The Battle of Kursk

Citadel was the codename for the German attack on Kursk in 1943, and it was the last major German offensive to be launched in the east in an attempt to regain impetus after the battle of Stalingrad. However, the advantage had swung towards the Soviet forces and they never let it go. Following the Battle of Kursk, they not only seized the strategic initiative but also established an inexorably growing momentum which culminated in the fall of Berlin nearly two years later. The German thrusts were contained within tatalizing grasp of success, after which the Red Army delivered a series of crushing counterblows which drove the Wermacht back beyond the Dneiper. Hitler had gambled all on a single throw and had lost. Kursk was the greatest clash of armoured forces in history, and the decisive land battle of World War II. This title examines what happened in Operation Citadel.