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
Europe and Germany. The fighting in Stalingrad had slowly come to an end by January of 1943, the German forces were left depleted and with the onset of spring the Soviet forces counterattacked and began pushing the Germans west. The German Army was in disarray and breaches began to form in their battle lines. German Field Marshall Erich von Manstein was given the responsibility to reorganize the army to halt the rapid Soviet advance which he did by utilizing units of the II SS Panzer Corps. The operation was partially successful at stemming the Soviet advance but had to be stopped when the muddy conditions of the spring made transport difficult for both sides. This left what is called a salient in the German area of control, which is a bulge of territory the enemy forces control within your own territory. During this lull period both sides began their preparations with the Germans devising “Operation Citadel” to push back the Russians. The operation was delayed due to reconnaissance observing the Russians building formidable defensive positions directly in the path the operation would have to take. Field Marshall Manstein and many other commanders believed it may better to scrap the plan and allow the Soviets to attack them and then counterattack with the highly mobile Panzer tanks. This is due to the German Army’s lack of infantry troops because of the massive casualties they suffered throughout the Russian campaign, forcing the Germans to rely mainly on their tanks. Adolf Hitler could not tolerate the idea of allowing the Russians to take any more land so he ordered Operation Citadel to be carried out regardless. The Russian commander Georgy Zhukov knew this and decided to maintain a defensive formation to counter the Panzer tanks. For three months both sides bolstered their strength until finally on the evening of July 4th, fighting began on the southern edge of the salient. For weeks the Germans pushed the Russian defenses but made relatively little progress at the cost of heavy casualties. On the northern front they only managed to push six miles into the salient and their advance was completely halted by July 10. On July 12 Hitler held a meeting with his Field Marshals to discuss the fact that two days earlier the Allies had successfully landed on Sicily. Hitler wanted to redeploy the forces in Kursk to defend Southern Italy from invasion. Manstein was granted a temporary extension to his offensive but on July 17 the Panzer Divisions were ordered to withdraw. This marked the end of Operation Citadel and the German offensive in Eastern Europe. The Germans suffered heavy losses, with an estimated 104,182 casualties overall and with several thousand tanks destroyed.
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
win. While many factors contributed to Germany’s defeat such as a lack of manpower and poor weather conditions, one of the most destructive mistakes was Hitler’s disregard of his field commander’s advice.
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
interference. The Battle of Kursk was one of the most critical battles of the Eastern Front and of WWII in its entirety. Aside from being the largest tank battle in history, it served as a major turning point in the fortunes of the Soviet Union and its allies, while marking a breaking point for Nazi Germany. It put an end to any tactical strength Germany had in Eastern Europe and allowed the Russians the momentum they needed to push closer to Germany. Kursk also illustrated many of the problems the German military was facing at this point like their growing lack of manpower and resources along with their massive territorial overextension. A classic example of Adolf Hitler’s arrogance was on display with his complete lack of consideration towards alternate options to approach the conflict. All of this makes the Battle of Kursk one of the most important and interesting battles in modern history.