The battle of kursk
After a two year stalemate, both the Russians and Germans awaited major confrontations that would define the momentum for either side. Up until this point in the war, although the Germans had captured many European countries and were winning with their tactics, such as the blitzkrieg and their weapons, battles on the Eastern front seemed impossible to win. Upon a loss at the Battle of Stalingrad earlier in 1943, Germans was greatly lowered and the German forces finally gained the strength of the Russian troops.
The momentum would finally be settled with the decisive battle near the town of Kursk, a town on the Moscow-Rostov railway. The goal of the Battle of Kursk was to regain German morale and to pinch off a large salient in the Eastern front, which would make Russians much more vulnerable to German attack. Being such an important battle to the overall success of the Germans, they formulated several unique plans; however, due to the lack of good judgement, these plans were doomed from the very start.
The Germans took an unrealistic approach in the decision making process for the battle. During the debate in the German High Command about what to do in the summer of 1943, two options were introduced. The realistic option, which was supported by the best German field commanders and many soldiers, was to compensate for the large Russian numerical advantage by fully utilizing the superiority of the German commander and soldiers in tactics, command and fighting, by a strategy of dynamic mobile defense that would cause great losses to the Russians in a series of local clashes. This would delay the Russians and was a realistic goal as it was easily achievable.
However, Adolf Hitler wanted to follow the enthusiast-optimistic option of having a major decisive battle against a large portion of the Russian armor in order to destroy them. He thought that the best suited place for such a battle was the Kursk salient, where the Russians had already established battlegrounds. In fact, aerial photos taken by German airplanes clearly revealed that the Russians had already built dense and deep fortifications at the Kursk salient in order to counter an attack. Also, it was evident that many Russian tanks were moved deeper behind the front line.
Finally, the Blitzkrieg tactic that was often used by the Germans would have to be changed. The lack of good judgement can be clearly seen as the Germans knew that their tank supply would not be enough to keep back the Russians. Also, the Germans did not have any other strategies and being only two weeks away, they knew that they would not be able to develop new ones for the battle. Furthermore, Adolf Hitler himself claimed, “Whenever I think of this plan, my guts turn.” This shows that the leader of the Nazis knew this plan was not effective, yet he still wanted to implement it. The Germans fully understood the flaws in their plans; however, because they were unable to make good decisions, it is evident that these plans would have failed.
The momentum would finally be settled with the decisive battle near the town of Kursk, a town on the Moscow-Rostov railway. The goal of the Battle of Kursk was to regain German morale and to pinch off a large salient in the Eastern front, which would make Russians much more vulnerable to German attack. Being such an important battle to the overall success of the Germans, they formulated several unique plans; however, due to the lack of good judgement, these plans were doomed from the very start.
The Germans took an unrealistic approach in the decision making process for the battle. During the debate in the German High Command about what to do in the summer of 1943, two options were introduced. The realistic option, which was supported by the best German field commanders and many soldiers, was to compensate for the large Russian numerical advantage by fully utilizing the superiority of the German commander and soldiers in tactics, command and fighting, by a strategy of dynamic mobile defense that would cause great losses to the Russians in a series of local clashes. This would delay the Russians and was a realistic goal as it was easily achievable.
However, Adolf Hitler wanted to follow the enthusiast-optimistic option of having a major decisive battle against a large portion of the Russian armor in order to destroy them. He thought that the best suited place for such a battle was the Kursk salient, where the Russians had already established battlegrounds. In fact, aerial photos taken by German airplanes clearly revealed that the Russians had already built dense and deep fortifications at the Kursk salient in order to counter an attack. Also, it was evident that many Russian tanks were moved deeper behind the front line.
Finally, the Blitzkrieg tactic that was often used by the Germans would have to be changed. The lack of good judgement can be clearly seen as the Germans knew that their tank supply would not be enough to keep back the Russians. Also, the Germans did not have any other strategies and being only two weeks away, they knew that they would not be able to develop new ones for the battle. Furthermore, Adolf Hitler himself claimed, “Whenever I think of this plan, my guts turn.” This shows that the leader of the Nazis knew this plan was not effective, yet he still wanted to implement it. The Germans fully understood the flaws in their plans; however, because they were unable to make good decisions, it is evident that these plans would have failed.
Artifacts:
Here are 3 artifact that will be at the exhibit for you to experience.
Here are 3 artifact that will be at the exhibit for you to experience.
Here there are some German uniforms that would be used in the battle of Kursk.
Here a weapon that would be used by Germans in the Battle of Kursk
Here is a tank the germans used in the battle of Kursk (Panzer)