Battle Of Kursk Analysis
“Overlooked and Misunderstood: Putting Kursk in Perspective”
“Introduction”
The Battle of Kursk started in July 4, 1943 between Russia and Germany during World War II. The battle of Kursk is widely known as the largest tank battle in the history of the world and its importance is often overlooked, partially because Russian documents along with facts and figures were not known in any official capacity until the end of the Cold War. The Battle of Kursk would turn the tide of War on the eastern front and Hitler’s forces would never regain a stronghold or be on the offensive against Russia. The sheer numbers that participated in this battle are staggering.
“The Numbers”
German offensive forces consisted …show more content…
The main objective of Operation Citadel was to pinch off the bulge that Russian forces had created in the German offensive line and take the Caucasus oil fields. Operation Citadel, if successful would see Russia defeated and would allow Hitler to unleash all of Nazi Germany against Great Britain and the United States.
“Outcome”
With Russian Intelligence gathering enough information to determine the exact attack date of July 4, 1943 by Operation Citadel, they released a large artillery attack on German forces and created chaos for the Germans right as they began attacking. The Germans were unable to coordinate one massive attack like they wanted and their attack plan was mostly ineffective. In the north they had very limited penetration of the Russian lines, Russian forces were just too heavy and the area was too well defended. The success that the German’s did see, although short lived, was in the south where they had pushed towards Prokhorovka and on July 12, 1943, Russian forces had to commit a large part of their reserves to stop the advance. By committing part of their reserve they were successful in stopping the advancing German force. While the initial attack’s at Kursk by German forces had some success, Russian forces were just too many and too well dug in and fortified. By July 24, 1943 the Germans had lost all ground that they had …show more content…
With Hitler committing all of his reserves to Operation Citadel, one must conclude that either he knew that this battle was all or nothing for Germany, or he was so confident that this Operation would succeed that he wanted to commit all of his reserves so that the ultimate surrender of Russia would happen as quickly as possible so that he could then prepare to defend against Great Britain and the United States. The failure of Operation Citadel left Germany unable to defend the Eastern Front and more importantly the homeland against Russia, the Battle of Kursk played a large part in how quickly the war would be over, and it deserves its proper place in history. After Kursk Russian Forces would push hard into Germany and the defeat of Nazi Germany was just a matter of
“Introduction”
The Battle of Kursk started in July 4, 1943 between Russia and Germany during World War II. The battle of Kursk is widely known as the largest tank battle in the history of the world and its importance is often overlooked, partially because Russian documents along with facts and figures were not known in any official capacity until the end of the Cold War. The Battle of Kursk would turn the tide of War on the eastern front and Hitler’s forces would never regain a stronghold or be on the offensive against Russia. The sheer numbers that participated in this battle are staggering.
“The Numbers”
German offensive forces consisted …show more content…
The main objective of Operation Citadel was to pinch off the bulge that Russian forces had created in the German offensive line and take the Caucasus oil fields. Operation Citadel, if successful would see Russia defeated and would allow Hitler to unleash all of Nazi Germany against Great Britain and the United States.
“Outcome”
With Russian Intelligence gathering enough information to determine the exact attack date of July 4, 1943 by Operation Citadel, they released a large artillery attack on German forces and created chaos for the Germans right as they began attacking. The Germans were unable to coordinate one massive attack like they wanted and their attack plan was mostly ineffective. In the north they had very limited penetration of the Russian lines, Russian forces were just too heavy and the area was too well defended. The success that the German’s did see, although short lived, was in the south where they had pushed towards Prokhorovka and on July 12, 1943, Russian forces had to commit a large part of their reserves to stop the advance. By committing part of their reserve they were successful in stopping the advancing German force. While the initial attack’s at Kursk by German forces had some success, Russian forces were just too many and too well dug in and fortified. By July 24, 1943 the Germans had lost all ground that they had …show more content…
With Hitler committing all of his reserves to Operation Citadel, one must conclude that either he knew that this battle was all or nothing for Germany, or he was so confident that this Operation would succeed that he wanted to commit all of his reserves so that the ultimate surrender of Russia would happen as quickly as possible so that he could then prepare to defend against Great Britain and the United States. The failure of Operation Citadel left Germany unable to defend the Eastern Front and more importantly the homeland against Russia, the Battle of Kursk played a large part in how quickly the war would be over, and it deserves its proper place in history. After Kursk Russian Forces would push hard into Germany and the defeat of Nazi Germany was just a matter of