1943
The Army was then given much needed reinforcements and in particular 160 new tanks. It then was able to halt the Soviet Winter offensive in Southern Russia and then counterattacked and re-took the city of Kharkov in March 1943. The army saw little or no action over the next three months as both sides built up their strength for the upcoming battle.
The army throughout the spring of 1943 was massively reinforced and grew to all time strength of 1,100 Tanks and 250,000 men by July 1943. It was to form the southern spearhead in the Battle of Kursk. The Army tried but failed to break through the Soviet defenses around Kursk. It then fought a series of defensive battles throughout the remainder of 1943 to hold back the Red Army's Lower Dnieper Strategic Offensive Operation. By November 1943, the Soviets had reached Kiev and the 4th Panzer Army was tasked to defend the city. The Soviet aim was to take the city and break the rail link with Army Group Center or envelop Army Group South. But even though the Soviets had liberated Kiev, broken the Dnieper line, and inflicted massive casualties, the 4th Panzer Army held on and the Soviets failed to break the rail link.
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