The Soviet Army faced the German troops with over one million men, more than 20,000 artillery pieces and mortars, 2,650 aircraft and 3,600 tanks. Germany reportedly had amassed over 500,000 men, 10,000 mortars and artillery pieces, 2,500 aircraft and 2,700 tanks at the front in Kursk. Kursk, a city in western Russia 280 miles south of Moscow, became the stage of a week-long bloody battle involving heavy artillery, tanks and over a million men. The battle was Germany's last chance to conquer the Eastern Front after being defeated by the Red Army in the Battle of Stalingrad the year before. Anatolii STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images The Battle Of KurskĪ future clash between Ukraine and Russia in Donbas, as predicted by Morawiecki, echoes the horrors of the Battle of Kursk between German and Soviet forces in July 1943. Ukrainian authorities expect a huge battle to break out in the region soon.

Ukrainian artillerymen prepare a BM-21 'Grad' multiple-rocket launcher on Apon the front line near Luhansk in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

How many major tank battles wwii