✦ History

Battle of Kursk

July 5 – August 23, 1943

Result Soviet victory

Major Eastern Front battle near Kursk in southwestern Russia in summer 1943, ending in Soviet victory. The largest battle in warfare history and the deadliest armoured battle ever, it began with Germany's Operation Citadel on 5 July to pinch off the Kursk salient, with fierce house-to-house combat; second only to Stalingrad as the most-cited European-theatre turning point.

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Battles 2

July 1943
Operation Citadel Soviet victory Kursk Erich von Manstein, Georgy Zhukov, Walter Model
July 12, 1943
Battle of Prokhorovka Prokhorovka, Belgorod Oblast Nikolai Vatutin, Paul Hausser, Aleksey Zhadov

Key commanders

Axis 11

Adolf Hitler Erich von Manstein Field Marshal, Commander of Army Group South (southern pincer) Walter Model Field Marshal, Commander of the 9th Army (northern pincer) Günther von Kluge Field Marshal, Commander of Army Group Center Wolfram von Richthofen military commander Walter Weiß military commander Kurt Zeitzler military commander Paul Hausser military commander Hermann Hoth military commander Otto Deßloch military commander Werner Kempf military commander

Allies 10

Joseph Stalin Georgy Zhukov Marshal, Stavka representative coordinating the front commanders Konstantin Rokossovsky Marshal, Commander of the Central Front (northern sector) Nikolai Vatutin Army General, Commander of the Voronezh Front (southern sector) Ivan Konev Marshal, Commander of the Steppe Front (strategic reserve) Vasily Sokolovsky military commander Markian Popov military commander Ivan Bagramyan military commander Aleksey Zhadov military commander Pavel Rotmistrov military commander