Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk (July–August 1943) was the largest tank battle in history and Germany's last major strategic offensive on the Eastern Front. Operation Citadel (5 July) aimed to pinch off the Kursk salient — a large Soviet bulge in the German line — and restore the strategic initiative lost at Stalingrad. But the Soviets, forewarned by British intelligence from the Enigma intercepts, prepared deep defensive belts of mines, anti-tank guns, and reserves that absorbed the German panzer assault and then launched devastating counter-offensives — Operations Kutuzov and Polkovodets Rumyantsev — that drove the Germans back hundreds of kilometres. The Wehrmacht lost irreplaceable armoured strength it could not replace; the Red Army demonstrated the ability to absorb a German armoured offensive and immediately mount its own. After Kursk, Germany fought only defensive battles in the east. The liberation of Orel, Belgorod, and Kharkov followed within weeks, and the Red Army would not stop until Berlin.
- Year: 1943 CE
- Category: Military
