July 1943

Eastern Front

Fighting on the northern face of the Kursk salient intensifies as the Central Front joins the attack against the 9th Army. Model finds it difficult to contain the Soviet attacks, being pressed back from north, east and south.

The Germans begin to pull back to their start lines south of Kursk, the 4th Panzer Army and Army Detachment Kemp going onto the defensive. Manstein believes the Soviet forces facing 4th Panzer are equally exhausted and considers an offensive along the Mius or Donets, which has so far remained quiet, unlikely.

CITADEL had bit deeply into both armies. The Germans claim to have taken 32,000 prisoners and inflicted 85,000 casualties upon the Red Army during the battle, while 2,000 tanks and 2,000 arty pieces have been destroyed. Soviet losses have indeed been great, operational tank strength falling to 1,500 machines by the end of the battle. The Red Army in turn claim that the Ostheer has lost 70,000 men, 3,000 panzers, 1,000 arty pieces and nearly 1,400 aircraft. These figures are exaggerated, but it can not be denied that the struggle has blunted the revitalized Panzerwaffe. Many divisions have been reduced to mere remnants, 3rd Panzer having 30 tanks left and 17th Panzer fewer that 60 by the end of the battle. The 19th Panzer Division was in an even worse state with only 17 operational tanks while 8th Panzer has just 8 tanks. The 2nd and 12th Panzer Divisions combined number only 20 tanks. Infantry losses have also been high, 106th Division losint 3,224 of nearly 10,000 men, 320th losing 2,839, and 168th losing 2,671 men. The stronger elite divisins also suffer crippling casualties; Grossdeutschland Division has lost 220 of its 300 tanks while the SS Panzer Corps has lost 242 of 425 tanks and 46 of its 100 assault guns.

The failure of CITADEL broke the panzers, just as Guderian had feared. His fears were realized as the Soviets demonstrated that their own armored losses, although severe, were relatively easily replaced.

Defeat at Kursk had cost Germany the initiative in the east for good. Hitler's gamble with his reconstituted panzer force had squandered the German army's last sizeable force. Never again would the Ostheer field such a generously equipped force, and from hear on it would fight a battle of attrition against a massively superior foe. Despite this though, the German Army remained fundamentally intact as it waited for the expected Soviet counteroffensive.