battle, landmark, interwar and Second World War
Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk was a battle fought in 1943 at Kursk, in what is now Soviet Union. It was part of World War II, which ran from 1939 to 1945. The recorded result: Soviet victory.
See it on the globe Read the article
Where it sits in World War II
Record
| Date | 1943 (year precision) to 23 August 1943 | |
|---|---|---|
| Place | Kursk, Soviet Union 51.700N, 36.100E | |
| Kind | Battle, interwar and Second World War | |
| Territorial change | Soviets regain territory along a 2000 wide front after the battle | |
| Strength | Operation Citadel: 780,900 men; 2,928 tanks; 9,966 guns and mortars; Soviet counter-offensive phase: 940,900 men; 3,253 tanks; 9,467 guns and mortars; 2,110 aircraft | Operation Citadel: 1,910,361 men (including 1,426,352 combat soldiers); 5,128 tanks; 25,013 guns and mortars; Soviet counter-offensive phase: 2,500,000 men; 7,360 tanks; 47,416 guns and mortars; 2,792 to 3,549 aircraft |
| Casualties and losses | Operation Citadel: 54,182 men; 252–323 tanks and assault guns destroyed; 1,612 tanks and assault guns damaged; 159 aircraft; 500 guns; Battle of Kursk: German medical data; Total: 165,314 men–203,000 men; German strength data: ~380,000–430,000 men; Modern Western Estimate: 500,000+ killed, wounded, missing and captured; Matériel Losses: At least 2,952 tanks and assault guns destroyed or damaged (of which 760–1,200 were destroyed; 40–50% of damaged tanks and assault guns were beyond repair); 681 aircraft (for 5–31 July)–1,300 aircraft (total) | |
| Commanders |
|
|
The ground today


The recorded site stands at about 159 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 148 to 268 m, 120 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 50% tree cover, 26% grassland, 15% built-up.
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.Nearest engagements
- Battle of Prokhorovka 1943, 86 km SE
- Siege of Kromy 1605, 112 km N
- Battle of Dobrynichi 1605, 138 km NW
- Siege of Hlukhiv 1664, 150 km W
- Kharkiv Operation 1919, 190 km S
In the same war
- Before: Battle of the Barents Sea 31 December 1942
- After: Battle of Kasserine Passe 1943
- All 1155 engagements of World War II
Elsewhere in 1943
Battle of Kursk is one of 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 48 in present-day Soviet Union.
Sources
Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q130861, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Kursk, revision 1384854642, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.