Operation Citadel (and the Red Army’s advance west) The Battle of Kursk Jeesoo Yoon, Olivia Ogren-Butail, Bethany Quevedo, Camille Adamson

Operation Citadel - What was it? German plan to surround/cut off the Soviets and eliminate five of their armies at Kursk Doing this would ensure that the Russians could not attack the Germans at Kharkov and Orel (Soviet cities) Kharkov: Large Soviet Industrial Center Make sure to talk about Kharkov and Orel, importance of these two cities especially since we mention them a lot Warfare History Network

Location Map Oryol and Karkhov???? Omniatlas

Locations of Key Cities Google Maps Locations of Key Cities Map of current-day location of cities Orel and Kharkov are German territory prior to Battle of Kursk Soviets reclaim Orel and Kharkov It is important that Oryol and Kharkov are reclaimed because this is a decisive win for the Soviets, they gain land around the Kursk salient and Germans are put on the defensive line The next slide will demonstrate the details of the actual battle lines

Movement Map Red - Germans Blue - Soviets BattleofKursk.org Talk about the Kursk salient, define it: a bulge of land jutting out from the USSR army camps With the cutting off of this salient from the rest of the Russian military, Germany could easily take the troops inside the cut-off salient BattleofKursk.org

Timeline 1943, beginning of the year- the Eastern front is at a stalemate. 1943, May 4th- Planned launch date of Hitler’s Operation Citadel. 1943, July 4th- Launch of Operation Citadel. Flickriver Talk about the cruciality of the delay- how the delay allowed USSR to prepare for the attack and ultimately cause the German demise along the eastern front of WWII

Timeline Continued 1943, July 10th- Second German attack on the southern side. It was “ more successful and led to the tank battle at the village of Prokhorovka”. 1943, July 11th- Russian counterattack on the northern side. 1943, July 16th- Hitler calls off Operation Citadel. Tank Battle of Prokhorova considered “The BATTLE OF KURSK” although the battle at kursk and operation citadel were carried out over a period of time, largest tank battle in history and most remembered as characteristic battle of this operation

Timeline Continued 1943, August 5th- The Soviets recover the town of Orel 1943, August 23th- The Soviets reclaim the town of Kharkov. Marks the end of the Battle of Kursk.

Battle Details: Key figures Ad Adolf Hitler Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin

Battle Details Kursk was a turning point in the war (especially for the Soviets), as it was the first time a prime German summer offensive was stopped The Germans intended to pinch off a salient (piece of land) in order to corner enemy soviet forces The Soviets were aware of Germany’s attack, and planned to let them attack and wear out their forces before launching a counter attack Kursk is a turning point in the war, as it is the first time a prime offensive, summer German attack is stopped (The World at War) Stalingrad was winter offensive Germans intended to pinch off a salient (piece of land) in order to corner enemy soviet forces. (Watts) Soviets were aware of Germany’s attack, and planned to let them attack and wear out their forces before launching a counter attack (Watts)

Battle Details (con’t) The Soviets successfully pushed the German forces back, retaking several towns such as Orel and Kharkov From then on, the Germans were on the defensive on the eastern front Include what weaponry was used, important people, casualty numbers The material damage done to the German Army was massive – 500,000 men were killed, wounded or missing; vast amounts of armour had been lost. (Trueman) The Battle of Kursk

Battle Details (con’t) The Soviets based 1.3 million soldiers in the Kursk bulge (Trueman) Soviets had 20,000 artillery pieces, 3,600 tanks, and 2,400 planes (Trueman) The Germans prepared 900,000 soldiers in the region Germans had 10,000 artillery guns, 2,700 tanks, and 2,000 aircraft (Trueman) About ⅓ of all of Germany’s military strength was concentrated there (Trueman)

Fun Facts Was the largest tank battle in history Ironically the German forces dealt more damage than they received even though they lost the battle In only five days the Germans lost around ⅔ of their tanks to Soviet anti-tank guns The Germans’ retreat was slowed by Russian partisans, who had destroyed the railroad to ensure that German trains would pile up, making them easy targets for the Russian air force For this operation, Hitler ordered ‘no failure’

The Red Army’s Advance West The Battle of Kursk was a turning point in the war for the Soviets as much as Stalingrad was, it put the Germans on the defensive permanently The Soviets liberated Romania & Bulgaria The battle ended in July The Battle of Kursk In September, Soviets sent forces out to pursue the Germans In the eyes of the Soviets, the Battle of Kursk was more of a turning point in the war than Stalingrad was, the Red Army was able to “seize the initiative” (Axelrod) and put the Germans on the defensive for the remainder of the war The Soviets occupied Romania and Bulgaria kicking the Nazis’s out, liberating the two countries The battle ended in July, and in September the Soviets were able to send out forces pursuing the Germans who were retreating

Thesis: Hitler’s delay of Operation Citadel allowed for the Soviet reinforcement of Kursk which led to the German casualties, sparking a turning point in World War II as the loss marked an end for German offensives in the East.

Thesis: Hitler’s delay of Operation Citadel allowed for the Soviet reinforcement of Kursk which led to the German casualties, sparking a turning point in World War II as the loss marked an end for German offensives in the East. Evidence and Analysis Hitler decided to delay Operation Citadel to acquire new technology for the battle This delay detrimental to German efforts USSR given intel about German plans Had time to prepare for the battle and reinforce the Kursk forces to keep the Germans away Tire the German troops out

Evidence and Analysis (con’t) Thesis: Hitler’s delay of Operation Citadel allowed for the Soviet reinforcement of Kursk which led to the German casualties, sparking a turning point in World War II as the loss marked an end for German offensives in the East. Evidence and Analysis (con’t) USSR strategy to tire Germans out worked USSR suffered heavier loss in terms of numbers Then why was this battle considered a German loss?

Evidence and Analysis (con’t) Thesis: Hitler’s delay of Operation Citadel allowed for the Soviet reinforcement of Kursk which led to the German casualties, sparking a turning point in World War II as the loss marked an end for German offensives in the East. Evidence and Analysis (con’t) Germany had less casualties in terms of numbers but suffered far more than USSR Germany did not have enough troops to replace the losses, while Russia had a large pool of resources to replenish troops from Germany fighting a 2 front war and does not have sufficient resources to replenish losses Absolutely devastating and irreparable damage to Germans

Evidence and Analysis (con’t) Thesis: Hitler’s delay of Operation Citadel allowed for the Soviet reinforcement of Kursk which led to the German casualties, sparking a turning point in World War II as the loss marked an end for German offensives in the East. Evidence and Analysis (con’t) As USSR pushed back, Red Army liberated multiple important cities, including Kharkov and Orel Regained territory Put Germans on the defensive line for the war at the eastern front This would not change until the end of the war Marked the German decline in the war in the east

Evidence and Analysis (con’t) Thesis: Hitler’s delay of Operation Citadel allowed for the Soviet reinforcement of Kursk which led to the German casualties, sparking a turning point in World War II as the loss marked an end for German offensives in the East. Evidence and Analysis (con’t) “The three immense battles of Kursk, Orel and Kharkov, all in the space of two months, heralded the downfall of the German army on the Eastern Front.” - Winston Churchill Resulting from Hitler’s decision to delay the Operation Citadel, USSR was able to prepare for German attack and therefore resulted in the German loss, leading to the demise of Eastern Germany

Works Cited Axelrod, Alan. “Battle of Kursk.” Encyclopedia of World War II, Vol. 2, Facts On File, 2013. History Research Center, online.infobase.com/Article/Details/264945?q=Battle of Kursk. Accessed 2017. "Battle of Kursk, 5 - 13 July 1943." Chadwyck-Healey Atlas of World History, 2004, History Study Center, . Borrero, Mauricio. “Battle of Kursk.” Russia, Facts On File, 2004. History Research Center, online.infobase.com/Article/Details/248368?q=Battle of Kursk. Accessed 2017. Knapp, Wilfrid F., and John Lukacs. "Adolf Hitler." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 02 Sept. 2015. Web. 01 May 2017. <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Hitler>.

Works Cited (con’t) Map of Europe 1943. Digital image. Historical Atlas of Russia. Omniatlas, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <http://omniatlas.com/maps/russia/19430704/> Map of the Battle of Kursk. Digital image. Battle of Kursk. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <http://www.battleofkursk.org/Battle-of-Kursk-Map.html> Polly, Martin. "Kursk, Battle of (July 1943)." History Study Center. ProQuest, 2000. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.

Works Cited (con’t) "The World at War, 1914-1945." World History: The Modern Era, ABC-CLIO, 2017, worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/340469. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017. Trueman, C. N. "The Battle of Kursk." History Learning Site. N.p., 21 May 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/famous-battles-of-world-war-two/the-battle-of-kursk/>.

Works Cited (con’t) “The Battle of Kursk.” Battle of Kursk: Eastern Front 1943, www.battleofkursk.org/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017. Waffen, Krueger. “German Soldiers of SS Troops.” Flickriver, 4 Jan. 2013, www.flickriver.com/photos/kruegerrossi/8348931817/. Accessed 24 Apr. 2017. Watts, Tim. "Battle of Kursk." World History: The Modern Era, ABC-CLIO, 2017, worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/309509. Accessed 19 Apr. 2017