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
Kursky District, Kursk Oblast Kursky District, Kursk Oblast Kursky District () is an administrative and municipal district (raion), one of the twenty-eight in Kursk Oblast, Russia. It is located in the center of the oblast. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the city of Kursk (which is not administratively a part of the district). Population: 56,494 (2002 Census); Kursky District is located in the center of Kursk Oblast. The terrain is hilly plain; the district lies on the Orel-Kursk plateau of the Central Russian Upland. The main river in the district is the Seym River, which flows east to