The official Soviet historiography called the Battle of Prokhorovka legendary. A battle broke out on the battlefield, which was recognized as the greatest oncoming tank battle in history, without specifying, however, the number of armored vehicles participating in it.
For a long time the main source of information about this episode of the war was I. Markin's book "The Battle of Kursk", published in 1953. Then, already in the seventies, the film epic "Liberation" was filmed, one of the episodes of which was dedicated to the Battle of Kursk. And the main part of it was the battle of Prokhorovka. It can be said without exaggeration that the Soviet people studied the history of the war from these works of art. For the first ten years, there was no information at all about the world's greatest tank battle.
Legendary means mythical. These words are synonyms. Historians are forced to turn to myths when other sources are unavailable. The battle near Prokhorovka did not take place in Old Testament times, but in 1943. The unwillingness of honored military leaders to give details about so littleevents remote in time testify to the tactical, strategic or other miscalculations made by them.
In the early summer of 1943, near the city of Kursk, the front line was formed in such a way that an arched ledge was formed deep into the German defenses. The German General Staff of the Ground Forces reacted to this situation rather stereotypically. Their task was to cut off, surround, and subsequently defeat the Soviet grouping, consisting of the Central and Voronezh fronts. According to the "Citadel" plan, the Germans were going to deliver counter strikes in the direction from Orel and Belgorod.
The enemy's intentions were guessed. The Soviet command took measures to prevent a breakthrough of the defense and was preparing a retaliatory strike, which was to follow after the exhaustion of the advancing German troops. Both opposing sides were moving armored forces to implement their plans.
It is authentically known that on July 10, the 2nd SS Panzer Corps under the command of Gruppenführer Paul Hausser collided with units of the Fifth Panzer Army of Lieutenant General Pavel Rotmistrov, who was preparing for the offensive. The resulting confrontation lasted for almost a week. It culminated on July 12.
What is true in this information and what is fiction?
Apparently, the battle of Prokhorovka came as a surprise, both for the Soviet and for the German command. Tanks are used for the offensive, their main function is supportinfantry and overcoming the lines of defense. The number of Soviet armored vehicles outnumbered the enemy, so at first glance the oncoming battle was unprofitable for the Germans. However, the enemy skillfully took advantage of the favorable terrain, which made it possible to fire from long distances. The Soviet T-34-75 tanks, which had an advantage in maneuver, were inferior to the Tigers in turret armament. In addition, every third Soviet vehicle in this battle was a light reconnaissance T-70.
The factor of surprise was also important, the Germans discovered the enemy earlier, and were the first to launch the attack. Their best coordination of actions was due to well-organized radio communications.
In such difficult conditions, the battle of Prokhorovka began. The losses were huge, and their ratio was not in favor of the Soviet troops.
According to the plan of the commander of the Voronezh Front Vatutin and a member of the military council Khrushchev, the result of the counterattack was to be the defeat of the German group that was trying to make a breakthrough. This did not happen, and the operation was declared a failure. However, later it turned out that there was still a benefit from it, and a huge one. The Wehrmacht suffered catastrophic losses, the German command lost the initiative, and the offensive plan was thwarted, albeit at the cost of a lot of blood. Then a retroactively invented plan for the battle near Prokhorovka appeared, and the operation was declared a major military success.
So, the official description of these events near Kursk is based on three myths:
Myth one: pre-planned operation. Although it wasn'tso. The battle took place due to insufficient awareness of the enemy's plans.
Myth two: the main reason for the loss of tanks by the sides was the oncoming battle. This was not true either. Most of the armored vehicles, both German and Soviet, were hit by anti-tank artillery.
Myth three: the battle took place continuously and on one field - Prokhorovsky. And it wasn't. The battle consisted of many separate combat episodes, from 10 to 17 July 1943.
