Almost like clockwork, at 06:30 hours on July 12 1943 both the Leibstandarte SS panzers and the Soviet 24th Tank Corps were waved forward by their commanders. The SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 3 Deutschland of the Das Reich Division was lined up as well advancing northwards on the south side of the Leibstandarte SS. In the morning haze, the Waffen-SS Panzer crews spotted a mass of Soviet tanks directly in front of them. Two Soviet tank corps faced the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS in an area little more than 8 km by 8 km. In the ensuing fighting, the outnumbered Leibstandarte inflicted heavy casualties on the Soviets as they continued to surge forward, the 50 or so SS Panzers started to pick off the Soviets tanks for almost no loss thanks to their long-range gunnery skills. The field was soon littered with burning Soviet T-34s and T-70s. More were following behind in a second wave, along with hordes of Red infantry. The SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Das Reich likewise was facing tough opposition against the weight of 2nd Guards Tank Corps. Images: frontline footage from the opening days of Citadel, also called The Battle of Kursk. Clips showing German troops advancing on the Kursk salient or bulge in July 1943. Footage from Die Deutsche Wochenschau - the official Nazi German war newsreel from 1940 until production discontinued in March 1945. It received film stock from special Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht war reporting units. Today the preserved Wochenschau short films make up a significant part of the audiovisual records of the Nazi era. Fair use.
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