![]() ![]() The carnage was horrific on both sides.īy mid-November, the Germans found themselves outnumbered, outgunned, extremely low on food and medical supplies and surrounded by Russians. Ferocious fighting ensued as the Germans fought their way through the city, building by building, house by house and were met with heavy resistance. When the German Sixth Army reached Stalingrad in September, they were unprepared for the well-armed and well-trained Red Army. But Stalin rallied both Russian troops and civilians who dug in and vowed to fight to the end. Finally, this battle marked the decline of Germany, confirmed by subsequent conflicts.Germany’s Epic Defeat at the Battle of Stalingradīy June 1942, Hitler had advanced into the Soviet Union and hoped to easily take the strategic city of Stalingrad, the namesake city of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The outcome of this gigantic confrontation was later exaggerated by Soviet propaganda and undermined by Nazi propaganda. These counter-attacks drove the Wehrmacht back to its starting lines and led to the liberation of two strategically important cities (Oryol and Kharkov). The Red Army, despite far greater losses, had strategic reserves and launched two counter-offensives on either side of Kursk. Despite having engaged the bulk and the finest of its available forces, the Wehrmacht came up against a solid, well-organized and stubborn Soviet defence that it was unable to break through despite the considerable scale of the means committed it suffered heavy losses. It was the largest tank battle in history (2 million Soviet fighters on a 270 km long front). During the Second World War, from 5 July to 23 August 1943, the Battle of Kursk pitted German and Soviet forces on a vast salient (advance of a front line into the territory occupied by the opposing forces) of 23,000 km 2 located in south-west Russia, on the border with Ukraine. ![]()
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