The settlement of Ponyri would see occupation following the advance of the German XXXXVIII Motorized Corps through the area in October 1941. It would remain in German hands until elements of the Soviet 48th. and 13th. Armies pushed the Germans out of Ponyri on February 9, 1943. Ponyri would feature in the greatest armored engagement of World War Two, the Battle of Kursk, which commenced on July 5, 1943 when the Germans launched Unternehmen Zitadelle (Operation Citadel).
On July 9, 1943, elements of the XXXXI Panzer Corps moved on Ponyri. Included in those elements was Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654 (654th. Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion) which was equipped with the Sd.Kfz. 184 Panzerjäger Tiger (P) tank destroyer, better known as the Ferdinand (later Elefant). Boasting a maximum of 200mm of frontal armor and armed with the potent 8.8 cm Pak 43/2 L/71 anti-tank gun, the Ferdinand was well able to withstand Soviet anti-tank fire. Still, the Ferdinand was able to be beaten. In and around Ponyri, the Soviet 307th. and 1023rd. Rifle Regiment, bolstered by the 3rd. and 4th. Guards Airborne Division and elements of the 3rd. Tank Corps, bloodied the Germans severely and ground down their advance to the point it stalled with most of the German objectives unattained.
Littered around Ponryi were the wrecks of several Ferdinands of Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654 of which this vehicle was one. With the tactical number 712 and belonging to the 7th. Company, the vehicle had suffered numerous strikes to the superstructure front armor with no penetration and a glancing blow can be seen in the armor on the hull front as well as on the gun tube. The Ferdinand is also pock-marked from machine-gun fire. The disabling hits came from two rounds into the gun, one cracking the gun mantlet and the other the barrel itself. Due to the 65 ton weight of the Ferdinand, recovery of damaged vehicles was a very difficult task during combat operations and more often than not, they had to be abandoned even when the damage received was quite repairable.
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