After the defeat at Stalingrad ( and the loss of the 6th army, German Wehrmacht needed a decisive victory to get the initiative back and turn the tide of the World War II. The concentration of the Soviet troops around the Kursk salient offered that opportunity and Hitler ordered the operation Citadel with a goal of cutting the salient and surrounding the Red Army forces defending it. This would be one of the last German offensives on the Eastern Front and would culminate at the arguably biggest tank battle in history – Prokhorovka and Soviet counter-attacks during the operations Rumyantsev and Kutuzov.
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Production Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound:
Songs used:
Rannar Sillard – Emperors Of Tomorrow
Johannes Bornlöf – Heroic March 1
Johannes Bornlöf – Heroic March 3
Johannes Bornlöf – Imperious 3
Jon Björk – Rise or Fall 2
Hell on Earth
Have to give a lot of this victory to the British intelligence which allowed the Soviets to prepare defences for German attacks.
It’s crazy that events in Sicily, 3600km away, made Hitler cancel Operation Citadel. I bet the German Generals were not happy with the sacrifices they had made.
well not even the best army in the history of mankind can win against unlimited resources….The soviets had just too many fuel, too many tanks, too many slave soldiers….
Jesus the Germans kicked the crap out of them on paper. I didn't know the Russians lost that much
In WW2 when you destroy 1000 tanks – 10,000 will take it's place like the Hydra Snake 🐍🐍🐍
Sorry its Leibstandarte (pronounced with "i" like in island), not Liebstandarte with an "e", great documentary.
Largest tank battle in history? Maybe. Some current thought suggests that the Red Army grossly over estimated the tank kills in fear of Stalin.
A book I read called this the greatest battle of WW2.
telling fairy tales about the german losses , got it from the books of Nazi-generals?
Багряные звёзды
…
Крестовые земли и лбы под прицелом,
под тяжестью танков и сбитых сапог.
Рунический рай разрушается в целом.
К нам близится кара, воинственный рок.
Повалены стены, живые заслоны,
границы раздавлены, смяты почти.
Мы в тихой, пока что нетронутой зоне.
О нашем величьи разбиты мечты.
А скоро собьют и орла, и погоны,
и скоро очутимся в траурной мгле,
в себе оставляя железки и стоны.
Предчувствия редко так лгали во мне…
Уже появляются звуки атаки,
нас всех вызывая явиться на суд…
Собой заменяя цветущие маки,
багряные звёзды навстречу бегут…
4 ss Tigers Take on an entire Soviet Tank brigade an d defeat it.
Imagine being one of those rifleman running across the battlefield and getting obliterated by a massive tank round. 💥
i kakva croatija tada je to bila ustaska hrvatska satelit fasisticke nemacke
koji idiot je napravio kartu gde nema Jugoslavije vec velike ustaske hrvatske(saveznikom fasisticke nemacke) i jos obelezio istom bojom kao saveznike….idiot neuki…ili sto je verovatnije placen da nacrta takvu kartu
Tears in my eyes now… Its like for you from first person.
one of the last biggest and last battles in history with classics forces – man, tanks and planes used.
I heard the German plans for Kursk were released in advance to the Russians by a spy. Possibly Bormann. An inside man. Anyone heard this before?
Great video! I totally agree that the victory of the Red Army primarily depended on the different industrial capacities and primary sources between the Soviet Union and Germany together with the never-ending number of Russian soldiers and the vastity of the Soviet land. Although facing big losses and defeats, the Soviets kept fighting, no matter what, and the losses were quickly replaced by fresh forces. Stalin would have never surrendered. This finally led to the exhaustion of Germany's war potential. Despite having better weapons, Germany could have won the war only by the development of weapons of mass destruction, in my opinion.
A tank battle may sound cool, but is the stupidiest order a commander can give.
the germans breached the 3rd line of defense in the south. not just the first.
Everyone fears the "lovely brigade"!
Giving a numbers – like for example number of destroyed units, it's mandatory to give a sources. Otherwise they're irrelevant. Russian / German / post war analyses give totaly different numbers… Not even close one. Sources please!
What Worth an Ïnitial success is when Failure is the End!!!!!
Dude how the hell do you go and fight a war that your opponent can afford to lose 4 times the men you lose and 10 times his tanks?
Thanks for a great documentary on this battle. The size and scope of armor and men thrown into this conflict is stunning. The Russian death toll alone at Kursk was greater than the entire allied forces committed to Normandy on D-Day
Iron Hands Legion – Heavy Breathing
Спасибо за ролик. Мой отец во время войны был разведчиков. И он подготавливал операцию на Курской дуге. Его участок был под командованием Рокоссовского.Отец мне рассказывал, что это была самая подготовлена битва. Под Москвой морду набили, под Сталинград ом хребет сломали, а после Курской дуги нацисты уже не могли очухаться. Вечная слава погибшим советским солдатам. И вечная слава и память тем, кто защищал нашу страну от фашизма и нацизма.
I'm amazed at the level of detail we still have about these fierce battles in WWII, incredible 👏
Hitler's use of the SS was more of a disadvantage to the Germans since they were only a paramilitary group. They did more harm than good for the Germans.
"liberation".