Aftermath of the Battle of Kursk
Amongst the Most Decisive Battles during the Second World War
Largest Tank Battle In History
The battle of Kursk, was certainly one of the most decisive battles of the Second World War, especially on the Eastern Front. The battle of Kursk was fought between the Red Army and the German army. The outcome of this battle was fundamental to Germany's eventual defeat. The German Generals had expected victory yet were outfought as well as outhought by their Soviet counterparts. Adolf Hitler had been even more confident of victory.
The battle of Kursk was the largest tank battle in history, and the defeat of the German tank units came at a very heavy price for the German army. Adolf Hitler had insisted that the finest tank units of the German army were involved in launching and fighting in the Kursk offensive in order to break through the Soviet defences. German defeat was caused by the loss of vast quantities of their best equipment and fighting men due to the greater firepower of the Red Army.
Disaster For The Germans
The aftermath of the battle of Kursk for the Germans were basically disastrous, with heavy material losses went the loss of the strategic and tactical initiative on the Eastern Front. Had the Kursk offensive been successful then it would have taken much longer for the red army to liberate the soviet union, and then reach Germany itself. German defeat at Kursk made defeat in the Second World War as a whole inevitable.
The failure of the Kursk offensive and the decisiveness of the Red Army's victory had a detrimental affect on German morale whilst convincing its military leadership that utter defeat was only a matter of time. However publicly at least the Nazi Regime still predicted that the Soviet Union would be defeated eventually.
A Great Victory For The Soviet Union
Conversely the aftermath of the battle of Kursk was a positive one for the Red Army and the Soviet Union. From the dark days of 1941 when one disastrous defeat followed another, the Red Army was assured of victory. Kursk was an ample demonstration of the unstoppable power of the Red Army, the skill of its commanders, and the bravery of its soldiers.
Bibliography
Bullock A, Hitler and Stalin – Parallel Lives, Harper Collins, (London, 1991)
Fulbrook M, The Fontana History of Germany, 1918 –1990 – the Divided Nation, Fontana, (London, 1991)
Hobsbawm E, Age of Extremes, the Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991, Michael Joseph, (London, 1994)
James H, Europe Reborn – A History, 1914 – 2000, Pearson Longman, (Harlow, 2003)
Megargee G, Barbarossa 1941, Hitler’s War of Annihilation
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