THESIS: Operational CITADEL (Zitadelle) was not only the greatest tank battle ever fought but it was also the last important German offensive in the East and the lost of the battle sounded the death knell for the German war effort on the Eastern Front.

The town of Kursk held a prewar population of 120,000 and was of little meaning in and of itself, except as a reference point. However, it was the land around Kursk that mattered to the Germans. The land consisted of a mixture of valleys, small copses, villages, small brooks, and the River Pena, which possessed steep banks and a fast moving current which made a very good defensive position. The roads were impassable in the winter and the wet muddy spring and the cornfields made visibility very poor. It was the high ground in the north that attracted the Germans, Colonel Mellenthin specifically, which favored the defender and could only help the embryonic German mobile defense system. It was, as Colonel Mellethin put it, not good tank ground but this did not necessarily make it tankproof.

Thus, as the planning for Operation Zitadelle began, the German line in south centra

Quotes Used

"The Germans carried out five fierce attacks in an attempt to break through our forces, but without substantial results. On almost all sectors of the front Soviet troops stood fast; it seems that nothing could bulge them. Only toward the end of the day did enemy units succeed in driving wedges into our defenses for a distance of two to four miles in the area of Olkhovatka and in one or two other sectors."5

8. "The Soviet Juggernaught", pg 38.

Model reexamined the map, on the 6th, and decided to hit for a line of hills that stretched about fifteen miles, east to west, from Ponyri to Molotychi and were situated just north of Olkhovatka, a stronghold within the Soviet defense area. From those 400 foot ridgeline, he and his forces would be able to see Kurks, forty miles away, and he would be attacking downhill. The Soviets discerned Model's plan and threw everything, including the Second Tank Army with its operational reserve, in front of the last obstacle between Model and Kursk. The Soviets had dug a warren of underground bunkers and tunnels, with connecting trenches, and every building, from a privy to a barn, was now bristling with every manner of guns and men.

The Russians took serious advantage of the extensive German delays to pour men, guns, and armor into their defensive zones at a much faster pace than the Germans could ever hope to. The Soviets had the advantage of good interior lines, extensive defenses, good communications lines that had been checked and rechecked, and an excellent transportation system that ran both night and day. Small wonder than Hitler often said that the thought of a battle here made his stomach quail. Also, the Soviets brought in over 20,000 artillery pieces alone! Roughly, there was 6,000 of the awesome 76.2 mm anti-tank guns , well dug-in, as well as about 920 Katyusha rocket launchers. In addition, there were numerous mine belts, both anti-tank and anti-personnel, laid to a density of over 4,000 per mile. No force ever made could breach all of those lines and make a break for the rear areas like in 1941.

The Germans attacked in wave after wave with model urging them onward. They hit from the west and then the east and by nightfall, the Ninth Army had advanced six more miles but it had cost them dearly. They had suffered 25,000 casualties and lost about 200 tanks and the vulnerable Ferdinand self-propelled guns. Model was still on the forward side of the ridgeline, a mile short of the town of Olkhovatka, and under every gun that the Soviets could muster. Model fought there for four more days and nights in a viscous fight that sometimes degenerated into hand-to-hand combat and, at the height of the battle, up to 1,200 tanks and SPs were involved as well as approximately 3,000 artillery pieces. It was a climatic struggle.

On the 10th of July, the Germans seized Ponyri and meant to use the village as a hinge in order to sweep the Soviets clear and thus, open the way to Kursk for the remnants of the Ninth Army. They would be able to hit Olkhovatka from behind and neutralize that threat quite easily and, in fact, the Germans took the north end of the village while the Soviets clung to the south end by their fingernails, their stronghold was the only schoolhouse in town. Model sent his last fresh infantry division, the 10th Panzer Grenadiers into a house-by-house fight and they gained but 500 yards. The effort stalled out and Model was forced to halt his advance. But now, the major blunder of Operation Citadel was growing apparent, the West and Bryansk Fronts were readying themselves for a counteroffensive into the weakened Ninth Army's rear. (See Map #3)

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3564
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page double spaced)