Battle ofKursk, 2 Coming up?

The Battle of Kursk, which took place between July 5 and August 23, 1943, involved between 6,064 and 7,000 tanks and assault guns. This makes it the largest tank battle in history, with the Germans deploying 2,700 Tiger and Panther tanks, and the Soviets using 3,600 tanks.

The Germans used a variety of tanks at Kursk, including:

Tiger

Placed at the front of the attack to absorb the majority of Soviet anti-tank fire

Panzer III

An obsolete tank with inadequate armor and firepower, but still common with 668 used in the battle

Panzer IV

A good match for the T-34 with thicker armor and a 75mm gun, with 702 used in the battle

Panther

The first combat use of this medium tank

The Soviets used a variety of tanks, including:

T-34

The most common and capable Soviet tank, though combat experience showed its 76.2mm gun and two-man turret were increasingly inadequate

T-70

A third of the Soviet tanks at Kursk were T-70s, though this proportion was higher in some units

The battle began with the German offensive Operation Citadel, which involved simultaneous attacks on the Soviet-held northern and southern salients. The Soviets had prepared for likely avenues of attack, building anti-tank ditches and bunkers, and laying minefields to funnel the enemy into kill zones.