Stalingrad then became the embodiment of what combat at the Eastern Front would become. German soldiers pass through a Soviet village destroyed before their arrival as part of Stalin’s Scorched Earth Policy, 1941 As they got pushed farther back after adopting a scorched earth tactic to leave anything but rubble and ashes to the invaders, they concentrated their forces and counterattacked in big masses. Meanwhile, the Soviets were experiencing the exact opposite. But they quickly discovered that they had underestimated the Soviet population.ĭespite successfully encircling and crushing multiple Soviet Armies that surpassed 600,000 prisoners of war, the Soviets were still able to bring more fresh recruits out of nowhere.Īs the Germans pushed deeper into enemy lines, the social supply networks failed to catch up to their blitzkrieg speed.
The Fuhrer and the military command believed that during the first months of Operation Barbarossa, the city of Moscow would fall to the unstoppable German forces. The advance was bitter and brutal, but the Germans still fought tooth to nail against a relentless Soviet army that had the resources to drain them out to the last man, bullet, and tank. More than 2 million men, 7,000 tanks, and over 4,000 aircraft would participate in the world's largest tank battle, where the Germans were outnumbered 3 to 1 in men, armored vehicles, and supplies. However, the British let the Soviets know of the exact dates and locations where the offensive would take place, and thus the Battle of Kursk began. The decision came to Adolf Hitler, and the dictator opted to bet all of his armored forces and put together a decisive offensive at Kursk codenamed Operation Citadel. They could wait and be pummeled by an imminent Soviet offensive or take the upper hand and launch its own operation to encircle and subjugate the Red Army.
Stories Battle of Kursk – The Largest Tank Battle of World War 2 After the heavy losses sustained by the opening of Operation Barbarossa, the Wehrmacht reached a decisive turning point.
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