Kursk vs. Warfare

 The German army showed strong offensive capabilities in the 1943 Siege of Harikov, but did not have the power to launch an anti-air offensive as widely as before. However, Hitler tried to lead the country afterwards by winning a great victory without much damage anywhere on the front line. The right place for this was the protrusion west of Kursk.   The German plan was to stage a strong attack on Kursk from the south and north of the front bulge, surrounding and destroying Soviet forces (the Central Front and the Voronege Front) concentrating there. On 15 April 1943, Hitler ordered the preparation of Operation Kursk, named "Zitadelle".   The Germans moved their operational reserves to the Central and Southern armies (Major General Günter von Klugge) and formed three Assault Manstein units, somewhat reducing the defenses of the adjacent areas. A 9th Army (Senior Walther Model) was deployed south of Orel, and a 4th Tank Army (Senior Hermann Hort) was deployed near Belgorod, and an "Armee-Abteilung Kempf" was formed. Operation Chittadelle included seven and five tank corps, 34 infantry divisions, 14 tank divisions, two armoured infantry divisions, three independent heavy tank battalions, and eight assault artillery units. This was equivalent to more than 17% of the infantry divisions, 70% of the tank divisions and 30% of the armoured ammunition divisions that the Germans mobilized throughout the Eastern Front.   A major feature of the Kursk defense is that, for the first time two years after Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the Soviet command was able to accurately predict the enemy's main strategic advance and prepare for it.   In the spring of 1943, an analysis of the situation of the Central Front and the Voronege Front forces predicted that the German command would seek revenge for the Battle of Stalingrad near Kursk, based on a short-term strategic simulation conducted in April of the same year.   Two proposals came from the Soviet Union's chief of staff and the Supreme Command regarding the German counterattack plan. One is the plan to launch a strong preemptive strike without waiting for the start of the German army's The second was to deploy a heavy defense position with large-scale artillery, preventing German attacks, consuming the enemy's strength, and then deploying three new reserve forces to fight back. The discussion concluded when Prime Minister Georgi Zhukov supported the first proposal as a "reproduction of the summer of 1942" in which the German forces fought back against an early Soviet attack and the main force was surrounded. Stalin also agreed with Marshal Zukov's argument, and the defense strategy of the second proposal was accepted.