Prokhorovka - eve of battle

The Battle of Prokhorovka effectively took place in an area little more than 8km by 8km (5 miles by 5 miles) - it was smaller than the battlefield at Waterloo. The terrain where the main engagement of the battle was to unfold was flat and rolling. The main Waffen-SS tank forces were concentrated on a hill 1.6km (1 mile) southwest of Prokhorovka. The ground slopped gently down towards the village, but then a small ridge line created an area of dead ground, behind which Rotmistrov had concentrated his main tank strike forces - XVIII and XXIX Tank Corps. A railway line and embankment, running southwest from Prokhorovka, created a natural division of the battlefield, meaning the Russians had to employ two distinct axes of attack. The railway line also formed the divisional boundary between the Leibstandarte, north of it, and Das Reich, to its south.

To the northwest of this gladiatorial arena was the River Psel, and the high ground on the northern bank of the river dominated the assembly area of the main Waffen-SS assault force - the Leibstandarte Division. The high ground was far too distant for direct tank fire from it to be a threat, but it provided a superb artillery observation vantage point. Whoever controlled this high ground dominated the battlefield. The valley along the Psel, with its small woods and villages, also provided a covered approach route to infiltrate behind the high ground above Prokhorovka.

The final battle

South of Prokhorovka was a series of forested hills, running in a north-south direction. They were intersected by deep gullies and streams, making them poor ground for tanks.

Above the Psel, infantry battalions of the Soviet XXXI Tank Corps, without tank support, kicked off the Russian offensive by attacking during the night. The Totenkopf Division saw off the attack after hand-to-hand fighting in the villages around its bridgehead. In the face of heavy Soviet artillery, air raids and Stalin's Organ fire, the Totenkopf Division's panzergrenadiers began their attack as scheduled just after dawn. The division's panzer regiment was now over the River Psel, and was poised to strike out once a route through the Soviet defences became apparent. Elements of the Totenkopf's panzer kampfgruppe were committed at 07:15 hours, and they helped punch a first hole in the Soviet line.

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