Operation_Citadel

Operation Citadel 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. Outline I. The German High Command proposes a short “lightning” offensive in order to reduce the Soviet bulge in the lines. II. The Soviets hear about Operation Zitadelle from “Lucy”. III. The death ride of the German Army in Russia. IV. The offensive’s failure results in the total loss of the Eastern Front as the German Army loses the intiative, manpower, and equipment. 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 german, germans, soviets, soviet, battle, army, tank, kursk, model, guns, front, forces, tanks, attack, two, time, thus, panzer, operation, even, pg, offensive, now, north, lines, division, defensive, back, out, one, miles, men, fire, fight, east