In addition, the Soviet government had received intelligence reports of the German intentions, and knew months in advance that the attack would fall on the neck of the Kursk salient. Hitler was forced to divert troops training in France to meet the Allied threats in the Mediterranean, rather than use them as a strategic reserve for the Eastern Front. Although only fanatics believed that the Soviets could be decisively defeated, most senior leaders recognized the necessity for a renewed offensive.”īut Hitler also had to contend with the Allied invasion of Sicily, which began on the night of July 9/10 of 1943. Under the circumstances it was politically impossible for Germany to surrender the initiative on the Eastern Front. Germany was visibly losing the initiative in the war, and its allies began looking for graceful exits. The defeat of Stalingrad, together with the Allied capture of North Africa in 1942-43, cost Germany more than just the troops who surrendered there. House report in their book The Battle of Kursk (University Press of Kansas, 1999): Hitler believed that a victory here would reassert German strength and improve his prestige with his allies, who were considering withdrawing from the war. It began with the launch of a German offensive, “Operation Citadel” on this date in history. The site of the battle, Kursk, is some 280 miles southwest of Moscow. The resulting decisive Soviet victory gave the Red Army the strategic initiative for the rest of the war. The Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle of all time, was the last strategic offensive the Germans were able to mount in the East.

Battle of kursk tanks