1,752
edits
Changes
no edit summary
==Battle of Kursk==
On the eve of the Battle of Kursk, the Germans had almost ¾ quarters of a million men, 3000 tanks, and some 10,000 artillery pieces. The Red Army had almost 2 million men, 5000 tanks, and 20,000 heavy guns. The Germans had anticipated that they would be outnumbered but they believed that their superiority in training and equipment would allow them to succeed. On the night of July 5th, to pre-empt the attack, the Russians launched a massive artillery bombardment. This initially threw the Germans into disarray and it delayed the attack for three hours. The Germans attacked in the early morning, they attacked the north of the salient with 500 tanks. After 24 hours, they had lost thousands of men and many tanks <ref>Clark, Lloyd. Kursk: The Greatest Battle: Eastern Front 1943. London: Headline Publishing Group, 2012), p. 78</ref>.
Germany started her attack at dawn with an artillery barrage. A tank and infantry attack started at 05.30 once air cover had arrived. The main thrust contained 500 tanks; heavy tanks at the front, supported by medium ones behind with infantry behind these. They only gained a few miles<ref> Clarke, p. 195</ref>. The German attack was ferocious but it had not been successful. Repeated German attacks were resisted by the stubborn Red Army defenders <ref>Dunn, p. 145</ref>. One German armored division had lost two-thirds of its tanks. The Soviets quickly adapted to the threats posed by the new tanks, even the fearsome Tiger tanks. They Soviet gunners learned to aim at the lightly armored sides of the tank. The German faith in their wonder weapons was misplaced and this led them to make poor decisions and to suffer unnecessary casualties. The German Generals continued with the offensive. Some 50th kilometers south of Kursk, the greatest tank battle in WW II, took place. The Germans tried to capture Kursk with 1,5000 tanks on July 12th. Despite infecting heavy losses on the Red Army tank formations, they did not advance to Kursk. Within two weeks the Germans had been pushed back to where they had started on the southern side of the Kursk salient. However, the divisions under Model had made real progress<ref> Clark, p. 119</ref>. The Soviet overall-chief Marshall Zhukov ordered a counter attack and this pushed Model’s units back some 45 miles. General Model was forced to retreat to the Hagen Line, an existing line of defense. He persuaded Hitler to allow the German forces to end the offensive and to retreat before they became encircled by the Red army and to avoid another Stalingrad. The Germans during their retreat came under constant attack from partisans. They destroyed many miles of railway lines and caused massive disruption in the German rear. The Soviets took advantage of the German retreat to capture the city of Kharkov. The liberation of this city is usually seen as the end of the Battle of Kursk <ref> Glantz, David M. House, Jonathan M. The Battle of Kursk. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press,1999),p.256</ref>.
==Air Battle over Kursk==
