Battle of Kursk

Germany attacked the Kursk salient but was stopped by deep Soviet defences. The largest tank battle in history, it handed the initiative on the Eastern Front to the Soviet Union.

After Stalingrad, Germany tried to pinch off the Soviet bulge around Kursk from north and south (Operation Citadel). Forewarned, the Red Army had built deep belts of minefields and anti-tank positions.

The offensive launched on 5 July 1943 stalled within a week, and on 12 July a great tank battle was fought at Prokhorovka. When the Allies landed in Sicily, Hitler called off the attack, and Soviet counter-offensives retook Oryol and Kharkiv. Germany never again mounted a major offensive in the east.