![]() They no longer had the strength to carry out a large scale offensive and settled on the Kursk salient as a more limited, manageable battlefield. In March 1943 forces on the Eastern Front were 470,000 below their established strength, and had only around 600 operational tanks. Their defeat at Stalingrad in February 1943 and losses since meant that the Germans were increasingly short of men and equipment. Click to enlarge Map of the Kursk Area The German Plan Both sides realised that the fighting to come this summer would be decisive in determining the outcome of the war in the east. It gave the Soviets a useful springboard to attack the Germans, but also offered the Germans an opportunity to close it with a pincer movement, trapping large Soviet forces. This three sided position was around 160 miles from north to south and extended up to 100 miles west into the German lines. After fighting in the winter of 1942-43 the front line around the city of Kursk had stabilised into a large Soviet salient. ![]() Roads turned to mud and rivers became impassable torrents as the snow and ice melted. Fought between the 5 th July and 23 rd August 1943, it began with a strong German attack, but ended with the Soviet Union having taken the initiative on the Eastern Front, something they kept for the rest of the war.Īs the frozen Russian landscape began to thaw in the spring of 1943 the Eastern Front was brought to a temporary standstill. The Battle of Kursk was one of the most decisive battles of the Second World War.
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