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|place = Prokhorovka, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |coordinates = |map_type=Russia | map_size = 300 | map_caption = Location of Prokhorovka within modern Russia |result = Local German tactical victory Operational stalemate or Soviet operational victory |combatant1 = |combatant2 = |commander1 = |commander2 = |units1 = II SS-Panzer Corps *1st SS-Panzergrenadier Division ''Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler'' *2nd SS-Panzergrenadier Division ''Das Reich'' *3rd SS-Panzergrenadier Division ''Totenkopf'' |units2 = 5th Guards Tank Army *29th Tank Corps *18th Tank Corps *2nd Guards Tank Corps *2nd Tank Corps *5th Guards Mechanized Corps 5th Guards Army *33rd Guards Rifle Corps 1st Tank Army *10th Tank Corps *31st Tank Corps 6th Guards Army *23rd Guards Rifle Corps 69th Army *48th Rifle Corps |strength1= German: :About 290 tanks and assault guns |strength2= Soviet: :About 610 tanks and self-propelled guns | casualties1 = German: *At least 43 tanks and assault guns destroyed or damaged. | casualties2 = Soviet: *300–400 tanks and self-propelled guns destroyed or damaged. | campaignbox = }} The Battle of Prokhorovka was fought on 12 July 1943 near Prokhorovka, southeast of Kursk, in the Soviet Union, during the Second World War. Taking place on the Eastern Front, the fighting was part of the wider Battle of Kursk, and occurred when the 5th Guards Tank Army of the Soviet Red Army attacked the II SS-Panzer Corps of the German Wehrmacht in one of the largest tank battles in military history. In April 1943, the German high command began preparing for Operation Citadel, with the aim of enveloping and destroying the Soviet forces in the Kursk salient. The Soviet high command, Stavka, learned of the German intentions and prepared a series of defensive lines along the routes of the planned German offensive. The Soviets also massed several armies deep behind their defences as a reserve. This group, the Steppe Front, was to be used to launch their own counteroffensives once the German strength had dissipated. The 5th Guards Tank Army was the primary offensive formation of the Steppe Front. On 5 July 1943 the Germans launched their offensive. On the southern side of the salient, the German 4th Panzer Army, with Army Detachment Kempf on its eastern flank, attacked the Soviet defences of the Voronezh Front. A week into the German offensive the Soviets counterattacked. On the southern side of the salient near Prokhorovka the 5th Guards Tank Army engaged the II SS-Panzer Corps of the 4th Panzer Army, resulting in a large clash of armour. The 5th Guards Tank Army was decimated in the attack, but succeeded in preventing the Germans from capturing Prokhorovka and breaking through the third defensive belt to achieve operational freedom. The German offensive was later cancelled and their forces were withdrawn. The Red Army went on a general offensive and seized the strategic initiative on the Eastern Front, which it was to hold for the rest of the war. == Background == As the spring rasputitsa (mud) season came to an end in 1943, both the German and Soviet commands considered their plans for future operations. The Soviet premier Joseph Stalin and some senior Soviet officers wanted to seize the initiative first and attack the German forces inside the Soviet Union, but they were convinced by a number of key commanders, including the Deputy Supreme Commander Georgiy Zhukov, to assume a defensive posture instead. This would allow the Germans to weaken themselves in attacking prepared positions, after which the Soviet forces would be able to reposture and go on the offensive. A similar strategy discussion occurred on the German side, with Field Marshal Erich von Manstein arguing for a mobile defence that would give up terrain and allow the Soviets to advance, while the Germans launched a series of sharp counterattacks against their flanks to inflict heavy attrition. But for political reasons Adolf Hitler insisted that the German forces go on the offensive, choosing the Kursk salient for the attack. On 15 April 1943 he authorised preparations for ''Unternehmen Zitadelle'' ("Operation Citadel"). The German offensive plan envisioned an assault at the base of the Kursk salient from both the north and south, with the intent of enveloping and destroying the Soviet forces in the salient. The two spearheads were to meet near Kursk. From the south, the XLVIII Panzer Corps and General Paul Hausser's II SS-Panzer Corps, forming the left and right wings of the 4th Panzer Army commanded by Colonel General Hermann Hoth, would drive northward. The III Panzer Corps of Army Detachment Kempf was to protect Hoth's right flank from counterattack by the Soviet strategic reserves known to be located east of the salient. The 4th Panzer Army and Army Detachment Kempf were under Army Group South, commanded by Manstein. Air support over the southern portion of the offensive was provided by Colonel General Otto Deßloch's Luftflotte 4, whose major air formation, the VIII Fliegerkorps, was commanded by General Hans Seidemann. Multiple delays by the Germans allowed the Soviets a great deal of time to prepare their defences. Employing defence in depth, they constructed a series of defensive lines to wear down the attacking panzer formations. Three belts made up of extensive minefields, anti-tank ditches, and anti-tank gun emplacements were created, with an additional three belts that were mostly unoccupied and less fortified backing the first three. The Voronezh Front, commanded by General Nikolai Vatutin, defended the southern face of the salient. The Steppe Front, commanded by Colonel General Ivan Konev, formed the strategic reserve. It was to be held back until the time was right for the Soviet counteroffensive. This formation included Lieutenant General Alexei Zhadov's 5th Guards Army and Lieutenant General Pavel Rotmistrov's 5th Guards Tank Army. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Prokhorovka」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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