WW2: A Laymans Guide: An Entertaining and Educational Short history of the Second World War by Addington Scott

Author:Addington, Scott [Addington, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-03-26T16:00:00+00:00

Tanktastic Kursk, 1943

There can be no doubt about it, 1943 had begun very badly for Germany in the fight against Russia. Defeat at Stalingrad and in the Caucasus, as well as setbacks in an around Leningrad, meant it was necessary for the German Army to put something special together in order to win back the initiative in the East.

Remarkably, Hitler actually allowed strategic withdrawals in many areas of the line – something that his generals in the field had been screaming for for months. Thirty divisions were pulled back approximately 100 miles over a period of three weeks in an effort to straighten up the line that they held. The result was that the line that now needed to be manned had been almost halved to 230 miles.

In the meantime the Russians went on the attack in early 1943, in and around the city of Kharkov. After initial success an overstretched Red Army was eventually driven back by Field Marshal Erich von Manstein’s Army Group South, who retook Kharkov and pushed on as far as the city of Belgorod. The result of this action was a large salient (or bulge in the line) that centred on the city of Kursk. Von Manstein was worried that his men would be isolated and proposed to Hitler that his forces dig in and take up strategic defensive positions, wait for the Russians to launch their own offensive and then hit them hard with numerous counterattacks.

It was the sensible strategic option but, not surprisingly, Hitler was having none of it.

An alternative proposal was submitted by von Manstein which saw his men attack Kursk in an effort to pinch off the salient and flatten the line. This new plan pandered much more to Hitler’s need to be seen to attack and it was signed off in no time.

On 15 April Hitler issued Operational Order No. 6 , which called for the Kursk offensive (codenamed Operation Citadel ) to begin on 3 May or shortly thereafter. The order made it clear that Hitler saw this offensive as an opportunity to show the world that the German war machine was still in fine fettle – many of his commanders saw the offensive slightly differently, thinking that the men and the tanks lost in this battle would have been vital in trying to push back the inevitable Allied invasion in Northern Europe.

Nevertheless, the operational order was issued and the army top brass had little choice in the matter. Operation Citadel was going to happen.

Delays hit the planning of the offensive almost immediately. It took a lot longer than estimated to move the required men into position, plus Hitler insisted that the offensive took advantage of a number of new weapons that were just rolling off the Nazi production lines. In his eyes the new tanks (Panthers and Tigers) and the new assault guns (Ferdinands) were essential for victory. In light of this Hitler agreed to put the date of the attack back to 5 July.

The plan for Operation Citadel was relatively uncomplicated.

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