There were up to 200,000 Axis and 1.2 million Soviet casualties.
Kursk, the last major Axis offensive in the East, was almost as disastrous as Stalingrad. Through July and August 1943, Axis and Soviet troops fought the world’s largest-ever armoured battle. Hitler started Operation Citadel on July 5, only for Allied troops to invade Sicily days later. Citadel was abandoned, but a massive Soviet counter-offensive was not. There were up to 200,000 Axis and 1.2 million Soviet casualties. With this crippling loss went thousands of armored vehicles, aircraft, artillery pieces, and Hitler’s last chance to defeat Stalin.