The Battle of the Kursk (German code name: Operation Zitadelle) is widely recognized - not quite accurately - as the largest armored battle in World War II and the largest armored battle on the Eastern Front. It happened after the German defeat at Stalingrad in February 1943, but also after the successful German counter-offensive at Kharkiv in March of the same year. The German side, joining the battle, counted on the full acquisition of the strategic initiative, on the task of the Soviet side with the greatest possible losses, as well as on the nipple of the Soviet offensive expected in the summer of 1943. The Red Army adopted a defensive stance, trying to bleed the attacking Germans out of the blood in the initial phase of the operation, and then proceed to a counter-offensive. The battle on the Kursk arc began on July 5, 1943, and along with the Soviet Orłowo and Belgorod operations it lasted until August 23 of the same year. In its course, despite the involvement of significant forces by the German army and the newest Tiger and Panther tanks as well as the Ferdinand tank destroyers, the Soviets achieved victory, who prepared themselves very well for this battle, and despite suffering huge losses - they were able to go to the counteroffensive. The Battle of the Kursk region turned out to be one of the turning points in World War II. It is estimated that as a result (from July 5 to August 23), the German army lost approx. 240,000 soldiers - killed, wounded and captured, approx. 1,300 tanks and approx. 1,000 aircraft. The losses of the Red Army were undoubtedly greater.
The decisive influence on the shaping of the organization and tactics of the German infantry before the outbreak of World War II was, on the one hand, the experience of the previous World War, but also theoretical works created in the 1920s and 1930s, which often emphasized the need to perceive the German infantry as a tool waging an offensive war. This affected both the equipment and the organization of the German infantry division, which during the September campaign of 1939 consisted of 3 infantry regiments, each of which was divided into 3 infantry battalions, an artillery company and an anti-tank company. In addition, there were numerous support units, including: an artillery regiment with 4 artillery squadrons (including one heavy), an anti-tank battalion, a sapper battalion and a communications battalion. In total, the so-called infantry division In the first mobilization wave, there were approximately 17,700 people and had a significant artillery component, but also was abundantly equipped with machine guns. It also had modern and efficient - for those times - means of communication and command. In the course of the war, infantry divisions underwent transformation - in 1943 some of them were transformed into armored grenadier divisions. However, from 1943, the standard division of the "traditional" infantry consisted of approx. 12,500 men (and not approx. 17,700 as in 1939), and its artillery component - especially heavy artillery - was also reduced in it, while its anti-tank defense was significantly improved. It is assumed that during the entire Second World War, about 350 infantry divisions served in the Wehrmacht.
