Attack on Ponyri 

In the opening moves of Operation “Zitadelle”, the German 9th Army crashed into the defensive lines of the Soviet 13th Army on the northern face of the Kursk Salient. The advance was barred by a cluster of fortified towns and …

1943-07-07

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In the opening moves of Operation “Zitadelle”, the German 9th Army crashed into the defensive lines of the Soviet 13th Army on the northern face of the Kursk Salient. The advance was barred by a cluster of fortified towns and villages. One of those villages, Ponyri, became the focal point of immense efforts by both sides. The Soviets, being under no illusions that an attack would be forthcoming, had previously fortified Ponyri and were determined to hold the village. Among the many fierce battles around Kursk, the battle for Ponyri was one the fiercest, the fighting being likened by both sides to a “little Stalingrad”. From July 7-9, a see-saw struggle for control of the schoolhouse, tractor depot, railway station and water tower took place. On the 7th of July alone, the village changed hands no less than 5 times.

Ponyri, Russia

The Battle of Kursk was a Second World War engagement between German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front near Kursk in the Soviet Union, during July and August 1943. The battle began with the launch of the German offensive Operation Citadel, on 5 July, which had the objective of pinching off the Kursk salient with attacks on the base of the salient from north and south simultaneously. After the German offensive stalled on the northern side of the salient, on 12 July the Soviets commenced their Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation with the launch of Operation Kutuzov against the rear of the German forces in the northern side. On the southern side, the Soviets also launched powerful counterattacks the same day, one of which led to a large armoured clash, the Battle of Prokhorovka. On 3 August, the Soviets began the second phase of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation with the launch of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev against the German forces in the southern side of the Kursk salient.

Wikipedia: Battle of Kursk

Russian

German

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Countryside

Website Access: Available