Is the Ukrainian offensive another Kursk?

Some observers say that the battle now taking place in the Zaporizhzhya area of Ukraine is like the 1943 Battle for Kursk. Is that the case? Why does it matter?

The Nazi attempt to capture and defeat the Soviet forces at Kursk in western Russia was a massive undertaking, one that bears, in terms of armor, artillery, aircraft and manpower, no real resemblance in scale to the battle now raging in the  Zaporizhzhya  area. But by other measures there is a comparison to be made.

In Zaporizhzhya  the Ukrainians are trying to establish bridgeheads with the ultimate goal, if they have success, of splitting Russian forces and gaining a position on the Sea of Azov.

The Ukrainians have some 12 brigades trained by NATO for this purpose. Nine of those brigades have Western tanks, infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), armored personnel carriers (APCs), mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles and plenty of other equipment.

The front is a long one and there are multiple battles going on as the Ukrainians are seeking a breakthrough against dug-in Russian forces arranged in defensive lines with significant depth.

In the Kursk battle, both sides deployed their air forces. Overall, the Luftwaffe had significant success on the battlefield – but at a very high cost. The Luftwaffe deployed fighters, ground attack aircraft and bombers.

The Russians also put up a good fight deploying hundreds of aircraft including the storied IL-2 Stormovik and the Lavochkin LA-5. In all, Russia lost 1,130 aircraft compared with German losses of 711. But Germany would have major problems replacing aircraft and having enough fuel to keep them in the air. Germany also lost some of its best pilots while, at the same time “green” Russian pilots learned from combat.

Kursk’s Operation Citadel featured the largest tank battle in history. The Germans had 2,700 tanks for this offensive; the Russians, 3,600. German tanks either destroyed or seriously damaged numbered 1,536. Russian tanks either destroyed or damaged numbered 2,471. Tanks were often repaired and sent back into action on the battlefield, sometimes two or three times.

In the ongoing Ukraine battle, aside from drones and precision-guided long-range weapons such as the UK’s Stormshadow, the Ukrainian air forces have barely been in the battle.

The Russians however, have been using their airpower and their drones effectively.  Most impressive have been the Ka-52 helicopters equipped with Vikhr missiles.  The Ka-52s are fitted with directed infrared countermeasure systems (DIRCM), the Vitebsk L-370.

The Russians say the Vitebsk system has defeated a large number of Ukrainian man-carried air defense systems.  The Ka-52s have knocked out many tanks, IFVs, APCs and MRAPs. In the last week Russia upped the number of helicopters in the battle.

Both sides are using aerial delivered mines (sometimes called scatterable mines). Mine clearance systems, including advanced ones supplied by the United States and other NATO and near-NATO countries (ie, Sweden) have not been successful.  Recently the Ukrainians introduced an autonomous mine clearance vehicle that may be a captured Russian UR-77 mine clearer.

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