![]() The German planners began to look for solutions to outflank the Soviet defences in the strongest places or to attack eastwards beyond the Kursk enclave, but there was no time left for such drastic deployment changes and finally the Germans attacked the defense systems frontally. Along many kilometres 5 defensive strips were prepared of more than 5 kilometers, which included up to 12 zones of a depth of up to 5 km and more per strip. This two-month postponement allowed the Russians more valuable time to construct obstacles and fortify the Kursk Bulge. At a meeting with Hitler, on July 1, 1943, it was decided to carry out Operation Citadel on July 4 and 5, 1943. ![]() However, finally these vehicles were supplied only at the beginning of July. The appearance of these improved armored combat vehicles instilled in the German Command a sense of technological superiority over the Soviet Army. Its front armor was 200 mm thick, on a "Tiger" chassis. At the time of Operation Citadel this tank still suffered from technical growing pains the ”Ferdinand" (also called "The Elephant") self-propelled assault gun which weighed 70 tons and was equipped with an 88 mm cannon with a high rate of fire (without a machine gun). Its front armor was 85 mm thick and the sides 40 mm. The medium-sized "Panther" tank, weighing 45 tons, was armed with a 75 mm long cannon and one machine gun. Its front armor was 150 mm thick and the sides 88 mm thick. These new armored combat vehicles were: the 60-ton Tiger tank, armed with an 88 mm cannon and two machine guns. Doubts reached Hitler's desk and he decided to postpone the attack until the German forces could be equipped with the latest model tanks and assault guns that were about to come down from the production lines in early June. These were fortifications and barriers (mostly anti-tank barriers).Īir patrols and other German intelligence sources discovered this engineering effort and many senior officers began to raise doubts about carrying out an attack against a fortified area where the enemy was waiting for them. Following this, the Red Army began accelerated construction of defense systems, mainly in the north of the salient and in the south. There was still no information on the date of the attack. Soviet intelligence was able to properly analyse German intentions and according to the situation assessment carried out by the Moscow High Command, the conclusion was that the Germans were planning an offensive on the Kursk Bulge. The Germans intended to launch an offensive immediately at the beginning of spring in early May 1943. This bulge was formed following the success of Manstein's counterattack, which penetrated to a depth of 160 km west and width of 240 km with the town of Kursk at its center. ![]() It was finally decided to launch a pincer attack against the Soviet forces in the Kursk Bulge. His recommendation was not accepted due to Hitler's fear of giving up territory. The deployment of Army Group South threatened the Russian center which was forced to move four armies from the center to the south thus cancelling the planned attack in the center.įield-Marshal General Erich von Manstein, commander of German Army Group South, recommended learning from the previous success, to go onto the defensive at the operative level, and to take advantage of the vast South Russian spaces to wage mobile warfare - to retreat and pull the Red Army forces deep into the open territory and then to hit them again with a counter-attack that would go as far as the Sea of Azov east of the Russian Army and would advance eastward and southward, and then destroy the German forces who would be cut-off from their sources of supply and reinforcements. This success of Von Manstein had another achievement – disruption of the planned attack of the Soviet army against German Army Group Center. This operation allowed the Germans to reconquer large parts of the territories they had lost in the Battle of Stalingrad, following the Russian counterattack, including the cities of Kharkov and Byelgorod. This operation took place in July 1943 following Field Marshal Erich Von Manstein’s counter-attack on the Donets in February-March of the same year. The Battle of Kursk,” Operation Citadel” as it was called by the Germans, lasted eight days and was the final German offensive on the Eastern Front in World War II.
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