Battle of Prokhorovka

Battle of Prokhorovka
Part of the Battle of Kursk on the Eastern Front of World War II
German tanks during Operation Citadel.
Date 12 July 1943 Location Prokhorovka, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union 51°2′11″N 36°44′11″E / 51.03639°N 36.73639°E / 51.03639; 36.73639Coordinates: 51°2′11″N 36°44′11″E / 51.03639°N 36.73639°E / 51.03639; 36.73639 Result Local German tactical victory Operational stalemate or Soviet operational victory
Belligerents
Germany	Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Hermann Hoth Paul Hausser Otto Deßloch Hans Seidemann	Nikolai Vatutin Pavel Rotmistrov Alexei Zhadov Stepan Krasovsky Vladimir Sudets
Units involved
II SS-Panzer Corps 1st SS-Panzergrenadier Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler 2nd SS-Panzergrenadier Division Das Reich 3rd SS-Panzergrenadier Division Totenkopf	5th Guards Tank Army 29th Tank Corps 18th Tank Corps 2nd Guards Tank Corps 2nd Tank Corps 5th Guards Mechanized Corps 5th Guards Army 33rd Guards Rifle Corps 1st Tank Army 10th Tank Corps 31st Tank Corps 6th Guards Army 23rd Guards Rifle Corps 69th Army 48th Rifle Corps
Strength
German: About 290 tanks and assault guns	Soviet: About 610 tanks and self-propelled guns
Casualties and losses
German (on 12 July): 60–80 tanks and assault guns destroyed or damaged.	Soviet (on 12 July): 300–400 tanks and self-propelled guns destroyed or damaged.
Location of Prokhorovka within modern Russia

II SS-Panzer Corps

5th Guards Tank Army

5th Guards Army

1st Tank Army

6th Guards Army

69th Army

German:

Soviet:

German (on 12 July):

Soviet (on 12 July):

The Battle of Prokhorovka was fought on 12 July 1943 near Prokhorovka, 87 kilometres (54 mi) southeast of Kursk, in the Soviet Union, during the Second World War. Taking place on the Eastern Front, the fighting was part of the wider Battle of Kursk, and occurred 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.

In April 1943, the German high command began preparing for Operation Citadel, with the objective of enveloping and destroying the Soviet forces in the Kursk salient, by attacking and breaking through the base of the salient from north and south simultaneously. The German offensive was delayed several times to bring up additional units and new equipment. The Soviet high command, Stavka, had learned of the German intentions, and therefore used the delay to prepare a series of defensive belts along the routes of the planned German offensive. The Soviet leadership also massed several armies deep behind their defences as the Stavka Reserve. This army group, the Steppe Front, was to launch counteroffensives once the German strength had dissipated. The 5th Guards Tank Army was the primary armoured formation of the Steppe Front.