By: History.com Editors

1943

Russians halt German advance in a decisive battle at Kursk

History.com Editors

Published: November 05, 2009

Last Updated: February 18, 2025

On July 12, 1943, one of the greatest clashes of armor in military history takes place as the German offensive against the Russian fortification at Kursk, a Russian railway and industrial center, is stopped in a devastating battle, marking the turning point in the Eastern front in the Russians’ favor.

The Germans had been driven from Kursk, a key communications center between north and south, back in February. By March, the Russians had created a salient, a defensive fortification, just west of Kursk in order to prevent another attempt by the Germans to advance farther south in Russia. In June, the German invaders launched an air attack against Kursk; on the ground, Operation Cottbus was launched, ostensibly dedicated to destroying Russian partisan activity, but in reality resulting in the wholesale slaughter of Russian civilians, among whom Soviet partisan fighters had been hiding. The Russians responded with air raids against German troop formations.

World War II History

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt committed American forces to the Allied cause in World War II.

By July, Hitler realized that the breaking of the Russian resistance at Kursk was essential to pursuing his aims in Soviet Russia and the defense of Greater Germany, that is, German-occupied territory outside prewar German borders. “This day, you are to take part in an offensive of such importance that the whole future of the war may depend on its outcome,” Hitler announced to his soldiers on July 4. But on July 5, the Russians pulled the rug out from under Hitler’s offensive by launching their own artillery bombardment.

The Germans counterattacked, and the largest tank battle in history began: Between the two assailants, 6,000 tanks were deployed. On July 12, 900 Russian tanks clashed with 900 German (including their superior Tiger tanks) at Prokhorovka—the Battle of Kursk’s most serious engagement. When it was all over, 300 German tanks, and even more Russian ones, were strewn over the battlefield. “The earth was black and scorched with tanks like burning torches,” reported one Russian officer. But the Russians had stopped the German advance dead in its tracks. The advantage had passed to the East. The Germans’ stay in Soviet territory was coming to an end.

Timeline

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Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on July 12th

1389

Geoffrey Chaucer is named chief clerk by Richard II

King Richard II appoints Geoffrey Chaucer to the position of clerk of the king’s works in Westminster on July 12, 1389. Chaucer, the middle-class son of a wine merchant, served as a page in an aristocratic household during his teens and was associated with the aristocracy for the rest of his life. In 1359, he […]

1861

Confederacy signs treaties with Choctaw and Chickasaw nations

Special commissioner Albert Pike completes treaties with the members of the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, giving the new Confederate States of America several allies in Indian Territory. Some members of the tribes also fought for the Confederacy. A Boston native, Pike went west in 1831 and traveled with fur trappers and traders. He settled in […]

1861

Wild Bill Hickok’s first gunfight

Wild Bill Hickok begins to establish his reputation as a gunfighter after he shoots three men during a shootout in Nebraska. Born in Homer (later called Troy Grove), Illinois, James Butler Hickok moved to Kansas in 1855 at the age of 18. There he filed a homestead claim, took odd jobs, and began calling himself […]

1862

Medal of Honor created

President Abraham Lincoln signs into law a measure calling for the awarding of a U.S. Army Medal of Honor, in the name of Congress, “to such noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldier-like qualities during the present insurrection.” The previous December, Lincoln had approved a […]

1933

First Dymaxion car produced

The first three-wheeled, multi-directional Dymaxion car—designed by the architect, engineer and philosopher Buckminster Fuller—is manufactured in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on July 12, 1933. Born in Massachusetts in 1895, Fuller set out to live his life as (in his own words) “an experiment to find what a single individual can contribute to changing the world and benefiting […]

1957

Eisenhower takes first presidential ride in a helicopter

On July 12, 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the first president to ride in the newest advance in aviation technology: the helicopter. Although experimental military helicopters had been tested since 1947, it was not until 10 years later that a president considered using the new machine for short, official trips to and from the White […]

1963

The Moors Murderers begin their killing spree

Sixteen-year-old Pauline Reade is abducted while on her way to a dance near her home in Gorton, England, by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, the so-called “Moors Murderers,” launching a crime spree that will last for over two years. Reade’s body was not discovered until 1987, after Brady confessed to the murder during an interview […]

1965

First Marine to receive posthumous Medal of Honor for action in Vietnam is killed

U.S.M.C. Lieutenant Frank S. Reasoner—who became the first Marine awarded the prestigious Medal of Honor posthumously for action in Vietnam—is killed by enemy fire on July 12, 1965. He was the second Marine overall to be awarded the nation’s highest award for valor during the Vietnam War. Reasoner and his battalion had been on a sweep of a suspected […]

1979

Disco is dealt death blow by fans of the Chicago White Sox

As the 1970s came to an end, the age of disco was also nearing its finale. But the public backlash to the genre reached its peak on July 12, 1979 with the infamous “Disco Demolition” night at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. That incident, which led to at least nine injuries, 39 arrests and the cancellation and […]

1984

Geraldine Ferraro named vice presidential candidate

Walter Mondale, the leading Democratic presidential candidate, announces that he has chosen Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York as his running mate. Ferraro became the first female vice presidential candidate to represent a major political party.

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1990

Boris Yeltsin resigns from Communist Party

Just two days after Mikhail Gorbachev was re-elected head of the Soviet Communist Party, Boris Yeltsin, president of the Republic of Russia, announces his resignation from the Party. Yeltsin’s action was a serious blow to Gorbachev’s efforts to keep the struggling Soviet Union together.  In July 1990, Soviet Communist Party leaders met in a congress […]

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Citation Information

Article title
Russians halt German advance in a decisive battle at Kursk
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 25, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
February 18, 2025
Original Published Date
November 05, 2009

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