Operation Citadel the Red Armys Advance West By

Operation Citadel & the Red Army’s Advance West By: Ankur Garg, Orion Cox, Nico Erazo, and Giao Nguyen

“A victory at Kursk would shine like a beacon to the world” - Hitler to his Generals

Thesis Operation Citadel along with the Red Army’s advance West created a shift in momentum for the Soviet forces after securing a key victory at the Battle of Kursk, isolating Hitler’s Eastern forces, therefore influencing the withdrawal of Axis forces on the Eastern front, leading to the victory of the Allied Powers in WWII.

Operation Citadel (5 July 1943 - 16 July 1943) - Operation Citadel was the title of a German attempt to capture Kursk (a Russian city), which was an alternative plan of revenge after their defeat at Stalingrad commenced by Manstein. - The battle would later be known as the Battle of Kursk. - It stood as a key turning point in WWII in favor of the Soviet advancements. German forces vs. Soviet Union forces

Key Persons - Germany Adolf Hitler Walther Model Chancellor of Germany Field Marshal leading 9 th German Army

Key Persons - Germany Continued Erich von Manstein Commander led German Army on Southern side of bulge Guenther von Kluge Field Marshal led German Army on Northern side of bulge

Key Persons - Germany Continued Hermann Hoth General led 4 th Panzer Army General Werner Kempf Lieutenant commanded Army Detachment "Kempf"

Key Persons - USSR Nikolai Vatutin Konstantin Rokossovky Army General Marshal of USSR/Poland

Key Persons - USSR continued Ivan Konev Georgy Zhukov Military Commander Marshal

Warfare The Germans assembled 900, 000 men and 2, 700 tanks. The Soviets had known about the attack through double agents and had amassed 1. 3 million men and 3, 600 tanks. The Germans advanced only 10 miles (16 km) into the salient in the north and 30 miles (48 km) in the south, losing many of their tanks in the process. At the height of the battle on July 12, the Soviets began to counterattack, having built up by then a marked preponderance of both troops and tanks. The attack commenced on July 5 th, 1943 and lasted until August 23, 1943.

lien t Figh offic ting in th ially end e Kurk s. sa Hitle Ope r order ratio s the n. C itad end of el Zhu k con ov and t Bry rol of K Vassil a evk u y gi the nsk Fr rsk ven ont Ger mov man es i 9 th Arm n on y Sov iets tank dep aga s towa loy ove rd inst r Sok 4 th Pokro 1000 o Ger losky Panzer vka mo man A 9 th ves ag rmy arm y. ainst Ge r Ru mans ssia E n D nact O efe nse pera s P tion rep C are itade So f or a l v ttac Ro iet M k a k Ce osso rshal ntra vsk -Ge Fai yc l. F l oun neral adv s but ront ters anc l atta em ows t cks he ent on Ge s. the rma ns Ger man arm Gen y era Suc l Ho ces th le Pok s in ads rovk the 4 th a sali Pan ent zer got them clos er t o Timeline ( July 5 th - July 15 th 1943 ) 43 19 43 19 5 th y 1 Jul 4 th y 1 Jul 3 th y 1 Jul 2 th y 1 Jul 1 th y 1 Jul 43 19 43 43 19 19 0 th y 1 Jul th y 9 Jul th y 8 Jul 43 19 43 43 19 19 th y 7 Jul th y 6 Jul th y 5 Jul

Outcome “The Battle of Kursk was the largest tank battle in history, involving some 6, 000 tanks, 2, 000 troops, and 4, 000 aircraft. It marked the decisive end of the German offensive capability on the Eastern Front and cleared the way for the great Soviet offensives of 1944– 45” Russia’s momentum from driving Germany out of Kursk pushed Hitler’s troops far enough in order for Allied troops to recover the city of Orel (now Oryol).

Ending the Conflict On July 13, Hitler called many of the soldiers from Kursk to go reinforce Sicily, Italy, where the Allies had landed. The German offensive lasted until August 5 th and the Soviets were able to re-claim Kharkov on the 23 rd. The entire battle involved over 4 million men, 13, 000 Armored Vehicles, and 14, 000 Aircraft, making it one of the largest battles of the war. The Germans had lost 70, 000 men, 2, 900 tanks, and 1, 392 Planes. With this Soviet victory, the Allies had successfully halted the Axis advancement West.

Red Army’s advance West - Following the German’s commencement of Operation Citadel, the Soviet High Command, Stavka, learned of the enemy movement and counter acted. - The USSR sent a legion of their elite tanks to combat the mobilizing German Waffen SS. - The outcome was a clash “by a muzzle-tomuzzle, hull-to-hull confrontation between the war’s finest signature tanks—Germany’s Tiger and Russia’s T-34”. - This battle would be known as the Battle of

Warfare German forces included: 2, 700 tanks including many Tiger tanks. Soviet forces included: 3, 600 tanks, with ⅔ of the tanks being T-34 tanks.

Outcome of Prokhorovka Although the USSR was able to deny German advance westward, the Soviets suffered much higher losses of troops and artillery units. “But what really counts is that the Germans, too, were stopped completely. Their best troops, under their best commanders, failed to execute a comprehensively planned operation” Historians believe that the clash was fought in huge numbers, but without any significant gain.

“The Russian Colossus. . . has been underestimated by us. . . whenever a dozen divisions are destroyed the Russians replace them with another dozen” - German Army General Chief of Staff Franz Haldervon Armin

Works Cited Axelrod, Alan. "Battle of Kursk. " Encyclopedia of World War II, Vol. 2. Facts On File, 2013. History Research Center. Web. 22 Apr. 2016. "Battle of Kursk. " Britannica School. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. , 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2016. Frame, Arthur T. "Battle of Kursk: World War II. " World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. "Kursk - WW 2. " Second World War History. N. p. , n. d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. Showalter, Dennis. "A New Deconstruction of Prokhorovka. " History. Net. N. p. , 05 Oct. 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2016. "The Battle of Kursk. " The Battle of Kursk. N. p. , n. d. Web. 22 Apr. 2016 "World War 2 Quotes. " Second World War History. N. p. , n. d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. Borrero, Mauricio. "Battle of Kursk. " Russia. Facts On File, 2004. Modern World History Online. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.