The German offensive was countered by two Soviet counteroffensives, Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev (Russian: Полководец Румянцев) and Operation Kutuzov (Russian: Кутузов).

The German offensive was code-named Operation Citadel (German language: Unternehmen Zitadelle) and led to one of the largest armoured clashes in history, the Battle of Prokhorovka. The Battle of Kursk was a World War II engagement between German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front near Kursk (450 kilometres or 280 miles southwest of Moscow) in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. Green areas show German advances on Kursk Orange areas show the destruction of an earlier Soviet breakthrough. Although Western historiography traditionally marks the beginning of the German downfall to the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the crushing defeat of Kursk makes a more likely turning point for the war.The eastern front at the time of Operation Citadel. From its victory in the Battle of Kursk, the Soviet Red Army went on to liberate most of Ukraine in the autumn of 1943, marching into Kiev on November 6. It had lost 30 of its 50 divisions and up to 500,000 men killed, wounded or missing in action. On August 4, the city of Orel was liberated and by the 18th the German army took up defensive positions east of Bryansk. Both were successfully repulsed, and by July 12, the Soviet forces had gone over to the offensive. The German offensive, code named “Citadel,” involved two simultaneous thrusts against the Soviet-held northern and southern salients. Konev, numbered 1.3 million troops, 3,600 tanks, and 2,800 aircraft. Vatutin’s Voronezh Army, and the reserve army of the Steppe Front under General I.

Rokossovskii’s Army of the Center, General N. The Soviet forces, consisting of General K. It was initiated by the Germans who, in retreat after their spectacular defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad, concentrated 50 divisions, two tank brigades, three tank battalions, and eight artillery assault divisions comprising 2,700 Tiger and Panther tanks, some two thousand aircraft, and 900,000 men in all.

The Battle of Kursk, which involved the largest tank battle of the Second World War, was fought on the steppe of Kursk oblast between July 5 and August 23, 1943.

Battle of kursk panther tanks