1. Operation Citadel (Battle of Kursk)
Denizens of Mathoran 2016:
Annie T., Angela S., Emma R., Rebecca O. & Hunter K.

2. THESIS
Following their disastrous defeat at Stalingrad in 1942, the German armed forces launched a climactic offensive on the Eastern front, originally aimed to eliminate the Red Army at Kursk, hoping to prevent the Soviets from mounting any more offensives for the rest of the year and gaining access to resources from the Mediterranean theater. Code named Operation Citadel, the Battle of Kursk played an important role in World War II by not only involving the largest tank battle in history, but also being a devastating German loss due to a loss of equipment, leading to the creation of the East Wall under Hitler and resulted in Germany never being a threat to Russia again.

3. Who were the key people and what did they do?
Adolf Hitler: set plans to blast the Soviet from Kursk
General Konstantin Rokossovsky: one of the Soviet Union's foremost field commanders during World War II, secured a Soviet victory over Germany, Rokossovsky became the de facto leader of Poland until 1956, when he became the Soviet deputy minister of defense.
Josef Stalin (Soviet leader): wanted a preemptive spoiling attack against the German offensive
Marshal Georgii Zhukov (Stavka representative): convinced society that within the Kursk salient, the Central Front, under General Konstantin Rokossovsky, and General Nikolai Vatutin's Voronezh Front would be able to absorb the initial German blows with the defenses they had established, and to the rear, General I. S. Konev's Steppe Front could then counterattack.

4. What lead up to the battle?
winter campaign left a 120 mile-wide bulge around Kursk
An important rail junction north of Belgorod
Hitler saw this land as an opportunity
April plans to blast the Soviets out of Kursk were in place
Solidified into Operation Citadel
Wanted to reduce the salient by using two armor-led pincer attacks

5. What lead up to the battle? Cont.
Both sides built up armor and troop concentrations for the coming battle
The Germans amassed 900,000 men in 50 divisions, of which 19 were panzer and motorized, with 2,700 tanks and assault guns, 10,000 artillery pieces, and 2,000 aircraft
The German attack commenced on July 5
In the north, the Ninth Army assaulted on a narrow, 30-mile front but managed to penetrate only 6 or 7 miles in seven days of fierce fighting
The fighting resembled some of the fierce attrition battles of World War I

8. The Battle
On April 15, 1943, Adolf Hitler ordered the Ninth Army and the 4th Panzer Army to launch Operation Citadel
-Attack from the North and the South to surround Soviet Forces (Pincer Attacks)
The operation was delayed - Hitler wanted to augment his army with new weaponry
The Battle of Kursk - July 1943
-major Eastern Front battle
-largest tank engagement in history

9. The Battle (Continued)
The German commanders had no choice but to conduct a fighting retreat in the face of a Soviet counteroffensive that began on July 12.
Kursk involved 4 million men, 13,000 armored vehicles, and 12,000 aircraft, making it one of the largest battles of the war. In the Battle of Kursk, the Germans lost an estimated 70,000 men killed, 2,900 tanks, 195 self-propelled guns, 844 artillery pieces, and 1,392 planes. More important, the battle cost the German Army the strategic initiative.
The Soviets assembled 1.3 million men, 3,600 tanks, 20,000 artillery pieces, and 2,400 aircraft. Some 300,000 local civilians joined the Red Army in laying a massive array of tank traps, minefields, and dug-in antitank guns designed to channel the German armor into kill zones for Soviet artillery.

10. What were the effects of the battle?
Victory at Kursk allowed the Red Army to seize the initiative
Demonstrated the end of German dominance on the East Front
Germans were on the defensive for the rest of the war
Germany lost mass amounts of combat equipment
Over 500,000 men in the German Army were killed, wounded, or missing
Lost access to the theater, which was the key to overall victory in the war

11. Timeline
Germans attack Soviets. July
Soviets claimed victory over Germany and Battle of the Kursk ended. August 1943
Winter campaign begins, leaving a bulge in Kursk
German soldiers conducted a fighting retreat when confronted with Soviet counteroffensive. July
Plans to blast Soviets out of Kursk were in place. April 1943

12. MOMMY THEY TOOK MY TANKS

13. Works Cited
Frame, Arthur T. "Battle of Kursk: World War II." World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society.ABC-CLIO, Web.
6 Apr
"Battle of Kursk." Photos/Illustrations. Getty Images. World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society.
ABC-CLIO,2016. Web. 7 Apr
"Infobase Learning - Login." Infobase Learning - Login. Web. 06 Apr
Frame, Arthur T. "Battle of Kursk: World War II." World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, Web. 7 Apr
Levine, Jason. "World War II: Operation Citadel." Operation Citadel. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, Web. 06 Apr. 20