Lecture given at Origins 1999. By the time of Kursk, 1943, the lethality of the guns was outstripping the thickness of the armor. The tanks became very vulnerable to fire combat, which placed an inordinate burden on the repair and maintenance operations of both sides. And maintenance crews did a wonderful job of patching and overhauling damaged tanks to get them back into action. At Kursk, the Soviets had but one expectation, and it was a low one--merely survive the first month of any German offensive. The Germans were in pretty good shape--re-armed with new tanks, brought up to strength for the most part, and still invincible at a tactical level. The Soviets may rule the winter, but the Germans ruled the summer. Thus it came as a rude shock to the Germans that at the Battle of Kursk, they did not destroy a single unit--not even at the regimental level. Much can be explained by the multiple layers of Soviet defense with mines, anti-tank guns, and entrenchments, but much is also explained that the Soviets had learned from the disasters of 1941 and 1942. Indeed, the ratios between Germans and Soviets in 1943 were no worse than in 1941 ad 1942. 48th Panzer Corps The 48th consisted of the 3rd Panzer, 11th Panzer, and Gross Deutschland divisions with a total of 561 tanks as follows: 24 PzII, 22PzIIIN, 83 PzIII (long barrel), 20 PzIII (short), 147 PzIV (long barrel), 7 PzIV (short), 198 PzV Panther, 15 PzVI Tiger, 27 FlamPz (flame-thrower) and some miscellaneous tanks. Note that the PzV Panthers were new and had teething problems, their crews lacked sufficient training, and its side armor was weak. Also, although the Gross Deutschland division was the premier motorized unit of the war, at Kursk, it contained only 2/3 of its infantry roster. As the Kursk attack progressed, several anecdotes serve to show the shifting tide of war on the Eastern front. The Soviets showed an aptitude for counterattacking and even on July 5, the Germans 332nd regiment was reporting difficulties in stemming Soviet attacks. The Gross Deutschland division was delayed until July 6th because the single bridge heading into the Soviet force collapsed as the lead tank crossed on the 5th--it took the rest of the day and all night to repair the bridge. In fact, if you look at German accounts, they consistently report fierce Soviet counterattacks and heavy attrition. July 8: Battle of Verkhopenye For four critical days, the Soviets blunted the German attack and halted the Panzers. The Germans led with the 48th Panzer Corps. The Soviets defended with the 3rd Mech Corps and 6th Tank Corps. 3rd Mech consisted of 49th Tank Brigade, 1st, 3rd, and 10th Mechanized brigades, and the 35th Anti-Tank regiment. These contained a mixture of T-34 and T-70 tanks. The 6th contained the 112th and 200th tank brigades (T-34s), and the 1461st Tank regiment (SU-122s). In addition, the Soviet force included 67th Guards Rifle Division, 86th and 192nd Tank brigades, and 27th and 28th Anti-tank brigades (76 mm AT). By July 11th, the 48th Panzer Corps, which started with 561 tanks, had been reduced to only 150 tanks. By then, Prokhorovka didn't matter. The Germans had no reserves, while the Soviets were bringing in reserve armies. By August 3rd, the Soviets went over to the offensive. They beat the Germans at the tactical level--something that hadn't happened before--and swung into an operational offensive. Back to War Lore: The List Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Coalition Web, Inc. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com