Fifth Guards Tank Army at Kursk: 12 July 1943

On the 5th July 1943, the Wehrmacht launched Operation Citadel. Attacking with a force of 3,000 tanks and assault guns, the Germans faced a well dug-in force of more than 3,900 Soviet tanks, with another 1,500 tanks in reserve. The tanks advanced with as many as 50 vehicles packed together per kilometre of line. What followed was the largest tank battle the world has ever seen, with both sides suffering heavy casualties.

On the 11th July, three SS divisions attempted to break through the Soviet lines. Facing them were the newly-deployed Soviet 5th Guards Tanks Army. It was the Germans'last chance for a potential breakthrough on the Eastern Front. The battle raged all day, with German attack followed by Soviet counterattack. By nightfall the Germans had lost more than 300 tanks and the 5th Guards Tanks Army 50 percent of their strength.