Description
The Germans launched their attack on the Kursk salient on 5th July 1943, and for both sides this was maximum effort. The Soviets, however, informed by intelligence of the impending German attack, had ample time to prepare huge defensive works with hundreds of planned anti tank belts. They deployed 10 Tank Corps, 5 Tank Armies, 1 mechanized Corps and 14 Field Armies equipped with 4000 anti tank guns and 6000 tanks.
The Soviet Air Forces were equally impressive – 2600 aircraft. The Germans, outnumbered in every department, were forced to scrape together whatever serviceable tanks they could from their badly under strength Panzer formations. Most of the tanks deployed were old Panzer IIIs or IVs, with only 147 Tigers available for action. The northern German attack made very little headway, but, in the south, the Germans had grouped all of the SS Panzer forces into the II SS Panzer Corps and these units, despite the enormous Soviet forces ranged against them, began to smash their way through the Soviet defences. The Luftwaffe too had brought together 1200 aircraft and these made an immediate impact on the fighting – on the first day alone German fighters broke up massive formations of Soviet aircraft, over 400 victories being claimed.
By: Nicolas Trudgian
