Zitadelle
If Hitler had been willing to simply give up North africa in late 1942 after Operation Torch and the fact that the retreating Afrika Korps was facing a two-front war with insufficient supplies because of the failure to invade Malta then the Germans would have had over 300 000 men with the equipement that was destroyed or captured in may 1943 available to be used on teh east front. Not to mention that Hitler would nto have been distracted by what went on in Tunisia in early 1943 and could have concentrated his attention to the Kursk operation.North Afrika was as good as lost in december 1942 anyway.
This might have allowed Unternehmen Zitadelle to be conducted in April or may 1943 , before the Soviets had time to prepare strong defensive positions.The Allies would not have been ready to invade Sicily before June or July 1943 thus giving teh germans enough time to exploit a breakthrough in the East.
The big quesiton is was Kursk necessaryÉ
I think von Manstein s proposal to shorten the front instead by withdrawing and allowing the build up of strategic reserves and then bleeding the Soviet throuh elastic defence and local counter attacks would have been a better solution considering the deteriorating ratio of German resources in armour, men and aircrafts.This mights have delayed defeat by a year or more.Just my opinion
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