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The Second World War

If we take the entire history of mankind from time immemorial to the present day, then the Second World War- the largest war in the history of mankind. The Second World War had a huge impact on the fate of mankind. It was attended by 62 states (80% of the world's population). Military operations were conducted on the territory of 40 states. 110 million people were mobilized into the armed forces. The total human losses reached 50-55 million people, of which 27 million people were killed on the fronts (although the exact data on losses are still not known and different historians give different figures). The greatest human losses were suffered by the USSR, China, Germany, Japan and Poland.

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In World War II, from all fronts in Western Europe, Africa, Asia, the most important and decisive, the largest, both in terms of the number of opposing troops and the number of irretrievable losses, was the Soviet-German front, on which three biggest battles. One of them is the Battle of Kursk. It lasted 50 days and nights, from July 5 to August 23, 1943.

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Battle of Kursk

The Battle of Kursk is also known as the Battle of Kursk and the German offensive Operation Citadel. In Soviet and Russian historiography, it is customary to divide the battle into three parts: the Kursk defensive operation (July 5-12); Orel (July 12 - August 18) and Belgorod-Kharkov (August 3-23) offensive.

Slide 8

The battle on the Kursk Bulge became "... an outstanding battle not only of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet period, but of the entire Second World War" - Chief Marshal of the Armored Forces A.Kh. Babadzhanyan. The peak of the battle on the Kursk Bulge fell on the field, later called "tank". "The greatest tank battle of World War II near Prokhorovka essentially decided the outcome of the war. It was the beginning of the end of fascist Germany," Soviet writer Yuri Bondarev later wrote.

Slide 10

The plans of the enemy

The general plan of the German command was to encircle and destroy the troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts defending in the Kursk region. (In the area of ​​​​Orel-Kursk-Belgorod-Kharkov, the front bizarrely curved backwards with the letter S - in the north, a ledge was wedged into the Soviet defense, in the center of which was Orel, and directly below it was exactly the same ledge that was held by Soviet troops and whose center was Kursk ). Despite the fact that the plan for Operation Citadel was kept a strict secret, the Soviet command managed to guess not only the place where Hitler would try to conduct a general offensive, but also the direction of his main attacks. These data, obtained back in March, made it possible to begin preparations for the defense of the Kursk Salient long before the start of Operation Citadel. The Kursk region has become the most powerful fortified area in the world. And although a static defense on a long front is, in principle, a rather ineffective strategy, on the Kursk Bulge it fully justified itself due to the correctly guessed place and direction of the German strike, as well as the time needed to create a well-prepared, in-depth defense.

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Operation Citadel

The German offensive began on July 5 in the afternoon with ... Soviet shelling. Having data on the location of the German units prepared for the attack, our artillerymen covered them with fire, which led to a delay in the offensive for one and a half to two hours. For several days, until July 11, fierce battles continued on the northern front. The defense of the "Kursk citadel" was a complex system of anti-tank fortifications, minefields, positions of anti-tank artillery. However, these elements of defense were by no means insurmountable in and of themselves. Much more important was the competent location of the reserves of the Soviet command, which threw them into swift counterattacks on the flanks of the advancing enemy. That is why the German attacks choked one by one, and if the Nazis managed to capture locality or height, then it was soon beaten back by Soviet tankmen.

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On the southern front, the German offensive developed a little more successfully. Already on July 6, reserves were brought up, and German troops began to move deep into the Soviet defenses. In the south of the Kursk Bulge, the Nazis launched an offensive in two wide wedges. One of these wedges was directed towards the village of Prokhorovka. This was the most dangerous direction. Fierce fighting in this direction lasted from 10 to 16 July. On July 12, 1943, the famous meeting battle near Prokhorovka took place. According to Soviet data, up to 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns participated in the battle near Prokhorovka on both sides. Both sides suffered serious losses, but it was this battle that finally stopped the German offensive on the southern face of the arc.

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On the northern face, the German offensive bogged down around the same days. There were no such major battles as near Prokhorovka in the north, but the general intensity of the battle on the main directions of attacks was no less. In particular, at the very beginning of the German offensive, fierce battles took place near the village of Ponyri. However, by July 12 all offensive actions the Germans practically stopped - they simply had no strength left. On the same day, the troops of the Western and Bryansk fronts went on the offensive, hitting the flank German group from the northeast to the south and at the same time carrying out strikes from the east and southeast. These counterattacks against the bloodless German troops were almost impossible to contain. By the evening of the next day, units of the Red Army broke through the German defenses to a depth of 25 kilometers. Later, on the northern face, the divisions of the Central Front joined the advancing units of the two fronts. On July 26, the Nazi troops were forced to leave the Orlovsky bridgehead and begin a retreat to positions east of Bryansk. On July 29, Volkhov was liberated, on August 5, Orel, by August 18, Soviet troops approached the defensive lines near Bryansk. This formally ended the Oryol-Kursk operation, but the counteroffensive on the Kursk Bulge developed into a general offensive of the Red Army along the entire front.

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The counteroffensive in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction began almost immediately after the Battle of Prokhorov. Already on July 13, the Germans went on the defensive, and on the 16th they began to withdraw their forces. The Soviet troops went over to the pursuit and threw back the Nazi troops to the starting line, from which the Germans attacked the "Kursk citadel" on July 5. Gradually building up strength from the depths, Soviet troops advanced 20 kilometers within two days. On August 5, Belgorod was liberated. In just five days, the troops traveled over 100 kilometers. By the end of August 11, the troops of the Voronezh Front cut railway Kharkiv - Poltava. The troops of the Steppe Front came close to the outer defensive contour of Kharkov. Having unsuccessfully tried to counterattack, the Germans finally went on the defensive. On August 23, after stubborn fighting, the troops of the Steppe Front completely cleared Kharkov of the enemy. In total, during the counteroffensive in the Belgorod-Kharkov direction, Soviet troops advanced 140 kilometers and hung over the entire southern wing of the German front, taking an advantageous position to go on a general offensive with the aim of liberating Left-Bank Ukraine.

Slide 18

On August 23, the Battle of Kursk ended. One of the greatest battles of the Second World War lasted for fifty days. Irreparable losses were inflicted on the enemy, all his attempts to hold strategic bridgeheads in the Orel and Kharkov regions were thwarted. Conditions were created for the transition of our troops to a general offensive on most of the Soviet-German front. For courage and heroism shown in the Battle of Kursk, more than 100 thousand soldiers, officers and generals of the Red Army were awarded orders and medals, 180 especially distinguished soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Slide 19

The victory near Kursk marked the transition of the strategic initiative to the Red Army. By the time the front was stabilized, Soviet troops had reached their starting positions for an offensive on the Dnieper. After the end of the battle on the Kursk Bulge, the German command lost the opportunity to conduct strategic offensive operations. Local massive offensives, such as Watch on the Rhine (1944) or the Balaton operation (1945), were also unsuccessful. Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, who developed and carried out Operation Citadel, later wrote: “It was the last attempt to maintain our initiative in the East. With her failure, tantamount to failure, the initiative finally passed to the Soviet side. Therefore, Operation Citadel is a decisive turning point in the war on the Eastern Front. According to Guderian, “As a result of the failure of the Citadel offensive, we suffered a decisive defeat. The armored forces, replenished with such great difficulty, were put out of action for a long time due to heavy losses in people and equipment. Results of the Battle of Kursk

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In the history of World War II, there are many events that can be considered the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. Actually, many Russian and Western historians believe that the German attack on the USSR itself became the very point after which the countdown of days began. Nazi Germany. The Battle of Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk Bulge - all these glorious victories brought the Red Army closer to Berlin. In October 1941, near Moscow, it became clear that the blitzkrieg had failed, in late 1942 - early 1943, after Battle of Stalingrad, the whole world learned that the Soviet army was capable of inflicting crushing defeats on the Germans. Finally, in 1943, on the Kursk Bulge, the German army received such a blow from which it could no longer recover. All these dates are equivalent for history - these were steps towards Victory, the steps along which the Soviet soldier rose to the top of his glory. BEGINNING OF THE END

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Text material for the teacher (possible distribution of material for readers) on the topic: “The Great Patriotic War. Battle of Kursk.

Developed by the teacher of history and social studies of the secondary school No. 50 in Tver, Oleg Viktorovich Osipov.

Dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Battle of Kursk (slide 1)

(lesson, single Classroom hour)

(slide 2) The Battle of Kursk occupies a special place in the Great Patriotic War. It lasted 50 days and nights, from July 5 to August 23, 1943. This battle has no equal in its bitterness and stubbornness of the struggle.

(slide 3) The defeat of the German troops near Stalingrad in late 1942 - early 1943 caused enormous damage military power, the morale of the army and the population of Germany. More than 2,500 officers and 24 generals of the 6th Army were taken prisoner. In total, over 91 thousand soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht were taken prisoner. From January 10 to February 2, 1943, according to the report of the headquarters of the Don Front, a huge amount of German weapons became the trophies of the Soviet troops from January 10 to February 2, 1943. For the first time since the beginning of World War II, before Nazi Germany in all its inevitability a formidable specter of inevitable defeat arose.

(slide 4) The German command decided to conduct a major strategic operation on the Kursk ledge in the summer of 1943. It was planned to deliver converging strikes from the areas of the cities of Orel (from the north) and Belgorod (from the south). The shock groups were to link up in the Kursk region, surrounding the troops of the Central and Voronezh Fronts of the Red Army. The operation received the code name "Citadel".

(slide 5) The general plan of the German command was to encircle and destroy the troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts defending in the Kursk region. If successful, it was supposed to expand the front of the offensive and return the strategic initiative. To implement his plans, the enemy concentrated powerful strike groups, which numbered over 900 thousand people, about 10 thousand guns and mortars, up to 2700 tanks and assault guns, about 2050 aircraft.

(slide 6) At a meeting with Manstein on May 10-11, the plan was adjusted at the suggestion of General Hoth: the 2nd SS Panzer Corps turns from the Oboyansky direction towards Prokhorovka, where terrain conditions allow for a global battle with the armored reserves of Soviet troops.To ensure success, the German command concentrates selected German units on the Kursk salient.

(slide 7) The Soviet command decided to conduct a defensive battle, wear down the enemy troops and defeat them, inflicting counterattacks on the attackers at a critical moment. To this end, a defense in depth was created on both faces of the Kursk salient. A total of 8 defensive lines were created. The average density of mining in the direction of the expected enemy strikes was 1,500 anti-tank and 1,700 anti-personnel mines per kilometer of the front.

(slide 8) Already at the beginning of 1943, in the intercepts of secret messages from the High Command of the Nazi army and Hitler's secret directives, Operation Citadel was increasingly mentioned. On April 12, 1943, the exact text of Directive No. 6 “On the Plan of Operation Citadel” translated from German by the German High Command, which was endorsed by all services of the Wehrmacht, but not yet signed by Hitler, translated from German, fell on Stalin’s desk, who signed it only three days later. This data was obtained by a scout who worked under the name "Werther". Both sides begin active preparations for battle.

(slide 9) The German offensive began on the morning of July 5, 1943. Since the Soviet command knew exactly the start time of the operation - 3 a.m. (the German army fought according to Berlin time - translated into Moscow 5 a.m.), at 22:30 and 2:20 Moscow time, artillery artillery preparation was carried out by the two fronts. The enemy, who was in the initial position, suffered heavy losses in men and equipment in a matter of minutes and was forced to postpone the transition to the offensive for 2.5 hours.

(slide 10) The enemy struck the main blow on Olkhovatsky direction by large infantry forces supported by 500 tanks and assault guns. Their actions were accompanied by massive air strikes. A fierce battle unfolded. The enemy did not doubt success. According to his calculations, the latest Combat vehicles was supposed to crush the Soviet defenses.

(slide 11, 12) At the initial stage of the offensive, the 48th Tank Corps, which was the strongest formation of the 4th Tank Army, supported by two infantry divisions, had the task of breaking through the first, second and third lines of defense of the Voronezh Front. The offensive plan determined that the village of Cherkasskoye was to be captured by 10:00 - July 5. And already on July 6, the German units were supposed to reach the city of Oboyan. However, as a result of the actions of the Soviet units and formations, their courage and stamina, as well as the preparation of defensive lines they carried out in advance, the Wehrmacht's plans in this direction were “significantly adjusted” - the 48th tank corps did not reach Oboyan.

(slide 13, 14) The battle that began immediately took on a grandiose scope and was of an extremely tense character. Our troops did not flinch. They met the avalanche of enemy tanks and infantry with unprecedented stamina and courage. The offensive of the enemy strike groups was suspended. Only at the cost of huge losses did he manage to penetrate our defenses in some areas. On the Central Front - at 10-12 km, on the Voronezh - up to 35 km.

(slide 15) On July 12, the largest oncoming tank battle in history took place in the Prokhorovka area. On the German side, the 2nd SS Panzer Corps participated in it, which had 494 tanks and self-propelled guns, including 15 Tigers. On the Soviet side, the 5th Panzer Army of P. Rotmistrov, numbering about 850 tanks, participated in the battle. After inflicting a massive battle on both sides, it entered its active phase and continued until the end of the day.

From the memoirs of a German soldier: “The Russians launched an attack in the morning. They were around us, above us, among us. Hand-to-hand combat ensued, we jumped out of our single trenches, set fire to enemy tanks with magnesium HEAT grenades, climbed onto our armored personnel carriers and fired at any tank or soldier we spotted. It was hell! ... "

Memories Soviet soldiers: “Heavy pictures remained in my memory ... There was such a roar that the membranes pressed, blood flowed from the ears. The continuous roar of engines, the clanging of metal, the roar, the explosions of shells, the wild rattle of torn iron ... From point-blank shots, turrets turned, twisted guns, armor burst, tanks exploded.

“From shots into gas tanks, tanks instantly flared up. Hatches opened, and tank crews tried to get out. I saw a young lieutenant, half burnt, hanging from his armour. Wounded, he could not get out of the hatch. And so he died. There was no one around to help him. We lost the sense of time, we felt neither thirst, nor heat, nor even blows in the cramped cockpit of the tank. One thought, one desire - while alive, beat the enemy. Our tankers, who got out of their wrecked vehicles, searched the field for enemy crews, also left without equipment, and beat them with pistols, grabbed them hand-to-hand. I remember the captain, who, in some kind of frenzy, climbed onto the armor of a wrecked German "tiger" and hit the hatch with his machine gun in order to "smoke out" the Nazis from there. I remember how bravely the commander of the tank company Chertorizhsky acted. He knocked out the enemy "Tiger", but he himself was shot down. Jumping out of the car, the tankers put out the fire. And they went to battle again.

(slide 16) On July 12, a turning point occurred in the Battle of Kursk, the Nazis, having lost up to 400 tanks in a day of battle, were forced to abandon the offensive, and on July 18 they began to withdraw all their forces to their original position. The troops of the Voronezh, and from July 19 and the Steppe Fronts, began to pursue and by July 23 they threw the enemy back to the line that he had occupied on the eve of his offensive.

(slide 17) Going on the offensive, the Red Army on August 5, during fierce battles, liberated the cities of Orel and Belgorod.

(slide 18) On the evening of August 5, in honor of this major success in Moscow, for the first time in two years of the war, a victorious salute was given. Since that time, artillery salutes have constantly announced glorious victories Soviet weapons. On August 23, Kharkov was liberated. So the battle on the Kursk fiery arch ended victoriously. During it, 30 selected enemy divisions were defeated. The fascist German troops lost about 500,000 men, 1,500 tanks, 3,000 guns and 3,700 aircraft. For courage and heroism, over 100 thousand Soviet soldiers - participants in the Battle of the Fiery Arc, were awarded orders and medals. The Battle of Kursk ended with a radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War.

(slide 19) The victory near Kursk marked the transition of the strategic initiative to the Red Army. By the time the front was stabilized, Soviet troops had reached their starting positions for an offensive on the Dnieper.

After the end of the battle on the Kursk Bulge, the German command lost the opportunity to conduct strategic offensive operations. Local massive offensives, such as Watch on the Rhine (1944) or the Balaton operation (1945), were also unsuccessful.

According to Guderian, the chief inspector of the armored forces of Nazi Germany:“As a result of the failure of the Citadel Offensive, we suffered a decisive defeat. The armored forces, replenished with such great difficulty, were put out of action for a long time due to heavy losses in people and equipment.

(slide 20) The victory in the Battle of Kursk cost the Soviet troops dearly. They lost over 860 thousand people, more than 6 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, 5.2 thousand guns and mortars, over 1.6 thousand aircraft.

(slide 21) The events of those days are farther away from us contemporaries, but we are heirs great victory should know and remember about heroism and courage Soviet people who defended the independence of our Motherland in heavy battles.

(slide 22) Remember these names: Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich, Konev Ivan Stepanovich, Vatutin Nikolai Fedorovich, Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich, Zhukov Grigory Konstantinovich - talented Soviet commanders. Thanks to their leadership of the troops on the Kursk Bulge, and of course the mass heroism and courage of the soldiers Soviet army victory was ours.

(slide 23) Even the enemies were forced to recognize the decisive importance of the battle on the Kursk Bulge in the Great Patriotic War.Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, who developed and carried out Operation Citadel, later wrote: « It was the last attempt to keep our initiative in the East. With her failure, tantamount to failure, the initiative finally passed to the Soviet side. Therefore, Operation Citadel is a decisive turning point in the war on the Eastern Front.

(slide 24) The world will remember you, proud, brave people. The world will not forget Russia's brave soldiers.

Great Patriotic War Is it possible to forget you and I forty-third, Do you remember, the Battle of Kursk then blazed? And the Soviet soldier, leaving for immortality, Was stronger than fire and more reliable than metal!

The Battle of Kursk (July 5 - August 23, 1943), in terms of its scale, forces and means involved, tension, results and military-political consequences, is one of the key battles of World War II and the Great Patriotic War. The largest tank battle in history; about two million people, six thousand tanks, four thousand aircraft took part in it.

During the winter offensive of the Red Army and the subsequent counter-offensive of the Wehrmacht in Eastern Ukraine, a ledge up to 150 km deep and up to 200 km wide was formed in the center of the Soviet-German front, facing the west - the Kursk Bulge.

The actions of the fronts were coordinated by representatives of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Marshals of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky. Army General K.K. Rokosovsky Commander of the Central Front Army General N.F. Vatutin Commander of the Voronezh Front Army Colonel General I.S. Konev Commander of the Steppe Front

Germany-Operation Citadel Field Marshal E. Manstein, Army Group South Field Marshal Günther Hans von Kluge, Army Group Center Field Marshal Walter Model, commander of the 2nd Panzer, 2nd and 9th Army (Army Group Center) General Hermann Goth, commander of the 4th Panzer Army, 24th Panzer Corps and Task Force Kempf (Army Group South)

The forces of the parties at the beginning of the operation were 1,300,000 people + 600,000 in reserve, 3,444 tanks + 1,500 in reserve, 19,100 guns and mortars + 7,400 in reserve, 2,172 aircraft + 500 in reserve According to Soviet data - approx. 900,000 people According to German data - 780,000 people, 2,758 tanks and self-propelled guns, about 10,000 guns, about 2,050 aircraft

Battle of Prokhorovka Up to 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns took part in the battle. During the day of the battle, both sides lost from 30 to 60% of tanks and self-propelled guns each. On July 12, a turning point occurred in the Battle of Kursk, the enemy stopped the offensive, and on July 18 he began to withdraw all his forces to their original position. "Citadel" failed, the enemy failed to turn the tide of the war in their favor. On this day, the Kursk defensive operation of the Soviet troops ended.

Breaking point Going on the offensive, the Red Army liberated the cities of Orel and Belgorod on August 5 during fierce battles.

August 5, 1943 On August 5, Soviet troops recaptured the cities of Orel and Belgorod from the enemy. On this day, in the sky over the capital, for the first time in the entire war, Muscovites saw volleys of festive fireworks. From now on, this will be the way to celebrate major victories on the fronts. On August 23, Kharkov was liberated.

Losses The victory in the Battle of Kursk cost the Soviet troops dearly, but the enemy suffered huge losses. The prestige of German weapons was irreparably damaged. 30 German divisions were defeated, including 7 tank divisions.

Heroes of the Battle of Kursk

Gorovets Alexander Konstantinovich of the Guard Lieutenant, Deputy Squadron Commander of the 88th Guards. Shot down 8 enemy planes. When the ammunition was used up, he struck with a propeller on the tail of the ninth bomber. Returning on a damaged plane to his airfield, Gorovets came under an unexpected blow from four enemy fighters. He began to maneuver, dodge enemy bursts, but the forces were too unequal. His plane was shot down and plummeted to the ground. The Gorovets opened the lantern and pulled the parachute ring, but it was not possible to escape. The plane fell into a funnel from a large air bomb and was covered with earth.

Butenko Ivan Efimovich Guard lieutenant, tank commander In the area of ​​the village of Smorodino, the tank unexpectedly collided with eight German tanks that were in ambush. Butenko decided to take the fight. A direct hit from a shell disabled the T-34 gun. Butenko decided to ram. With a strong blow from the frontal armor, he rammed one and then another German tank. The rest of the enemy vehicles opened fire with all their cannons. Butenko's tank went up in flames. The driver was killed and the radio operator was badly wounded. Jumping out of the burning tank, Guard Lieutenant I.E. Butenko from the torn from German officer pistol shot one and several other soldiers from rammed tanks, took documents from the killed officer and, under strong artillery and mortar fire, carried the seriously wounded radio operator from the battlefield. In August 1943, he participated in the Smolensk offensive operation. He distinguished himself in the battles near Yelnya and Smolensk. Killed in action October 21, 1943.

Borisov Mikhail Fedorovich Guards senior sergeant, Komsomol organizer of the artillery battalion 58 SSB. On July 11, 1943, near the village of Prokhorovka (Belgorod Region), one of the batteries of the division was attacked by 19 enemy tanks. When the gun crew failed, M.F. Borisov himself stood up to the gun and knocked out 7 tanks with direct fire. In this battle he was wounded. Forty-third bitterness of wormwood Smelled me from afar - Black, charred plain I see the Kursk Bulge ... M.F. Borisov.

Zinchenko Ivan Trofimovich Senior sergeant, commander of a machine-gun platoon of 447 MSB. On July 7, 1943, near the Syrtsovo farm (Yakovlevsky district of the Belgorod region), repulsing the attack of enemy tanks and infantry, Senior Sergeant I.T. Zinchenko knocked out a tank with an anti-tank grenade. At the critical moment of the battle, having tied himself with anti-tank grenades and taking a grenade in his hands, he rushed towards a heavy tank and blew it up along with him.

Belgin Andrey Antonovich Commander of the battalion of the 214th gsp. On July 6, 1943, the battalion, having repulsed 11 enemy attacks, held its positions. For 16 hours of fighting, the soldiers of the battalion knocked out 14 Nazi tanks and destroyed up to 600 German soldiers and officers. Captain Belgin died heroically in this battle. The surviving 15 soldiers out of 450 fighters and commanders of the 3rd battalion withdrew in an organized manner to new positions.

"We remember and honor the heroes

Great Patriotic War".

War is a merciless and difficult time that claims the lives of many people.

Battle of Kursk

July 5 - August 23, 1943. The victory at the Kursk Bulge was the beginning of the mass expulsion of the Nazis from Soviet soil. The battle was a turning point in the war.

commanders-in-chief Battle of Kursk

In the battle on the Kursk Bulge, the troops of the Central and Voronezh fronts were commanded by the most experienced generals K.K. Rokossovsky and

N.F. Vatutin .

Behind their troops were the armies of the Steppe Front of General I.S. Konev .

Marshals coordinated the actions of the fronts G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky .

July 5, 1943 on the lands of four regions Russian Federation and Ukraine played out one of the largest battles of the Great Patriotic and World War II. It lasted fifty days and nights and was distinguished by exceptional tension and bitterness of the struggle.

This colossal battle was truly a war of engines. Tank battles took place on the fields between Orel and Belgorod, and planes fought in the skies over Kursk.

In this terrible battle on the Kursk Bulge Nazi Germany completely lost hope of success.

Twentieth century - year forty-three.

July, in the midst of a sultry summer.

And the third year of the bloody war,

Veiled with evil glory.

On the Kursk fire arc

The earth and sky are burning in darkness.

Tank battle near Prokhorovka.

On the Eastern front 50 divisions were transferred from the countries of Europe, allies of Hitler.

During the battles on the Kursk Bulge, the largest tank battle in history took place near the village of Prokhorovka. 800 tanks from each side met in battle. It was an impressive sight. The best tank models of the Second World War were on the battlefield.

The Soviet T - 34 clashed with the German "Tiger". Also in that battle, St. John's wort was tested. 57 mm cannon that pierced the armor of the "Tiger".

Battle of Kursk

Over 1,200 tanks, a significant number of artillery and large aviation forces took part in the battle on a small area of ​​the terrain on both sides at the same time. In just one day, losses on both sides amounted to over 700 tanks.

During April-June

near the Kursk salient

8 defensive lines were equipped

with a total depth of up to 300 km. The first six lines were occupied by the Central and Voronezh fronts.

The seventh frontier was prepared by the troops of the Steppe District,

and the eighth, state border was equipped

along the left bank

Specialists of the Gorky Automobile Plant restored the legendary guards mortar "Katyusha BM-13". The combat vehicle took a place in the Walk of Fame in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin.

The Katyusha BM-13 multiple launch rocket system is one of the main merits

Soviet engineers, which played a significant role in the victory of Soviet troops over Nazi Germany. Specialists of the Gorky Automobile Plant literally recreated combat vehicle according to the preserved design documentation.

Battle of Kursk

The goal of the Nazis - to capture the cities of Kursk, Orel, Belgorod was thwarted by courage, stamina, fortitude and the highest patriotism Soviet soldiers and officers.

Heroes of the Battle of Kursk

The greatness of the feat of the heroes of the Battle of Kursk lies in

that they withstood a powerful tank onslaught

enemy and thus determined the final failure

the July offensive of the Germans on the Belgorod - Kursk

direction.

The battles on the Kursk Bulge covered entire cities with unfading glory.

subdivisions, units and formations. Many warriors were

awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The exploits of the tankers.

Miracles of courage and bravery were performed by Soviet tankers.

Here is what reports about the feat of one young tanker

Shalandina V.S. and his comrades-in-arms "History of the Great

Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945":

“...The furious attack was repulsed. But then almost without

respite, the second attack began, followed by the third and fourth.

The number of German tanks involved in the offensive,

increased continuously. In the air above a narrow patch

dozens of German

aircraft. And yet the guards survived ...

The exploits of the tankers.

In this fight nineteen

lieutenant of the Komsomol organization of the company Yu. M. Sokolov destroyed by fire

his tank one "Tiger" and one medium tank.

His friend Lieutenant V.S. Shalandin, who fought nearby,

knocked out two "tigers" and two medium tanks.

Lieutenant B. A. Mozharov also destroyed two Tigers.

All three died, but did not retreat a single step ... "

Voldemar Shalandin was posthumously awarded

title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

"YAKOVLEVO" N. Molchan

Near Yakovlevo and near Ivnya,

Where the bread smoked on the vine,

The Nazis broke their tusks

About our Russian armor.

Where blood spilled on the ground from a hot wound Poppies bloom in spring

Majestic and purple.

Tart mother's milk - In their thin green veins. They burn like torches. It means that the fallen are alive!.. I saw how the steppes bloom in spring Where attacks once thundered.

You go - and as far as the eye can see: Maki. Poppies. Poppies!

Significance of the Battle of Kursk.

The victorious outcome of the Battle of Kursk hastened the collapse of the Nazi bloc. Italy's withdrawal from the war was imminent, the authority of the fascist leadership in Romania and Hungary was shaken, the isolation of Germany intensified, the Spanish dictator Franco withdrew his "Blue Division" from the Soviet-German front.

As a result of the defeat of the Nazi troops near Kursk, the resistance movement intensified in European countries.

Fallen - eternal glory!

Let's remember everyone by name, Let's remember our grief.

It's not for the dead, it's for the living.

People of the Earth! Kill the war!

Curse the war! Carry the dream through the years

And fill it with life!

But about those who will never come again, - I conjure, -