Quote:
Originally Posted by Oberon
I think it would have been very hard for the Axis to make any further offensives in the East come 1943 that would have had any significant strategic outcome to the war. The men and material could certainly have been better used in fighting a defensive retreat, but in the end the outcome would have been the same, just in a different year. The only time that Germany could have possibly beaten the Soviet Union was in 1941, and perhaps very early 1942, after that the clock was ticking to the endgame.
The BBC have a nice article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23137492 |
Aye that.Kursk was the last attempt by the Germans to advance into Soviet territory and it failed miserably though it was very close a moments the Soviets had the advantage.
I love seeing Hitler fanboys holler how Kursk was a tactical victory for the Germans because they suffered lower causalities.Hogwash they may have suffered lower casualties but they could ill afford to replace them.
Even a fully defensive campaign as you said would have failed only in the end slowing the Soviet Juggernaut down but in no way tiring him.
The Germans got blinded by their early success and became over confident.They also assumed that the Soviet people would collapse under the pressure when they in fact rose to the occasion though they did have dips here and there.
Given the situation early in the war the Soviet military did do a good job of delaying the Germans all things considered.And the campaigns over the Crimea though the Germans did win them took much longer than planned and cost the Germans men a material that could have been used elsewhere.
Their only real chance was in 1941 just miles away from Moscow.
The German two front war also added the allies in a very important but often over looked way;the Luftwaffe it was never large enough to cover all fronts effectively they had to always shuffle units around where they where most needed by 1943 the need was on every front to their misfortune and to the allies benefit.
A really good book on Kursk which I have been reading off and on for some time is "
The Battle of Kursk" by Kansas University press it goes into great detail and has a very neutral point of view.