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| Our Other Military Sites |
| World War II |
| Operation Barbarossa 1941 German Invasion of Russia |
| Operation Citadel 1943 The Battle of Kursk |
| Operation Dragoon 1944 Invasion of southern France |
| Operation Varsity 1945 Crossing the Rhine |
| Invasions That Never Were |
| Operation Sealion 1940 German invasion of England |
| Operation Olympic 1945 US invasion of southern Japan |
| Operation Coronet 1946 US invasion of northern Japan |
| Special Forces |
| Operation Entebbe 1976 Entebbe Airport Rescue |
| Operation Nimrod 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege |
| British Cold War Operations |
| Operation Musketeer 1956 Suez Crisis |
| Operation Corporate 1982 Falklands War |
| Operation Black Buck 1982 Vulcan raids on Port Stanley |
| Operation Granby 1990-91 Persian Gulf |
| British Post Cold War |
| Operation Herrick 2002- Afghanistan |
| Operation Citadel > Facts |
Operation Citadel Facts
|
- The Battle of Kursk took place in July and August
1943.
- At this point, Germanyy and the USSR had been at war for more than two years. The Germans had
failed to defeat Russia in their initial
1941 invasion,
Operation Barbarossa, and their
1942 offensive
in the Southern part of the front had ultimately led to a disaster at
Stalingrad (Volgograd).
- The Germans strategy for 1943
in the East was intended to be primarily defensive: they would inflict heavy losses on the Soviets used a combination
of prepared defensive lines and limited offensives.
- As part of this strategy, the Germans intended to launch a limited attack on a Russian salient around the
city of Kursk - Operation Citadel
(German: Unternehmen Zitadelle).
However, over time the size and scale of this operation continued to grow in size as the Germans added more and more units to the plan.
- From spies and other intelligence sources, the Soviet High Command (Stavka) was well aware of the Germans intention
to act in this sector, and prepared a deep network of fortifications so as to repulse the German attack.
- When the Germans did attack, they were unable to penetrate more than a few miles into the Soviet lines, and only then with
extremely heavy losses. They broke off the attack after a few days as a result.
- After the German attack, the Germans then launched a major counteroffensive, driving the weakened Germans back across many sectors
of the front.
- The Battle of Kursk was the largest tank battle in history.
- Operation Citadel was the last major German offensive on the Eastern Front. It was also the first time that a German Summer
offensive had been defeated by the Soviets.
- After the Battle of Kursk, the Soviets never again lost the initiative to the Germans.
