Special: Battle of Kursk

Pilots,

Although it's remembered, first and foremost, as the biggest tank battle in history, The Battle of Kursk, a massive encounter between Germans and Soviets in July 1943, could never have been fought without support from the air. Both the Luftwaffe and the VVS (Soviet Military Air Forces) had a large number of aircraft present prior to the battle. They fought for air superiority and supported their troops on the ground during the engagement. Discover the famous battle from a different perspective in our history flashback and make good use of the onslaught of offers and discounts that we've prepared for this special!

Promotion

Triple XP for the first victory of the day with each plane

There'll be plenty of XP up for grabs this July! Make sure you don't leave anything behind on the battlefield!

30% discount on ammunition

All credit and gold ammunition will be cheaper this weekend. Buy in bulk to save some coins!

50% discount on the following planes:

				Messerschmitt Bf 110 E Emil
				Ilyushin IL-2

Two legendary contenders faced each other in the Battle of Kursk. Relive their encounter in the game today!

30% discount on the following planes:

				Ilyushin IL-2 (t)
				Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5
				Yakovlev Yak-1M
				Messerschmitt Bf 109 F Friedrich
				Lavochkin La-5
				Yakovlev Yak-9
				Yakovlev Yak-9U
				Messerschmit Bf 109 G Gustav

Pick up any plane you like! Just make sure you have enough hangar slots to store them all!

Premium Shop Deal

For the first time since their introduction in Version 1.4, we're putting one of the new Premium fighters on sale. Snatch it up at a cheaper price while you can!

Special Missions

Our weekend-missions will put you right into the heat of the Battle of Kursk. Accomplish them all to get some Premium consumables for free!

History Flashback

From 1943 onward, the German army on the Eastern Front had been in retreat. By summer, another defeat would have proven to Germany's allies that the nation's offensive capabilities had been fatally wounded in the crushing defeat at Stalingrad. Hitler desperately needed a victory in order to rebuild the waning confidence of his troops in the East. He ordered his generals to mount 'Operation Citadel' - a huge offensive that was meant to halt Soviet advances and show that the Germans were still a force to be reckoned with. The biggest clash of this offensive took place from 5 July - 23 August in a series of engagements known as the Battle of Kursk.

The battle was truly epic. Germany amassed a huge army of some 900,000 soldiers, 10,000 artillery guns, 2,700 tanks and 2,000 aircraft in the area. The Soviets were equally well prepared, mustering almost 1.9 million men, 5,000 tanks, 20,000 guns and around 3,000 aircraft. While the battle is largely remembered for its tank combat, aircraft of both sides played a major role in the outcome of the encounter.

Before 5 July, the Soviets prepared themselves by raiding German air fields and thus managed to take out almost all of the German reconnaissance aircraft. In return, the Germans ordered heavy bombardment of the closest tank factories, knowing that their supplies would play a huge role in the upcoming battle. Despite heavy losses, the Soviet production lines didn't stop and quickly managed to replenish their forces, providing the Red Army with the essential T-34 tanks and La-5 aircraft.

Over the duration of the battle itself, the Luftwaffe and VVS (Soviet Military Air Forces) collided in some of the biggest air operations ever fought. The Germans mainly employed their newly delivered Focke-Wulf 190A in the air and used Junkers Ju 87 aircraft against Soviet tank forces. The Red Army, for its part, countered with their new Yak-9s and legendary IL-2s, flying multiple hundreds of sorties every day of the battle.

In the end, the Soviet strategy of letting the Germans wear themselves out against a strong defensive line worked. Confronted with a new front line due to the invasion of Sicily on 9 July by the Allies, the Germans saw themselves forced to withdraw resources from Operation Citadel and commit their tanks corps to Italy. Although the battle continued well into August, the Soviets would ultimately break through the German lines, pushing the enemy far back to the West in order to regroup.

How about mounting an all-out Battle of Kursk in World of Warplanes, pilots?