The Battle of Prokhorovka in July 1943

It was July 1943. For five days the Battle continued on the Kursk Bulge . The Orel-Kursk section of the Central Front successfully countered the Wehrmacht soldiers. In the Belgorod region, on the contrary, the initiative was in the hands of the Germans: their offensive continued in the southeast direction, which threatened immediately for the two fronts. The place of the main battle was to be a small field near the village of Prokhorovka.

The choice of the area for combat operations was carried out on the basis of geographical features - the terrain provided an opportunity to stop the German breakthrough and to inflict a powerful counterattack by the forces of the Steppe Front. On July 9, on the orders of the command, the 5th All-Arms and 5th Panzer Guards armies moved to the area of Prokhorovka. By the same token, by changing the shock direction, the Germans advanced.

Tank battle near Prokhorovka. Central battle

Both armies concentrated large tank forces in the vicinity of the village. It became clear that the oncoming battle is simply impossible to avoid. In the evening of July 11, the battle of Prokhorovka began. The German divisions made an attempt to strike the flanks, and our forces had to use considerable forces and even draw reserves to stop the breakthrough. On the morning of July 12, at 8:15, the Soviet Army launched a counter-offensive. It was not accidental that the time was chosen - the aim shooting of the Germans was hampered as a result of the blinding of the rising sun. Within an hour the Battle of Kursk near Prokhorovka acquired a colossal scale. In the center of the fierce battle were about 1000-1200 German and Soviet tanks and self-propelled artillery installations.

For many kilometers, the screeching of fighting machines collided, the hum of engines. The planes flew in a whole "swarm," resembling clouds. The field burned, new and new explosions shook the earth. The sun was closed by clubs of smoke, ash, sand. In the air, there was a smell of red-hot metal, gary, gunpowder. The suffocating smoke was strewn across the field, pinching his eyes to the men, he did not let them breathe. Tanks could only be distinguished by silhouette.

The Battle of Prokhorovka. Tank fighting

On this day, battles were fought not only on the mainstream. To the south of the village the German tank group made an attempt to enter our forces in the left flank. The offensive of the enemy was stopped. At the same time, the enemy threw about a hundred tanks to take possession of the height next to Prokhorovka. The soldiers of the 95th Guards Division countered them. The battle lasted three hours, and as a result, the German attack failed.

What ended the battle of Prokhorovka

At about 13 o'clock the Germans once again tried to break the course of the battle in the central direction and inflicted a blow on the right flank by two divisions. However, this attack was neutralized. Our tanks began to press the enemy back and in the evening they were able to drop it for 10-15 km. The battle of Prokhorovka was won, the offensive of the enemy was stopped. Hitler's troops suffered heavy losses, their attacking potential on the Belgorodsky sector of the front was exhausted. After this battle, until our victory, our army did not let go of its strategic initiative.