Operation Citadel

[Oddball]

While the prolonged battle of Stalingrad was a disaster for Germany, a stalemate on the Eastern Front was still possible, had the Germans attacked quickly and decisively at the Kursk salient with the arms on hand.

Instead, Hitler's famous micromanagement delayed the attack for two months, allowing the Soviets to fortify and reinforce, and for the battle plans to leak out.

A mere month later, the Nazis were permanently playing defense in the east.

The Battle of Kursk

Kursk Page

 

[Xenophon]

Hitler insisted the attack be delayed until the new panther tanks were ready.

These were rushed into service and many broke down, and the added two months of waiting doomed the attack to fail.

 

[Xenophon]

Germany also impoyed a new Tank destroyer, the 'elephant' with an 88mm gun.

These were helpless against infantry and ended up being a failed design.

 

[Oddball]

Hitler insisted the attack be delayed until the new panther tanks were ready.

These were rushed into service and many broke down, and the added two months of waiting doomed the attack to fail.

Yup.

If the Wehrmacht attacks with the MK IIIs, IVs, and Tigers on hand in April, the Soviets have no chance to fortify their positions and arm up.

 

[Xenophon]

Soviet infantry advance behind a screen of T 34 tanks

 

[Xenophon]

SS men confer around a group of Tiger tanks, Kursk 1943

 

[Xenophon]

The rolling open terrain was ideal for tank warfare

 

[Oddball]

A good look at the terrain surrounding the battle zone

The terrain rises gradually to the North, and favors the defender. The roads are mostly "unimproved", turning to mush in any serious rain. At the time of the battle, the corn fields were ripe and standing tall - obstructing visibility. There are a number of streams, with a fair bit of swampy ground surrounding them, along with fairly dense scrub/trees.

Terrain

 

[elvis]

A stalemate, eh? How much longer would that have lasted? The indoctrinated Wehrmacht viewed the war as a war of survival.

 

[Oddball]

Stalemate was the best that anyone rooted in reality could hope for after the failure at Stalingrad. Although the Soviet hardware was overmatched by by both the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe, they were out manufacturing the Germans and were better positioned demographically to fight a war of attrition.

Unfortunately for the Germans, Der Fuhrer was a psycho.

 

[Vaccum John]

The decisive battle that was Nazi Germany's last major offenses in the east and the largest tank and artilery battles in all history.
Yep stupid Hitler once again messed everything up when convinced their army to wait and unwisely postpone the assault for later allowing russians to get heavily entranched and therefore hinder German's pressure!
What else to say, Furer foolishly thought when he develops super armored tanks that his opponet will be idle. In Ural mountains, where Russians concentrated their industry, they developed a super anti-tank shot. First contact at Kursk showed how "untouchable" is superiority of Aryan races and bulshit he believed in, seem laugh to me