8/22/2023 0 Comments World war ii tank battlesThe original start date was May 3, but Hitler chose to wait for better weather and the delivery of his new, state-of-the-art Panther and Tiger tanks, even though they’d never been field tested. They planned blitzkrieg attacks north and south of the Kursk bulge and then intended to meet at Kursk in the middle of the salient.ĭespite warnings from some of his generals to abandon Operation Citadel due to the Red Army’s substantial fortifications, Hitler was determined to move forward, but not right away. Germany was known for its blitzkrieg tactics–shock campaigns that concentrated firepower in a narrow area and confused and cut down the enemy. To the west was Germany’s 2nd Army with around 110,000 men.īy the time Operation Citadel was a go, both sides were heavily armed, well-manned and prepared to annihilate the other in hopes of changing the course of the war. The Red Army dug in and amassed a formidable arsenal which included almost 1,300,000 men, over 20,000 guns and mortars, 3,600 tanks, 2,650 aircraft and five reserve field armies of another half million men and 1,500 additional tanks.Īt the north of the Kursk Bulge was Germany’s 9th Army, made up of three Panzer divisions and over 300,000 men at the south was their 4th Panzer Army, also with over 300,000 men and a combination of Panther and Tiger tanks. But the Soviets knew something big was in the works and their war machine went into overdrive producing top-of-the-line tanks, artillery and aircraft. Over the next few months, Germany amassed over 500,000 men, 10,000 guns and mortars, 2,700 tanks and assault guns and 2,500 aircraft to mount an attack on the Kursk Bulge and take Kursk. But the Wehrmacht – Germany’s unified military forces – chose to prepare for a later campaign along the Kursk Bulge instead so they lost their potential edge. In March 1943, after squashing Russian resistance in Belgorod and Kharkov near the south of the Kursk Bulge, German Field Marshal Erich von Manstein wanted to take advantage of the momentum and the battle-weary Russian army and attempt to seize Kursk. Desperate to fill the void, he recruited World War I veterans up to age 50 and young men from the Hitler Youth program previously exempt from serving on the front lines. Both Sides Prepare for a Larger-Than-Life Battleīy 1943, Operation Barbarossa (Germany’s invasion of Russia), the Battle of Stalingrad and other engagements had weakened Hitler’s army by almost two million men. He also wanted the tactical advantage of controlling Kursk’s railways and roads. Hitler needed to prove to his allies, the Axis Powers, and to the world that Germany was still a formidable enemy and in control of the Eastern Front. The salient became known as the Kursk Bulge and was a strategic location for Germany. At the center of the salient lay the Russian city of Kursk. And at the center of the disputed area, a year’s worth of fighting had created a massive salient (an outward-protruding bulge of land on a battle line) approximately 150 miles from north to south and 100 miles from east to west. It also showed the world they weren’t invincible and deeply humiliated Hitler, who in response planned a massive offensive attack to permanently solve his Soviet problem.Īccording to an article in ARMOR, Germany and Russia had reached an impasse by the winter of 1943 from Leningrad to the Black Sea. It pushed the Germans back to southern Russia and left them weak and on the defensive. Germany’s defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad was a pivotal point in the war. Left with little choice, German General Friedrich Paulus went against Hitler’s orders and surrendered his weakened troops to Russia on February 2, 1943, an act which Hitler later called treason. The Germans were unprepared for Russia’s brutal winter and suffered freezing temperatures, starvation and disease. They saw the writing on the wall and had a chance to escape but Hitler commanded they “hold their positions to the last man and the last round…” He also promised additional provisions – provisions that never arrived. The carnage was horrific on both sides.īy mid-November, the Germans found themselves outnumbered, outgunned, extremely low on food and medical supplies and surrounded by Russians. Ferocious fighting ensued as the Germans fought their way through the city, building by building, house by house and were met with heavy resistance. When the German Sixth Army reached Stalingrad in September, they were unprepared for the well-armed and well-trained Red Army. But Stalin rallied both Russian troops and civilians who dug in and vowed to fight to the end. Germany’s Epic Defeat at the Battle of Stalingradīy June 1942, Hitler had advanced into the Soviet Union and hoped to easily take the strategic city of Stalingrad, the namesake city of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
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