Just click the year above to get a summary of what happened at that time.

The Eastern Front in 1943

The year begins with both sides making huge military plans.  Both sides have been well resupplied over the winter, although Russia will gain the most, through its superiority in numbers of men and material, unless Germany can do something soon.  The plan for Germany culminates in the idea of bringing the bulk of the Russian army into one place, and crushing it.  This plan culminates in a huge attack at Kursk.

Unfortunately for Germany, Russian intelligence is good, and they are well aware of the build up of men around Kursk.  They are well-prepared for the German attacks, and are able to conduct many damaging attacks on the Germans of their own.  During the ferocious fighting, the city of Kharkov changes hands no less than six times.  The fighting was so ferocious that Germany alone, in official statistics, admitted to almost one million casualties in the Kursk region in 1943.

The biggest individual tank battle in history, ever, takes place during Kursk, at a village called Prokhorovka.  hundreds of tanks from both sides meet and trade shots and mobility.  It is the ultimate test of the relatively new fighting machine invented in World War 1.  The final outcome is relatively even, perhaps a slight numeric victory for Germany, however, the losses for Russia can easily be replaced and this is no longer true for Germany, who by now is becoming starved of resources and manpower.

Ultimately, Germanys attacks peter out, and the Russians are finally able to call up their reserves and conduct a huge counter-attack, pushing the Germans even further back.  The final outcome of Kursk for Germany is massive casualties, huge losses of equipment, and a retreat to positions way back from where the fighting had begun.

After Kursk, the future of the war in the East is in no doubt.  The best Germany can hope for is to hold the Russian advance for as long as possible, while perhaps their futuristic weapons research establishment at Piennemunde in Eastern Germany can produce some super weapon to bring around an unlikely victory.