Is Manstein's wrong command the most fatal reason for the defeat of the Kursk Germans?
There are many reasons why the Germans finally failed in the Battle of Kursk. First, the Soviet army kept making progress in the war, constantly learning from its opponents, and found a tactical method to restrain the blitzkrieg. First, they consume their opponents to maintain their energy. At the critical moment, German intelligence investigation fell behind the opponent's main assault weapon-tank assault gun, and the production capacity could not keep up with consumption. The front line is tense and the rear is loose. If the number of chariots reaches two-thirds of the opponent's, it is possible to push the opponent back. The commander-in-chief didn't just hold his horses and consumed his energy first. If he defends first and then looks for an opportunity to counterattack the assault, it is completely beneficial to his own side. Both sides should note that the Soviet Union is no match for the German Blitzkrieg on the battlefield.
At the Battle of Kursk, the Soviets dared not attack. Only when the German offensive campaign consumed the Germans did they dare to confront them head-on. After months of defense, the Soviet army was very different from when it attacked. If the Soviet Union attacks the Soviet Union, it will surely lose. The Battle of Kursk didn't lose on the offensive end, but it didn't reach the campaign goal, or it ended because the Italian allies had to deploy troops to support Italy when they landed. Germany doesn't have to cling to the Soviet army that surrounds the protruding part. It can attack other places months in advance, or repair defense lines and other Soviet attacks to consume Soviet troops. Because the Germans are replenishing their troops, the Soviets are also replenishing a lot, and waiting time is meaningless.
Manstein and Acting Chief of Staff Zeitzler muttered the Kursk in front of Hitler. Judging from the planning of the castle operation, the German army failed without strategic vision, and both sides were actually fighting in a showdown. The problem is that Germany still insists on taking the lead in attacking while knowing that the Soviet Union is powerful. Mo Deer attacked for two or three days, but Manstein persisted in fighting and fled in defeat. Secondly, the German army attacked daydreaming in March and April, because more than half of the tanks were lost in Kharkov's counterattack, and the new Tiger tanks could not be equipped with troops. Third, the misjudgment of zhukov's strategic policy, the Soviets only take the first defense and then attack, consuming each other's armored forces, and then using the reserves to fight back. Manstein's generation didn't realize that Mo Deer had retreated for a kilometer or two, while Mann had maneuvered to the other side of the Dnieper River. Moreover, the Germans completely lost the strategic initiative of the Eastern Front.
In the Battle of Kursk, the Germans lost hundreds of thousands of valuable personnel, and the loss of technical weapons was extremely heavy. Most importantly, manstein, as the main attack direction, ignored the fact that the northern offensive defeat had turned to defense and continued to storm Woboyang. As a result, he was defeated in the tank battle of Prokhovka and turned and fled. As a result, all damaged and repairable tanks on the battlefield became trophies of the Soviet Union, which was the first half of Germany's 43 years. Manstein fled hundreds of kilometers to the Dnieper River to gain a foothold, but there were not many tanks in his hand. Hitler wanted to use the Dnieper River as a barrier to stop the Soviet army, but after the Battle of Kursk, not only the troops were at a disadvantage, but also the tanks were defeated, and the battle on the Eastern Front was doomed to failure.
After the German army conquered Kharkov and Belgorod in March 1943, it was exhausted, the logistical support of muddy roads in rainy days could not support the attack, while the Soviet-German front tended to be stable. 1in the spring of 943, there were only 495 tanks left in the 18 armored division on the German front, and they had been exhausted. What did you attack? During the Battle of Kursk, the Soviets hoarded a lot of materials, which could completely guarantee the continuous operation of 9000 tanks and 5000 planes. Imagine that more than 9,000 tanks and more than 2 million soldiers, under the cover of the superior air force, attacked wave after wave, and the Germans could not resist it at all (the reserve blocked a gap and the Soviet Union tore another gap). Really? Tiger style? Ferdinand leopard? The defense is better, but the number is too small to reverse the overall situation. At this time, it is time to show the foundation of national strength. Obviously, Germany is dying, and the Soviet Union itself is very strong, with international assistance behind it, and it has been bleeding continuously. How can Germany stand it?
Hitler should not take the initiative to attack at all, but should defend himself. He regrouped his troops in the Central Army, took the Central Army as the feint direction, sent troops into the South Caucasus again, and induced the Soviets to attack the Confederate army in manstein, thus forcing the Soviets to leave the repaired fortifications and take risks to attack the German Confederate army. Manstein may also have a chance to find a way to annihilate the Soviets.
In fact, Germany's fierce pursuit of Britain has long predicted Germany's failure. As an island country with exhausted coal resources, Britain has no war economic value. Moreover, Germany is not short of coal, and it is not worth the loss to defeat Britain with great military and material resources. On the other hand, the Soviet Union has the resources that will enable Germany to continue the war, including oil, minerals and food, because Hitler will eventually destroy the United States. Under the historical conditions at that time, it was really uneconomical to pour too many strategic resources into Britain. Germany has a strong industrial capacity, but it has invested a lot of manpower and material resources in Britain. The missile made 65438+100000 rounds, and the air force suffered too much fire loss. No.4 is weak and strong, but the tiger is always in the Soviet Union, and the maintenance cost is extremely high. On the other hand, t34 has low cost, can be built by all tractors, and has strong adaptability to wide tracks. In fact, the weather problem has little effect. Europe is not much warmer than the Soviet Union. This is just an excuse to be defeated. German supplies and Hitler's intervention in the battlefield are the main reasons for the failure!