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The Red Army (Soviet Union) started 1943 with victory
at Stalingrad and Caucasus. On January 18, they managed to re-enter Nazi-surrounded
Leningrad, bringing some relief to the city after months of blockage.
However, the Germans still had troops along the 1,800 mile Soviet Border.
Hitler reconquered Kharkov and Belgorod in March. Then, on July 5, he
attacked the huge territory the Soviets had occupied in the
Axis-held Kursk region.
The Kursk attack was the greatest tank battle in history.
Involved in the offensive were 900,000 Nazi soldiers and 3,000 armoured
vehicles, including the new Tigers, the biggest tanks ever built. This
was matched by equally strong Soviet firepower. The smoke on both sides
was so thick that military aircraft could not be used. However the Red
Army tanks were more maneuverable and reliable, while the German giant
tanks, were slow moving in minefields and mud, and could be exploded with
flamethrowers trained on their ventilation shafts. The Germans began withdrawing
after a week, with the Red Army in pursuit.
Although both sides soon lost half their tanks, the Soviets,
with vast factory production capacity, could cope with the losses better
than the increasingly financially-troubled Germans.
Hitler ordered a cease-fire (order to stop
fighting) on July 17, but the Soviets pressed onwards. By the end of August,
Kharkov and Belgorod were back in their hands. Soon afterward, the Germans
lost Smolensk and the Caucasus. In November, Soviet General freed Kiev
from its two-year occupation.
Hitler's dream of enslaving the Soviets and filling their
lands with Aryan (non-Jewish German/ Caucasian) was shattered, even as
the battle for Soviet land continued.
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