History is always written by the winners, exaggerating their own importance and sometimes belittling the dignity of the enemy. Much has been written and said about the significance of the Battle of Kursk for all mankind. This great epic battle was another bitter lesson that claimed the lives of many people. And it will be a great blasphemy for future generations not to draw the right conclusions from those past events.
General situation on the eve of the General Battle
By the spring of 1943, the formed Kursk salient not only interfered with the normal railway communication between the German army groups "Center" and "South". An ambitious plan to encircle 8 Soviet armies was associated with him. Until now, the Nazis have not carried out anything like this even in a more favorable period for them. According to some historians, the obviously unrealistic plan was, rather, an act of desperation. Allegedly, Hitler was most afraid of the Allied landing in Italy, so his army tried to protect itself in the East by such measures, finishing with the Soviets.
This point of view does not stand up to scrutiny. The meaning of Stalingrad andThe Battle of Kursk lies in the fact that it was in these military theaters that crushing blows were de alt to the well-coordinated military machine of the Wehrmacht. The long-awaited initiative was in the hands of the Soviet troops. After these great historical events, the wounded fascist beast was dangerous and snapped, but even he himself knew that he was dying.
Preparing for the decisive moment
One of the key aspects in the significance of the Battle of Kursk is the determination with which the Soviet soldiers were ready to demonstrate to the enemy that two terrible years had not been in vain for them. This does not mean that the Red Army at one fine moment was reborn, having solved all its old problems. There were still enough of them. This was primarily due to the low qualification of military personnel. Personnel shortage was irreplaceable. To survive, they had to come up with new approaches to solving problems.
One of these examples can be considered the organization of anti-tank strongholds (PTOP). Previously, anti-tank guns were lined up in one line, but experience has shown that it is more efficient to concentrate them in original, well-fortified islands. Each PTOP gun had several positions for firing in all directions. Each of these strongholds was located at a distance of 600-800 meters from each other. If enemy tanks tried to wedge in and pass between such "islands", they would inevitably fall under cross artillery fire. And on the side, tank armor is weaker.
How will this military trick work in real combatsituation, had to be clarified during the Battle of Kursk. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of artillery and aviation, to which the Soviet command paid close attention, due to the emergence of a new factor, on which Hitler placed great hopes. We are talking about the emergence of new tanks.
Lack of Soviet fire weapons
In the spring of 1943, Marshal of Artillery Voronov, reporting to Stalin on the state of affairs, noted that the Soviet troops did not have guns capable of effectively fighting new enemy tanks. It was necessary to urgently take measures to eliminate the backlog in this area, and in the shortest possible time. By order of the State Defense Committee, the production of 57-mm anti-tank guns was resumed. There was also a feverish modernization of existing armor-piercing shells.
However, all these measures were ineffective due to lack of time and necessary materials. A new PTAB bomb entered service with aviation. Weighing only 1.5 kg, it was capable of hitting 100mm top armor. Such "gifts for the Fritz" were loaded into a container of 48 pieces. The IL-2 attack aircraft could take 4 such containers on board.
Finally, 85-mm anti-aircraft guns were installed in especially important areas. They were carefully camouflaged, under orders not to fire on enemy aircraft under any circumstances.
From the measures described above, it is clear what importance the Battle of Kursk attached to the Soviet soldiers. At the most difficult moment, determination to win and natural ingenuity came to the rescue. But thisthere were few, and the price, as always, was huge human losses.
The course of the battle
A lot of conflicting information and various myths created for propaganda purposes do not allow us to put an end to this issue. History has long brought to the judgment of posterity the results and significance of the Battle of Kursk. But all the new details that are revealed make us once again marvel at the courage of the soldiers who won in this hell.
Grouping "genius of defense" Model launched an offensive in the north of the Kursk salient. Natural conditions limited the room for maneuver. The only possible place for the appearance of the Germans was a section of the front 90 km wide. This advantage was competently disposed of by the Red Army under the command of Konev. The Ponyri railway station became a "fire bag" into which advanced units of the fascist troops fell.
Soviet gunners used the tactics of "flirting guns". When enemy tanks appeared, they began to hit with direct fire, thereby riveting the fire on themselves. The Germans at full speed rushed towards them to destroy them, and came under fire from other camouflaged Soviet anti-tank guns. The side armor of tanks is not as massive as the front. At a distance of 200-300 meters, Soviet guns could completely destroy armored vehicles. At the end of day 5, Model's attack in the north of the ledge bogged down.
The southern direction under the command of one of the best commanders of the twentieth century, Heinrich von Manstein, had more chances of success. There's nothing to maneuver herelimited. To this must be added a high level of training and professionalism. 2 out of 3 lines of Soviet troops were broken through. From the operational report for July 10, 1943, it followed that the retreating Soviet units were pursued closely by German troops. For this reason, there was no way to block the road leading from Teterevino to Ivanovsky settlement with anti-tank mines.
Battle of Prokhorovka
To cool the ardor of the presumptuous Manstein, the reserves of the Steppe Front were urgently involved. But by this time, only a miracle did not allow the Germans to break through the 3rd line of defense near Prokhorovka. They were greatly hampered by the threat from the flank. Being cautious, they waited for the SS "Dead Head" soldiers to cross to the other side of the Psel River and destroy the artillerymen.
At that moment, Rotmistrov's tanks, about which the German aircraft had timely warned, approaching Prokhorovka, were assessing the future battlefield. They were to advance in a narrow corridor between the Psel River and the railroad tracks. The task was complicated by the impassable ravine, and in order to go around it, it was necessary to line up at the back of each other's heads. This made them easy targets.
Going to certain death, they stopped the German breakthrough at the cost of incredible efforts and colossal sacrifices. Prokhorovka and its importance in the Battle of Kursk are regarded as the culmination of this general battle, after which large-scale attacks of this magnitude were not undertaken by the Germans.
Ghost of Stalingrad
The result of the operation "Kutuzov", which began with an offensive in the rear of the Model group, was the liberation of Belgorod and Orel. This joyful news was marked by the roar of guns in Moscow, saluting in honor of the winners. And already on August 22, 1943, Manstein, violating Hitler's hysterical order to keep Kharkov, left the city. Thus, he completed a series of battles for the recalcitrant Kursk salient.
If we talk briefly about the significance of the Battle of Kursk, then we can recall the words of the German commander Guderian. In his memoirs, he said that with the failure of Operation Citadel on the Eastern Front, calm days disappeared. And one cannot but agree with him on this.
