The planners of Operation Citadel intended to employ converging attacks from the south and north against the bottom of the Kursk Bulge in order to encircle and destroy the Soviet forces on the fourth day of battle. In order to take advantage of the opportunity, German leaders began preparations for a major summertime offensive in this direction.
Soviet forces from the Central and Voronezh Fronts deployed there threatened the flanks and the rears of German Army Groups Center and South.Īt the same time, these German formations at the Orel and Belgorod-Kharkov footholds were able to launch powerful flanking attacks against Soviet troops defending the Kursk area. The Soviet offensive during the winter of 1942-1943 and forced retreat during the Kharkov defensive operation of 1943 formed the so-called Kursk Bulge. The Kursk Bulge was the arena of the most violent and decisive battles of the Second World War, the arena for the Soviet people to demonstrate bravery and mass heroism and determine the outcome of the battle against fascism. Strategic decisions by the Soviet leadership, logistic support for the frontline, and spiritual unity on the home front and the battlefield laid the groundwork for an irreversible turnaround, the geopolitical victory of the Soviet people and the world community. But not only did they stop the enemy but also reversed the tide of the war and overwhelmed the main forces of the fascist bloc. The road to victory in the Great Patriotic War was incredibly rough and blood-spattered for the Soviet people, who struggled forward despite defeats and retreats, enormous losses, hardships and destitution.
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