Panzer V “Panther” tank after the Battle of Prokhorovka, July 1943. The Battle of Prokhorovka formed part of the Kursk offensive, and was fought on 12 July 1943 near Prokhorovka, a location really close to Kursk. The battle started when the 5th Guards Tank Army of the Soviet Red Army attacked the II SS-Panzer Corps of the German Wehrmacht in one of the largest tank battles in military history. The 5th Guards Tank Army suffered significant losses in the attack, but succeeded in preventing the Wehrmacht from capturing Prokhorovka and breaking through the third defensive belt. This made impulse the Germans to cancel Operation Citadel and began redeploying its forces to deal with new pressing developments elsewhere, wiith the Soviets regaining territory along a 2,000 km wide front after the battle. 300–400 tanks were lost by the Soviets, while only around 60 were lost by the Nazis. In the peak of the battle of Kursk, Soviet forces ascended to nearly two million and a half. Their numerical superiority, nevertheless, didn’t prevent them to lose three times more men than the German.

07/1943