All during the night, the forward outposts of the Leibstandarte were sending back reports to their headquarters, saying they were hearing noise from large numbers of tanks. In places Soviets tanks tried to probe the German line and, as dawn broke, scores of Russian fighter-bombers attacked the division's frontline positions, artillery fire bases and supply columns. It was becoming clear that something was wrong, but the Germans had no idea what it was. The division's panzer kampfgruppe was ordered to proceed with its early morning attack directly towards Prokhorovka, with the Tiger tank company in the lead. The Das Reich's Deutschland Panzergrenadier Regiment was lined up as well, ready to advance northwards on the south side of the Leibstandarte.

The charge of the T-34s

Almost like clockwork, at 06:30 hours both the Leibstandarte's panzers and the Soviet XXIX Tank Corps were waved forward by their commanders. In the morning haze, the Waffen-SS panzer crews spotted a mass of tanks 4.8-6.4km (3-4 miles) directly in front of them, on the far side of the valley. Some 60 tanks - a whole brigade of XXIX Tank Corps - were heading straight for them. Artillery fire and Katyusha rockets started to land among the German tanks. At the extreme limit of their range - 2000m (6562ft) - the 50 or so Waffen-SS tanks started to pick-off the Soviet armour. Rotmistrov had briefed his tank commanders not to stop to trade fire with the Germans, but to charge at full speed to make it more difficult to be hit, and to allow them to get into a position to hit the enemy tanks at close quarters on their more vulnerable side armour. The charge of the T-34s was a death ride. The Russian crews followed their orders to the letter, but by 09:00 hours the steppe was littered with burning hulks. The Leibstandarte tank crews had destroyed their enemy for almost no loss thanks to their long-range gunnery skills.

A tidal wave of steel

Rotmistrov's first wave also hit the Das Reich Division, with a brigade of XXIX Tank Corps taking a pounding from the Leibstandarte's artillery as it moved forward. Then the Das Reich panzers put down withering fire to halt their attack. Rotmistrov now started to launch his brigades forward on an hourly basis in an attempt to batter through the German lines.

Next on the receiving end of an attack from XVIII Tank Corps was the Totenkopf's Theodor Eicke Panzergrenadier Regiment in the Psel valley. Two Soviet infantry regiments, backed by 50 tanks, pushed forward into the Totenkopf's right flank at 07:45 hours, to be seen off by the division's assault gun battalion.

The Leibstandarte under attack

At almost the same time, artillery and rocket fire rained down on the Leibstandarte's 1st Panzergrenadier Regiment, which was holding the ground to the right of the division's panzer kampfgruppe. After an hour of softening-up artillery fire, the Russian armour was sent into action. The defenders were given a warning from a Luftwaffe reconnaissance patrol that a tank brigade was approaching along the railway line. Some 40 T-34s of XXIX Tank Corps were then among the German trenches. More were following behind in a second wave, along with hordes of Red infantry. Waffen-SS tank-hunting teams went to work taking on the Russian vehicles, but five Marder self-propelled guns were needed to see off the tanks.

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