Turning Point Of War: The Battle Of Kursk

The Battle of Kursk occurred between Soviet Russian and German military forces in July and August of 1943. It took place outside and around the Soviet city of Kursk located near the border with Ukraine. It was the last major German offensive on the Eastern Front and is known to be the largest tank battle in history. Over two million men and eight thousand tanks were involved in the conflict. The battle ended with a decisive victory for the Soviet Union and put the German Wehrmacht on the defensive for the rest of the war. The battle was highly important to the war effort and marked a major turning point because it crippled the German’s strategic capability in the East and gave the Russian forces the impetus they needed to push into central
The Soviet losses were even greater with an estimated 432,317 casualties and roughly 7,000 destroyed tanks. The Russians however, with their huge population and industry, were able to easily recover these losses while the Germans were not. These losses devastated the German war effort and they were no longer able to effectively fight the Soviet advance with their attention now having to focus on the Italian front. This was another breaking point for the German military, now they had two fronts to deal with and had lost a significant portion of their men and armor. It was also a display of Soviet military power, no longer could they be underestimated in the theater of war. It showed Russia’s ability to sustain massive losses and continue fight without reduction in its effectiveness and its raw tenacity to
He was advised to scrap Operation Citadel altogether and allow the Russians to attack their defenses setting them up for an easy counterattack. Seemingly, Hitler’s pride made him refuse to give up any land to the Soviets, even as a tactical sacrifice. This was a common issue Hitler had throughout the later stages of the war, he would disregard the advice of his experienced generals and make the decisions himself often with disastrous results. This entire battle was a microcosm of many of the problems that led to Germany’s defeat in the war, the depletion of resources including men, the overextension of their territory, and the general hubris of the leadership. Joseph Stalin on the other hand more or less allowed his commanders to make the important tactical decisions with minimal