06/22/09

Battle of Kursk (Kursk bulge)

The Soviets knew where the next German offensive would take place. A German counter offensive was planned on the Kursk bulge in the line that formed in the spring of 1943. The Soviets prepared for the offensive by doubling numbers of infantry, most armor was in the Kursk bulge. Artillery and anti tank guns are what the Soviet defense depended on. The German plan was called Operation Citadel. The German plans of attack took part of two army groups north and center. The Ninth Army on the northern part of the bulge and the Fourth Panzer Army in the south. The Germans had 17 panzer divisions to take part in the battle. The Panzer divisions were armed with the newest German tanks the Tiger, Panther, and Elephants. July 5^th the Citadel center offensive started on Kursk bulge. In the north the 9^th Army would only advance six miles into the bulge through the offensive. July 7^th, Hoth’s 4^th panzer army manages to advance 20 miles into the Kursk bulge. But July 10^th he has to commit his tank reserves because of so many losses from anti tank guns. July 11^th Zhukov and Vassilevsky take control and start flanking maneuver on the Bryansk front. The anti tank guns stopped the Panzers. The Elephants were nearly all lost because of having no machine gun mounted. At close range they were wiped out by anti tank infantry. Many Panthers were broken down during the attack. Tiger could not do much better because of the concentration of anti tank guns. On July 12^th the 4^th Panzer army and the Soviet 5^th Frard’s tank army clashed. This was the biggest tank battle in history. Over 1700 tanks battled it out. Later on the 12^th the Soviet won the tank battle. The 4^th Panzer Army was virtually wiped out. The Soviet counter-attack pushed the offensive back. By this time red air force had air superiority. The fighting did not stop until late August. The Germans were far from the starting line of battle.

Battlefield Battle of Kursk