Photos of Kursk

Below are some of the photos from Istochnik’s Kursk immersion event, The Defense of Obayan. Istochnik portrayed the 2nd Battalion, 34th Guards Rifle Regiment apart of the 13th Guards Rifle Division. A veteran unit of Stalingrad determined to hold their ground and prevent the Germans any further advance into the Soviet Union. 

The Red Army in 1943 was an army in flux. Fresh off the successes of late 1942, Red Army commanders and men began to regain their confidence, and now knew the Germans could be beat, and beat on a large scale. Emboldened, a series of attacks in the spring of 1943 saw limited success, with gains the biggest in the south. This created a large salient, or bulge in the frontlines, centered around the city of Kursk. The Soviets knew a large German attack was due in the summer, and correctly surmised that the bulge was a tempting target.

Accordingly, they committed huge forces to defend the bulge in depth, building thousands of kilometers of defensive lines into the summer.  With visions of success and large prisoner hauls to fuel their slave-labor empire, the Germans decided to spend their energy for the 1943 season attacking this nest, with fateful consequences for the outcome of the war…