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By Tom de Castella
BBC News Magazine
President Putin greets WWII veterans in Kursk, in 2003
It's 70 years since Kursk, the largest ever tank battle. Will there ever be another battle involving thousands of tanks on each side or has armoured warfare had its day?
Before dawn on 5 July 1943 explosions lit up the Russian sky and the earth shook to a huge bombardment. As the sun rose, waves of German panzers began rolling across fields of sunflowers and wheat. The greatest tank battle in history was underway.
The Battle of Kursk pitted almost 3,000 German tanks against more than double that number of Soviet heavy armour.
Hitler delayed the offensive - codenamed Operation Citadel - to wait for the arrival of the new Panther. It gave the Russians plenty of time to dig formidable defences and concentrate their own armoured units.
Antony Beevor, author of The Second World War, describes the battle as a "slogging match".
The German tanks were fewer in number but far superior in armour and firepower. Tigers and the "monster" Elefant tank went in first, attempting to blast their way through.
One SS tank commander destroyed 22 Soviet tanks in under an hour, Beevor says. But the Russians defended with "suicidal bravery", getting in close to throw mines under the caterpillar tracks.
After eight days the German attack had run out of steam. Stalin launched counteroffensives that over the following six weeks inflicted a crushing defeat on the Wehrmacht.
Kursk was a tipping point for the panzers, says Beevor. For the first time the Russian air force had "got its act together". Air power was emerging as a dominant factor, as became clear in Normandy the following year.
Allied air superiority meant that the German panzers had to hide in the forests during daylight hours. The tank, like the battleship, was suddenly a sitting duck without control of the skies.
But unlike the battleship, the tank remains a key part of most militaries. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies there are 60,000 tanks in active service worldwide.
During the Cold War, thousands of tanks were based close to West and East Germany as a potential invading or defensive force for a battle on the north European plain. "There's no question tanks would have been one of the foremost instruments in an invasion or defence," says Michael Codner, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute.
When the Soviets crushed the Hungarian uprising in 1956 they did so by sending hundreds of tanks into Budapest.
rest of the article
BBC News - Kursk legacy: Will there ever be another massive tank battle?
BBC News Magazine
President Putin greets WWII veterans in Kursk, in 2003
It's 70 years since Kursk, the largest ever tank battle. Will there ever be another battle involving thousands of tanks on each side or has armoured warfare had its day?
Before dawn on 5 July 1943 explosions lit up the Russian sky and the earth shook to a huge bombardment. As the sun rose, waves of German panzers began rolling across fields of sunflowers and wheat. The greatest tank battle in history was underway.
The Battle of Kursk pitted almost 3,000 German tanks against more than double that number of Soviet heavy armour.
Hitler delayed the offensive - codenamed Operation Citadel - to wait for the arrival of the new Panther. It gave the Russians plenty of time to dig formidable defences and concentrate their own armoured units.
Antony Beevor, author of The Second World War, describes the battle as a "slogging match".
The German tanks were fewer in number but far superior in armour and firepower. Tigers and the "monster" Elefant tank went in first, attempting to blast their way through.
One SS tank commander destroyed 22 Soviet tanks in under an hour, Beevor says. But the Russians defended with "suicidal bravery", getting in close to throw mines under the caterpillar tracks.
After eight days the German attack had run out of steam. Stalin launched counteroffensives that over the following six weeks inflicted a crushing defeat on the Wehrmacht.
Kursk was a tipping point for the panzers, says Beevor. For the first time the Russian air force had "got its act together". Air power was emerging as a dominant factor, as became clear in Normandy the following year.
Allied air superiority meant that the German panzers had to hide in the forests during daylight hours. The tank, like the battleship, was suddenly a sitting duck without control of the skies.
But unlike the battleship, the tank remains a key part of most militaries. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies there are 60,000 tanks in active service worldwide.
During the Cold War, thousands of tanks were based close to West and East Germany as a potential invading or defensive force for a battle on the north European plain. "There's no question tanks would have been one of the foremost instruments in an invasion or defence," says Michael Codner, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute.
When the Soviets crushed the Hungarian uprising in 1956 they did so by sending hundreds of tanks into Budapest.
rest of the article
BBC News - Kursk legacy: Will there ever be another massive tank battle?
