Thursday, July 12, 2007
This Day in the History of Evil
On this day in 1943, the German offensive in the battle of Kursk in the Ukraine ended and for the rest of the war the Germans retreated before the Red Army. The Panzer pincer plan was a good one and similar ones had been successful all during 1941, but the start of Operation Zitadel was delayed for weeks, giving the Soviets time to beef up defenses enough to stop the German attempt to link up and create a cut off pocket. Until Gulf War I, this was the largest tank battle in history but none of the armored vehicles in the photo above are tanks, but rather Sturmgeschütz IVs and SdKfz 250s. Massed attacks like this by armored vehicles supported by motorized troops were the essence of the blitzkrieg tactic created by Heinz Guderian in 1939. Guderian questioned the need to go on the offenzive on the Eastern Front and may have contributed to its failure by helping to delay its start.
Labels: WWII history; European theater
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 7:51 AM 
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Guderian's tactics normally involved an initial infantry attack, followed by an exploitation of the breakthrough by armor. (See, for instance, the German tactics in France following Dunkirk.)
When properly executed, armor does not lead the initial assault on the defensive lines. Kursk was a mistake in nearly every way, and was known to be a mistake at the time.
When properly executed, armor does not lead the initial assault on the defensive lines. Kursk was a mistake in nearly every way, and was known to be a mistake at the time.
I've got the guy's book. I'll read it and get back to you. In France in May, 1940, the French tanks were good but they were spread out in support of the infantry. Of course there was a German front line of infantry but the Pkws and armored cars were concentrated and sliced through to create pockets for the infantry to reduce and capture. Or so I believe. Maybe I should go to the source.
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