Battle of Kursk is one of the bloodiest battles in history. It was attended by millions of people, and also involved the most advanced military equipment. In terms of its scale and losses, it can hardly be inferior only to the famous Battle of Stalingrad.
In this article we will tell you about the history and results of the Battle of Kursk.
History of the Kursk battle
The Battle of Kursk or the Battle of the Kursk Bulge, lasted from July 5 to August 23, 1943. It was a complex of defensive and offensive operations of Soviet troops in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) designed to disrupt the full-scale offensive of the Wehrmacht and destroy Hitler's plans ...
In terms of its scale and resources used, the Battle of Kursk is rightfully considered one of the main battles of the entire Second World War (1939-1945). An interesting fact is that in historiography it represents the largest tank battle in the history of mankind.
This confrontation was attended by approximately 2 million people, 6,000 tanks and 4,000 aircraft, not counting other heavy artillery. It lasted for 50 days.
After the victory of the Red Army over the Nazis in the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk was a turning point in the course of the war. As a result, the initiative fell into the hands of the Soviet army. It is worth noting that this was obvious for the allies of the USSR, in the faces of the United States and Great Britain.
Having defeated the Nazis, the Red Army continued to de-occupy the captured cities, conducting successful offensive operations. It is important to note that the Germans followed a "scorched earth" policy during the retreat.
The concept of "scorched earth" should be understood as a method of waging war, when retreating troops carry out total destruction of all reserves vital for the enemy (food, fuel, etc.), as well as any industrial, agricultural, civilian objects in order to prevent them use by advancing enemies.
Losses of the parties
From the USSR side:
- over 254,400 killed, captured and missing;
- more than 608 800 wounded and sick;
- 6064 tanks and self-propelled guns;
- 1,626 military aircraft.
From the Third Reich:
- According to German data - 103,600 killed and missing, over 433,900 wounded;
- According to Soviet data, there were 500,000 total losses on the Kursk salient, about 2,900 tanks and at least 1,696 aircraft were destroyed.
