The concentration of panzer forces and infantry divisions around Orel and Kharkov hinted that these were the staging areas for the coming attack. The consensus was that the Kursk salient was the only place where the enemy was in position to launch an attack with any prospect of success. This was demonstrated in mid-March 1943 when the Nazis recaptured the vital city of Kharkov.Īs the front stabilized during spring 1943, the Soviet General Staff tried to determine the Germans’ next move. At the same time, it must be realized that the German Army, though reduced in its military capabilities after its defeat on the Volga, was still a formidable force. But although this battle demonstrated a remarkable improvement in the operational skills of Soviet soldiers and weapons, it was only a part of a widespread campaign. It has always been a temptation to designate Stalingrad, not the Kursk battle, as the turning point of World War II. Its dimensions stagger the imagination, and the tactics employed challenge the military mind. This latter engagement has been termed history’s greatest tank battle. In 1942 they were defeated at Stalingrad, and in the summer of 1943 there was the Battle of Kursk, an even more decisive setback for Hitler than his disaster on the Volga. In 1941, the original thrust of the Nazis was repelled before Moscow. But as Napoleon before them had discovered, the vastness of Russia and the fighting skills of her people, especially under able leadership, are formidable challenges.
When they invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, the Germans were confident of a swift victory over the Russian untermenschen (subhumans).
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