Operation Citadel: the defeat of the enemy by his own weapon

During the Second World War, in 1943, the situation on the Eastern Front sharply began to change. It was during this period that the final turning point, begun with the Battle of Stalingrad, took place, when during the operation "Uranus" the Sixth Wehrmacht army was surrounded and defeated by Soviet troops. Then, during the offensive battles in the winter of 1943, German troops were significantly discarded. The front stabilized in the spring, when German troops during the counterattack could stop the movement of the Red Army. At the same time, a ledge was formed, in which, in the summer of the same year, one of the most bloody and major battles in history - the Battle of Kursk - flared up. Operation Citadel - the plan of the German command for the defeat of the Soviet armies in the Kursk region - suffered a complete collapse.

The German command began to develop a plan for the deployment of military operations for the summer period of 1943. One of the main proposals was to strike a full-scale strike in the area of the Kursk salient, which was adopted. In April, a plan was approved under the name Operation Citadel, according to which the German troops were to split the Soviet defense in two during a strike from two directions. The beginning was fixed in the middle of summer.

Thanks to reconnaissance, the texts in which the operation "Citadel", its main tasks and directions were fully revealed, fell into the hands of the Soviet command. During the meeting of the Soviet Supreme High Command, it was decided to keep the defense, and after the enemy was exhausted and bloodless, begin and develop his own counter-offensive.

By July 1943, significant forces were concentrated in the area of the Kursk salient both from the Germans and from the USSR. Among the Wehrmacht's armored vehicles there were also new tanks such as the Tiger and the Panther, as well as the SAU Ferdinand, but most of them were already obsolete tanks of the Pz III and IV series.

According to the plan of the Germans, the Citadel operation was to begin on July 5 at night with a large artillery preparation, but since the USSR command became aware of the enemy's upcoming actions, it was decided to conduct a counter-training, thanks to which the German offensive was delayed for 3 hours and began only in the morning.

Hitler's German tank formations began to attack the Soviet positions from two sides. The German Army Group Center was nominated from the Eagle, against which the Central Front stood on the Soviet side. Military forces called "South" moved from Belgorod to the positions of the Voronezh Front. In the course of the first day, bloody battles took place, and the original German plans demanded an adjustment, since the tank formations did not reach their intended positions. However, Operation Citadel was developing at full speed, and although with great difficulty and losses, but the Wehrmacht troops were able to break through the defenses.

July 12 there was the largest tank encounter in history. Under the railway station Prokhorovka, a battle broke out between the adversaries. During the hardest battles and with huge losses, Soviet troops were able to reverse the outcome of the battle in their favor. They forced the German units to retreat.

Already by July 15, the Wehrmacht troops had exhausted offensive resources, and proceeded to defense. The German offensive operation Citadel completely failed. The Second World War entered a new phase - from this moment the initiative completely passed to the anti-Hitler coalition.