Kursk February 8, 1943. In July 1943, the Germans launched Operation Citadel in an attempt to recapture Kursk. During the resulting Battle of Kursk, the village of Prokhorovka near Kursk became the center of a major armoured engagement – the Battle of Prokhorovka – between Soviet and German forces, which is widely considered to have been one of the largest tank battles in history. Operation Citadel was the last major German offensive against the Soviet Union. Rebuilding efforts in the city began in February 1944. The cultural life recovered as well: on 19 February the cinema reopened and on February 27
Battle of Kursk German historian Karl-Heinz Frieser. German historian Roman Töppel disagrees. Having consulted the armies and units archives, he writes that Krivosheyev's figures on Soviet losses at Kursk are underestimated by 40%. Krivosheyev calculated total Soviet losses during the German offensive as 177,877 casualties. The Central Front suffered 15,336 irrecoverable casualties and 18,561 medical casualties, for a total of 33,897 casualties. The Voronezh Front suffered 27,542 irrecoverable casualties and 46,350 medical casualties, for a total of 73,892. The Steppe Front suffered 27,452 irrecoverable casualties and 42,606 medical casualties, for a total of 70,085. During the two Soviet offensives, total casualties amounted to