows: unprecedented in history (before and after) operational-tactical density on 1 km of front. - Read more at
The Battle of Kursk is the beginning.
“...On the eve of the Battle of Kursk, we were transferred to the city of Orel as part of the 125th special communications battalion. By that time there was nothing left of the city; I remember only two surviving buildings - a church and a train station. On the outskirts here and there some sheds have been preserved. Piles of broken bricks, not a single tree in the whole huge city, constant shelling and bombing. At the temple there was a priest and several female singers who remained with him. In the evening, our entire battalion, together with its commanders, gathered in the church, and the priest began to serve a prayer service. We knew that we had to attack the next day. Remembering their relatives, many cried. Scary…
There were three of us radio operator girls. The rest of the men: signalmen, reel-to-reel operators. Our task is to establish the most important thing - communication, without communication it’s the end. I can’t say how many of us were alive; at night we were scattered along the entire front, but I think it was not many. Our losses were very large. The Lord has preserved me..." ( Osharina Ekaterina Mikhailovna (Mother Sofia))
It all started! The morning of July 5, 1943, the silence over the steppes is living out the last moments, someone is praying, someone is writing the last lines of a letter to their beloved, someone is simply enjoying another moment of life. A few hours before the German offensive, a wall of lead and fire collapsed on the Wehrmacht positions.Operation Citadelreceived the first hole. An artillery strike was carried out along the entire front line on German positions. The essence of this warning strike was not so much in causing damage to the enemy, but in psychology. Psychologically broken German troops went on the attack. The original plan was no longer working. In a day of stubborn fighting, the Germans were able to advance 5-6 kilometers! And these are unsurpassed tacticians and strategists, whose savvy boots trampled European soil! Five kilometers! Every meter, every centimeter of Soviet land was given to the aggressor with incredible losses, with inhuman labor.
(Volynkin Alexander Stepanovich)
The main blow of the German troops fell in the direction of Maloarkhangelsk - Olkhovatka - Gnilets. The German command sought to get to Kursk along the shortest route. However, it was not possible to break the 13th Soviet Army. The Germans threw up to 500 tanks into battle, including a new development, the Tiger heavy tank. It was not possible to disorient the Soviet troops with a wide offensive front. The retreat was well organized, the lessons of the first months of the war were taken into account, and the German command was unable to offer anything new in offensive operations. And it was no longer possible to count on the high morale of the Nazis. Soviet soldiers defended their country, and the warrior-heroes were simply invincible. How can we not remember the Prussian king Frederick II, who was the first to say that a Russian soldier can be killed, but impossible to defeat! Maybe if the Germans had listened to their great ancestor, this catastrophe called the World War would not have happened.
Lasted only six days Operation Citadel, for six days the German units tried to move forward, and all these six days the steadfastness and courage of an ordinary Soviet soldier thwarted all the enemy’s plans.
July, 12 Kursk Bulge found a new, full-fledged owner. Troops of two Soviet fronts, Bryansk and Western, began an offensive operation against German positions. This date can be taken as the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. From that day until the end of the war, German weapons no longer knew the joy of victory. Now the Soviet army was fighting an offensive war, a war of liberation. During the offensive, the cities were liberated: Orel, Belgorod, Kharkov. German attempts to counterattack had no success. It was no longer the power of weapons that determined the outcome of the war, but its spirituality, its purpose. Soviet heroes liberated their land, and nothing could stop this force; it seemed that the land itself was helping the soldiers, going and going, liberating city after city, village after village.
The Battle of Kursk is the greatest tank battle.
Neither before nor after, the world has known such a battle. More than 1,500 tanks on both sides throughout the entire day of July 12, 1943, fought the hardest battles on a narrow patch of land near the village of Prokhorovka. Initially, inferior to the Germans in the quality of tanks and in quantity, Soviet tankers covered their names with endless glory! People burned in tanks, were blown up by mines, the armor could not withstand German shells, but the battle continued. At that moment nothing else existed, neither tomorrow nor yesterday! The dedication of the Soviet soldier, who once again surprised the world, did not allow the Germans to either win the battle itself or strategically improve their positions.
“...We suffered at the Kursk Bulge. Our 518th Fighter Regiment was defeated. The pilots died, and those who survived were sent to reformation. That’s how we ended up in aircraft workshops and began repairing airplanes. We repaired them in the field, and during bombing, and during shelling. And so on until we were mobilized..."( Kustova Agrippina Ivanovna)
“...Our artillery guards anti-tank fighter division under the command of Captain Leshchin has been in formation and combat exercises since April 1943 near Belgrade, Kursk region, to master new military equipment - 76-caliber anti-tank guns.
I took part in the battles on the Kursk Bulge as the head of the division's radio, which ensured communication between the command and the batteries. The division command ordered me and other artillerymen to remove the remaining damaged equipment, as well as wounded and killed soldiers, from the battlefield at night. For this feat, all survivors were awarded high Government awards; those who died were awarded posthumously.
I remember well, on the night of July 20-21, 1943, on a combat alert, we quickly set out on the road to the village of Ponyri and began to take up firing positions in order to delay the fascist tank column. The density of anti-tank weapons was the highest - 94 guns and mortars. The Soviet command, having quite accurately determined the direction of the German attacks, was able to concentrate a large amount of anti-tank artillery on them. At 4.00 a rocket signal was given and artillery preparation began, which lasted about 30 minutes. German tanks T-4 "Panther", T-6 "Tiger", self-propelled guns "Ferdinand" and other artillery mortar guns in the amount of more than 60 barrels rushed to our combat positions. An unequal battle ensued, and our division also took part in it, destroying 13 fascist tanks, but all 12 guns and crew were crushed under the tracks of German tanks.
Of my fellow soldiers, I remember the most from the Guard, Senior Lieutenant Alexei Azarov - he knocked out 9 enemy tanks, for which he was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The commander of the second battery, guard Lieutenant Kardybaylo, knocked out 4 enemy tanks and was awarded the Order of Lenin.
The Battle of Kursk was won. In the most convenient place for an attack, a trap awaited the German army, which was capable of crushing the armored fist of the fascist divisions. There was no doubt about victory; even before the start of the defensive operation, Soviet military leaders were planning a further offensive..."
(Sokolov Anatoly Mikhailovich)
The role of intelligence
From the beginning of 1943, in interceptions of secret messages from the High Command of Hitler's army and secret directives of A. Hitler increasingly mentioned Operation Citadel. According to the memoirs of A. Mikoyan, back on March 27 he was informed in general details. V. Stalin on German plans. On April 12, the exact text of Directive No. 6, translated from German, “On the plan for Operation Citadel” of the German High Command, endorsed by all Wehrmacht services, but not yet signed by Hitler, who signed it only three days later, landed on Stalin’s desk.
There are several versions regarding the sources of information.
Central Front
The Central Command inspects damaged German equipment. Front commander in the centerK.K. Rokossovsky and commander 16th VA S. I. Rudenko. July 1943.
V.I. Kazakov, commander of the artillery of the Central Front, speaking about counter-artillery preparation, noted that it:
was an integral and, in essence, the dominant part of the general counter-preparation, which pursued the goal of disrupting the enemy’s offensive.
In the TF zone (13A), the main efforts were concentrated on suppressing the enemy artillery group and observation points (OP), including artillery ones. This group of objects accounted for more than 80% of the planned targets. This choice was explained by the presence in the army powerful means fight against enemy artillery, more reliable data on the position of his artillery group, the relatively small width of the expected strike zone (30-40 km), as well as the high density of battle formations of divisions of the first echelon of the Central Front troops, which determined their greater sensitivity (vulnerability) to artillery strikes . By delivering a powerful fire strike on German artillery positions and OP, it was possible to significantly weaken and disorganize the enemy’s artillery preparation and ensure the survivability of the army’s first echelon troops to repel the attacking tanks and infantry.
Voronezh Front
In the VF zone (6th Guards A and 7th Guards A), the main efforts were aimed at suppressing infantry and tanks in the areas where they were likely to be located, which accounted for about 80% of all targets hit. This was due to a wider range of probable enemy strikes (up to 100 km), greater sensitivity of the defense of the first echelon troops to tank attacks, and fewer means of combating enemy artillery in the VF armies. It was also possible that on the night of July 5, part of the enemy artillery would change their firing positions during the withdrawal of the combat outposts of the 71st and 67th Guards. sd. Thus, the VF artillerymen primarily sought to inflict damage on tanks and infantry, that is, the main force of the German attack, and suppress only the most active enemy batteries (reliably reconnoitered).
“We will stand like Panfilov’s men”
On August 17, 1943, the armies of the Steppe Front (SF) approached Kharkov, starting a battle on its outskirts. 53 A Managarova I.M. acted energetically, and especially her 89 Guards. SD Colonel M.P. Seryugin and 305th SD Colonel A.F. Vasiliev. Marshal G.K. Zhukov in his book “Memories and Reflections” wrote:
“...The most fierce battle took place over height 201.7 in the Polevoy area, which was captured by a combined company of the 299th Infantry Division consisting of 16 people under the command of Senior Lieutenant V.P. Petrishchev.
When only seven people remained alive, the commander, turning to the soldiers, said: “Comrades, we will stand at the height as Panfilov’s men stood at Dubosekov.” We will die, but we will not retreat!
And they didn’t back down. The heroic fighters held the height until the division units arrived. For courage and heroism, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, senior lieutenant V.P. Petrishchev, junior lieutenant V.V. Zhenchenko, senior sergeant G.P. Polikanov and sergeant V.E. Breusov were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The rest were awarded orders."
- Zhukov GK. Memories and reflections.
Progress of the battle. Defense
The closer the start date for Operation Citadel approached, the more difficult it was to hide its preparations. Already a few days before the start of the offensive, the Soviet command received a signal that it would begin on July 5th. From intelligence reports it became known that the enemy attack was scheduled for 3 o'clock. The headquarters of the Central (commander K. Rokossovsky) and Voronezh (commander N. Vatutin) fronts decided to fire artillery on the night of July 5 counter-preparation. It started at 1 o'clock. 10 min . After the roar of the cannonade subsided, the Germans could not come to their senses for a long time. As a result of the artillery shelling carried out in advance counter-preparations in areas where enemy strike forces were concentrated, German troops suffered losses and began the offensive 2.5-3 hours later planned time Only after some time were German troops able to begin their own artillery and aviation training. The attack by German tanks and infantry formations began at about half past six in the morning.
The German command pursued the goal of breaking through the defenses of Soviet troops with a ramming attack and reaching Kursk. In the Central Front, the main enemy attack was taken by the troops of the 13th Army. On the very first day, the Germans brought up to 500 tanks into battle here. On the second day, the command of the Central Front troops launched a counterattack against the advancing group with part of the forces of the 13th and 2nd Tank Armies and the 19th Tank Corps. The German offensive here was delayed, and on July 10 it was finally thwarted. In six days of fighting, the enemy penetrated the defenses of the Central Front only 10-12 km.
“...Our unit was located in the deserted village of Novolipitsy, 10 - 12 km from the forward positions, and began active combat training and construction of defensive lines. The proximity of the front was felt: artillery thundered in the west, flares flashed at night. There were often air battles above us, and downed planes fell. Soon our division, like our neighboring formations, staffed mainly by cadets from military schools, turned into a well-trained “guards” combat unit.
When Hitler’s offensive began in the direction of Kursk on July 5, we were transferred closer to the front line to reserve positions in order to be ready to repel the enemy’s onslaught. But we didn't have to defend ourselves. On the night of July 11, we replaced the thinned out units in need of rest at one of the bridgeheads on the western bank of Zushi near the village of Vyazhi. On the morning of July 12, after a powerful artillery barrage, an attack on the city of Orel began (at the site of this breakthrough, near the village of Vyazhi, 8 km from Novosil, a monument was built after the war).
The memory has preserved many episodes of heavy battles that took place on the ground and in the air...
On command, we quickly jump out of the trenches and shout “Hurray!” We attack enemy positions. The first losses were from enemy bullets and in minefields. Now we are already in well-equipped enemy trenches, using machine guns and grenades. The first killed German is a red-haired guy, with a machine gun in one hand and a coil of telephone wire in the other... Having quickly overcome several lines of trenches, we liberate the first village. There was some kind of enemy headquarters, ammunition depots... In the field kitchens there was still a warm breakfast for the German soldiers. Following the infantry, which had done its job, tanks entered the breakthrough, firing on the move and dashing forward past us.
In the following days the fighting took place almost continuously; our troops, despite enemy counterattacks, stubbornly advanced towards the goal. Before our eyes even now are the fields of tank battles, where sometimes even at night there was light from dozens of flaming vehicles. The battles of our fighter pilots are unforgettable - there were few of them, but they bravely attacked the Junkers wedges that were trying to bomb our troops. I remember the deafening crack of exploding shells and mines, fires, mutilated earth, corpses of people and animals, persistent odor gunpowder and burning, constant nervous tension, from which short-term sleep did not help.
In battle, a person’s fate and his life depend on many accidents. In those days of fierce battles for Orel, it was pure chance that saved me several times.
During one of the marches, our marching column came under intense artillery fire. On command, we rushed to cover, a roadside ditch, lay down, and suddenly, two or three meters from me, a shell pierced the ground, but did not explode, but only showered me with earth. Another case: on a hot day, already on the approaches to Orel, our battery provides active support to the advancing infantry. All mines have been used up. People are very tired and very thirsty. A well crane sticks out about three hundred meters from us. The sergeant major orders me and another soldier to collect our pots and go get water. Before we had time to crawl 100 meters, a barrage of fire fell on our positions - mines from heavy six-barreled German mortars were exploding. The enemy's aim was accurate! After the raid, many of my comrades died, many were wounded or shell-shocked, and some of the mortars were out of action. It looks like this “water outfit” saved my life.
A few days later, having suffered heavy losses in manpower and equipment, our unit was withdrawn from the combat area and settled in the forest, east of the city of Karachev, for rest and reorganization. Here, many soldiers and officers received government awards for their participation in the fighting near Orel and the liberation of the city. I was awarded the medal "For Courage".
The defeat of the German troops on the Kursk Bulge and the high appreciation of this military feat made us very happy, but we could not and cannot forget our comrades in arms who are no longer with us. Let us always remember the soldiers who gave their lives in the national Patriotic War, fighting for the freedom and independence of our Fatherland!..” (Sluka Alexander Evgenievich)
The first surprise for the German command on both the southern and northern flanks of the Kursk salient was that the Soviet soldiers were not afraid of the appearance of new German Tiger and Panther tanks on the battlefield. Moreover, the Soviet anti-tank artillery and tank guns buried in the ground opened effective fire on German armored vehicles. And yet, the thick armor of German tanks allowed them to break through the Soviet defenses in some areas and penetrate the battle formations of the Red Army units. However, there was no quick breakthrough. Having overcome the first defensive line, the German tank units were forced to turn to sappers for help: all the spaces between the positions were densely mined, and the passages in the minefields were well shot through artillery. While the German tank crews were waiting for the sappers, their combat vehicles were subjected to massive fire. Soviet aviation managed to maintain air supremacy. More and more often, Soviet attack aircraft – the famous Il-2 – appeared over the battlefield.
“...The heat was very intense and dry. There is nowhere to hide from the heat. And during the battles the ground stood on end. The tanks are advancing, the artillery is showering with heavy fire, and the Junkers and Messerschmitts are attacking from the sky. I still cannot forget the terrible dust that stood in the air and seemed to penetrate into all the cells of the body. Yes, plus smoke, fumes, soot. On the Kursk Bulge, the Nazis threw new, more powerful and heavier tanks and self-propelled guns - “tigers” and “Ferdinands” - against our army. The shells of our guns ricocheted off the armor of these vehicles. I had to use more powerful ones artillery pieces, guns. We already had new 57-mm ZIS-2 anti-tank guns and improved artillery pieces.
It must be said that even before the battle, during tactical exercises, we were told about these new Hitler machines and shown their weak, vulnerable spots. And in battle I had to undergo practice. The attacks were so powerful and strong that our guns became hot and had to be cooled with wet rags.
It happened that it was impossible to stick my head out of the shelter. But, despite the constant attacks and incessant battles, we found strength, endurance, patience and fought back the enemy. Only the price was very expensive. How many soldier died - no one can count. Very few survived.And every survivor deserves a reward..."
(Tishkov Vasily Ivanovich)
In the first day of fighting alone, Model's group, operating on the northern flank of the Kursk salient, lost up to 2/3 of the 300 tanks that took part in the first strike. Soviet losses were also high: only two companies of German “Tigers” advancing against the forces of the Central Front destroyed 111 T-34 tanks during the period July 5–6. By July 7, the Germans, having advanced several kilometers forward, approached the large settlement of Ponyri, where a powerful battle ensued between the shock units 20, 2 And 9- thGermantankdivisionsWithconnectionsSoviet 2- thtankAnd 13- tharmies. Bottom linethisbattlesbecameextremelyunexpectedForGermancommand. Having lostbefore 50 thousand. HumanAndnear 400 tanks, northernpercussiongroupingwasforcedstay. Having advancedforwardTotalon 10 – 15 km, ModelVin the endlostpercussionpowertheirtankpartsAndlostpossibilitiescontinueoffensive. ThemtimeonsouthernwingKurskledgeeventsdevelopedByto anotherscript. TO 8 JulydrumsdivisionsGermanicmotorizedconnections« GreatGermany» , « Reich» , « Deadhead» , Leibstandarte« AdolfHitler» , severaltankdivisions 4- thtankarmyGothaAndgroups« Kempf» managedwedge inVSovietdefensebefore 20 Andmorekm. Offensiveoriginallywas going onVdirectionpopulatedpointOboyan, Butthen, due tostrongcounteractionSoviet 1- thtankarmy, 6- thGuardsarmyAndothersassociationsonthisarea, commandinggrouparmies« South» backgroundMansteinacceptedsolutionhitto the east– VdirectionProkhorovka. ExactlyatthispopulatedpointAndstartedthe mostbigtankbattleSecondworldwars, VwhichWithbothpartiesacceptedparticipationbeforeTHOUSANDSTWO HUNDREDTANKSAndself-propelledguns.
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“... A policeman rounded us up, 10 teenagers, with shovels and took us to Big Oak. When they arrived at the place, they saw a terrible picture: between the burnt hut and the barn, people were lying shot. Many had their faces and clothes burned. They were doused with gasoline before being burned. Two female corpses lay to the side. They clutched their children to their chests. One of them hugged the child, wrapping the little one in the hollow of her fur coat...”(Arbuzov Pavel Ivanovich)
Of all the victories of 1943, it was decisive in ensuring a radical turning point during the Great Patriotic War and the 2nd World War, which ended with the liberation of Left Bank Ukraine and the destruction of enemy defenses on the Dnieper at the end of 1943. The fascist German command was forced to abandon the offensive strategy and go on the defensive along the entire front. He had to transfer troops and aircraft from the Mediterranean theater of operations to the Eastern Front, which facilitated the landing of Anglo-American troops in Sicily and Italy. The Battle of Kursk was a triumph of Soviet military art.
In the 50-day Battle of Kursk, up to 30 enemy divisions were defeated, including 7 tank divisions. The total losses of the Nazi troops in killed, seriously wounded and missing amounted to over 500 thousand people. The Soviet Air Force finally gained air supremacy. The successful completion of the Battle of Kursk was facilitated by the active actions of the partisans on the eve of and during the Battle of Kursk. Striking the enemy's rear, they pinned down up to 100 thousand enemy soldiers and officers. The partisans carried out 1,460 raids on the railway line, disabled over 1,000 locomotives and destroyed over 400 military trains.
Memoirs of the participants of the Kursk Bulge
Ryzhikov Grigory Afanasyevich:
“We thought that we would win anyway!”
Grigory Afanasyevich was born in the Ivanovo region, at the age of 18 he was drafted into the Red Army in 1942. Among 25 thousand recruits, he was sent to Kostroma to the 22nd training brigade to study “military science”. With the rank of junior sergeant, he went to the front in the ranks of the 17th Motorized Rifle Guards Red Banner Brigade
“They brought us to the front,” recalls Grigory Afanasyevich, “and unloaded us. Railway, apparently, was far from the front line, so we walked for a day, we were fed only once with hot food. We walked day and night, we didn’t know that we were going to Kursk. They knew that they were going to war, to the front, but they didn’t know where exactly. We saw a lot of equipment coming: cars, motorcycles, tanks. The German fought very well. It would seem that he is in a hopeless situation, but he still does not give up! In one place the Germans took a fancy to a house; they even had garden beds with cucumbers and tobacco; apparently they planned to stay there for a long time. But we didn't intend to give them ours native land and fought hot battles all day long. The Nazis stubbornly resisted, but we moved forward: sometimes we won’t move in a whole day, and sometimes we’ll win back half a kilometer. When they went on the attack, they shouted: “Hurray! For the Motherland! For Stalin!" It helped boost our morale."
Near Kursk, Grigory Afanasyevich was the commander of a machine gun squad; one day he had to position himself with a machine gun in the rye. In July it is flat, high, and so reminiscent of peaceful life, home comfort and hot bread with a golden brown crust... But the wonderful memories were crossed out by the war with the terrible death of people, burning tanks, blazing villages. So we had to trample the rye under soldiers’ boots, drive over it with the heavy wheels of vehicles, and mercilessly tear off its ears that were wound around a machine gun. On July 27, Grigory Afanasyevich was wounded in right hand, and was sent to the hospital. After recovery, he fought near Yelnya, then in Belarus, and was wounded twice more.
The news of the victory was already received in Czechoslovakia. Our soldiers celebrated, sang to the accordion, and whole columns of captured Germans walked past.
Junior Sergeant Ryzhikov was demobilized from Romania in the fall of 1945. He returned to his native village, worked on a collective farm, and started a family. Then he went to work on the construction of the Gorky hydroelectric power station, from where he already came to build the Votkinsk hydroelectric power station.
Now Grigory Afanasyevich already has 4 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. He loves to work in the garden if his health allows, he is keenly interested in what is happening in the country and the world, and worries that “our people will not have much luck” at the Olympics. Grigory Afanasyevich modestly assesses his role in the war, says that he served “like everyone else,” but thanks to people like him, our country won a great victory so that the next generations could live in a free and peaceful country.
Telenev Yuri Vasilievich:
Yuri Vasilyevich lived his entire pre-war life in the Urals. In the summer of 1942, at 18 years old, he was drafted into the army. In the spring of 1943, having finished crash course 2nd Leningrad Military Infantry School, evacuatedThen in the city of Glazov, junior lieutenant Yuri Telenev was appointed commander of a platoon of anti-tank guns and sent to the Kursk Bulge.“Back then we didn’t even think about awards”
“On the sector of the front where the battle was to take place, the Germans were on high ground, and we were on low ground, in plain sight. They tried to bomb us - the strongest artillery attack lasted approx.for about an hour, there was a terrible roar all around, no voices could be heard, so I had to scream. But we did not give up and responded in kind: on the German side, shells exploded, tanks burned, everythingcovered in smoke. Then our shock army went on the attack, we were in the trenches, they stepped over us, then we followed them. The crossing of the Oka River began, only the
infantry. The Germans began to shoot at the crossing, but since they were suppressed and paralyzed by our resistance, they shot randomly and without aim. Having crossed the river, we joined the fightingThey liberated settlements where the Nazis still remained."
Yuri Vasilyevich proudly says that after the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet soldiers were only in the mood for victory, no one doubted that we would defeat the Germans anyway, and the victory in the Battle of Kursk was another proof of this.
On the Kursk Bulge, junior lieutenant Telenev, using an anti-tank rifle, shot down an enemy aircraft "Henkel-113", popularly called a "crutch", for which, after the victory, he was awarded the Order of the Great Patriotic War. “During the war, we didn’t even think about awards, and there was no such fashion,” recalls Yuri Vasilyevich. In general, he considers himself a lucky man, because he was wounded near Kursk. If it was wounded and not killed, it is already a great happiness for the infantry. After the battles, there were no entire regiments left - a company or a platoon.“They were young,” says Yuri Vasilyevich, “reckless,at 19 years old we were not afraid of anything, got used to danger. Yes, you can’t protect yourself from a bullet if it’s yours.” . After being wounded, he was sent to a Kirov hospital, and when he recovered, he went to the front again, and until the end of 1944 he fought on the 2nd Belorussian Front.
Before the New Year 1945, Lieutenant Telenev was demobilized due to a severe arm wound. Therefore, I met victory in the rear, in Omsk. There he worked as a military instructor at a school and studied at a music school. A few years later, he moved with his wife and children to Votkinsk, and later to the very young Tchaikovsky, where he taught at a music school and was an instrument tuner.
Volodin Semyon Fedorovich
The events of those days will be remembered for a long time when the fate of the war was decided on the Kursk Bulge, when Lieutenant Volodin’s company held a small piece of land between a birch hill and the stadium in the village of Solomki. Of what the young commander had to endure on the first day of the Battle of Kursk, the most memorable thing was the retreat: not the very moment when the company, which had repulsed six tank attacks, left the trench, but another night road. He walked at the head of his “company” - twenty surviving soldiers, remembering all the details...
For about an hour, the Junkers continuously bombed the village, as soon as one batch flew away, another appeared in the sky, and everything was repeated all over again - the deafening roar of exploding bombs, the whistling of fragments and thick, choking dust. The fighters were chasing the fighters, and the roar of their engines, like a groan, layered above the ground, when the German artillery began to fire and at the edge of the forest, in front of the buckwheat field, a black tank diamond appeared again.
A heavy and smoky military dawn was rising ahead: in an hour the battalion would take up defense on the high-rises, and in another hour everything would start all over again: an air raid, artillery cannonade, rapidly approaching boxes of tanks; everything will repeat itself - the whole battle, but with great ferocity, with an irresistible thirst for victory.
Within seven days they were to see other crossings, other gatherings along the banks of Russian rivers - accumulations of wrecked German vehicles, corpses of German soldiers, and he, Lieutenant Volodin, would say that this was fair retribution that the Nazis deserved.
Volynkin Alexander Stepanovich
In August 1942, a 17-year-old boy was drafted into the Red Army. He was sent to study at the Omsk Infantry School, but Sasha could not graduate. He signed up as a volunteer and received baptism of fire near Vyazma, Smolensk region. The smart guy was immediately noticed. How can you not notice a young fighter who has a sure eye and a steady hand. This is how Alexander Stepanovich became a sniper.
“- It’s impossible to remember the battle on the Kursk Bulge without shuddering - it’s terrible! The sky was filled with smoke, houses, fields, tanks, and combat positions were burning. The thunder of cannonade on both sides. And in such heavy fire,” the veteran recalled, “fate protected me. I remember this case: we, three snipers, chose positions on the slope of a ravine, began to dig trenches, and suddenly - a flurry of fire. We quickly fell into one half-dug trench. The owner of the trench was below, I fell on him, and my neighbor fell on me. And then - a burst from a large-caliber machine gun at our shelter... The owner of the trench was immediately killed, the soldier who was above me was wounded, but I remained unharmed. Fate is evident..."
Alexander Stepanovich received a medal for the battle on the Kursk Bulge“For Courage” is an award most revered among front-line soldiers.
Osharina Ekaterina Mikhailovna (Mother Sofia)
“...On the eve of the Battle of Kursk, we were transferred to the city of Orel as part of the 125th special communications battalion. By that time there was nothing left of the city; I remember only two surviving buildings - a church and a train station. On the outskirts here and there some sheds have been preserved. Piles of broken bricks, not a single tree in the whole huge city, constant shelling and bombing. At the temple there was a priest and several female singers who remained with him. In the evening, our entire battalion, together with its commanders, gathered in the church, and the priest began to serve a prayer service. We knew that we had to attack the next day. Remembering their relatives, many cried. Scary…
There were three of us radio operator girls. The rest of the men: signalmen, reel-to-reel operators. Our task is to establish the most important thing - communication, without communication it’s the end. I can’t say how many of us were alive; at night we were scattered along the entire front, but I think it was not many. Our losses were very large. The Lord saved me..."
Smetanin Alexander
“...For me, this battle began with a retreat. We retreated for several days. And before the decisive battle, breakfast was brought to our crew. For some reason I remember it well - four crackers and two unripe watermelons, they were still white. Back then they couldn’t provide us with anything better. At dawn, huge black clouds of smoke appeared on the horizon from the Germans. We stood motionless. Nobody knew anything - neither the company commander nor the platoon commander. We just stood there. I am a machine gunner and I saw the world through a two and a half centimeter hole. But I saw only dust and smoke. And then the tank commander commands: “Sour cream, fire.” I started shooting. For whom, where - I don’t know. At about 11 o'clock in the morning we were ordered "forward". We rushed forward, shooting as we went. Then there was a stop, they brought us shells. And again forward. The roar, the gunfire, the smoke - that's all my memories. I would be lying if I said that everything was clear to me then - the scale and significance of the battle. Well, the next day, July 13, a shell hit us on the starboard side. I received 22 shrapnel in my leg. This is what my Battle of Kursk was like..."
Oh, Russia! A country with a difficult fate.
I have you, Russia, like my heart, alone.
I will tell a friend, I will tell an enemy too -
Without you it's like without a heart, I can't live!
(Yulia Drunina)
