The tank battle near Prokhorovka for a long period was portrayed as the largest tank battle of World War II, and also as a brilliant victory for domestic weapons. Today, this very battle is actively rising to the shield with all sorts of exposers of the Soviet regime and the "bloody" marshals of the Great Patriotic War.
Battle history
Traditional historiography is known for this event, probably for every compatriot. The opposing armies concentrated their forces in the area of the homonymous village. In the evening of July 11, a tank battle began near Prokhorovka. The first attack was carried out by the Germans. The Soviet army restrained this offensive and launched a counterattack on the morning of July 12. The battle gained colossal proportions, within a few hours the field was covered with fire and smoke. About 13 hours the German forces made another attempt to break through the center of the Soviet forces, striking a blow by two divisions. However, this attack was neutralized. By the evening of July 12, the German tank divisions were pushed back by 10-15 km. The battle was won, and the Nazi attack near Prokhorovka was their last strategic initiative in the Great Patriotic War.
Broken spears around Prokhorovka
For a long time in the mass consciousness of the compatriots it was considered, and perhaps even now it is believed that the great tank battle near Prokhorovka was the largest such episode of the entire war. However, this is definitely not the case. Even according to the bold calculations of Soviet historians, about 1,500 tank vehicles from both sides took part in the battle. However, in the same war on the Eastern Front, two other significant battles took place, which should be given attention in this regard. Thus, in the battle of Senno on July 6-10, 1941, about one thousand tanks were used on both sides. The cumulative number of vehicles and four days of battle make this battle more ambitious than the tank battle near Prokhorovka. Unfortunately, this battle in the second week of the war was devastatingly defeated, almost not being worthy to at least detain enemy forces. Moreover, this defeat opened the way for the Nazis to Moscow and marked the most difficult period of the war for the Red Army. But even the Battle of Senno was not the biggest battle of the tanks of the Great Patriotic War. This was, obviously, a battle between the cities of western Ukraine Lutsk - Dubno-Brody. And it happened even earlier, at all in the first days of Blitzkrieg - June 23 - June 30. About 3,200 tanks participated in this clash. More than three times more than under Prokhorovka. During the battle, the Red Army divisions were literally crushed, and the enemy received an open space for an offensive against Kiev and Kharkov. It is not surprising that we wanted to forget such two routines as soon as possible and not even remember after May 1945!
Myth of the second
There is another large-scale revelation that actively accompanies Today the tank battle near Prokhorovka. The photos of the tanks that were destroyed as a result of this battle, spread all over the field, can still be found in photo archives today, impressed by its scale. But these machines are mostly domestic, but not German. Where is the enemy equipment, if they were defeated in these fields? In fact, there were only a few Nazi tanks that were irrevocably disrupted and abandoned. Most of them were not simply evacuated, but also countered the Soviet offensive only a couple of months later. But a lot of domestic tanks have always remained on this field. Today, you can endlessly delve into the numbers, proving incorrect data about the battle of Prokhorovka, but in this connection it should be remembered that it was extremely important for the Soviet people in 1945, and even later, to know the history of successes in the war. It was absolutely unacceptable to overshadow the joy of victory, thereby finally breaking people, and so enduring a heavy burden. In addition, this battle was part of the most important for the national victory offensive on the Kursk Bulge. And devastating reviews of the tank battle would hardly fit into the overall successful offensive of the Red Army. After the end of the war, real numbers were significant only for a number of specializing historians, and the tank battle near Prokhorovka was overgrown with myths and remained in the people's memory the largest battle of military vehicles.