Prokhorovka: The Deciding Battle of Kursk » Armchair General Magazine

By the end of June, the Germans were finally ready. But so were the Russians. Through an intricate and reliable spy network known as “the Lucy Ring” the Russian high command was well informed about the German plan and began stuffing the Kursk bulge with every weapon and man it could spare.

The forces grew until elements of three Russian “Fronts” were packed into a tiny area. It included Rokossovsky’s Central Front (the northern sector), Vatutin’s Voronesh Front (Southern sector) and Konev’s Steppe or Reserve Front. Remember, the term “Front,” when referring to the Soviet army, was the equivalent of an army group, not a battle line as the word suggests.

It would be Marshall Georgi Zhukov who would coordinate the defenses and counteroffensives at Kursk. With information supplied by the infamous spy ring within the higher echelons of German command, Zhukov was fully aware of the enemy’s intentions. As early as April 12th, he conferred with Stalin in Moscow.

Quietly listening, Stalin puffed his pipe and nodded his head. Though the Premier considered Zhukov a threat to his authority, there was no refuting his talents as a military leader. Stalin needed Zhukov at this point in the war. He knew full well that he would later have an opportunity to put the Marshal back into obscurity, or so he thought. Stalin agreed with the successful commander. The area in the salient would be strongly reinforced with three concentric belts of mines, antitank guns, artillery and fortified infantry positions. In reserve would be a huge force of tank-heavy units for a swift and brutal counterattack.

Zhukov and his commanders were quite enthusiastic about the battle to come. Not only would German tanks and men wear themselves down on the Russian defenses, but also a series of counterattacks were scheduled to take place once the enemy had been stopped. Huge reserves of tanks and self-propelled anti-tank guns were nearby, either to plug any holes made by the Germans or to launch the blows that would spell the doom of the German offensive.

Thus the German high command was unaware that an attack in great force into Kursk was precisely what the Russian military desired. What the Russians desperately needed was time. The Soviet leaders felt sure they could overwhelm even the most ardent German efforts, IF they were given enough time to prepare. Unwittingly, Hitler’s procrastination would be the very thing that his mortal enemy required to give more assurance of a Soviet victory.

As time passed, and the ground dried from the spring thaw, the Germans still did not come. Excellent! Now Zhukov began to work in earnest. Organizational tables and communications between units were much improved. Better radios, automatic weapons, antitank guns and an enormous amount of mines (2,500 anti-personnel and 2,200 antitank mines per mile of defensive front) were brought into the salient.

Whole antiaircraft and artillery divisions were formed and moved to the front to give the Supreme Command more mobility with better control and higher density of fire. Tank production was increased, with units in the Kursk area having top priority.

By the summer of 1943, the Russians had five full tank armies ready for action. Each army included two tank corps and one mechanized corps. Over one million soldiers were prepared to fight. In the air, the aircraft wings were flying improved Yaks and Sturmoviks. Each of the four Fronts now had its own air arm of 700 to 800 aircraft.

In actuality, the defenders outnumbered the attackers in every area. While no sets of figures found in historical documents match exactly, it is estimated that the German forces at Kursk numbered 900,000 men, 2,500 aircraft, 10,000 artillery pieces and 2,400 tanks.

On the Soviet side of the ledger, there were 1,350,000 men, 2,650 aircraft, 20,000 artillery pieces and nearly 4,000 tanks and self-propelled guns. Numerically then, considering the standard table of odds (an attacker should have a 3 to 1 advantage against the enemy and a 5 to1 advantage against well-prepared defenses), the Germans were defeated before they began.

The Thunderous Roar!

On July 5th, the moment came. With a roar of artillery, the deciding battle got under way.

The mighty German armored spearheads swept forward into a sea of mines. Minefields were everywhere. The columns continued. Flying low overhead were specially equipped tank-killing Stukas, armed with 37mm cannon that could easily penetrate the lightly armored tops of Russian tanks. From the other side came the Yaks and Sturmoviks, wreaking the same havoc on German armor.

The dreaded T-34s were present, in such numbers that German tank crews described their mad charges as suicidal, yet effective. Knowing that range was their enemy against the 88mm guns of the Tigers, the T-34s and other Soviet armor rushed ahead and closed with the enemy. They came so fast and so many that even the most proficient German tank crews could not stop them all. They were almost like human-wave assaults dressed in thick steel. Once at close range, even the vaunted Tiger found itself vulnerable to an armor-piercing 76mm shell.

Explosions from dying tanks came as rapidly as the rat-a-tat of machine gun fire. Both in the north and south, tanks were going up in flames every few seconds. Frightened peasants living in the area ran for their lives, screaming and covering their ears to shut out the mighty crescendo of death.

There were times when the smoke from burning vehicles blotted out the sun. Never before or since had an action of this magnitude been fought in such a reduced space. Aircraft constantly fell from the sky, like stricken birds, the flames and smoke of their fiery destruction lacing the sky. German gunners claimed over 400 Russian planes shot down in one day.