July 1943

Eastern Front

The 9th Army, almost exhausted after the fighting of the last week, makes a last desperate effort to break through the 13th Army. The 4th Panzer Division takes Teploye after a brutal battle, but the fighting at Ponyri intensifies. Model commits his last reserves, 10th Panzer Grenadier and 31st Infantry Division attacking alongside 2nd and 4th Panzer Divisions, a force of 300 panzers and assault guns. Fighting is extremely fierce, but by dusk the Germans are no farther forward. Since July 5 the 9th Army has lost 50,000 men and more than 400 panzers. Model therefore orders his forces onto the defensive. The battle has cost the Central Front 15,300 killed and missing and 18,500 wounded.

The XLVIII Panzer Corps strikes the 6th Guards and 1st Tank Armies as it tries to push closer to Oboyan. Grossdeutschland wheels south and mops up the Soviet forces on the left flank of the corps. Fierce Luftwaffe attacks support the ground forces, enabling the Germans to trap the Soviets between the guns of the 3rd Panzer and Grossdeutschland Divisions.

The II SS Panzer Corps moves toward Prokhorovka, which 5th Guards Tank Army is also approaching, unknown to the Germans. The SS Totenkopf Division moves onto the corps' left flank to cross the Psel and by dusk has taken Krasny Oktabyr. The II SS Panzer Corps then begins to redeploy to attack Prokhorovka the next day. Manstein begins to move up XXIV Panzer Corps from his reserve at Kharkov to aid the offensive.

Events in Western Europe, which will ultimately decide the fate of the German offensive, begin to unravel. Allied forces land in Sicily and begin the conquest of Italy. While this invasion does not directly affect the fighting in the east, it gives Hitler a pretext for calling off CITADEL. He maintains that the premier SS divisions of the II SS Panzer Corps must be moved west to defend Italy, these forces arriving too lated to influence the fighting in Sicily.

Gen Schmidt, commanding 2nd Panzer Army, is relieved of his command. No new commander is appointed in his place as the headquarters of 2nd Panzer Army will leave the east by the end of July for Serbia. Its forces are to be incorporated into the 9th and 4th Armies.