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1943 Russia
Kursk, Turning Point in the East
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The highlight of 1943 on the Russian Front was the Battle of Kursk in July. The Germans planned a large summer offensive, called Operation Zitadelle (Citadel), designed to cut off a large Russian salient where they felt the Russians were assembling a large attack of their own. Fifteen divisions from Army Group Center would attack in the north, including six panzer divisions, while eighteen divisions from Army Group South attacked in the south, also including six panzer divisions. These two pincers would meet in the middle and a large group of Russians would be captured, just like the large successes of 1941. Unfortunately for the Germans, several things went wrong with the plan, partly caused by their own mistakes. The offensive was delayed for months because Hitler wanted to get large numbers of his two new tanks, the Tiger and Panther, into action. That gave the Russians, who had been warned, probably by British Intelligence, time to prepare. They sewed minefields and installed anti-tank guns and artillery in a deep defensive zone across the neck of the salient. They withdrew their armored forces out of harm's way and put them in position for a massive counter attack. This caused the German attacks, when they came, to grind to a halt well short of their linkup. As the advances faltered, the Russians finally launched their counterattack on July 12 although Hitler had already ordered a halt to the operation for July 13 due to the Allied landings on Sicily. The Russian counterattack crashed into the German panzer divisions in the largest tank battle of the war with over 6000 tanks involved for both sides. By the time the intense four week battle had ended, the Russians had their first major summer victory over the Germans and the War in the East tilted in their favor as the Germans scrambled to recover from their second major defeat in less than a year. The Russians now had the strategic initiative and did not surrender it for the rest of the war.
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Below are the forces involved at the Battle of Kursk
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German Army Army Group Center 9th Army 45th, 72nd, 137th, 251st Infantry Divisions 7th, 31st, 102nd, 258th Infantry Divisions 86th, 292nd Infantry Divisions 6th Infantry Division 216th, 383rd Infantry Divisions Army Reserve 10th Panzergrenadier Division 2nd Panzer Army XXXV Army Corps 34th, 56th, 262nd, 299th Infantry Divisions LIII Army Corps 25th Panzer Grenadier Division 208th, 211th, 293rd Infantry Divisions LV Army Corps 110th, 112th, 134th, 296th, 339th Infantry Divisions Army Reserve Army Group Reserve
Army Group South 4th Panzer Army LII Army Corps 57th, 255th, 332nd Infantry Divisions Grossdeutschland Pzgr Division 1st SS Panzergrenadier Division (LAH) 2nd SS Panzergrenadier Division (Das Reich) 3rd SS Panzergrenadier Division (Totenkopf) Army Detachment Kempf (VIII Army) 106th, 320th Infantry Divisions XLII Army Corps 161st, 282nd Infantry Divisions Army Group Reserve XXIV Panzer Corps 5th SS Panzergrenadier Division (Wiking)
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Russian Army Central Front 17th Rifle Corps : 6th, 70th, 75th Guards Rifle Divisions 18th Rifle Corps : 2nd, 3rd, 4th Guards Rifle Divisions 15th Rifle Corps : 8th, 74th, 148th Rifle Divisions 19th Rifle Corps : 15th, 81st, 307th Rifle Divisions 42nd Rifle Corps : 16th, 202nd, 399th Rifle Divisions 73rd, 137th, 148th Rifle Divisions 24th Rifle Corps : 112 Rifle Divisions, 42nd, 129th Rifle Brigades 30th Rifle Corps : 121st, 141st, 322nd Rifle Divisions 55th Rifle Division 248th Rifle Brigade 18th Rifle Corps : 69th, 149th, 246th Rifle Divisions 27th Rifle Corps : 60th, 193rd Rifle Divisions, 115th Rifle Brigade 37th Guards Rifle Division 181st, 94th, 354th Rifle Divisions 28th Rifle Corps : 112th, 211th, 280th Rifle Divisions 102nd, 106th, 140th, 162nd, 175th (NKVD) Rifle Divisions Front Reserves Support Troops
Voronezh Front 6th Guards Army 22nd Guards Rifle Corps : 67th, 71st, 90th Guards Rifle Divisions 23rd Guards Rifle Corps : 51st, 52nd, 375th Guards Rifle Divisions 89th Guards Rifle Division Army Troops 7th Guards Army 24th Guards Rifle Corps : 15th, 36th, 72nd Guards Rifle Division 25th Guards Rifle Corps : 73rd, 78th, 81st Guards Rifle Divisions Army Troops 38th Army 167th, 280th, 204th, 232nd, 240th, 340th Rifle Division Army Troops 40th Army : 100th, 161st, 184th, 206th, 219th, 237th, 309th Rifle Divisions Army Troops 69th Army 107th, 111th,183rd, 270th, 305th Rifle Divisions Army Troops
1st Tank Army Army Troops Front Reserves 35th Guards Rifle Corps : 92nd, 93rd, 94th Guards Rifle Divisions Support Troops
Steppe Front (Steppe Military District) 4th Guards Army 20th Guards Rifle Corps : 5th, 7th, 8th Guards Airborne Rifle Division 21st Guards Rifle Corps : 68th, 69th, 80th Guards Rifle Divisions Army Troops 5th Guards Army 32nd Guards Rifle Corps : 13th, 66th Guards Rifle Divisions 6th Guards Airborne Rifle Divisions 33rd Guards Rifle Corps : 95th, 97th Guards Rifle Divisions 9th Guards Airborne Division’ 42nd Guards Rifle Division Army Troops 27th Army 71st, 147th, 155th, 163rd, 166th, 241st Rifle Divisions Army Troops 47th Army 21st Rifle Corps : 23rd, 218th, 337th Rifle Divisions 23rd Rifle Corps : 29th, 30th, 38th Rifle Divisions Army Troops 53rd Army 28th Guards Rifle Division 84th, 116th, 214th, 233rd, 252nd, 299th Rifle Divisions Army Troops 5th Guards Tank Army Army Troops Front Reserves 3rd Guards Cav Corps 5th Guards Cav Corps 7th Guards Cav Corps 4th Guards Tank Army Support Troops
Reinforcement from Southwestern Front 2nd Tank Corps
Reinforcement from STAVKA Reserves
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