Kursk, Battle of

Kursk, Battle of
(July 5–Aug. 23, 1943) Unsuccessful German assault on the Soviet salient around Kursk, in western Russia, in World War II.

The salient was a bulge in the Soviet lines that protruded 100 mi (160 km) westward into the German lines. The Germans planned a surprise attack to trap the Soviet forces but encountered Russian-laid minefields and antitank defenses. At the height of the assault, the Soviets counterattacked and forced a German withdrawal. The Battle of Kursk was the largest tank battle in history, involving some 6,000 tanks, two million troops, and 4,000 aircraft. It marked the decisive end of the German offensive on the Eastern Front and cleared the way for the great Soviet offensives of 1944–45.

* * *

      (July 5–August 23, 1943), unsuccessful German assault on the Soviet salient around the city of Kursk, in western Russia (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), during World War II. The salient was a bulge in the Soviet lines that stretched 150 miles (240 km) from north to south and protruded 100 miles (160 km) westward into the German lines. In an attempt to recover the offensive on the Eastern Front, the Germans planned a surprise attack on the salient from both north and south, hoping to surround and destroy the Soviet forces within the bulge. The German assault forces consisted of almost 50 divisions containing 900,000 troops, including 17 motorized or armoured divisions having 2,700 tanks and mobile assault guns. But the Soviets had surmised the German attack beforehand and had withdrawn their main forces from the obviously threatened positions within the salient. The Germans launched their attack on July 5, but they soon encountered deep antitank defenses and minefields, which the Soviets had emplaced in anticipation of the attack. The Germans advanced only 10 miles (16 km) into the salient in the north and 30 miles (48 km) in the south, losing many of their tanks in the process. At the height of the battle on July 12, the Soviets began to counterattack, having built up by then a marked preponderance of both troops and tanks. Their subsequent successes encouraged them to develop a broad offensive that recovered the nearby city of Orel (now Oryol) on August 5 and that of Kharkov (now Kharkiv, Ukraine) on August 23. The Battle of Kursk was the largest tank battle in history, involving some 6,000 tanks, 2,000,000 troops, and 4,000 aircraft. It marked the decisive end of the German offensive capability on the Eastern Front and cleared the way for the great Soviet offensives of 1944–45.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kursk — ( ru. Курск; IPA ru|ˈkursk) is a city in the western part of Central Russia, at the confluence of Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. It is the administrative center of Kursk Oblast. The population of the city was 412,442 in 2002 (according to the 2002 …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Stalingrad — Coordinates: 48°42′N 44°31′E / 48.7°N 44.517°E / 48.7; 44.517 …   Wikipedia

  • Kursk — /koorsk/; Russ. /koohrddsk/, n. a city in the W Russian Federation in Europe. 413,000. * * * ▪ Russia  city and administrative centre of Kursk oblast (region), western Russia. It lies along the upper Seym River, about 280 miles (450 km) south of… …   Universalium

  • battle — battle1 battler, n. /bat l/, n., v., battled, battling. n. 1. a hostile encounter or engagement between opposing military forces: the battle of Waterloo. 2. participation in such hostile encounters or engagements: wounds received in battle. 3. a… …   Universalium

  • Battle of Kursk — Operation Citadel Part of the Eastern Front of World War II …   Wikipedia

  • Kursk (disambiguation) — Kursk may refer to: *Kursk, a city in Russia *Kursk Oblast, a federal subject of Russia *Kursk crater, a meteorite impact crater in Russia *Kursk Magnetic Anomaly *Battle of Kursk, the decisive battle that sealed the fate of Nazi Germany and one… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Kursk order of battle — is a list of the significant land units that fought in the Battle of Kursk between July and August 1943. =German=Army Group Centre (Günther von Kluge)2nd Panzer Army (R. Schmidt)*XXXV Corps (Lothar Rendulic) **34th Infantry Division **56th… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Narva (1944) — Battle of Narva Part of Eastern Front (World War II) Narva River: Hermann Castle on the Estonian bank (le …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of the Dukla Pass — Part of the Eastern Front of World War II Date 8 September – 28 October 1944 Location Dukla Pass, present day Slovakia …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Okinawa — Part of World War II, the Pacific War …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”