Battle of Prokhorovka Part of the Battle of Kursk on the Eastern Front of World War II Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-022-2950-15A, Russland, Panzer im Einsatz.jpg German tanks during Operation Citadel Date 12 July 1943[a] Location Prokhorovka, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union 512'11?N 3644'11?ECoordinates: 512'11?N 3644'11?E Result Both sides missed their objectives:[1][2] German tactical victory[3][4][5][6] Soviet operational victory[7][8][9] Belligerents Germany Soviet Union Commanders and leaders Nazi Germany Hermann Hoth Nazi Germany Paul Hausser Nazi Germany Otto Deloch Soviet Union Nikolai Vatutin Soviet Union Pavel Rotmistrov Soviet Union Alexei Zhadov Soviet Union Stepan Krasovsky Soviet Union Vladimir Sudets Units involved II SS-Panzer Corps 1st SS-Panzergrenadier Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler 2nd SS-Panzergrenadier Division Das Reich 3rd SS-Panzergrenadier Division Totenkopf 5th Guards Tank Army[b] 29th Tank Corps 18th Tank Corps 2nd Guards Tank Corps[c] 2nd Tank Corps[d] 5th Guards Mechanized Corps[e] Other units 33rd Guards Rifle Corps[f] 10th Tank Corps[g] 31st Tank Corps 23rd Guards Rifle Corps[h] 48th Rifle Corps Strength German: About 290 tanks and assault guns[i] Soviet: About 610 tanks and self-propelled guns[i] Casualties and losses German (on 12 July): 4380 tanks and assault guns destroyed or damaged.[j] Soviet (on 12 July): 300400 tanks and self-propelled guns destroyed or damaged.[j] Battle of Prokhorovka is located in Russia Battle of Prokhorovka Location of Prokhorovka within modern Russia [show] v t e Eastern Front [show] v t e Battle of Kursk The Battle of Prokhorovka was fought on 12 July 1943[a] near Prokhorovka, 87 kilometres (54 mi) southeast of Kursk, in the Soviet Union, during the Second World War. Taking place on the Eastern Front, the engagement 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.[k] In April 1943, the German high command began preparing for Operation Citadel, with the objective of enveloping and destroying the Soviet forces in the Kursk salient, by attacking and breaking through the base of the salient from north and south simultaneously. The German offensive was delayed several times due to the vacillation of the leadership and the addition of more forces and new equipment. The Soviet high command, Stavka, had learned of the German intentions, and therefore used the delay to prepare a series of defensive belts along the routes of the planned German offensive. The Soviet leadership also massed several armies deep behind their defences as the Stavka Reserve. This army group, the Steppe Front, was to launch counteroffensives once the German strength had dissipated. The 5th Guards Tank Army was the primary armoured formation of the Steppe Front. On 5 July 1943 the Wehrmacht launched its offensive. On the northern side of the salient, the German forces bogged down within four days. On the southern side, the German 4th Panzer Army, with Army Detachment Kempf on its eastern flank, attacked the Soviet defences of the Voronezh Front. They made slow but steady progress through the Soviet defensive lines. After a week of fighting, the Soviets launched their counteroffensives, Operation Kutuzov in the northern side and a coinciding one in the southern side. 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 suffered significant losses in the attack, but succeeded in preventing the Wehrmacht from capturing Prokhorovka and breaking through the third defensive belt the last heavily fortified one. The German high command, unable to accomplish its objective, cancelled Operation Citadel and began redeploying its forces to deal with new pressing developments elsewhere. The Red Army went on a general offensive, conducting Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev in the southern side and continuing Operation Kutuzov in the northern side. The Soviet Union thus seized the strategic initiative on the Eastern Front, which it was to hold for the rest of the war.