Battle Of Kursk: History, Significance, Dates, And Facts For Kids

During the Second World War, the world saw some war machinery that hadn't even been thought of before.

One such event which exhibited such war machinery was the Battle of Kursk. In this battle, Nazi Germany fought to redeem itself after a few losses, while the Soviet forces fought to defend their power.

The Soviet defenders made use of their war techniques, as well as machinery. On the other hand, Germans made use of anti-tank guns to find chinks in the Soviet armor. Keep reading for more facts!

If you enjoy reading this article, why not also check out our facts about the Battle of Gallipoli and the Battle of France here at Kidadl!

Battle Of Kursk Significance

During World War II, there were certain events that went against the German forces. After one such lost war at Stalingrad, the German dictator was in need of another win to set the record straight and help German forces in gaining a foothold on the Eastern Front of the Second World War.

Nazi Germany was planning on launching a violent attack on the Kursk salient, which would have been a significant win in their favor.

However, the task was quite difficult since the Soviet resources and battle equipment were available in far larger numbers.

In order for the German dictator, Adolf Hitler, to be able to achieve a win at Kursk, he would have had to devise an indestructible plan that the Soviet Union did not even have any idea about. However, this was not achieved.

British intelligence, as well as the spy system set up by the Allies, was able to figure out that it was only some time until the Germans attempted to capture villages around Kursk, making their final capture at Kursk.

Since the Kursk battlefield was to be as much of a significant event for the Germans as for the Soviets, both parties started preparing for the battle.

It is important to understand that many German generals and leaders understood that a German advance could easily be tackled by the Soviets since they were outnumbered in terms of artillery and in terms of their army as well.

This meant that the German plan of attack had to be absolutely flawless in order to ensure that they did not lose many material resources on their way to Kursk.

At the same time, the clear motive of the Soviet general was to make sure that Germans lost most of their army and tanks way before they could even reach the Russian city of Kursk.

In order to achieve this, a large chunk of the Russian army was transported towards Kursk and its neighboring areas.

The men spent months creating a chain of defense against German troops. Such arrangements included trenches, anti-tank ditch systems, and others.

These defenses were placed strategically so that the Soviet attack would only have to deal with a small chunk of the German troops that managed to push through the barbed wires.

In addition to this, even the German generals had to eventually push the dates of their attack back as they understood that their attack could only be fruitful if they took time to devise a good plan.

The battle that they thought of initiating in April was eventually set to motion in July. This also gave the Soviet Union and its generals an opportunity to understand the gravity of the situation and plan their defenses accordingly.

The German army was instructed to make use of a lightning method of warfare that had been one of Hitler's favorites and had managed to give him some substantial wins.

He also devised a pincer method that was to be put to use at the Kursk bulge. Through this method, the German offensive was supposed to trap the Soviet troops between the two arms of the pincer, thereby making sure that they won.

However, the vigor with which the Soviet defenses fought and the added mishaps within the German war equipment did not allow them to be as successful as they had hoped.

The Battle of Kursk was of particular significance since it was the largest tank battle that the world had ever seen.

While the German army was backed by the power of tanks and other weaponry that had the benefits of updated features, the Red Army had an unlimited supply of tanks. German Tiger tanks, which were very famous for their range, were replaced with Panther tanks in this battle.

The range of this rank model was unmatched, although the number of them at the disposal of the German army was quite low.

On the other hand, the Soviet infantry could afford to lose a few of their tanks since they were producing such war machinery in large numbers, and the chances of them running out of material were quite low.

The German soldier count was quite low in comparison to that of the Red Army. This is because the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, was constantly sending more Soviet troops in order to make sure that the Soviet line of defense stayed in place.

The Kursk battlefield was thus a display of the grandest war machinery and techniques of warfare that were ever seen.

For how long did the Battle of Kursk last?

Records show that the Battle of Kursk lasted from July 5, 1943, to August 23, 1943.

People often say that the battle ended when the Germans failed in capturing Prokhorovka, but it continued for a long time afterward as well.

The period between July 5 and July 12 was when the German offensive was carried out, as they pushed through several villages that led to Prokhorovka, capturing some and being unsuccessful in others.

For this entire duration, the idea was for the army to be able to penetrate through Obeyan and enter Prokhorovka, where the ultimate clash between the Soviets and the Germans was to be held.

However, the German plans were upset by the defenses that the Soviets had laid down.

They lost too many men and tanks to be able to win. The German airfields were also not put to use since they would not be able to afford the loss of an aircraft after their loss at Stalingrad.

This meant that Operation Citadel, as the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had named it, had completely depended on factors such as warfare techniques and the new German tank: the Panther.

The 7-day long German offensive would have continued for a little longer than it did if the Soviet general had not planned to launch an artillery barrage right when the Germans had thought of launching their attack. However, for the first few days, they were able to capture some Russian villages, such as Ponyri, Teploye, and Olkhatova.

These villages were captured for a while; however, throughout the next month, the Soviets made their efforts in recapturing the lost land.

After July 12, 1943, the Soviet Central started its own offensive strategies. They used assault guns, artillery fire, and tanks in order to make sure that the German attack was completely nullified.

Adolf Hitler was forced to call off the battle at Kursk since he could clearly see that the Soviet side was all set for a strategic win. In fact, the allied invasion of Sicily that had taken place during this battle was underway and also put the German officials under a lot of pressure.

Why did the Battle of Kursk happen?

It is usual for a battle to be influenced by many factors.

Especially during World War II when the largest powers of the world were making their own efforts in order to reach their own ends and creating larger schemes that would ultimately help in the building of their own nation, it is natural that powers like Germany and the Soviet Union would take a lot of factors into account before choosing their battles.

The battle of Kursk was carefully considered and planned in order to make sure that World War II and the vision of becoming a singular large power did not dissipate into hindsight. As a precursor to this bloody battle, Nazi Germany had gone through a few consequential losses.

On the other hand, the Red Army was making its advances and was constantly planning offensives.

In those times, the best way to make sure that a certain power was not attacked was to attempt to attack its rivals first. This occasion was no different.

The only reason why Germany attacked the Red Army and tried to make their foothold at Kursk is that they wanted to ensure that the Soviets did not plan their own offensive first.

The Soviet attacks are known to have been quite fierce, and their unending reserves were the reason behind their constant wins against so many rivals. Hence, the German troops would be vehemently squashed if the Soviet general was allowed time to plan his own offensive.

Additionally, after the consequential losses that Germany had suffered, it was important that they not only defended themselves but also carried out offensives so as to not be pushed out of the Second World War altogether.

Keeping all these points in mind, Hitler and his generals devised Operation Citadel, which would renew their foothold in the Eastern Front and also put them in a good position in terms of the war.

Germans fought valiantly and also made many changes in order to make sure that they were able to achieve their desired ends at the end of the battle. They put their Panther tanks to use for the first time, which had much more of a range than the Soviet tanks.

However, this was not enough for them to win the battle in Southern Russia.

Who won the Battle of Kursk?

In the Battle of Kursk, the German army was outnumbered in terms of artillery, as well as infantry. Additionally, they did not even have the resources required in order to compete in a close battle with the resourceful Soviet army.

The Red Army had an endless supply of tanks, as well as full support from Stalin whenever it required more men for guarding its flanks.

This allowed Soviet defenses to quickly and efficiently squash the German attack. The Soviet tanks hardly had the same range and precision as the ones on the German lines, but they were still quite useful since they had a heavy and rugged build.

On the Eastern Front, where they were expecting a large-scale offensive, rugged and sturdy tanks played a major role.

Being the largest tank battle in the history of warfare, the fact that the outdated Soviet tanks managed to defeat the technologically advanced German tanks was quite a feat. The Tiger tanks and Panther tanks, which the German army made use of in Operation Citadel, were undoubtedly great but lacked a rugged build.

Some of them succumbed to the artillery barrage and rifle corps, while others were damaged by Soviet tanks.

This was made even more simple by the fact that the German armor tanks were quite weak.

The Panzer divisions were easy to demolish through the air force since the left flank of the heavy tanks was weak and easily penetrable. With each tank destroyed, the chances of the Germans managing to gain a win at the Kursk bulge diminished.

This is because the Panzer divisions weren't equipped with too many Panther tanks, as tank production in Germany was much slower in comparison to that behind Soviet lines.

The Battle of Kursk tanks, which are renowned to this day, were T-34's, which were used on the Soviet lines. The German army used Panther or Panzer tanks and Tiger tanks. The Battle of Kursk map is marked with certain momentary captures made by German troops, which can be directly associated with the range of these German tanks.

The Battle of Kursk casualties were heavier on the side of the Soviets in spite of the fact that they won. They lost many tanks and around 800,000 men. On the other hand, the German army lost around 200,000 men during the battle. In the end, however, the Red Army won.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked learning about the Battle of Kursk, then why not read about the Battle of Jutland or the Battle of Chancellorsville.