The Kursk Bulge briefly about the main thing. The Battle of Kursk is a great turning point

Battle of Kursk - fighting during the Great Patriotic War in the area of ​​the Kursk ledge in the summer of 1943. It was a key element of the summer 1943 campaign of the Red Army, during which a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War, which began with the victory at Stalingrad, ended.

Chronological framework

In Russian historiography, the point of view was established that the Battle of Kursk took place from July 5 to August 23, 1943. Two periods are distinguished in it: the defensive stage and the counteroffensive of the Red Army.

At the first stage, the Kursk strategic defensive operation was carried out by the forces of two fronts of the Central (July 5-12, 1943) and Voronezh (July 5-23, 1943) with the involvement of the strategic reserves of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (Steppe Front), the purpose of which was to disrupt the Citadel plan ".

Background and plans of the parties

After the defeat at Stalingrad, the leadership of Germany faced two key problems: how to hold the eastern front under the increasing blows of the growing power of the Red Army, and how to keep the allies in their orbit, who had already begun to look for ways out of the war. Hitler believed that an offensive without such a deep breakthrough, as it was in 1942, should not only help solve these problems, but also raise the morale of the troops.

In April, a plan for Operation Citadel was developed, according to which two groups would strike in converging directions and encircle the Central and Voronezh fronts in the Kursk salient. According to Berlin's calculations, their defeat made it possible to inflict huge losses on the Soviet side, and to reduce the front line to 245 km, and to form reserves from the released forces. Two armies and one army group were allocated for the operation. South of Orel, Army Group (GA) "Center" deployed the 9th Army (A) of Colonel General V. Model. After several revisions of the plan, she received the task: breaking through the defense Central Front and, after passing about 75 km, to connect in the Kursk region with the troops of the GA "Yu" - the 4th Panzer Army (TA), Colonel General G. Goth. The latter was concentrated north of Belgorod and was considered the main force of the offensive. After breaking through the line of the Voronezh Front, she had to go to the meeting point for more than 140 km. The outer front of the encirclement was to be created by 23 ak 9A and the army group (AG) "Kempf" from the GA "South". It was planned to deploy active hostilities in a section of about 150 km.

For the "Citadel" GA "Center" allocated V. Model, whom Berlin appointed in charge of the operation, 3 tank (41.46 and 47) and one army (23) corps, a total of 14 divisions, of which 6 tank, and GA "South" - 4 TA and AG "Kempf" 5 corps - three tank (3, 48 and 2 shopping malls SS) and two army (52 ak and ak "Raus"), consisting of 17 divisions, including 9 tank and motorized.

Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (VGK) the first data on Berlin's planning for a major offensive operation received near Kursk in mid-March 1943. And on April 12, 1943, at a meeting with I.V. Stalin, a preliminary decision was already made on the transition to strategic defense. The Central Front of Army General K.K. Rokossovsky received the task of defending the northern part of the Kursk salient, repelling a possible strike, and then, together with the Western and Bryansk fronts, going on the counteroffensive and defeating the German group in the Orel region.

The Voronezh Front of Army General N.F. Vatutin was supposed to defend the southern part of the Kursk salient, bleed the enemy in the upcoming defensive battles, then go on the counteroffensive and, in cooperation with the Southwestern Front and the Steppe Fronts, complete his defeat in the Bel -city and Kharkov.

The Kursk defensive operation was considered as essential element throughout the summer campaign of 1943. It was planned that after the expected enemy offensive in the zone of the Central and Voronezh fronts was stopped, conditions would arise for completing its defeat and moving on to a general offensive from Smolensk to Taganrog. The Bryansk and Western fronts will immediately begin the Oryol offensive operation, which will help the Central Front finally thwart the enemy's plans. In parallel with it, the Steppe Front should approach the south of the Kursk ledge, and after its concentration it was planned to launch the Belgorod-Kharkov offensive operation, which was to be carried out in parallel with the Donbass offensive operation of the Southern Fronts and the South-Western Front.

On July 1, 1943, the Central Front had 711,575 people, including 467,179 combat personnel, 10,725 guns and mortars, 1,607 tanks and self-propelled guns, and the Voronezh Front had 625,590 military personnel, of which 417,451 combat personnel, 8,583 guns and mortars, 1,700 units armored vehicles.

Kursk defensive operation. Combat operations in the north of the Kursk Bulge, July 5-12, 1943

During April - June, the start of the "Citadel" was postponed several times. The last date was the dawn of July 5, 1943. On the Central Front, fierce battles unfolded over a 40 km section. 9 And with a small interval attacked in three directions. The main blow was inflicted on 13A by Lieutenant General N.P. Pukhov with the forces of 47 TC - on Olkhovatka, the second, auxiliary, 41 TC and 23 AK - on Malo-Arkhangelsk, on the right wing of 13 A and the left 48A of Lieutenant General P.L .Romanenko and the third - 46 shopping mall - to Gnilets on the right flank 70A of Lieutenant General I.V. Galanin. Heavy and bloody battles ensued.

In the Olkhovatsko-Ponyrovskoye direction, Model immediately launched more than 500 armored units into the attack, and groups of bombers went in waves in the air, but a powerful defense system did not allow the enemy to break the lines of the Soviet troops on the move.

In the second half of July 5, N.P. Pukhov moved part of the mobile reserves to the main strip, and K.K. Rokossovsky sent a howitzer and mortar brigades to the Olkhovatka area. Counterattacks by tanks and infantry, supported by artillery, halted the enemy advance. By the end of the day, a small “dent” had formed in the center of 13A, but the defense had not been broken anywhere. The troops of 48A and the left flank of 13A completely held their positions. At the cost of heavy losses, the 47th and 46th TCs managed to advance 6-8 km in the Olkhovat direction, while the 70A troops retreated only 5 km.

To restore the lost position at the junction of 13 and 70A, K.K. Rokossovsky in the second half of July 5 decided to conduct a counterattack on the morning of July 6 by 2 TA Lieutenant General A.G. Rodin and 19 TC in cooperation with the second echelon 13 A - 17 Guards . rifle corps (sk). He was unable to complete the task. After two days of fruitless attempts to implement the Citadel plan, 9A got bogged down in the defense of the Central Front. From July 7 to 11, the Ponyri station and the area of ​​​​the villages of Olkhovatka - Samodurovka - Gnilets, where two powerful centers of resistance were created, blocked the path to Kursk, became the epicenter of the battles in the strip 13 and 70A. By the end of July 9, the offensive of the main forces of 9A was stopped, and on July 11, she made the last unsuccessful attempt to break through the defenses of the Central Front.

On July 12, 1943, a turning point occurred in the fighting in this area. The Western and Bryansk fronts went on the offensive in the Oryol direction. V. Model, who was appointed responsible for the defense of the entire Oryol arc, began hastily transferring troops to Kursk near Orel. And on July 13, Hitler officially ended the Citadel. The depth of advance of 9A was 12-15 km at the front up to 40 km. No operational, let alone strategic, results have been achieved. Moreover, she did not hold back and already occupied positions. On July 15, the Central Front went over to the counteroffensive and two days later basically restored its position until July 5, 1943.

At dawn on July 5, 1943, the troops of the GA "South" went on the offensive. The main blow was inflicted in the zone of the 6th Guards. And Lieutenant General I.M. Chistyakov in the direction of Oboyan by forces of 4TA. More than 1168 armored units were involved here by the German side. In the auxiliary, Korochansky direction (east and northeast of Belgorod), the positions of the 7th Guards. And Lieutenant General M.S. Shumilov was attacked by 3 TK and "Raus" AG "Kempf", which had 419 tanks and assault guns. However, thanks to the resilience of the fighters and commanders of the 6th Guards. And, already in the first two days, the offensive schedule of the GA "South" was disrupted, and its divisions suffered great damage. And most importantly, the shock group GA "South" was split. 4TA and AG "Kempf" failed to create a continuous breakthrough front, because. AG "Kempf" was unable to cover the right wing of the 4TA and their troops began to move in divergent directions. Therefore, 4TA was forced to weaken the shock wedge and direct large forces to strengthen the right wing. However, a wider offensive front (up to 130 km) than in the north of the Kursk Bulge and more significant forces allowed the enemy to break through the line of the Voronezh Front in a zone up to 100 km by the end of the fifth day and enter the defense in the main direction up to 28 km, while in its hulls, 66% of armored vehicles failed.

On July 10, the second stage of the Kursk defensive operation of the Voronezh Front began, the epicenter of the fighting shifted to Prokhorovka station. The battle for this center of resistance lasted from July 10 to July 16, 1943. On July 12, a frontal counterattack was carried out. For 10-12 hours, about 1,100 armored units of the opposing sides acted at different times in the station area on a 40 km section. However, it did not bring the expected results. Although the troops of the GA "South" managed to be kept in the army defense system, all formations of the 4th TA and AG "Kempf" retain their combat capability. In the next four days, the most intense fighting took place south of the station in the interfluve of the Seversky and Lipovoy Donets, which was convenient for striking both the deep right flank of the 4TA and the left wing of the Kempf AG. However, the area was not protected. On the night of July 15, 1943, 2nd SS TC and 3rd TC surrounded four 69A divisions south of the station, but they managed to break out of the "ring", albeit with heavy losses

On the night of July 16-17, the troops of the GA "South" began to retreat in the direction of Belgorod, and by the end of July 23, 1943, the Voronezh Front pushed the GA "South" back approximately to the positions from which it launched the offensive. The goal set for the Soviet troops during the Kursk defensive operation was fully achieved.

Oryol offensive operation

After two weeks of bloody battles, the last strategic offensive of the Wehrmacht was stopped, but this was only part of the plan of the Soviet command for the summer campaign of 1943. Now, it was important to finally take the initiative into our own hands and turn the tide of the war.

The plan for the destruction of German troops in the Orel region, which received the code name Operation Kutuzov, was developed even before the Battle of Kursk. The troops of the Western, Bryansk and Central fronts, bordering the Oryol arc, were to strike in the general direction of Orel, cut 2 TA and 9A GA "Center" into three separate groups, surround them in the areas of Bolkhov, Mtsensk, Orel and destroy.

Part of the forces of the Western (commanded by Colonel General V.D. Sokolovsky), the entire Bryansk (Colonel General M.M. Popov) and the Central Fronts were involved in the operation. A breakthrough of the enemy defense was envisaged in five sectors. The Western Front was to strike the main blow with the troops of the left wing - 11 Guards A, Lieutenant General I.Kh. Bagramyan - on Khotynets and auxiliary - on Zhizdra, and the Bryansk Front - on Oryol (main attack) and Bolkhov (auxiliary). The Central Front, after completely stopping the 9A offensive, was to concentrate the main efforts of 70,13, 48A and 2 TA on the Kromsky direction. The start of the offensive was tightly linked to the moment when it became clear that the 9A strike force was exhausted and tied up in battles on the lines of the Central Front. According to the Headquarters, such a moment came on July 12, 1943.

A day before the offensive, Lieutenant General I.Kh. Bagramyan conducted reconnaissance in combat on the left flank of 2 TA. As a result, not only was the outline of the enemy's front line and his system of fire clarified, but in some areas the German infantry was driven out of the first trench. THEM. Baghramyan gave the order for the immediate start of a general offensive. Introduced on July 13, 1 mk completed the breakthrough of the second band. After that, the 5th shopping mall began to develop an offensive around Bolkhov, and the 1st shopping mall began to attack Khotynets.

The first day of the offensive on the Bryansk Front did not bring tangible results. Operating in the main, Oryol direction, 3A Lieutenant General A.V. Gorbatov and 63A Lieutenant General V.Ya. Kolpakchi by the end of July 13 broke through 14 km, and 61A of Lieutenant General P.A. Belova in the Bolkhov direction wedged into the enemy defenses only 7 km. The offensive of the Central Front, which began on July 15, did not change the situation either. His troops, by the end of July 17, threw back 9A only to the positions that she occupied by the beginning of the Battle of Kursk.

Nevertheless, already on July 19, the threat of encirclement loomed over the Bolkhov group, because. 11 Guards A broke through to the south for 70 km, stubbornly moved towards Bolkhov and 61A. This city was the "key" to Orel, so the warring parties began to build up their forces here. On the direction of the main attack of the Bryansk Front on July 19, the 3rd Guards TA, Lieutenant General P.S. Rybalko, is advanced. Having repulsed the enemy counterattacks, by the end of the day she broke through the second line of defense on the Oleshnya River. The grouping of the Western Front also hastily increased. A significant preponderance of forces, although not quickly, but gave its fruits. On August 5, 1943, one of the largest regional centers of the European part of the USSR, the city of Orel was liberated by the troops of the Bryansk Front.

After the destruction of the grouping in the area of ​​​​Bolkhov and Orel, the most intense hostilities unfolded on the Khotynets-Kromy front, and at the final stage of the Kutuzov operation, the most difficult battles flared up for the city of Karachev, which covered the approaches to Bryansk, which was liberated on August 15, 1943.

August 18, 1943 Soviet troops went to the German defensive line "Hagen", east of Bryansk. This operation "Kutuzov" ended. For 37 days, the Red Army advanced 150 km, the fortified bridgehead was liquidated and a large enemy grouping was created in a strategically important direction. favorable conditions for an attack on Bryansk and further to Belarus.

Belgorod - Kharkov offensive operation

It received the code name "Commander Rumyantsev", was carried out from August 3 to August 23, 1943 by the Voronezh (Army General N.F. Vatutin) and Steppe (Colonel General I.S. Konev) fronts and was the final stage of the Battle of Kursk. The operation was supposed to be carried out in two stages: at the first, to defeat the troops of the left wing of the GA "South" in the area of ​​Belgorod and Tomarovka, and then to liberate Kharkov. The steppe front was supposed to liberate Belgorod and Kharkov, and the Voronezh front was to bypass them from the north-west, to develop success on Poltava. It was planned to deliver the main blow by the armies of the adjacent flanks of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts from the area northwest of Belgorod in the direction of Bogodukhov and Valki, at the junction of 4 TA and AG Kempf, crush them and cut off their path to retreat to the west and southwest. Apply an auxiliary blow to Akhtyrka, with forces 27 and 40A, in order to block the pulling up of reserves to Kharkov. At the same time, the city was to be bypassed from the south by 57A of the South-Western Front. The operation was planned on a front of 200 km and a depth of up to 120 km.

On August 3, 1943, after a powerful artillery preparation, the first echelon of the Voronezh Front - 6 Guards A, Lieutenant General I.M. Chistyakov and 5 Guards A, Lieutenant General A.S. Zhadov crossed the Vorskla River, punched a 5 km gap on the front between Belgorod and Tomarovka, through which the main forces entered - 1TA Lieutenant General M.E. Katukov and 5th Guards TA Lieutenant General P.A. Rotmistrov. Having passed the "corridor" of the breakthrough and deployed in battle formation, their troops dealt a strong blow to Zolochev. By the end of the day, the 5th Guards TA, having penetrated 26 km into the enemy’s defenses, cut off the Belgorod grouping from the Tomarovsky one, and reached the line with. Good Will, and in the morning of the next day broke through to Bessonovka and Orlovka. And the 6th Guards. On the evening of August 3, they broke through to Tomarovka. 4TA put up stubborn resistance. From August 4, 5 Guards. TA was pinned down by enemy counterattacks for two days, although according to the calculations of the Soviet side, on August 5, its brigades were supposed to go west of Kharkov and capture the city of Lyubotin. This delay changed the plan of the entire operation to quickly split the enemy grouping.

After two days of heavy fighting on the outskirts of Belgorod, on August 5, 1943, the 69th and 7th Guards A of the Steppe Front pushed the troops of the Kempf AG to the outskirts and began its assault, which ended in the evening with the clearing of its main part from the invaders. On the evening of August 5, 1943, in honor of the liberation of Orel and Belgorod, for the first time during the war years, a salute was given in Moscow.

On this day, a turning point occurred and in the strip of the Voronezh Front, in the auxiliary direction, the 40A of Lieutenant General K.S. went on the offensive. Moskalenko, in the direction of Boroml and 27A Lieutenant General S.G. Trofimenko, who by the end of August 7 released Grayvoron and advanced to Akhtyrka.

After the liberation of Belgorod, the onslaught of the Steppe Front also intensified. On August 8, 57A of Lieutenant General N.A. was transferred to him. Hagen. Trying to prevent the encirclement of his troops, on August 11, E. von Manstein launched counterattacks on the 1TA and 6 Guards A south of Bogodukhov with the forces of the 3 TC Kempf AG, which slowed down the pace of the offensive not only of the Voronezh, but also of the Steppe Front. Despite the stubborn resistance of the Kempf AG, Konev's troops continued to persistently move towards Kharkov. On August 17, they started fighting on its outskirts.

On August 18, GA "South" made a second attempt to stop the advance of two fronts with a counterattack, now on the stretched right flank of 27A. To repel it, N.F. Vatutin brought into battle the 4th Guards A, Lieutenant General G.I. Kulik. But the situation was not quickly reversed. The destruction of the Akhtyrskaya group dragged on until August 25th.

On August 18, the 57A offensive resumed, which, bypassing Kharkov from the southeast, was moving towards Merefa. In this situation, the capture on August 20 by units of 53A of Lieutenant General I.M. Managarov of a resistance center in the forest northeast of Kharkov was of great importance. Using this success, Lieutenant-General VD Kryuchenkona's 69th Army began to bypass the city from the northwest and west. During August 21, the corps of the 5th Guards TA concentrated in the strip 53A, which significantly strengthened the right wing of the Steppe Front. A day later, the Kharkov-Zolochev, Kharkov-Lyubotin-Poltava and Kharkov-Lyubotin highways were cut, and on August 22, 57A went south of Kharkov to the area of ​​​​the villages of Bezlyudovka and Konstantinovka. Thus, most of the enemy's retreat routes were cut off, so the German command was forced to begin a hasty withdrawal of all troops from the city.

On August 23, 1943, Moscow saluted the liberators of Kharkov. This event marked the victorious completion of the Battle of Kursk by the Red Army.

Results, meaning

About 4,000,000 people, over 69,000 guns and mortars, more than 13,000 tanks and self-propelled (assault) guns, up to 12,000 aircraft took part in the battle near Kursk, which lasted 49 days. It became one of the most large-scale events of the Great Patriotic War, its significance goes far beyond the Soviet-German front. "Major defeat Kursk Bulge was the beginning of a deadly crisis for the German army, - wrote the outstanding commander Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky. - Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk became three milestones in the fight against the enemy, three historical milestones on the way to victory over Nazi Germany. The initiative for action on the Soviet-German front - the main and decisive front of the entire Second World War - was firmly entrenched in the hands of the Red Army.

The beginning of the combat path of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps

The defeat of the fascist German army near Stalingrad in the winter of 1942-1943 shook the fascist bloc to its foundations. For the first time since the beginning of the Second World War, Nazi Germany, in all its inevitability, faced the formidable specter of inevitable defeat. Its military power, the morale of the army and the population were thoroughly undermined, and the prestige in the eyes of the allies was seriously shaken. In order to improve Germany's internal political situation and prevent the disintegration of the fascist coalition, the Nazi command decided in the summer of 1943 to conduct a major offensive operation on the central sector of the Soviet-German front. With this offensive, it hoped to defeat the grouping of Soviet troops located on the Kursk salient, seize the strategic initiative again and turn the course of the war in its favor. By the summer of 1943, the situation on the Soviet-German front had already changed in favor of the Soviet Union. By the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, the overall superiority in manpower and means was on the side of the Red Army: in people by 1.1 times, in artillery - by 1.7, in tanks - by 1.4 and in combat aircraft - by 2 times.

The Battle of Kursk occupies the Great Patriotic War special place. It lasted 50 days and nights, from July 5 to August 23, 1943. This battle has no equal in its bitterness and stubbornness of the struggle.

The goal of the Wehrmacht: the general plan of the German command was to encircle and destroy the troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts defending in the Kursk region. If successful, it was supposed to expand the front of the offensive and return the strategic initiative. To implement his plans, the enemy concentrated powerful strike groups, which numbered over 900 thousand people, about 10 thousand guns and mortars, up to 2700 tanks and assault guns, about 2050 aircraft. Great hopes were placed on the latest Tiger and Panther tanks, Ferdinand assault guns, Focke-Wulf-190-A fighter aircraft and Heinkel-129 attack aircraft.

The purpose of the Red Army: the Soviet command decided to first bleed the enemy strike groups in defensive battles, and then go on the counteroffensive.

The battle that began immediately took on a grandiose scope and was of an extremely tense character. Our troops did not flinch. They met the avalanche of enemy tanks and infantry with unprecedented stamina and courage. The offensive of the enemy strike groups was suspended. Only at the cost of huge losses did he manage to penetrate our defenses in some areas. On the Central Front - 10-12 kilometers, on the Voronezh - up to 35 kilometers. Hitler's operation "Citadel" was finally buried by the largest oncoming tank battle near Prokhorovka in the entire Second World War. It happened on July 12th. 1200 tanks and self-propelled guns simultaneously participated in it from both sides. This battle was won by the Soviet soldiers. The Nazis, having lost up to 400 tanks during the day of the battle, were forced to abandon the offensive.

On July 12, the second stage of the Battle of Kursk began - the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops. On August 5, Soviet troops liberated the cities of Orel and Belgorod. On the evening of August 5, in honor of this major success, a victorious salute was given in Moscow for the first time in two years of the war. Since that time, artillery salutes have constantly announced the glorious victories of Soviet weapons. On August 23, Kharkov was liberated.

Thus ended the Battle of the Kursk Fiery Bulge. During it, 30 selected enemy divisions were defeated. The Nazi troops lost about 500,000 men, 1,500 tanks, 3,000 guns and 3,700 aircraft. For courage and heroism, over 100 thousand Soviet soldiers, participants in the Battle of the Fiery Arc, were awarded orders and medals. The Battle of Kursk ended with a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War in favor of the Red Army.

Losses in the Battle of Kursk.

Type of losses	Red Army	Wehrmacht	Ratio
Personnel
Guns and mortars
Tanks and self-propelled guns
Aircraft

UDTK on the Kursk Bulge. Oryol offensive operation

Baptism of fire in the Battle of Kursk was received by the 30th Ural Volunteer Tank Corps, which is part of the 4th Tank Army.

T-34 tanks - 202 units, T-70 - 7, BA-64 armored vehicles - 68,

self-propelled 122-mm guns - 16, 85-mm guns - 12,

installations M-13 - 8, 76-mm guns - 24, 45-mm guns - 32,

37 mm guns - 16, 120 mm mortars - 42, 82 mm mortars - 52.

The army, commanded by Lieutenant General of the Tank Troops Vasily Mikhailovich Badanov, arrived at the Bryansk Front on the eve of the battles that began on July 5, 1943, and during the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops was brought into battle in the Oryol direction. The Ural Volunteer Tank Corps under the command of Lieutenant General Georgy Semenovich Rodin had the task of advancing from the Seredichi region to the south, cutting off enemy communications on the Bolkhov-Khotynets line, reaching the area of ​​the village of Zlyn, and then saddling the railroad and highway Orel-Bryansk and cutting off the escape route of the Oryol grouping of the Nazis to the west. And the Urals fulfilled the order.

On July 29, Lieutenant General Rodin set the task of the 197th Sverdlovsk and 243rd Molotov tank brigades: to cross the Nugr River in cooperation with the 30th motorized rifle brigade (MSBR), capture the village of Borilovo and then advance in the direction of the settlement Vishnevsky. The village of Borilovo was located on a high bank and dominated the surrounding area, and from the bell tower of the church it was visible for several kilometers in a circle. All this made it easier for the enemy to conduct a defense and hampered the actions of the advancing corps units. At 20:00 on July 29, after a 30-minute artillery preparation and a volley of guards mortars, two tank motorized rifle brigades began to force the Nugr River. Under the cover of tank fire, the company of Senior Lieutenant A.P. Nikolaev was the first to cross the Nugr River, capturing the southern outskirts of the village of Borilovo. By the morning of July 30, the battalion of the 30th Motorized Rifle Brigade, supported by tanks, captured the village of Borilovo despite the stubborn resistance of the enemy. All units of the Sverdlovsk brigade of the 30th UDTK were concentrated here. By order of the corps commander at 10:30, the brigade launched an offensive in the direction - height 212.2. The assault was heavy. The 244th Chelyabinsk Tank Brigade, which was previously in the reserve of the 4th Army, graduated from it.

Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Petrovich Nikolaev, company commander of a motorized rifle battalion of the 197th Guards Sverdlovsk Tank Brigade. From personal archiveON THE.Kirillova.

On July 31, in the liberated Borilovo, the heroically dead tankers and machine gunners were buried, including the commanders of tank battalions: Major Chazov and Captain Ivanov. The mass heroism of the corps soldiers, shown in the battles from July 27 to 29, was highly appreciated. Only in the Sverdlovsk brigade, 55 soldiers, sergeants and officers were awarded government awards for these battles. In the battle for Borilovo, the Sverdlovsk sanitary instructor Anna Alekseevna Kvanskova accomplished a feat. She rescued the wounded and, replacing the artillerymen who were out of action, brought shells to firing positions. A. A. Kvanskova was awarded the Order of the Red Star, and later for her heroism she was awarded the Orders of Glory III and II degrees.

Guards sergeant Anna Alekseevna Kvanskova assists the lieutenantA. A.Lysin, 1944.

Photo by M. Insarov, 1944. TsDOOSO. F.221. OP.3.D.1672

The exceptional courage of the Urals warriors, their readiness to carry out a combat mission without sparing their lives, aroused admiration. But the pain from the losses suffered was mixed with him. It seemed that they were too great in comparison with the achieved results.

A column of German prisoners of war captured in the battles in the Oryol direction, USSR, 1943.

Destroyed German vehicles during the battles on the Kursk Bulge, USSR, 1943.

From Kursk and Orel

The war brought us

to the most enemy gates,

Such things, brother.

Someday we'll remember this

And you won't believe yourself

And now we need one victory, One for all, we will not stand up for the price!

(lyrics from the movie "Belorussky Station")

To at The Russian Battle, according to historians, was a turning point inGreat Patriotic War . More than six thousand tanks took part in the battles on the Kursk Bulge. There has never been such a thing in world history, and probably never will be again. The actions of the Soviet fronts on the Kursk Bulge were led by Marshals Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov and Vasilevsky.

Zhukov G.K. Vasilevsky A.M.

If the Battle of Stalingrad made Berlin plunge into mourning tones for the first time, then Battle of Kursk finally announced to the world that now the German soldier will only retreat. Not a single piece of native land will be given to the enemy! It is not for nothing that all historians, both civilian and military, agree in one opinion - Battle of Kursk finally predetermined the outcome of the Great Patriotic War, and with it, the outcome of the Second World War.

From a speech on the radio by the Prime Minister of Great Britain W. Churchill : “I readily admit that most of the Allied military operations in the West in 1943 could not have been carried out in the form and at the time they were carried out, were it not forheroic, magnificent deeds and victories of the Russian army , who defends her native land under vile, unprovoked attack with unparalleled energy, skill and devotion, protects at a terrible price - the price of Russian blood.

No government in the history of mankind would have been able to survive such severe and cruel wounds that Hitler inflicted on Russia ...Russia not only survived and recovered from these terrible wounds, but also inflicted mortal damage on the German military machine. No other power in the world could do this.”

Historical parallels

The Kursk confrontation took place on 07/05/1943 - 08/23/1943 on the primordially Russian Land, over which the great noble prince Alexander Nevsky once held his shield. His prophetic warning to Western conquerors (who came to us with a sword) about imminent death from the onslaught of the Russian sword that met them once again gained strength. It is characteristic that the Kursk Bulge was somewhat similar to the battle given by Prince Alexander by the Teutonic knights on Lake Peipsi on 04/05/1242. Of course, the weapons of the armies, the scale and time of these two battles are incommensurable. But the scenario of both battles is somewhat similar: the Germans with their main forces tried to break through the Russian battle formation in the center, but were crushed by the offensive actions of the flanks. If we pragmatically try to say what is unique about the Kursk Bulge, summary will be as follows: unprecedented in history (before and after) operational-tactical density per 1 km of the front.- Read more at

The Battle of Kursk is the beginning.

“... On the eve of the Battle of Kursk, we, as part of the 125th special communications battalion, were transferred to the city of Orel. By that time, there was nothing left of the city, I remember only two surviving buildings - the church and the station. On the outskirts, some sheds have been preserved in some places. Piles of broken bricks, not a single tree in the whole huge city, constant shelling and bombing. At the temple there was a priest and several female choristers who remained with him. In the evening, our entire battalion, together with the commanders, gathered in the temple, the priest began to serve a prayer service. We knew we were going to attack the next day. Remembering their relatives, many wept. Scary…

There were three of us, radio operator girls. The rest of the men: signalmen, reel operators. Our task is to establish the most important thing - communication, without communication the end. I can’t say how many of us survived, we were scattered all over the front at night, but I think that it was not much. Our losses were very large. The Lord has saved me…” Osharina Ekaterina Mikhailovna (mother Sofia))

Here it all began! The morning of July 5, 1943, the silence over the steppes is living out its last moments, someone is praying, someone is writing the last lines of a letter to their beloved, someone is simply enjoying another moment of life. A few hours before the German offensive, a wall of lead and fire collapsed on the positions of the Wehrmacht.Operation Citadelgot the first hole. Artillery strikes were carried out along the entire front line, on German positions. The essence of this warning strike was not even so much in dealing damage to the enemy, but in psychology. Psychologically broken German troops went on the attack. The original plan was no longer working. For a day of stubborn fighting, the Germans were able to advance 5-6 kilometers! And these are unsurpassed tactics and strategists, whose shod boots trampled European soil! Five kilometers! Every meter, every centimeter of Soviet land was given to the aggressor with incredible losses, with inhuman labor.

(Volynkin Alexander Stepanovich)

The main blow of the German troops fell in the direction - Maloarkhangelsk - Olkhovatka - Gnilets. The German command sought to get to Kursk along the shortest path. However, it was not possible to break the 13th Soviet army. The Germans threw into battle up to 500 tanks, including a new development, the heavy Tiger tank. It did not work out to disorient the Soviet troops with a wide front of the offensive. The retreat was well organized, the lessons of the first months of the war were taken into account, besides, the German command could not offer something new in offensive operations. And it was no longer necessary to count on the high morale of the Nazis. Soviet soldiers defended their country, and warriors - heroes were simply invincible. How can one not remember the Prussian king Frederick II, who was the first to say that a Russian soldier can be killed, but impossible to defeat! Maybe if the Germans had listened to their great ancestor, there would not have been this catastrophe called the World War.

Only lasted six days Operation "Citadel", for six days the German units tried to move forward, and all these six days the stamina and courage of a simple Soviet soldier thwarted all the plans of the enemy.

July, 12 Kursk Bulge found a new, full-fledged owner. Troops of two Soviet fronts, Bryansk and Western, launched an offensive operation against German positions. This date can be taken as the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. From that day until the very end of the war, German weapons no longer knew the joy of victory. Now the Soviet army was waging an offensive war, a war of liberation. During the offensive, the cities were liberated: Orel, Belgorod, Kharkov. German attempts to counterattack had no success. It was no longer the strength of the weapon that determined the outcome of the war, but its spirituality, its purpose. The Soviet heroes liberated their land, and nothing could stop this force, it seemed that the land itself helps the soldiers go on and on, freeing city after city, village after village.

The Battle of Kursk is the greatest tank battle.

Neither before nor after has the world known such a battle. More than 1,500 tanks from both sides throughout the day on July 12, 1943, fought the hardest battles on a narrow heel of land near the village of Prokhorovka. Initially, inferior to the Germans in the quality of tanks and in quantity, the Soviet tankers covered their names with endless glory! People burned in tanks, were blown up by mines, the armor could not withstand the hit of German shells, but the battle continued. At that moment, nothing else existed, neither tomorrow nor yesterday! The dedication of the Soviet soldier, who once again surprised the world, did not allow the Germans to either win the battle itself or strategically improve their positions.

“... We suffered on the Kursk Bulge. Our 518th Fighter Regiment was defeated. The pilots died, and those who survived were sent to reform. So we ended up in aircraft workshops, began to repair aircraft. We repaired them both in the field, and during the bombing, and during the shelling. And so on until we were mobilized ... "( Kustova Agrippina Ivanovna)

“... Our artillery guards anti-tank fighter battalion under the command of Captain Leshchin has been on formation and combat exercises since April 1943 near Belgrade Kursk region for the development of new military equipment - anti-tank guns of 76 caliber.

I took part in the battles on the Kursk Bulge as the head of the division radio, which provided communication between the command and the batteries. The division command ordered me and other artillerymen to withdraw the remaining damaged equipment from the battlefield at night, as well as the wounded and killed soldiers. For this feat, all the survivors were awarded high government awards, the dead were awarded posthumously.

I remember well that on the night of July 20-21, 1943, on a combat alert, we quickly set out on our way to the settlement of Ponyri and began to take up firing positions in order to delay the Nazi tank column. The density of anti-tank weapons was the highest - 94 guns and mortars. The Soviet command, having accurately determined the directions of German attacks, managed to concentrate a large amount of anti-tank artillery on them. At 0400, a rocket signal was given, and artillery preparation began, which lasted about 30 minutes. German tanks T-4 "Panther", T-6 "Tiger", self-propelled guns "Ferdinand" and other artillery mortar guns in the amount of more than 60 barrels rushed to our combat positions. An unequal battle ensued, our division also took part in it, which destroyed 13 fascist tanks, but all 12 guns were crushed under the tracks of German tanks.

Of my brother-soldiers, I remember the guard lieutenant Aleksey Azarov the most - he knocked out 9 enemy tanks, for which he was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The commander of the second battery, Guard Lieutenant Kardybaylo knocked out 4 enemy tanks and was awarded the Order of Lenin.

The Battle of Kursk was won. In the most convenient place for the offensive, the German army was waiting for a trap that was capable of crushing the armored fist of the fascist divisions. There was no doubt about the victory, even before the start of the defensive operation, the Soviet military leaders were planning a further offensive ... "

(Sokolov Anatoly Mikhailovich)

The role of intelligence

From the beginning of 1943, in the intercepts of secret messages of the High Command of the Nazi army and secret directives of A. Hitler was increasingly mentioned Operation Citadel. According to the memoirs of A. Mikoyan, on March 27 he was informed in general details. V. Stalin about German plans. On April 12, the exact text of Directive No. 6 “On the Plan of Operation Citadel” translated from German of the German High Command, translated from German, was placed on Stalin’s table, endorsed by all services of the Wehrmacht, but not yet signed by Hitler, who signed it only three days later.

There are several versions regarding the sources of information.

central front

The command of the Central Fleet inspects the padded German technology. Front commander in the centerK. K. Rokossovsky and commander 16th VA S. I. Rudenko. July 1943.

V. I. Kazakov, the commander of the artillery of the Central Front, speaking about the preparation, noted that she:

was an integral and, in essence, the dominant part of the general counter-training, which pursued the goal of disrupting the enemy's offensive.

In the zone of the Central Fleet (13A), the main efforts were concentrated on suppressing the enemy artillery grouping and observation posts (OPs), including artillery ones. This group of objects accounted for more than 80% of the planned targets. This choice was explained by the presence in the army of powerful means of combating enemy artillery, more reliable data on the position of his artillery group, the relatively small width of the expected strike zone (30-40 km), as well as the high density of combat formations of divisions of the first echelon of the troops of the Central Fleet, which led to their greater sensitivity (vulnerability) to artillery strikes. By inflicting a powerful fire strike on German artillery positions and NP, it was possible to significantly weaken and disorganize the enemy’s artillery preparation and ensure the survivability of the troops of the first echelon of the army to repel the attack of attacking tanks and infantry.

Voronezh Front

In the VF zone (6th Guards A and 7th Guards A), the main efforts were aimed at suppressing infantry and tanks in the areas of their probable location, which accounted for about 80% of all targets hit. This was due to a wider zone of a probable enemy strike (up to 100 km), greater sensitivity of the defense of the first echelon troops to tank strikes, and fewer means of combating enemy artillery in the armies of the VF. It was also not excluded that on the night of July 5, part of the enemy artillery would change their firing positions when the combat guards of the 71st and 67th Guards departed. sd. Thus, the gunners of the VF, first of all, sought to inflict damage on tanks and infantry, that is, the main attack force of the Germans, and suppress only the most active enemy batteries (reliably explored).

"We will stand like Panfilov"

On August 17, 1943, the armies of the Steppe Front (SF) approached Kharkov, starting a battle on its outskirts. 53 A Managarova I. M. acted vigorously, and especially her 89 guards. sd colonel M. P. Seryugin and 305 sd colonel A. F. Vasiliev. Marshal G. K. Zhukov wrote in his book “Memoirs and Reflections”:

"... The most fierce battle unfolded over the height of 201.7 in the Polevoy area, which was captured by the consolidated company of the 299th Infantry Division, consisting of 16 people under the command of Senior Lieutenant V.P. Petrishchev.

When only seven people remained alive, the commander, turning to the fighters, said: - Comrades, we will stand on a height as the Panfilovites stood at Dubosekov. We will die, but we will not retreat!

And they didn't back down. The heroic fighters held the height until the division's units approached. For courage and heroism, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, senior lieutenant V.P. Petrishchev, junior lieutenant V.V. Zhenchenko, senior sergeant G.P. Polikanov and sergeant V.E. Breusov were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The rest were awarded orders.

- Zhukov GK. Memories and reflections.

The course of the battle.Defense

The closer the launch date of Operation Citadel drew near, the more difficult it was to conceal its preparations. Already a few days before the start of the offensive, the Soviet command received a signal that it would begin on July 5th. From reconnaissance reports it became known that the enemy offensive was scheduled for 3 o'clock. The headquarters of the Central (commander K. Rokossovsky) and Voronezh (commander N. Vatutin) fronts decided to produce artillery on the night of July 5 countertraining. It started at 1 o'clock. 10 minutes . After the roar of the cannonade subsided, the Germans could not recover for a long time. As a result of the previously carried out artillery countertraining in the areas of concentration of enemy strike groups, German troops suffered losses and launched an offensive 2.5-3 hours later planned time . Only after some time, the German troops were able to start their own artillery and aviation training. The attack of German tanks and infantry formations began at about half past five in the morning.

The German command pursued the goal of ramming through the defenses of the Soviet troops and reaching Kursk. In the zone of the Central Front, the main blow of the enemy was taken by the troops of the 13th Army. On the very first day, the Germans brought up to 500 tanks into battle here. On the second day, the command of the troops of the Central Front launched a counterattack against the advancing grouping by part of the forces of the 13th and 2nd tank armies and the 19th tank corps. The German advance here was delayed and finally thwarted on July 10 . In six days of fighting, the enemy penetrated the defenses of the Central Front only 10-12 km.

“... Our unit was located in the deserted village of Novolipitsy, 10-12 km from the forward positions, and engaged in active combat training and the construction of defensive lines. The proximity of the front was felt: artillery rumbled in the west, flares flared up at night. Air battles were often fought over us, downed planes fell. Soon, our division, like our neighboring formations, staffed mainly by cadets of military schools, turned into a well-trained "guards" combat unit.

When the Nazi offensive began on July 5 in the direction of Kursk, we were transferred closer to the front line to reserve positions in order to be ready to repel the onslaught of the enemy. But we didn't have to defend ourselves. On the night of July 11, we replaced units that had thinned out and needed rest on one of the bridgeheads on the western bank of the Zushi near the village of Vyazhi. On the morning of July 12, after a powerful artillery preparation, an offensive began on the city of Orel (in the place of this breakthrough, near the village of Vyazhi, 8 km from Novosil, a monument was erected after the war).

The memory has preserved many episodes of heavy fighting that unfolded on the ground and in the air ...

On command, we quickly jump out of the trenches and shout “Hurrah!” attack enemy positions. The first losses from enemy bullets and minefields. Here we are already in well-equipped enemy trenches, operating with machine guns and grenades. The first killed German is a red-haired guy, with a machine gun in one hand and a skein telephone wire to another... Having quickly overcome several lines of trenches, we liberate the first village. There was some kind of enemy headquarters, ammunition depots ... In field kitchens another warm breakfast for the German soldiers. Following the infantry, which had done its job, the tanks went into the gap, which, firing on the move, famously rush past us forward.

In the days that followed, the fighting was almost non-stop; our troops, despite the counterattacks of the enemy, stubbornly advanced towards the goal. Before our eyes even now are the fields of tank battles, where sometimes at night it was light from dozens of flaming vehicles. Unforgettable are the battles of our fighter pilots - there were few of them, but they bravely attacked the Junkers' wedges, which were trying to bomb our troops. I remember the deafening crack of exploding shells and mines, fires, mutilated earth, the corpses of people and animals, persistent odor gunpowder and burning, permanent nervous tension from which short-term sleep did not save.

In battle, the fate of a person, his life depend on many accidents. In those days of fierce battles for Orel, it was pure chance that saved me several times.

During one of the marches, our marching column was subjected to intense artillery fire. On command, we rushed into a shelter, a roadside ditch, lay down, and suddenly, two or three meters from me, a shell pierced into the ground, but did not explode, but only showered me with earth. Another case: on a hot day, already on the outskirts of Orel, our battery provides active support to the advancing infantry. All mines are used up. People are very tired, terribly thirsty. About three hundred meters from us, a well crane sticks out. The foreman orders me and another soldier to collect pots and go for water. Before we had time to crawl even 100 meters, a flurry of fire fell on our positions - mines of heavy six-barreled German mortars burst. The aim of the enemy was accurate! After the raid, many of my comrades were killed, many were wounded or shell-shocked, some of the mortars failed. It looks like this "outfit for water" saved my life.

A few days later, having suffered heavy losses in manpower and equipment, our unit was withdrawn from the combat area and settled in the forest, east of the city of Karachev, for rest and reorganization. Here, many soldiers and officers received government awards for participating in the hostilities near Orel and the liberation of the city. I was awarded the medal "For Courage".

The defeat of the German troops on the Kursk Bulge and the high appreciation of this feat of arms made us very happy, but we could not and cannot forget our comrades-in-arms, who are no longer with us. Let us always remember the soldiers who gave their lives in the nationwide Patriotic War, fighting for the freedom and independence of our Fatherland!Sluka Alexander Evgenievich)

The first surprise for the German command both on the southern and on the northern flank of the Kursk ledge was that the Soviet soldiers were not afraid of the appearance on the battlefield of new German tanks "Tiger" and "Panther". Moreover, the Soviet anti-tank artillery and guns of tanks dug into the ground opened effective fire on the German armored vehicles. And yet, the thick armor of the German tanks allowed them to break through the Soviet defenses in some areas and penetrate into the battle formations of the Red Army units. However, there was no quick breakthrough. Having overcome the first defensive line, the German tank units were forced to turn to sappers for help: all the spaces between the positions were heavily mined, and the passages in the minefields were good shot through artillery. While the German tankers were waiting for the sappers, their combat vehicles were subjected to massive fire. Soviet aviation managed to retain air supremacy. Increasingly, Soviet attack aircraft appeared over the battlefield - the famous Il-2.

“... The heat melted very strong, dryness. There is nowhere to hide from the heat. And during the battles, the earth stood on end. Tanks are moving, artillery is showering with heavy fire, and Junkers and Messerschmitts are attacking from the sky. Until now, I can not forget the terrible dust that stood in the air and seemed to penetrate into all the cells of the body. Yes, plus, besides, smoke, soot, soot. On the Kursk Bulge, the Nazis threw new, more powerful and heavy tanks and self-propelled guns - "Tigers" and "Ferdinands" against our army. The shells of our guns ricocheted off the armor of these vehicles. I had to use more powerful artillery guns and cannons. We already had new 57-mm ZIS-2 anti-tank guns, improved artillery pieces.

I must say that even before the battle, during tactical exercises, we were told about these new Nazi machines and showed their weak, vulnerable points. And in battle I had to practice. The attacks were so powerful and strong that our guns became hot and had to be cooled with wet rags.

It used to be impossible to stick your head out of hiding. But, despite the constant attacks, incessant battles, we found strength, endurance, patience and repulsed the enemy. Only the price was very expensive. How much soldier died - no one can count. Very few survived.And every survivor is worthy of a reward ... "

(Tishkov Vasily Ivanovich)

Only during the first day of fighting, the Model grouping, operating on the northern wing of the Kursk ledge, lost up to 2/3 of the 300 tanks that participated in the first strike. Soviet losses were also high: only two companies of the German "Tigers", advancing against the forces of the Central Front, destroyed 111 T-34 tanks during the period of July 5-6. By July 7, the Germans, having advanced several kilometers forward, approached the large settlement of Ponyri, where a powerful battle ensued between shock units 20, 2 and 9- thGermantankdivisionswithconnectionsSoviet 2- thtankand 13- tharmies. OutcomethisbattlesbecameextremelyunexpectedforGermancommand. Having lostbefore 50 thousand. Humanandnear 400 tanks, northernpercussiongroupingwasforcedstay. advancingforwardTotalon the 10 – 15 km, Modelineventuallylostpercussionpowertheirtankpartsandlostopportunitiescontinueoffensive. Temtimeon thesouthernwingKurskledgeeventsdevelopedonotherwisescenario. To 8 JulydrumsdivisionsGermanmotorizedconnections« GreatGermany» , « Reich» , « deadhead» , life standard« AdolfHitler» , severaltankdivisions 4- thtankarmiesGothaandgroups« Kempf» managedwedgeinSovietdefensebefore 20 andmorekm. OffensiveoriginallywentindirectioninhabiteditemOboyan, butthen, due tostrongoppositionSoviet 1- thtankarmies, 6- thguardsarmiesandothersassociationson thethissite, commandinggrouparmies« South» backgroundMansteinaccepteddecisionbumpeast– indirectionProkhorovka. ExactlyatthisinhabiteditemandstartedmostbigtankbattleSecondworldwars, inwhichwithbothpartiesacceptedparticipationbeforeTHOUSANDSTWO HundredTANKSandself-propelledguns.

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“... The policeman drove us, 10 teenagers, with shovels and took us to the Big Oak. When they arrived at the place, they saw a terrible picture: between the burned-out hut and the barn, the executed were lying. Many of their faces and clothes were burned. They were doused with gasoline before being burned. To the side lay two female corpses. They hugged their children to their chests. One of them hugged the child, wrapping the little one with the hollow of her fur coat ... "(Arbuzov Pavel Ivanovich)

Of all the victories of 1943, it was decisive in providing a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War and World War II, which ended in the liberation of the Left-Bank Ukraine and the crushing of the enemy defenses on the Dnieper at the end of 1943. The fascist German command was forced to abandon the offensive strategy and go over to the defensive on the entire front. He had to transfer troops and aircraft from the Mediterranean theater of operations to the Eastern Front, which facilitated the landing of Anglo-American troops in Sicily and Italy. The Battle of Kursk was a triumph of Soviet military art.

In the 50-day Battle of Kursk, up to 30 enemy divisions were defeated, including 7 tank divisions. The total losses of the Nazi troops killed, seriously wounded and missing amounted to over 500 thousand people. The Soviet Air Force finally won air supremacy. The active actions of the partisans on the eve and during the Battle of Kursk contributed to the successful completion of the Battle of Kursk. Striking at the rear of the enemy, they fettered up to 100 thousand soldiers and officers of the enemy. The partisans carried out 1460 raids on the railway line, disabled over 1000 locomotives and defeated over 400 military trains.

Memoirs of participants of the Kursk Bulge

Ryzhikov Grigory Afanasevich:

“We thought we would win anyway!”

Grigory Afanasyevich was born in the Ivanovo region, at the age of 18 he was drafted into the Red Army in 1942. Among 25 thousand recruits, he was sent to Kostroma to the 22nd training brigade to study "military science". With the rank of junior sergeant, he went to the front in the ranks of the 17th Motorized Rifle Guards Red Banner Brigade.

“They brought us to the front,” Grigory Afanasyevich recalls, “they unloaded us. The railway, apparently, was far from the front line, so we walked for a day, we were fed only once with hot food. We walked day and night, we did not know that we were going to Kursk. They knew that they were going to the war, to the front, but they didn’t know where exactly. We saw that a lot of equipment was coming: cars, motorcycles, tanks. The German fought very well. It would seem that he has a hopeless situation, but still he does not give up! In one place, the Germans took a fancy to the house, they even had beds with cucumbers and tobacco, apparently, they were going to stay there for a long time. But we did not intend to give them our native land and fought hot battles all day long. The Nazis stubbornly resisted, but we moved forward: sometimes we won’t move in a whole day, and sometimes we’ll win back half a kilometer. When they went on the attack, they shouted: “Hurrah! For the Motherland! For Stalin!" It helped us raise our morale.”

Near Kursk, Grigory Afanasyevich was the commander of the machine-gun squad, once he had to settle down with a machine gun in the rye. In July it is even, high, and so reminiscent of a peaceful life, home comfort and hot bread with a golden crust ... But wonderful memories were crossed out by the war with a terrible death of people, burning tanks, blazing villages. So they had to trample the rye with soldiers' boots, drive over it with heavy wheels of cars and ruthlessly cut off its ears, wound around a machine gun. July 27 Grigory Afanasyevich was wounded in right hand and was sent to the hospital. After recovery, he fought near Yelnya, then in Belarus, was wounded twice more.

I received the news of the victory already in Czechoslovakia. Our soldiers triumphed, sang to the accordion, and entire columns of captured Germans walked past.

Junior Sergeant Ryzhikov was demobilized already from Romania in the autumn of 1945. He returned to his native village, worked on a collective farm, and started a family. Then he went to the construction of the Gorkovskaya hydroelectric power station, from where he had already come to build the Votkinsk hydroelectric power station.

Now Grigory Afanasyevich already has 4 grandsons and a great-granddaughter. He likes to work in the garden, if his health allows, he is keenly interested in what is happening in the country and the world, he is worried that “ours are not very lucky” at the Olympics. Grigory Afanasyevich modestly assesses his role in the war, says that he served "like everyone else", but thanks to people like him, our country won a great victory so that the next generations could live in a free and peaceful country.

Telenev Yuri Vasilievich:

“Then we didn’t think about awards”

All his pre-war life, Yuri Vasilyevich lived in the Urals. In the summer of 1942, at the age of 18, he was drafted into the army. In the spring of 1943, having completed an accelerated course at the 2nd Leningrad Military Infantry School, evacuatedthen in the city of Glazov, junior lieutenant Yuri Telenev was appointed commander of a platoon of anti-tank guns and sent to the Kursk salient.

“On the sector of the front where the battle was to take place, the Germans were on high ground, and we were on low ground, in plain sight. They tried to bomb us - the strongest artillery raid lasted approx.For about an hour, there was a terrible roar around, no voices were heard, so they had to shout. But we did not give up and responded in kind: shells exploded on the side of the Germans, tanks burned, everythingshrouded in smoke. Then our shock army went on the attack, we were in the trenches, they stepped over us, then we followed them. The crossing over the Oka began, only

infantry. The Germans began to shoot at the crossing, but since they were overwhelmed and paralyzed by our resistance, they fired randomly, aimlessly. Crossing the river, we joined the fightingThey liberated the settlements where the Nazis still remained "

Yuri Vasilievich proudly says that after Battle of Stalingrad The mood of the Soviet soldiers was only for victory, no one doubted that we would defeat the Germans anyway, and the victory in the Battle of Kursk was another proof of this.

On the Kursk Bulge, Junior Lieutenant Telenev shot down an enemy Henkel-113 aircraft, popularly called a “crutch”, with an anti-tank rifle, for which, after the victory, he was awarded the Order of the Great Patriotic War. “In the war, we didn’t even think about awards, and there was no such fashion,” recalls Yuri Vasilyevich. In general, he considers himself a lucky man, because he was wounded near Kursk. If wounded, but not killed - already a great happiness for the infantry. After the battles, there were no entire regiments left - a company or a platoon.“Young people were,” says Yuri Vasilyevich, “reckless,at the age of 19 they were not afraid of anything, accustomed to danger. Yes, you can’t protect yourself from a bullet if it’s yours. ” . After being wounded, he was sent to the Kirov hospital, and when he recovered, he again went to the front, and until the end of 1944 he fought on the 2nd Belorussian Front.

Before the new year 1945, Lieutenant Telenev was demobilized due to a severe wound to his hand. Therefore, I met the victory already in the rear, in Omsk. There he worked as a military instructor at a school and studied at a music school. A few years later, with his wife and children, he moved to Votkinsk, and later to the very young Tchaikovsky, where he taught at a music school and was an instrument tuner.

Volodin Semyon Fedorovich

The events of those days will be remembered for a long time when the fate of the war was decided on the Kursk Bulge, when the company of Lieutenant Volodin held a small piece of land between a birch hill and the stadium of the village of Solomki. Of what the young commander had to endure on the first day of the Battle of Kursk, the retreat was most memorable: and not the very moment when the company, which had beaten off six tank attacks, left the trench, but for other night road. He walked at the head of his "company" - twenty surviving soldiers, remembering all the details ...

For about an hour, the "Junkers" continuously bombed the village, as soon as one party flew away, another appeared in the sky, and everything was repeated all over again - the deafening roar of exploding bombs, the whistle of fragments and thick, suffocating dust. The fighters were chasing the fighters, and the roar of their engines, like a groan, layered above the ground, when the German artillery began to hit and at the edge of the forest, in front of the buckwheat field, a black tank rhombus appeared again.

Ahead was a heavy and smoky military dawn: in an hour the battalion would take up defensive positions on the high-rises, and in another hour everything would start all over again: an air raid, artillery cannonade, rapidly creeping boxes of tanks; everything will be repeated - the whole battle, but with great bitterness, with an irresistible thirst for victory.

Already in seven days they were to see other crossings, other crowds along the banks of Russian rivers - clusters of broken German cars, the corpses of German soldiers, and he, Lieutenant Volodin, would say that this was a just retribution that the Nazis deserved.

Volynkin Alexander Stepanovich

In August 1942, a 17-year-old boy was called up for service in the Red Army. He was sent to study at the Omsk Infantry School, but Sasha could not finish it. He signed up as a volunteer, and received a baptism of fire near Vyazma, Smolensk region. The smart guy was immediately noticed. Yes, how not to notice a young fighter who has a true eye and a firm hand. So Alexander Stepanovich became a sniper.

"- It is impossible to remember the battle on the Kursk Bulge without shuddering - horror! The sky is covered with smoke, houses, fields, tanks, combat positions were burning. The thunder of cannonade from both sides. And in such a heavy fire," the veteran recalled, "fate protected me. I remember this case: we, three snipers, chose positions on the slope of the ravine, began to dig trenches, and suddenly - a flurry of fire. We quickly fell into one half-dug trench. The owner of the trench was below, I fell on him, and my neighbor fell on me. And then - a line from a heavy machine gun at our shelter ... The owner of the trench - immediately to death, the soldier who was above me was wounded, but I remained unharmed. One can see fate ... "

For the battle on the Kursk Bulge, Alexander Stepanovich has a medal"For Courage" is an award most revered among front-line soldiers.

Osharina Ekaterina Mikhailovna (mother Sofia)

“... On the eve of the Battle of Kursk, we, as part of the 125th special communications battalion, were transferred to the city of Orel. By that time, there was nothing left of the city, I remember only two surviving buildings - the church and the station. On the outskirts, some sheds have been preserved in some places. piles broken brick, not a single tree in the whole huge city, constant shelling and bombing. At the temple there was a priest and several female choristers who remained with him. In the evening, our entire battalion, together with the commanders, gathered in the temple, the priest began to serve a prayer service. We knew we were going to attack the next day. Remembering their relatives, many wept. Scary…

There were three of us, radio operator girls. The rest of the men: signalmen, reel operators. Our task is to establish the most important thing - communication, without communication the end. I can’t say how many of us survived, we were scattered all over the front at night, but I think that it was not much. Our losses were very large. The Lord saved me…”

Smetanin Alexander

“... For me, this battle began with a retreat. We retreated for several days. And before the decisive battle, breakfast was brought to our crew. For some reason, I remembered it well - four crackers and two unripe watermelons each, they were still white. We couldn't have been better then. At dawn, huge black clouds of smoke appeared on the horizon from the German side. We stood motionless. Nobody knew anything - neither the company commander, nor the platoon commander. We just stood there. I am a machine gunner and saw the world through a hole two and a half centimeters. All I saw was dust and smoke. And then the tank commander commands: "Sour cream, fire." I started shooting. By whom, where, I don't know. At about 11 am we were commanded "forward". We rushed forward, firing as we went. Then there was a stop, the shells were brought to us. And forward again. Rumble, shooting, smoke - that's all my memories. I would be lying if I said that everything was clear to me then - the scale and significance of the battle. Well, the next day, July 13, a shell hit us on the starboard side. I got 22 splinters in the leg. This is what my Battle of Kursk was like ... "

Oh Russia! A country with a difficult fate.

I have you, Russia, like a heart, one.

I'll tell a friend, I'll tell an enemy

Without you, like without a heart, I can't live!

(Yulia Drunina)

The Battle of Kursk is a turning point in the course of the entire Second World War, when the Soviet troops inflicted such damage on Germany and its satellites, from which they could no longer recover and lost their strategic initiative until the end of the war. Although before the defeat of the enemy there were many sleepless nights and thousands of kilometers of battles, but after this battle in the hearts of every Soviet citizen, private and general, there was confidence in victory over the enemy. In addition, the battle on the Oryol-Kursk ledge became an example of the courage of ordinary soldiers and the brilliant genius of Russian commanders.

The radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War began with the victory of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad, when a large enemy grouping was liquidated during Operation Uranus. The battle on the Kursk ledge became final stage root fracture. After the defeat at Kursk and Orel, the strategic initiative finally passed into the hands of the Soviet command. After the failure, the German troops were already mostly on the defensive until the end of the war, and ours were mainly engaged in offensive operations, freeing Europe from the Nazis.

On June 5, 1943, German troops went on the offensive in two directions: on the northern and southern faces of the Kursk salient. Thus began Operation Citadel and the Battle of Kursk itself. After the offensive onslaught of the Germans subsided, and its divisions were significantly bled, the command of the USSR launched a counteroffensive against the troops of the Army Groups "Center" and "South". On August 23, 1943, Kharkov was liberated, which marked the end of one of the largest battles of World War II.

History of the battle

After the victory at Stalingrad in the course of the successful Operation Uranus, the Soviet troops managed to carry out a good offensive along the entire front and push the enemy back for many miles to the West. But after the counter-offensive of the German troops in the area of ​​Kursk and Orel, a ledge arose, which was directed towards the West, up to 200 kilometers wide and up to 150 kilometers deep, formed by the Soviet group.

From April to June, a relative calm reigned on the fronts. It became clear that after the defeat at Stalingrad, Germany would try to take revenge. The Kursk ledge was considered the most suitable place, striking which in the direction of Orel and Kursk from the North and South, respectively, it was possible to create a cauldron on a larger scale than near Kiev, Kharkov at the beginning of the war.

As early as April 8, 1943, Marshal G.K. Zhukov. sent his report on the spring-summer military campaign, where he expressed his thoughts about Germany's actions on the Eastern Front, where it was assumed that the Kursk Bulge would become the site of the main enemy strike. At the same time, Zhukov expressed his plan of countermeasures, which included exhausting the enemy in defensive battles, and then inflicting a counterattack and his complete destruction. Already on April 12, Stalin listened to General Antonov A.I., Marshal Zhukov G.K. and Marshal Vasilevsky A.M. on this occasion.

Representatives of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief unanimously spoke in favor of the impossibility and futility of delivering a preventive strike in the spring and summer. Indeed, based on the experience of past years, an offensive against large enemy groupings preparing to strike does not bring significant results, but only contributes to losses in the ranks of their troops. Also, the formation of forces for the main strike was supposed to weaken the groupings of Soviet troops in the directions of the main German strike, which would also inevitably lead to defeat. Therefore, it was decided to conduct a defensive operation in the area of ​​the Kursk ledge, where the main blow of the Wehrmacht forces was expected. Thus, the Headquarters expected to wear down the enemy in defensive battles, knock out his tanks and deliver a decisive blow to the enemy. This was facilitated by the creation of a powerful defensive system in this direction, in contrast to the first two years of the war.

In the spring of 1943, the word "Citadel" appeared more and more often in the intercepted radio data. On April 12, intelligence put a plan code-named "Citadel" on Stalin's table, which was developed by the General Staff of the Wehrmacht, but had not yet been signed by Hitler. This plan confirmed that Germany was preparing the main attack, where the Soviet command expected it. Three days later, Hitler signed the plan for the operation.

In order to destroy the plans of the Wehrmacht, it was decided to create a defense in depth in the direction of the predicted strike and create a powerful grouping capable of withstanding the pressure of the German units and carrying out counterattacks at the moment of the climax of the battle.

Composition of armies, commanders

To strike at the Soviet troops in the area of ​​the Kursk-Oryol ledge, it was planned to attract forces Army Group Center commanded by Field Marshal Kluge and Army Group South commanded by Field Marshal Manstein.

The German forces included 50 divisions, including 16 motorized and tank divisions, 8 assault gun divisions, 2 tank brigades, and 3 separate tank battalions. In addition, the SS Panzer Divisions Das Reich, Totenkopf and Adolf Hitler, considered elite, were brought up to attack in the direction of Kursk.

Thus, the grouping amounted to 900 thousand personnel, 10 thousand guns, 2700 tanks and assault guns, and more than 2 thousand aircraft, which were part of two Luftwaffe air fleets.

One of the key trump cards in the hands of Germany was to be the use of heavy tanks "Tiger" and "Panther", assault guns "Ferdinand". It was precisely because the new tanks did not have time to get to the front, were in the process of being finalized, that the start of the operation was constantly postponed. Also in service with the Wehrmacht were obsolete tanks Pz.Kpfw. I, Pz.Kpfw. I I, Pz.Kpfw. I I I, having undergone some modification.

The main blow was to be delivered by the 2nd and 9th armies, the 9th tank army of the Army Group Center under the command of Field Marshal Model, as well as the Kempf task force, the tank 4th army and the 24th corps of the group armies "South", which were entrusted to command General Goth.

In defensive battles, the USSR involved three fronts - Voronezh, Stepnoy, Central.

General of the Army Rokossovsky K.K. commanded the Central Front. The task of the front was to defend the northern face of the ledge. The Voronezh Front, the command of which was entrusted to General of the Army Vatutin N.F., was to defend the southern front. Colonel General Konev I.S. was appointed commander of the Steppe Front, the reserve of the USSR during the battle. In total, about 1.3 million people, 3,444 tanks and self-propelled guns, almost 20,000 guns and 2,100 aircraft were involved in the area of ​​the Kursk salient. Data may differ from some sources.

Armament (tanks)

During the preparation of the Citadel plan, the German command did not look for new ways to achieve success. The main offensive power of the Wehrmacht troops during the operation on the Kursk Bulge was to be carried out by tanks: light, heavy and medium. To strengthen the strike groups before the start of the operation, several hundred of the latest Panther and Tiger tanks were delivered to the front.

Medium tank "Panther" was developed by MAN for Germany in 1941-1942. According to the German classification, it was considered heavy. For the first time he participated in the battles on the Kursk Bulge. After the fighting in the summer of 1943 on the Eastern Front, the Wehrmacht began to actively use it in other directions. It is considered the best German tank in World War II, despite a number of shortcomings.

"Tiger I"- heavy tanks of the German armed forces during the Second World War. At long distances, the battle was slightly vulnerable to the firepower of Soviet tanks. It is considered the most expensive tank of its time, because the German treasury spent 1 million Reichsmarks to create one combat unit.

Panzerkampfwagen III Until 1943, it was the main medium tank of the Wehrmacht. The captured combat units were used by the Soviet troops, self-propelled guns were created on their basis.

Panzerkampfwagen II produced from 1934 to 1943. Since 1938, it has been used in armed conflicts, but it turned out to be weaker than similar models of equipment from the enemy, not only in terms of armor, but even in terms of weapons. In 1942, it was completely withdrawn from the Wehrmacht tank units, however, it remained in service and was used by assault groups.

Light tank Panzerkampfwagen I - the brainchild of "Krupp" and "Daimler Benz", discontinued in 1937, was produced in the amount of 1574 units.

In the Soviet army, the most massive tank of the Second World War was supposed to resist the bulk of the German armored armada. Medium tank T-34 had many modifications, one of which T-34-85 is in service with some countries to this day.

The course of the battle

Calm reigned on the fronts. Stalin had doubts about the correctness of the calculations of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander. Also, the thought of competent disinformation did not leave him until last moment. Nevertheless, at 23.20 on July 4 and 02.20 on July 5, the artillery of the two Soviet fronts dealt a massive blow to the alleged positions of the enemy. In addition, bombers and attack aircraft of the two air armies carried out an air raid on enemy positions in the Kharkov and Belgorod regions. However, this did not bring much result. According to the reports of the Germans, only communication communications were damaged. Losses in manpower and equipment were not serious.

Exactly at 06.00 on July 5, after a powerful artillery preparation, significant forces of the Wehrmacht went on the offensive. However, unexpectedly for themselves, they received a powerful rebuff. This was facilitated by the presence of numerous tank barriers, minefields with a high frequency of mining. Due to significant damage to communication communications, the Germans failed to achieve clear interaction between units, which led to disagreements in actions: the infantry was often left without the support of tanks. On the northern face, the blow was directed at Olkhovatka. After minor success and serious losses, the Germans directed their attack at Ponyri. But even there it was not possible to wedge into the Soviet defense. Thus, on July 10, less than a third of all German tanks remained in service.

* After the Germans went on the attack, Rokossovsky called Stalin and announced with joy in his voice that the offensive had begun. Perplexed, Stalin asked Rokossovsky about the reason for his joy. The general replied that now the victory in the Battle of Kursk would not go anywhere.

To inflict defeat on the Russians in the South was the task of the 4th Panzer Corps, the 2nd SS Panzer Corps and the Kempf Army Group, which was part of the 4th Army. Here events unfolded more successfully than in the North, although the planned result was not achieved. The 48th Panzer Corps suffered heavy losses in the attack on Cherkasskoye, without moving significantly forward.

The defense of Cherkassky is one of the brightest pages of the Battle of Kursk, which for some reason is practically not remembered. The 2nd SS Panzer Corps was more successful. He was given the task of reaching the Prokhorovka area, where, on a tactically advantageous terrain, to fight the Soviet reserve. Thanks to the presence of companies consisting of heavy "Tigers", the divisions "Leibstandarte" and "Das Reich" managed to quickly break through the defenses of the Voronezh Front. The command of the Voronezh Front decided to strengthen the defensive lines and sent the 5th Stalingrad Tank Corps to carry out this task. In fact, Soviet tankers received an order to occupy a line already captured by the Germans, but threats of a tribunal and execution forced them to go on the offensive. Hitting the Das Reich on the forehead, the 5th Stk failed and was thrown back. The Das Reich tanks went on the attack, trying to surround the forces of the corps. They partially succeeded, but thanks to the commanders of the units that were outside the ring, communications were not cut. However, during these battles, the Soviet troops lost 119 tanks, which is undeniably the largest loss of the Soviet troops in one day. Thus, already on July 6, the Germans reached the third line of defense of the Voronezh Front, which made the situation difficult.

On July 12, in the Prokhorovka area, after mutual artillery preparation and massive air strikes, 850 tanks of the 5th Guards Army under the command of General Rotmistrov and 700 tanks from the side of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps collided in a head-on battle. The fight lasted all day. The initiative changed hands. The opponents suffered enormous losses. The entire battlefield was covered with thick smoke from fires. However, the victory remained with us, the enemy was forced to retreat.

On this day, the Western and Bryansk Fronts went on the offensive on the Northern Front. The very next day, the German defenses were broken through, and by August 5, Soviet troops managed to liberate Orel. The Oryol operation, during which the Germans lost 90 thousand soldiers killed, was called Kutuzov in the plans of the General Staff.

Operation "Rumyantsev" was supposed to defeat the German forces in the Kharkov and Belgorod region. On August 3, the forces of the Voronezh and Steppe Front launched an offensive. By August 5, Belgorod was liberated. On August 23, Kharkov was liberated by Soviet troops on the third attempt, which marked the end of Operation Rumyantsev, and with it the Battle of Kursk.

* On August 5, the first salute in the entire war was given in Moscow in honor of the liberation of Orel and Belgorod from the Nazi invaders.

Side losses

Until now, the losses of Germany and the USSR during the Battle of Kursk are not exactly known. To date, the data diverge dramatically. In 1943, the Germans in the battle on the Kursk ledge lost more than 500 thousand people killed and wounded. 1000-1500 enemy tanks were destroyed by Soviet soldiers. And the Soviet aces and air defense forces destroyed 1696 aircraft.

As for the USSR, the irretrievable losses amounted to more than a quarter of a million people. 6024 tanks and self-propelled guns were burned out, out of action for technical reasons. 1626 aircraft were shot down in the sky over Kursk and Orel.

Results, meaning

Guderian and Manstein in their memoirs say that the Battle of Kursk was the turning point of the War on the Eastern Front. Soviet troops inflicted heavy damage on the Germans, who forever missed the strategic advantage. In addition, the armored power of the Nazis could no longer be restored to its former scale. The days of Hitler's Germany were numbered. The victory on the Kursk Bulge became an excellent tool for raising the morale of the fighters on all fronts, the population in the rear of the country and in the occupied territories.

Day of Military Glory of Russia

The day of the defeat of the Nazi troops by the Soviet troops in the Battle of Kursk in accordance with the Federal Law of March 13, 1995 is celebrated annually. This is the day of memory of all those who in 1943 in July-August, during the defensive operation of the Soviet troops, as well as the offensive operations "Kutuzov" and "Rumyantsev" on the Kursk ledge, managed to break the back of a powerful enemy, predetermining the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. Large-scale celebrations are expected in 2013 to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory at the Fiery Arc.

Video about the Kursk Bulge, the key moments of the battle, we definitely recommend viewing:

BATTLE OF KURSK 1943, defensive (July 5 - 23) and offensive (July 12 - August 23) operations carried out by the Red Army in the area of ​​the Kursk ledge to disrupt the offensive and defeat the strategic grouping of German troops.

The victory of the Red Army at Stalingrad and its subsequent general offensive in the winter of 1942/43 over the vast expanse from the Baltic to the Black Sea undermined Germany's military power. In order to prevent the decline in the morale of the army and the population and the growth of centrifugal tendencies within the aggressor bloc, Hitler and his generals decided to prepare and conduct a major offensive operation on the Soviet-German front. With its success, they linked their hopes for the return of the lost strategic initiative and a turn in the course of the war in their favor.

It was assumed that the Soviet troops would be the first to go on the offensive. However, in mid-April, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command revised the method of the planned actions. The reason for this was the data of Soviet intelligence that the German command was planning to conduct a strategic offensive on the Kursk salient. The headquarters decided to wear down the enemy with a powerful defense, then go on the counteroffensive and defeat his striking forces. The rarest case in the history of warfare occurred when the strongest side, having the strategic initiative, deliberately chose to start hostilities not on the offensive, but on the defensive. The development of events showed that this bold plan was absolutely justified.

FROM THE MEMORIES OF A. VASILEVSKY ON STRATEGIC PLANNING BY THE SOVIET COMMAND OF THE BATTLE OF KURSK, April-June 1943

(...) Soviet military intelligence managed to timely reveal the preparation of the Nazi army for a major offensive in the Kursk salient area using the latest tank technology on a massive scale, and then set the time for the enemy to go on the offensive.

Naturally, under the prevailing conditions, when the expected strike by the enemy with large forces was quite obvious, it was necessary to make the most expedient decision. The Soviet command faced a difficult dilemma: to attack or defend, and if defended, then how? (...)

Analyzing numerous intelligence data on the nature of the upcoming actions of the enemy and on his preparation for the offensive, the fronts, the General Staff and the Headquarters were more and more inclined towards the idea of ​​​​transition to deliberate defense. On this issue, in particular, there was a repeated exchange of views between me and Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief GK Zhukov in late March - early April. The most concrete conversation about planning military operations for the near future took place over the telephone on April 7, when I was in Moscow, at the General Staff, and G.K. Zhukov was on the Kursk ledge, in the troops of the Voronezh Front. And already on April 8, signed by G.K. Zhukov, a report was sent to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief with an assessment of the situation and considerations on the plan of action in the area of ​​the Kursk salient, in which it was noted: will be if we wear down the enemy on our defenses, knock out his tanks, and then, introducing fresh reserves, by going over to a general offensive, we will finally finish off the main enemy grouping.

I had to be at when he received G.K. Zhukov's report. I remember well how the Supreme Commander, without expressing his opinion, said: "We must consult with the front commanders." Having given the order to the General Staff to request the opinion of the fronts and obliging him to prepare a special meeting at Headquarters to discuss the plan for the summer campaign, in particular the actions of the fronts on the Kursk Bulge, he himself called N.F. Vatutin and K.K. Rokossovsky and asked him to submit his views by April 12 according to the actions of the fronts (...)

At the meeting held in the evening of April 12 at Headquarters, which was attended by I.V. Stalin, G.K. Zhukov, who arrived from the Voronezh Front, Chief of the General Staff A.M. Vasilevsky and his deputy A.I. Antonov, a preliminary decision was made on deliberate defense (...)

After a preliminary decision was made on a deliberate defense and on the subsequent transition to a counteroffensive, comprehensive and thorough preparations were launched for the upcoming actions. At the same time, reconnaissance of enemy actions continued. The Soviet command became precisely aware of the dates for the start of the enemy offensive, which were postponed three times by Hitler. At the end of May - beginning of June 1943, when the enemy’s plan to launch a strong tank attack on the Voronezh and Central Fronts using large groupings equipped with new military equipment for this purpose, the final decision was made on a deliberate defense.

Speaking about the plan for the Battle of Kursk, I would like to emphasize two points. Firstly, that this plan is the central part of the strategic plan for the entire summer-autumn campaign of 1943 and, secondly, that the highest bodies of strategic leadership, and not other commanding authorities, played a decisive role in the development of this plan (...)

Vasilevsky A.M. Strategic planning Battle of Kursk. Battle of Kursk M.: Nauka, 1970. S.66-83.

By the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, the Central and Voronezh Fronts had 1336 thousand people, more than 19 thousand guns and mortars, 3444 tanks and self-propelled guns, 2172 aircraft. In the rear of the Kursk ledge, the Steppe Military District (from July 9 - the Steppe Front), which was the reserve of the Headquarters, was deployed. He was supposed to prevent a deep breakthrough from both Orel and Belgorod, and when going on the counteroffensive, increase the force of the strike from the depths.

The German side introduced 50 divisions, including 16 tank and motorized divisions, into the two strike groups intended for the offensive on the northern and southern faces of the Kursk ledge, which amounted to about 70% of the Wehrmacht's tank divisions on the Soviet-German front. In total - 900 thousand people, about 10 thousand guns and mortars, up to 2700 tanks and assault guns, about 2050 aircraft. An important place in the plans of the enemy was given to the massive use of new military equipment: the Tiger and Panther tanks, the Ferdinand assault guns, as well as the new Foke-Wulf-190A and Henschel-129 aircraft.

APPEAL OF THE Führer TO THE GERMAN SOLDIERS ON THE EVE OF OPERATION "CITADEL", no later than July 4, 1943

Today you are launching a great offensive battle that may have a decisive influence on the outcome of the war as a whole.

With your victory, the conviction of the futility of any resistance to the German armed forces will be strengthened stronger than before. In addition, a new cruel defeat of the Russians will further shake the faith in the possibility of the success of Bolshevism, which has already been shaken in many formations of the Soviet Armed Forces. Just like in the last big war, their faith in victory will disappear no matter what.

The Russians achieved this or that success primarily with the help of their tanks.

My soldiers! Now you finally have better tanks than the Russians.

Their seemingly inexhaustible human masses have become so thinned in a two-year struggle that they are forced to call on the youngest and oldest. Our infantry, as always, is superior to the Russians to the same extent as our artillery, our tank destroyers, our tankers, our sappers and, of course, our aviation.

The mighty blow that will overtake the Soviet armies this morning must shake them to their foundations.

And you should know that everything can depend on the outcome of this battle.

As a soldier, I clearly understand what I demand from you. In the end, we will achieve victory, no matter how cruel and difficult this or that individual battle may be.

German homeland - your wives, daughters and sons, selflessly rallying, meet enemy air strikes and at the same time work tirelessly for the sake of victory; they look with fervent hope at you, my soldiers.

ADOLF GITLER

This order is to be destroyed at divisional headquarters.

Klink E. Das Gesetz des Handelns: Die Operation "Zitadelle". Stuttgart, 1966.

PROGRESS OF THE BATTLE. THE EVE

From the end of March 1943, the Headquarters of the Soviet Supreme High Command worked on a plan for a strategic offensive, the task of which was to defeat the main forces of Army Group South and Center and crush the enemy defenses on the front from Smolensk to the Black Sea. However, in mid-April, on the basis of army intelligence to the leadership of the Red Army, it became clear that the command of the Wehrmacht itself plans to carry out a strike under the bases of the Kursk ledge, in order to surround our troops stationed there.

The idea of ​​an offensive operation near Kursk arose at Hitler's headquarters immediately after the end of the fighting near Kharkov in 1943. The very configuration of the front in this area pushed the Fuhrer to strike in converging directions. In the circles of the German command there were also opponents of such a decision, in particular Guderian, who, being responsible for the production of new tanks for the German army, was of the opinion that they should not be used as the main striking force in a big battle - this could lead to a waste of forces . The strategy of the Wehrmacht for the summer of 1943, according to such generals as Guderian, Manstein, and a number of others, was to be exclusively defensive, as economical as possible in terms of expenditure of forces and resources.

However, the bulk of the German military leaders actively supported the offensive plans. The date of the operation, which received the code name "Citadel", was set for July 5, and the German troops received at their disposal big number new tanks (T-VI "Tiger", T-V "Panther"). These armored vehicles were superior in terms of firepower and armor resistance to the main Soviet T-34 tank. By the beginning of Operation Citadel, the German forces of the Army Groups Center and South had at their disposal up to 130 Tigers and more than 200 Panthers. In addition, the Germans significantly improved the fighting qualities of their old T-III and T-IV tanks, equipping them with additional armored screens and putting an 88-mm cannon on many vehicles. In total, the Wehrmacht strike groups in the area of ​​the Kursk ledge by the beginning of the offensive had about 900 thousand people, 2.7 thousand tanks and assault guns, up to 10 thousand guns and mortars. On the southern wing of the ledge, the strike forces of Army Group South under the command of Manstein were concentrated, which included the 4th Panzer Army of General Hoth and the Kempf group. The troops of Army Group Center von Kluge operated on the northern wing; the core of the strike group here was the forces of the 9th Army of General Model. The southern German group was stronger than the northern one. Generals Goth and Kemp had about twice as many tanks as Model.

The headquarters of the Supreme High Command decided not to be the first to go on the offensive, but to take up a tough defense. The idea of ​​the Soviet command was to first bleed the enemy's forces, knock out his new tanks, and only then, having brought fresh reserves into action, go on the counteroffensive. Needless to say, it was a rather risky plan. Supreme Commander-in-Chief Stalin, his deputy Marshal Zhukov, and other representatives of the Soviet high command remembered well that not once since the beginning of the war had the Red Army been able to organize defense in such a way that a pre-prepared German offensive would fizzle out at the stage of breaking through Soviet positions (at the beginning of the war near Bialystok and Minsk, then in October 1941 near Vyazma, in the summer of 1942 in the Stalingrad direction).

However, Stalin agreed with the opinion of the generals, who advised not to hurry with the start of the offensive. A defense in depth was built near Kursk, which had several lines. It was specially created as anti-tank. In addition, in the rear of the Central and Voronezh fronts, which occupied positions, respectively, on the northern and southern sections of the Kursk salient, another one was created - the Steppe Front, designed to become a reserve formation and join the battle at the moment the Red Army went on the counteroffensive.

The military factories of the country worked uninterruptedly on the production of tanks and self-propelled guns. The troops received both traditional "thirty-fours" and powerful self-propelled guns SU-152. The latter could already with great success fight the "Tigers" and "Panthers".

The organization of the Soviet defense near Kursk was based on the idea of ​​a deep echeloning of combat formations of troops and defensive positions. 5-6 defensive lines were erected on the Central and Voronezh fronts. Along with this, a defensive line was created for the troops of the Steppe Military District, and along the left bank of the river. Don prepared the state line of defense. Total depth engineering equipment of the area reached 250-300 km.

In total, by the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, Soviet troops significantly outnumbered the enemy both in people and in equipment. The Central and Voronezh fronts included about 1.3 million people, and the Steppe Front standing behind them had an additional 500 thousand people. All three fronts had up to 5,000 tanks and self-propelled guns, 28,000 guns and mortars at their disposal. The advantage in aviation was also on the Soviet side - 2.6 thousand for us against about 2 thousand for the Germans.

PROGRESS OF THE BATTLE. DEFENSE

The closer the launch date of Operation Citadel drew nearer, the more difficult it was to conceal its preparations. Already a few days before the start of the offensive, the Soviet command received a signal that it would begin on July 5th. From intelligence reports it became known that the enemy offensive was scheduled for 3 hours. The headquarters of the Central (commander K. Rokossovsky) and Voronezh (commander N. Vatutin) fronts decided to carry out artillery counter-preparation on the night of July 5. It started at 1 o'clock. 10 minutes. After the roar of the cannonade subsided, the Germans could not recover for a long time. As a result of artillery counter-preparation carried out in advance in the areas of concentration of enemy strike groups, German troops suffered losses and launched an offensive 2.5-3 hours later than planned. Only after some time, the German troops were able to begin their own artillery and aviation training. The attack of German tanks and infantry formations began at about half past six in the morning.

The German command pursued the goal of ramming through the defenses of the Soviet troops and reaching Kursk. In the zone of the Central Front, the main blow of the enemy was taken by the troops of the 13th Army. On the very first day, the Germans brought up to 500 tanks into battle here. On the second day, the command of the troops of the Central Front launched a counterattack against the advancing grouping by part of the forces of the 13th and 2nd tank armies and the 19th tank corps. The German offensive here was delayed, and on July 10 it was finally thwarted. In six days of fighting, the enemy penetrated the defenses of the Central Front only 10-12 km.

The first surprise for the German command both on the southern and northern wings of the Kursk ledge was that the Soviet soldiers were not afraid of the appearance on the battlefield of new German tanks "Tiger" and "Panther". Moreover, Soviet anti-tank artillery and guns from tanks buried in the ground opened effective fire on German armored vehicles. And yet, the thick armor of the German tanks allowed them to break through the Soviet defenses in some areas and penetrate into the battle formations of the Red Army units. However, there was no quick breakthrough. Having overcome the first defensive line, the German tank units were forced to turn to sappers for help: the entire space between the positions was heavily mined, and the passages in the minefields were well covered by artillery. While the German tankers were waiting for the sappers, their combat vehicles were subjected to massive fire. Soviet aviation managed to retain air supremacy. Increasingly, Soviet attack aircraft appeared over the battlefield - the famous Il-2.

Only on the first day of fighting, the Model group operating on the northern wing of the Kursk ledge lost up to 2/3 of the 300 tanks that participated in the first strike. Soviet losses were also high: only two companies of the German "Tigers", advancing against the forces of the Central Front, destroyed 111 T-34 tanks during the period of July 5 - 6. By July 7, the Germans, having advanced several kilometers forward, approached the large settlement of Ponyri, where a powerful battle ensued between the strike units of the 20th, 2nd and 9th German tank divisions with formations of the Soviet 2nd tank and 13th armies. The result of this battle was extremely unexpected for the German command. Having lost up to 50 thousand people and about 400 tanks, the northern strike force was forced to stop. Having advanced only 10 - 15 km, Model eventually lost the striking power of his tank units and lost the opportunity to continue the offensive.

Meanwhile, on the southern flank of the Kursk salient, events developed according to a different scenario. By July 8, the shock units of the German motorized formations "Grossdeutschland", "Reich", "Dead Head", the Leibstandarte "Adolf Hitler", several tank divisions of the 4th Panzer Army of Gotha and the Kempf group managed to penetrate the Soviet defenses up to 20 and over km. The offensive initially went in the direction of the Oboyan settlement, but then, due to the strong opposition of the Soviet 1st Tank Army, 6th Guards Army and other formations in this sector, the commander of Army Group South von Manstein decided to strike east - in the direction of Prokhorovka . It was near this settlement that the largest tank battle of the Second World War began, in which up to TWO TWO Hundred TANKS and self-propelled guns took part on both sides.

The Battle of Prokhorovka is a largely collective concept. The fate of the opposing sides was not decided in one day and not on the same field. The theater of operations for the Soviet and German tank formations represented an area of ​​​​more than 100 square meters. km. Nevertheless, it was this battle that largely determined the entire subsequent course not only of the Battle of Kursk, but of the entire summer campaign on the Eastern Front.

On June 9, the Soviet command decided to transfer the 5th Guards Tank Army of General P. Rotmistrov from the Steppe Front to help the troops of the Voronezh Front, who was tasked with delivering a counterattack on the wedged tank units the enemy and force them to retreat to their original positions. It was emphasized that it was necessary to try to engage German tanks in close combat in order to limit their advantages in armor resistance and firepower of turret guns.

Having concentrated in the Prokhorovka area, on the morning of July 10, Soviet tanks moved to the attack. In quantitative terms, they outnumbered the enemy in a ratio of approximately 3:2, but the fighting qualities of the German tanks allowed them to destroy many "thirty-four" even on the way to their positions. The fighting continued here from morning until evening. The Soviet tanks that broke through met the German ones almost armor to armor. But this is exactly what the command of the 5th Guards Army wanted. Moreover, soon the battle formations of the opponents mixed up so much that the "tigers" and "panthers" began to expose their side armor, which was not as strong as the frontal, to the fire of Soviet guns. When the battle finally began to subside towards the end of July 13, it was time to count the losses. And they were truly gigantic. The 5th Guards Tank Army has practically lost its combat power. But German losses also did not allow them to further develop the offensive in the Prokhorovka direction: the Germans had only up to 250 serviceable combat vehicles left in service.

The Soviet command hastily transferred new forces to Prokhorovka. The battles that continued in this area on July 13 and 14 did not lead to a decisive victory for one side or the other. However, the enemy began to gradually run out of steam. The Germans had the 24th Panzer Corps in reserve, but sending it into battle meant losing the last reserve. The potential of the Soviet side was immeasurably great. On July 15, the Headquarters decided to deploy the forces of the Steppe Front of General I. Konev on the southern wing of the Kursk ledge - the 27th and 53rd armies, with the support of the 4th Guards Tank and 1st Mechanized Corps. Soviet tanks were hastily concentrated northeast of Prokhorovka and received an order on July 17 to go on the offensive. But the Soviet tankers no longer had to participate in a new oncoming battle. The German units began to gradually move away from Prokhorovka to their original positions. What's the matter?

As early as July 13, Hitler invited Field Marshals von Manstein and von Kluge to his headquarters for a meeting. On that day, he ordered the continuation of Operation Citadel and not to reduce the intensity of the fighting. Success near Kursk seemed to be just around the corner. However, just two days later, Hitler suffered a new disappointment. His plans were falling apart. On July 12, the troops of the Bryansk Front went on the offensive, and then, from July 15, the Central and Left Wings of the Western Fronts in the general direction of Orel (Operation ""). The German defense here could not stand it and cracked at the seams. Moreover, some territorial successes on the southern wing of the Kursk salient were nullified after the battle of Prokhorovka.

At a meeting at the Fuhrer's headquarters on July 13, Manstein tried to convince Hitler not to interrupt Operation Citadel. The Fuhrer did not object to the continuation of the attacks on the southern wing of the Kursk salient (although it was no longer possible to do this on the northern wing of the salient). But the new efforts of the Manstein group did not lead to decisive success. As a result, on July 17, 1943, the command ground forces Germany was ordered to withdraw the 2nd SS Panzer Corps from the Army Group South. Manstein had no choice but to retreat.

PROGRESS OF THE BATTLE. OFFENSIVE

In mid-July 1943, the second phase of the gigantic battle of Kursk began. 12 - 15 July went on the offensive Bryansk, Central and Western fronts, and on August 3, after the troops of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts pushed the enemy back to their original positions on the southern wing of the Kursk salient, they launched the Belgorod-Kharkov offensive operation (Operation Rumyantsev). Fighting in all areas continued to be extremely complex and fierce. The situation was further complicated by the fact that in the offensive zone of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts (in the south), as well as in the zone of the Central Front (in the north), the main blows of our troops were inflicted not on a weak, but on a strong sector of the enemy defense. This decision was made in order to shorten the time for preparing for offensive operations as much as possible, to catch the enemy by surprise, that is, precisely at the moment when he was already exhausted, but had not yet taken up a solid defense. The breakthrough was carried out by powerful strike groups in narrow sections of the front using a large number tanks, artillery and aviation.

The courage of Soviet soldiers, the increased skill of their commanders, the competent use of military equipment in battles could not but lead to positive results. Already on August 5, Soviet troops liberated Orel and Belgorod. On this day, for the first time since the beginning of the war, an artillery salute was fired in Moscow in honor of the valiant formations of the Red Army that won such a brilliant victory. By August 23, units of the Red Army pushed the enemy back to the west by 140-150 km and liberated Kharkov for the second time.

The Wehrmacht lost 30 selected divisions in the Battle of Kursk, including 7 tank divisions; about 500 thousand soldiers killed, wounded and missing; 1.5 thousand tanks; more than 3 thousand aircraft; 3 thousand guns. Even greater were the losses of the Soviet troops: 860 thousand people; over 6 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns; 5 thousand guns and mortars, 1.5 thousand aircraft. Nevertheless, the balance of forces at the front changed in favor of the Red Army. She had at her disposal an incomparable large quantity fresh reserves than the Wehrmacht.

The offensive of the Red Army, after the introduction of new formations into battle, continued to increase its pace. On the central sector of the front, the troops of the Western and Kalinin fronts began to advance towards Smolensk. This ancient Russian city, considered since the 17th century. gate to Moscow, was released on September 25. On the southern wing of the Soviet-German front, units of the Red Army in October 1943 reached the Dnieper in the Kyiv region. Capturing several bridgeheads on the right bank of the river on the move, Soviet troops carried out an operation to liberate the capital of Soviet Ukraine. On November 6, a red flag was raised over Kiev.

It would be wrong to say that after the victory of the Soviet troops in the Battle of Kursk, the further offensive of the Red Army developed unhindered. Everything was much more difficult. So, after the liberation of Kyiv, the enemy managed to launch a powerful counterattack in the region of Fastov and Zhytomyr against the advanced formations of the 1st Ukrainian Front and inflict considerable damage on us, stopping the offensive of the Red Army on the territory of the right-bank Ukraine. The situation in Eastern Belarus was even more tense. After the liberation of the Smolensk and Bryansk regions, by November 1943, Soviet troops reached the areas east of Vitebsk, Orsha and Mogilev. However, the subsequent attacks of the Western and Bryansk fronts against the German Army Group Center, which had taken up a tough defense, did not lead to any significant results. Time was needed to concentrate additional forces in the Minsk direction, to give rest to formations exhausted in previous battles and, most importantly, to develop a detailed plan for a new operation to liberate Belarus. All this happened in the summer of 1944.

And in 1943, the victories near Kursk and then in the battle for the Dnieper completed a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War. The offensive strategy of the Wehrmacht suffered a final collapse. By the end of 1943, 37 countries were at war with the Axis powers. The collapse of the fascist bloc began. Among the notable acts of that time was the establishment in 1943 of soldiers' and commanders' awards - the Orders of Glory I, II, and III degrees and the Order of Victory, as well as the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1, 2 and 3 degrees as a sign of the liberation of Ukraine. A long and bloody struggle still lay ahead, but a radical change had already taken place.

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