The Battle of Kursk was the largest tank battle to take place in World War II. The two main forces were the Soviet Union and Germany. The battle began on July 4, 1943 and it ended on August 23, 1943. The German codename for this battle was Operation Citadel and along with this battle being one of the biggest tank battles, the Battle of Kursk was also very costly to aerial forces as well. Note that this page also includes units operating during the Battle of Prohorovka about 87 kilometers south of Kursk.