100 Historical Stories That Unlock Teenage Wisdom

Chapter 94 11 Prokhovka Tank Battle

Chapter 911 Prokhovka Tank Battle—Easy to win by making use of strengths and avoiding weaknesses

No one is perfect, and everyone has shortcomings and deficiencies. In the competition, we must be good at hiding our own shortcomings, give full play to our own advantages, and face the challenges of our opponents in the best condition. 〖HT〗

In January 1943, the Soviet Red Army launched a counterattack against the German army in the direction of Volgograd, Caucasus, Kursk, Kharkov, Donbass, and Orel-Bryansk, and achieved a series of victories.In the direction of Kursk, although the German army mobilized a large number of troops to counterattack after the defeat, the Soviet army still held on to the Kursk salient.

In order to get rid of the unfavorable situation, seize the strategic initiative, and reverse the course of the war, the German High Command decided to launch a large-scale summer offensive on the Soviet-German battlefield that year. The starting point of the offensive was the Kursk salient. On April 4, Hitler signed Order No. 15, preparing to implement an offensive campaign code-named "Fortress" near Kursk. On July 6, the German army began to launch a fierce attack on the Soviet army in the Kursk salient.After the German attack in the main assault direction Olkhovatka was blocked, the main force was transferred to the direction of Prokhovka.In order to eliminate the Soviet armored forces, the German army mobilized the main forces of the "Imperial Tank Division", "Skeleton Tank Division", "Adolf? Hitler Tank Division" and the Third Tank Army.There are a large number of "Tiger" heavy tanks and "Ferdinand" assault artillery in this tank group, all of which were advanced armored weapons of the German army at that time.The German army attempted to break through the Soviet defense line, and then carried out an assault from the southeast to capture Kursk.

The Soviet army also mobilized heavy troops to carry out counterattacks against the enemy. On July 7, the two sides met at Prokhovka, and thus ensued the largest tank encounter of World War II.At 12:8 in the morning, the Fifth Guards Army and the Fifth Guards Tank Army of the former Soviet Union began to carry out a counter-assault against the German tank group after 30 minutes of artillery preparation.

Soviet commanders knew that the German "Tiger" tanks were superior to their own T34 tanks in terms of direct fire range.Therefore, they took advantage of the fast speed of the T34 tanks, boldly deployed the tanks, and adopted the tactics of "using fast to control slow, melee hand-to-hand combat".At the beginning of the battle, the tanks of both sides rushed towards each other like a torrent of steel. The T34 tank group of the Fifth Guards Army first opened up its full power and approached the "Tiger" tanks in an all-round way. Shoot from a distance.The German army did not expect that the Soviet army would have so many tanks quickly put into battle, and they were in a mess for a while.

More than 1200 tanks and self-propelled artillery participated in the battle in the Prokhovka area at the same time, and a large number of aircraft supported the battle.Within an area of ​​only 15 kilometers, the two sides launched the largest tank battle in the history of world wars.The most astonishing thing is that the tanks of both sides even bumped into each other.Since the tank made its debut in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, it has generally engaged in medium and long-range battles with its good mobility and powerful firepower, but this time the tank launched a close-range battle like the cavalry in the cold weapon era. Hand-to-hand combat" can be described as amazing.

This tank battle lasted all day.On the Prokhovka steppe, there are wrecks of tanks everywhere.The attacking German army did not expect the Soviet army to adopt close combat tactics. Under the disadvantage, they lost about 400 tanks and more than 1 officers and soldiers in one day.As a result, the German offensive against Kursk suffered great losses.

In this unprecedented tank encounter, the Soviet army used the tactics of "strengthening strengths and avoiding weaknesses, and melee hand-to-hand combat" and finally won a brilliant victory.

Wisdom Interpretation:

In the Prokhovka tank battle, the Soviet tanks were at an absolute disadvantage at a long distance, but they implemented the tactics of "exploiting strengths and avoiding weaknesses, and fighting in close combat" to attack the weak points of German tanks and win the victory.

In fact, every person or group has its strengths and weaknesses.What we have to do is to find out our own strengths and the other party's weaknesses, use our strengths and avoid weaknesses, and win success.

(End of this chapter)