German Offensive at Kursk Fails

German forces launched a massive offensive at Kursk, in what would be their last attempt to breach the central front. Three German armies attempted to press from the Urals to Belgorod, but were halted by the strength and depth of the Soviet defense, which had achieved superiority in numbers and equipment. On July 10, the German forces were blocked north of Kursk after advancing only five miles and losing 25,000 men, 200 tanks, and 200 aircraft. Russian forces began a counteroffensive on July 12, pushing the Germans hundreds of kilometers eastward. Some 8,000 tanks took part in the Battle of Kursk, about 5,000 of them Soviet tanks, as well as some 2.6 million soldiers from both sides. Kursk, like Stalingrad, marked a watershed on the Russian front.