In the summer of 1943, one of the largest tank battles in history was fought at Kursk. After the defeat at Stalingrad, Hitler attempted to turn the fortunes of the German campaign in Russia around by planning a large offensive against the Soviet forces deployed along an advanced defence line in the Kursk region. The Germans allowed the Russians to advance several kilometres, then attacked them in a pincer move in an attempt to break their forces in two. The battle, which saw a massive deployment of tanks and armoured troops, was unprecedented in scope.
The Soviets opposed the German offensive with an extremely solid and articulated defence, consisting of several thousand mines, trenches, grids and fortified positions. The number of mines used by the Soviet command was enormous: an estimated 2,400 mines per square kilometre. The Soviet command deployed some 3,600 tanks, including the famous T-34s, mass-assembled in Soviet factories and the spearhead of Stalin's armoured troops. The Germans fielded some 2,700 tanks, including a large number of fearsome Panzer Tiger VIs, equipped with an 88 mm cannon.
On 12 July 1943, the main battle took place at Prochorovka. Hundreds of tanks faced each other in a close encounter that turned the plain into a huge field of fire, steel and devastation. The German tanks were generally equipped with thicker armour and larger calibre guns, but the Soviet tanks were favoured by greater manoeuvrability and speed in the field.
In the end, the Red Army managed to stop the German offensive, inflicting heavy losses and dealing a mortal blow to Hitler's armies in Russia, thus preventing any future large-scale German offensive due to the huge losses suffered by the Wehrmacht. The Kursk plain became a huge cemetery, where the carcasses of over 3000 tanks remained as a reminder of the drama and brutality of the war.