Battle of Kursk The counteroffensive left a salient extending into the German area of control, centered on the city of Kursk. The heavy losses sustained by the Heer (army) since the opening of Operation Barbarossa had resulted in a shortage in infantry and artillery. Units were in total 470,000 men understrength. For the Wehrmacht to undertake an offensive in 1943 the burden of the offensive, in both attacking the Soviet defenses and holding ground on the flanks of the advance, would have to be carried primarily by the panzer divisions. In view of the exposed position of Army Group South, Manstein proposed that
Kursk government valued Kursk for rich deposits of iron ore and developed it into one of the major railroad hubs in the Russian southwest. In 1932 in the Kursk was included Yamskaya Sloboda. In 1935 a tram system began operating in the city. In 193?, the territory of the city of Kursk was divided into Leninsky District (left bank of the Kura), Dzerzhinsky District (right bank of the Kura) and Kirov District (Yamskaya Sloboda). In 1937 Stalinsky District was formed in the southern outskirts of the city. During World War II, Kursk was occupied by Germany between November 4, 1941 and