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Kursk - Clash of Steel
The Germans launched their attack on the Kursk salient on 5th July 1943, and for
both sides this was maximum effort. The Soviets, however, informed by
intelligence of the impending German attack, had ample time to prepare huge
defensive works with hundreds of planned anti tank belts. They deployed 10 Tank
Corps, 5 Tank Armies, 1 mechanised Corps and 14 Field Armies equipped with 4000
anti tank guns and 6000 tanks. The Soviet Air Forces were equally impressive -
2600 aircraft. The Germans, outnumbered in every department, were forced to
scrape together whatever serviceable tanks they could from their badly under
strength Panzer formations. Most of the tanks deployed were old Panzer IIIs or
IVs, with only 147 Tigers available for action. The northern German attack made
very little headway, but, in the south, the Germans had grouped all of the SS
Panzer forces into the II SS Panzer Corps and these units, despite the enormous
Soviet forces ranged against them, began to smash their way through the Soviet
defences. The Luftwaffe too had brought together 1200 aircraft and these made an
immediate impact on the fighting - on the first day alone German fighters broke
up massive formations of Soviet aircraft, over 400 victories being claimed. |
