Why Germany Lost the Battle of Kursk 1943 (WW2 Documentary)

[@realtimehistory]

Nebula with 40% off annual subscription with my link: go.nebula.tv/realtimehistory Watch 16 Days in Berlin: nebula.tv/videos/16-days-in-berlin-01-prologue-the-beginning-of-the-end

[@EricEngle-f1q]

we both know the summer offensive was like kursk :/ worse, i tried to warn people.

[@Hauggyful]

Tanks and aircraft losses are certainly exaggerated. What are your sources exactly when it comes to casualities? Such claims are notoriously unreliable, 3 planes engaging one can easily become 3 victory claims while the one plane can simply be damaged. Also not sure why you feel the need to rewrite city names with politically correct ones that nobody ever used at the time.

[@Summerland357]

Anyone who loves freedom owes such a debt to the Red Army that it can never be repaid.” - Ernest Hemingway

[@EricEngle-f1q]

@@Summerland357 yeah, Stalin only killed several million of his own people and millions more Ukrainians nothing to see here move along

[@ondrejdobrota7344]

Those numbers are totaly nonsece. overall number of Soviet troops was around 12 000 000, number of tanks on average 20 000+. Where did you get this nonsence?

[@justinadams7824]

I never expected to witness a second battle in Kursk...

[@MargarytaYoutube]

fr i click on the video only because i want found the newest comments about the battle nowdays in kursk

[@ikmal017]

at least the German one made progress

[@Sideshowbob007]

We are here to learn from the past @justinadams7824 .

[@tommytomas-fr3sh]

@@Sideshowbob007 but Ukraine didn't learn anything. The parameters are still the same...Ukraine lack of manpower, lack of weapons, lack of reasonable objectives.

[@justananomaly]

​@@tommytomas-fr3shYou genuinely don't know anything if you believe what Ukraine is doing is out of desperation. Their op is going exactly as they wanted it to, Russians are sending Moscovites and young conscripts, who have all been dying and surrendering by the hundreds. Sooner or later, he'll have to pull troops from Donetsk in order to not upset the Moscovites

[@siraaaj3464]

born to late to fight in the battle of kursk, born just in time to fight in the battle of Kursk

[@shubhnamdeo2865]

born too early, and too far from too.

[@history_repeats8201]

why this video is blocked in Ukraine?

[@SamBao]

@@history_repeats8201 why are you lying?

[@unfortunately_fortunate2000]

Germany's planned Kursk offensive died in it's opening battles, the Ukrainian Kursk offensive was like turn the clock back two years where kilometer after kilometer of Russian lines are sparsely defended & were quite fragile at first, an impressive sequel to be sure lmao. what impresses me the most is the the Russian Army didn't have a plan in place to defend against a Ukrainian counter invasion, even after it became clear that the had shifted to a protracted war of attrition, they still didn't wargame a bunch of scenarios and put together some semblance of a strategy...

[@godschosen1952]

@@unfortunately_fortunate2000they Russians are stretched but banked on the fact that the Ukrainians wouldn’t dare

[@caseym6853]

I can’t get over the production value of these videos. It’s really impressive.

[@realtimehistory]

thanks!

[@r0mi44]

At the beginning the USSR had 6,000 tanks, at the end they lost 7,000. You're like CNN, the Russians have only shovels left. 😆

[@TheRealBillBob]

I can't get over how the West continues to inflate Soviet casualties, even today.

[@nashaigra8973]

​@@TheRealBillBobMost of initial war tanks were lost not in combat just like aircraft. They just WERE there with no crews fuel and other, like in storage or smth. Also T-26 for example had unique engine-transmittion block (parts couldn't be replaced from one tank to another) Anyways 7 thousand tank in battle of Kursk is way too much if you look at production rates and other.

[@nashaigra8973]

​@@TheRealBillBobAs well as 6k tanks is incorrect since 1) most sources state around 3k and the reserves wich were unused as long as I know.

[@Captain23rdGaming]

we got a second battle of kursk before gta 6

[@Ghostavelfantasma]

Lmao indeed

[@FormulaZyn]

TND

[@justananomaly]

​@Dr.Feelguddexcept they did, not the city itself, but the Oblast and have secured over 1,150 km. 3 days to kyiv, eh, Ivan?

[@jordanmichael4228]

Legendary comment

[@eastbandit23]

​@@justananomaly i dont know where you guys get 1000 km because they dont have more that 500 sq km

[@sqweebel1]

Never thought in my lifetime when hearing "The Battle of Kursk" I'd have to wonder: which one?

[@АнастасіяТертична-с7г]

Exactly! I've actually stumbled on this one while looking for news about other one.

[@Manticorus_YT]

Ukrainians are still 100 km away from Kursk, they’ve achieved nothing

[@carloschu7127]

​@@Manticorus_YT They are getting the gas pipeline below Kursk. And they can send drones farther into Russia.

[@Manticorus_YT]

@@carloschu7127 Ukraine has already been pushed out from numerous villages, meanwhile Russia has liberated tens of villages and cities in Krasnoarmeysk direction in just one week.

[@godschosen1952]

@@carloschu7127they could still do this even without occupying that insignificant amount of Russia

[@Ryo_Le_Gos]

Here we go again.

[@fro99er2]

War never changes

[@shubhnamdeo2865]

@@tsiry_randrianasolo Yeah but it's happening again lmao. And this time unlike last time, it's not the Russians who are at the right side of history.

[@unitedwestanddividedwefall3521]

🎶 Going down the only road I’ve ever known 🎶

[@unitedwestanddividedwefall3521]

🎶 like drifter I was born to walk alone 🎶

[@unitedwestanddividedwefall3521]

🎶 and I’ve made up my mind I ain’t wastin no more time 🎶

[@Lustanda]

Marder fighting in Kursk in 1943 Marder fighting in Kursk in 2024

[@tommytomas-fr3sh]

Both times on the losing side.

[@Broodplank86]

@@tommytomas-fr3sh he says with Russian hope in his heart.

[@Natfigger123]

​@@Broodplank86 nato's strongest soldier right here

[@Broodplank86]

@@Natfigger123 thanks buddy, appreciate it ❤️

[@Natfigger123]

@@Broodplank86 are you a bot

[@RBAILEY57]

Both sides suffered grievous losses at Kursk. The Soviets could replace the soldiers and armour they lost, but the Germans could not. It proved to be their last strategic offensive in the East. This is a great presentation, thank you!

[@GK-yi4xv]

Incredible that Germany could inflict 6-to-1 losses in the biggest battle in history, and still have no real chance. Which makes the terrible decision to go toe-to-toe at Stalingrad, in city fighting, trading essentially casualty for casualty equally with the Red Army (when considering the combined losses of Germany and its allies at Stalingrad), even more disastrous for Germany. Imagine if they had used the 6th army in the wide open fighting of places like Kursk, inflicting 6-to-1 losses instead. The conventional wisdom that Germany was doomed from the start in the East is overstated. Without the massive blunder at Stalingrad (not just massive losses, but massive unnecessary losses), they might well have forced a stalemate in the East, while they still held huge territorial gains.

[@stevem2323]

They did, but Manstein wanted to wait Soviets to attack first.

[@justicartiberius8782]

@@GK-yi4xv Stalingrad was a total mess for the axis. The 6th army, at this point of the war the best army germany had, together with the other axis forces, encircled and completely annihilated. Still they inflicted tremendous casualties among the soviets, even under these circumstances. Low on ammunition, low on food, medical supplies, no support from outside, freezing in the rubbles of Stalingrad. While the axis forces were completely wiped out the soviets could treat their wounded and had enough supplies and reinforcements stadily strengthen the encirclement. Who knows what would have happened when Stalingrad would have been avoided.

[@maksimbukhtayarau9916]

It was hardly strategic, though.

[@rodneyfenstermaker809]

@@GK-yi4xv I just wanted

[@SteveBrownRocks2023]

This battle is completely incomprehensible to anyone today.

[@kapytanhook]

It's literally happening again.. same sides, different flags... What are you on about?

[@exposedhobo]

@@kapytanhook 1.2 million soldiers vs 250,000 germans - vs now, 20k exhausted ukrainians vs russian border patrol. Are you joking?

[@kapytanhook]

@@exposedhobo I was talking about the whole eastern front, i dont think we have seen the peak yet

[@libertyman3729]

Intelligence and logistics this time and Ukraine has the upper hand in both . "Tactics win battles Logistics wins war's " 🇺🇸 SLAVA UKRAINE 🇺🇦

[@nicholaskozanas329]

​@@libertyman3729upper hand huh ...lol .... They're losing very badly...

[@gabirican4813]

Thanks!

[@nathanbarker616]

Appreciate all the work you put in. Between this channel and The Great War your time must be filled with hard work and it does not go unnoticed. Always top quality and the quotes on screen are always my favorite parts :)

[@realtimehistory]

thanks for noticing!

[@michaelhawkins7389]

@@realtimehistory just one to point out a fact you missed in this vidoe , A spy I think he was British if I remember correctly (with out looking it up) had given information to the Russians that the Germans were going to attack, so of cause the Russians knew the date of the German's attack , a also one thing to note is that , the German high command had suggested to Adolf Hitler not to attack but make a defensive line and try and hold it until early 1944 this would allow The Wehrmacht to build up their losers and also time for , equipment to be fixed and tested , weather that be tanks or guns. However Hitler disagreed with this idea (big mistake) and it would be a massive lost of live for Germany , but also to the Russians fighting in and around kursk

[@CreepBoot]

Title could also be, Germany never had a chance to win the battle of Kursk

[@brennelson9692]

Didn’t the Russians have the battle plans? Didn’t they know the exact German moves ahead of time?

[@AidenLutz]

@@brennelson9692yeah but decided to bloody the offensive instead, by bombing them in a suprise air raid which resulted in every plane the USSR had being destroyed giving Germany initial air superiority

[@brennelson9692]

@@AidenLutz I did not know that. Interesting.

[@darbyohara]

They did have a chance. They just delayed the battle too long

[@BiggestCorvid]

​@darbyohara doubt it. The war was lost at that point and the Germans were only bargaining for terms, this is Midway, which the Japanese also were never going to win, at least not what they expected going in.

[@ZMikluscak]

Some of the best part of your content is the punchline at the end. Keep up the great work!

[@drsjwhitman45]

Thanks!

[@realtimehistory]

wow, thanks a lot!

[@ritoshk]

Yes, history is repeating again. Is like us humans never learn.

[@moon_krendelsestate]

Learn what? :)

[@et2k166]

we are so back, baby

[@Arellera0205]

Лучше бы не вернулись, за это вам по головке не погладят, готовтесь к страшному,Россия терпеть больше это издевательство не будет.

[@et2k166]

@@Arellera0205 да уже два года про коричневые линии слушаем, вот-вот и ядерка, очень страшно.

[@eoue76]

@@et2k166 ты ядерную войну хочешь? Совсем с ума сошёл? Неадекватный...

[@sammyshock7]

Welcome everyone else who was just as curious; see you on the front lines. 😭

[@angelgallegos199]

Dammit. I really wished “once” in a lifetime event stop happening during my lifetime. I’m not even married and now I’m looking at the barrel of ww3

[@shonerado]

​@@angelgallegos199 well i am sorry to tell you but is never gona hapend. This is Devil playground.

[@Signaman-z9d]

Not on the front lines to old, for now. Vaporized, now that's a possibility. No exscaping this baby. Turn into underground trolls.🧟🧌🧙🧝🧜

[@adrianvannorsdall6441]

“Drag the Soviets into a war of attrition” LOL

[@DanielLedesma-p5i]

And at the end we will knowwhat it means😂

[@waludalu5102]

To be fair this is Ukraine vs Russia and both are used to attrition wars

[@maskva-u6f]

​@@waludalu5102to be fair America and EU who keeping Ukraine that long in war

[@secretagent86]

The most shocking thing about this historic battle is that is ignored in the west. As a kid learning about WW 2 we were never exposed to the russian part in the war.

[@ToddSauve]

There was not a lot of detailed information available to Western historians about the Russian front until fairly recently. Soviet losses at Kursk are still not known, as they mentioned in the video. It is thought the Russian government wants to hide a lot of these losses as they tend to reveal how badly their generals performed. When it is to a very large extent your ability to politic within a totalitarian communist system, you don't get really capable commanders. We still see this in Ukraine.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

And yet this is a "western" video NOT ignoring it. 😂

[@priestsonaplane2236]

I mean the Germans has "capable" commanders and those dudes all died all the same@@ToddSauve

[@lyndoncmp5751]

@@kjhnsn7296 The majority of the German air force and all of its navy was lost in the west though and 2/3 of German resources and material expenses went on their air and sea forces, so while the majority of their army WAS on the Eastern Front most of these were non mechanised, horse drawn, poorly equipped second rate divisions. From 1943 it was far more than 20% in the West. In Normandy alone there were ten panzer divisions. Nearly twice as much German armour fought against the western allies in Normandy than the Soviets in Bagration that same summer. The main reason why Bagration took so much ground so quickly was because the Germans gave priority to the Normandy fighting.

[@nagantm441]

@@ToddSauve fairly recently=over 30 years now

[@jacobredmond8859]

The sheer numbers involved in the battle along with the losses is staggering!!! Wonderful and informative video!

[@jamesbednar3108]

Awesome video!! Been studying Kursk for decades and always glad to learn something new. Always amazes me how Germany went along with that attack after just suffering massive losses at Stalingrad and in Tunisia - yes, everyone comments that most of those forces were Italian, but there still was a significant amount of German combat experience lost there.

[@vgames6792]

If you were "studying Kursk for decades " you would know that his was a piece of garbage propaganda. So not sure what you study, but you could start with something really simple like "Battlefield S4/E1 - The Battle of Kursk"

[@jacobjorgenson9285]

By then Hitlers thought himself a military genius

[@TheStudio-div]

Rumours say the Italian troops in eastern front were their best troops, it was incomparable with their Italian Africa troops

[@umang3227]

Regarding the tsarist general though, it's fascinating how much the german invasion of USSR is compared and contrasted with napoleon's invasion of Russia. And both sides did it it seems. It is said that Hitler studied it before invading and ofc the soviets called this the Great patriotic war. History may not repeat but we love to see it being repeated.

[@realtimehistory]

we made a video about Hitler and his view on 1812: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqfJap-lqr-bgtksi=wB44i9n9B3xxCEQF

[@hiighway_chile4080]

Notice the Russians had operations named after THE 1812 WAR GENERALS Operation Bagration Operation KUTUZOV

[@BrendonChase2012]

History tends to rhyme.

[@michaelnaretto3409]

In a fight, rule number one is to NEVER underestimate your opponent.

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

Especially considering who was leading them. Not sure you could get a worse pair of tactical opponents than Rokossovsky and Vatutin, easily two of the most talented commanders of the 20th century. Even if Vatutin was inexperienced with defensive battles, it never pays to underestimate a man whom even his enemies referred to as "the grandmaster"

[@ITFNBiteBayKon]

Not just in a fight, but any situation.

[@mattcat5668]

I imagine after Stalingrad it was personal for alot of those Soviet soldiers to have complete revenge because of the brutality tactics the SS was implying on the situation. City after City burnt to ash because of scorched earth tactics is Unheard of still to this day

[@WITTIEOMALLEY]

the psycchopaths ALWAYS underestimate opponent

[@michaelnaretto3409]

​@@ITFNBiteBayKon Yep. To use a sports analogy, play like you're behind.

[@paulgaskins7713]

19:15 poor Kharkiv; could you imagine being a 5 year old during this nightmare and then live the rest of your life there just to go through the nightmare again at 85 and both times you experience being a civilian in a high intensity war happen to be at the two most physically and mentally vulnerable times in any persons life life.

[@jessealexander2695]

Indeed, I have seen some touching interviews with older people in Ukraine who experienced just that.

[@BigMeechEJ25]

Yeah right, I was thinking the same thing when Russia invaded. Its crazy how a high intensity war is happening on the same grounds 80 years later, against former comrades.

[@jkilla9934]

@@BigMeechEJ25thanks to usa

[@Mandalore_Space_Marines]

@jessealexander2695 Could you please sent us the link, mr jesse? That sounds like a very interesting and touching interview. I can't imagine how it must be like to experience such a thing in my life

[@Ukraineaissance2014]

Theres an old ww1 british tank on a plinth in kharkiv from the russian civil war which hit the city hard as well.

[@afalk1024]

This channel and The Great War channel are some of the best historical content on KZbin. Always look forward to the next videos you guys release.

[@sjwoz]

I agree, they provide a format that is clear. True written dialogue in each moment in a battle is much appreciated-these guys are the best .......better than old History TV videos or politically motivated revisiting of history that seems pervasive these days on KZbin.

[@CheGuevara58]

Here a lot of propaganda as well as the CNN. Second front was started in 1944 when USSR forces came to German’s borders. This story for the stupid children I mean about casualties. Nobody speaks about Italian, Romanian, French and etc, but all they were on the Russian territory and they fought against RKKA

[@joeschmoe21]

When will he create a new VIdeo: Why USA, lackey UK and Ukraine lost to Russia in Kharkiv.... again!

[@rabihrac]

As a Lebanese who lived in the war of Lebanon from 1975 to 1990, I feel that the giant battle of Kursk dwarfs literally 100 times any battle that happened during the Lebanon wars between Lebanese, Syrians, Israelis, and Palestinians. Great episode Jesse and crew, as usual, thank you! Keep up the great work

[@AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg]

As an Irish UN soldier, UNIFIL I would agree, but harm, pain and death is a very personal experience. Hoping that life's better than 85.

[@thewedge8823]

the Eastern Front as a whole dwarfs pretty much any battle or war in our entire history

[@priestsonaplane2236]

for real dude, the Eastern Front in world war two makes all middle eastern, or basically any military action throughout the course of literary ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY look like a playground fight

[@Rorschach7012]

A load of BS

[@Leon-bc8hm]

@@Rorschach7012 Enlighten us. No don't because it is not BS.

[@dansmith4077]

Thanks

[@saleemds]

Very nice intro explaining the German high command plans for the year 1943 and the future of eastern front war in general, a lot of other documentaries about this battle missed that important point . Excellent work !

[@jessealexander2695]

Thanks!

[@mutteringmale]

Make me wonder why he didn't talk about the almost real time intelligence the allies were feeding the Soviets with the broken codes. I find soviet/marxist sympathizers always leave out that "little" detail". Maybe the fact that the soviets almost lost that battle despite knowing the date, time and where of the attack is kind of embarrassing....sort of like Ukraine now. The Soviet armies have always been a collection, a gaggle of silly ducks furiously quacking and running into each other trying to get to the water.

[@vgames6792]

"Excellent " propaganda garbage you mean?? Watch "Battlefield S4/E1 - The Battle of Kursk" is free of unnecessery lies

[@joeschmoe21]

US and lackey UK had the same plans... but this they were using Naïve Ukrainians, instead of Germans, as the canon fodder. But the result is the same. Russia is winning, again. USA, lackey UK and Germany, are losing. Again.

[@Token_Civilian]

Another great production Jessie and RTH. And a chuckle worthy outtro.

[@Wilson7092-u4n]

From what I understand, Model never intended to go very deep from the north. He knew from reconnaissance what the Russians had waiting for him. He said for his panzers to reach Kursk he needed at least six infantry divisions on both flanks of the attacking spearhead. Divisions he did not have. He also knew of the planned offensive in the northeast to retake Orel. He purposely withheld, without telling Hitler, two whole panzer divisions to work on the Hagan line and be ready to use for counterattack. But someone will most likely say I'm wrong

[@capoislamort100]

Mödel was a general who believed in offense, even against a larger enemy. I’m sure his decision was soundly weighed before the battle.

[@jebbroham1776]

While this is true, when Manstein achieved a breakthrough in the South of the pincer he should have been give the authority to capitalize on it. Not only did Hitler refuse his request to continue the offensive, he also stripped him of desperately needed panzer divisions to send to Italy in the wake of Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily.

[@capoislamort100]

@@jebbroham1776 it wouldn’t have made much difference anyhow, the Wehrmacht was exhausted at this point. On top of that, their intelligence on the red army was pretty lousy and outdated. The führer was now stripping troops from the eastern front to fight off the Allies on a two front conflict, everything was clearly lost at this point.

[@jebbroham1776]

@@capoislamort100 It probably wouldn't have been a total loss if Hitler hadn't so long to green light the offensive. He was waiting on the new Panther and Elefant tank destroyer to arrive in sufficient numbers before launching it, but neither proved to have any real impact on the battle. Panther losses were more to mechanical breakdowns than enemy fire and the Elefants were completely defenseless against Soviet infantry because some genius forgot that machine guns matter. The time to launch the attack would have been shortly after Manstein's backhand counteroffensive in late February to mid March which retook Belgorod and Kharkov. This put Manstein in a very strong position for further offensive operations towards Kursk that would have rendered the July offensive completely unnecessary. Lack of supplies and reinforcements ultimately prevented him from doing this though. It could have all been decided in March, but Hitler dithered.

[@DieNextInLINE]

​​​@@jebbroham1776Just an fyi, but your claim that Hitler sent divisions to Italy is directly referenced in this video and is stated to be a lie by Hitler in order to convince Mannstein to admit that Operation Citadel is a failure.

[@MrGtotheizzo]

Joined Nebula solely for your documentaries. Great work. Watching it with commercials every 7 minutes on youtube kinda kills the mood.

[@stevehangzo7159]

2024 : Ah shii, here we go again

[@EchoesofthePast-XII]

It is very interesting how more and more historians are discovering that Hitler was not simply the madman he was portrayed as in the post-war era. Instead, it appears that his generals either didn't follow his orders or persuaded him to take different actions

[@lucagerulat307]

A lot more people are at fault for what happened in Germany and the more it lies in the past the more people acknowledge that Hitler didn't bring down Germany alone.

[@ThePsychoAnon]

There’s a reason why it’s difficult to find his speeches full and unedited.

[@YOUPIMatin123]

Exactly

[@michaelmattson1081]

The officer class were aristocracy and always thought Hitler was the corporal...so no real respect

[@flakka1685]

@@lucagerulat307 but in Stalingrad he did made fatal mistakes that cost him the war

[@extrahistory8956]

While German achievements at Kursk may have been impressive, I still consider this battle to have been a Hail Mary of sorts for the German Army. At the end of the day, even with overwhelming success, they would have likely suffered from stifling Soviet counterattacks by the Steppe Army and supply lines west-to-east would have been very tedious to properly manage. It's was pretty clear that the operation would have at best delayed the Soviets a month at most.

[@agnes6585]

you are right, it is even obvious to those who think, but the Gogo's panzer maniacs are a clientele that is not very demanding in terms of reality, you just have to tell them what they want to hear, it gives them a catharsis and the pseudo-historical video reached peak clicks...isn't life beautiful??? Greetings to those who reserve the right and duty to think for themselves.

[@thomasjamison2050]

Well, Manstein did point out that calling off the offensive allowed the Russians to recover all most of the damaged but recoverable tanks. He also later told Hitler that he couldn't understand why Hitler had persisted with the operation long after it had become clear that the Russians were making major investments in defense.

[@play_boy7543]

What was impressive,fake data about casualties?

[@extrahistory8956]

@@play_boy7543 Largely the fact they were able to pull a punch even after they clearly lost the war. Otherwise, it was pretty reckless and stupid

[@play_boy7543]

@@extrahistory8956 it wasn't a punch, they were quickly stopped and then pushed back far in a counterattack, it was an attempt of a punch but not punch in the practical outcome,maybe the most correct would be to say a punch over the guard, then they got one in the jaw

[@kevinhuynh4278]

Evgeni Bessonov's Tank Rider was an amazing story which, including the Battle of Kursk, encompassed many iconic Soviet victories. I highly recommend it

[@ThisOLmaan]

as many videos and Documentaries covering the KURSK Battle this one's by far i say 100 times more informative I'm almost 6 minutes into the video and learned more of discoveries, that I had no idea about. i Been and been watching, reading a bit for as long as 3yrs. And found not as much as in this video... Thank you wish i could contribute more, it's been earned here.

[@oL5re9re55ion]

Best explanation of the background, causes, and events of the battle that I've ever heard. Simple and concise.

[@anthonycruciani939]

A battle of attrition in '43 was the last thing Germany needed. Hitler was utterly unrealistic by that point.

[@capoislamort100]

He knew exactly what the situation was. From the very beginning, he was always in control.

[@anthonycruciani939]

@@capoislamort100 Well in a sense you're right. Hitler was first and foremost a gambler from day one. From remilitarizing the Rhineland in '36 to the battle of the bulge in '44 it was one gamble after another. Though his gambles almost always paid off up to Barbarossa - his riskiest gamble - like all gamblers, over the long haul the House always wins. He knew how risky Citadel was but it was obvious it was a waste of resources the Germans couldn't afford by that point. Even if Hitler had achieved his ambitious objectives for Citadel he no longer had the reserves or other resources to capitalize on that victory.

[@andreamarino6010]

He literally was against operation Citadel. And the war was kinda already lost since 1939 so it didn't really matter

[@anthonycruciani939]

@@andreamarino6010 He was the Führer if he didn't want Citadel to happen it wouldn't have but yes he had grave doubts about its chances for success. I think by Citadel in Hitler's mind he knew he could no longer win the war but that's different than him seeing the war as lost. There are members of his senior staff who cited Hitler's unrealistic belief that had Citadel achieved its objectives he might be able to negotiate a settlement with Stalin. Even if they'd lost at Kursk the Red Army had grown significantly more powerful than the Wehrmacht by mid '43 so any settlement was unlikely unless paranoid Stalin truly feared the West would never launch a second front in NW Europe and was letting him deal with the brunt of the Wehrmacht alone.

[@essexclass8168]

​@@anthonycruciani939 yes but actually no, he's quoted to have said his stomach turned every time he thought about op citadel and Hitler almost never got his way in the eastern front. EG: He wanted a concentration on the southern push but reinforcements and resupply were prioritized to army group center.

[@bigbaba1111]

You forget that the Wehrmacht had extremely huge losses in the following Soviet offensives against Orel and Bjelgorod. Many damaged tanks from Kursk were destroyed as the Wehrmacht retreated. The Panzerwaffe was indeed a shadow of itself in the fall of 1943 and had lost 2000 tanks since January 1943.

[@jessealexander2695]

We didn't forget, we talked about those two operations in the video.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

But Germany built far more tanks in 1943 than in any previous year, and 1944 was their highest tank production year.

[@generalhorse493]

@@lyndoncmp5751Unfortunately, they achieved those production numbers by not diverting production to provide each new tank with adequate spare parts.

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

​@@generalhorse493Which, when combined with the constant breakdowns and general difficulty to repair of tanks like the Panther and Tiger, it's perhaps not surprising that they lose a majority of their tanks to mechanical failure and subsequent burning either by their own crews or by the enemy

[@M1945]

Craig Luther, a colleague of Roman Toeppel, sent me and he wan't wrong. I'm also a fan of David Glantz and am working on a video production for him. You've got a nice fresh style and the sound effects on original footage work well. You've included a bit of footage that I don't have myself; specifically some of the Soviet material. All in all a professional production, well done

[@КолтуновСерёга]

Military1945 creates *unbiased* documentaries about World War 2 by weaving together a combination of rare and sometimes never before seen film footage with original primary historical sources, include war diaries, situational maps, newspaper collections and photographs. Rare historical material must be carefully preserved, studied by academics and presented to the public in a professional manner. { There is only one video on my channel - instructions on how to use the People's Memory website, there are a lot of maps and documents, combat logs, award certificates, headquarters orders and others. Eastern Front (World War II) }

[@jude_the_apostle]

They dont 'expect' it to come. They know its coming because the British decrypted German plans and presented them to Stalin TWO MONTHS before the attack. They learned the strength, the attack points, the composition of the German divisions around the salient and most importantly, they learned what the Germans knew about the Soviet order of battle. Bletchley park are massively, massively unrecognised for the contributions to the eastern front.

[@tmanw4796]

Alan Turing helped crack the code.

[@InfinitePlain]

@@tmanw4796 By 1944 there were 9,000 people working at Bletchley Park, working three shifts, 24/7.

[@eversor431]

Assuming Stalin does not dismiss the intel like before Barbarossa in 1941. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they ain't out to get ya.

[@TheStudio-div]

Churchill also the one planning for operation unthinkable (by reinforce the west german military in the occupy zone) and attack Russia in 1944-45. They got atom bomb on their side.

[@chrismanspeaker9372]

Soviet doctrine: "German rifle has 5 bullets, we send six men, we win" and the losses here prove that it worked.

[@hansleeuw2840]

Amazing that that frontline moved so quick while that frontline is now unmovable in sort of the same place.

[@biologicalengineoflove6851]

What a massive, grinding, bloody fulcrum of history. You've done it again, another critical puzzle piece of history filled in. I remembered it was a big battle with tanks, where everyone suffered, but Kursk doesn't get near the same attention as D-Day or even Stalingrad.

[@therob4371]

Once again I have to say thank you for the brilliant work. It is greatly appreciated.

[@ctsperformance1755]

Kursk Reloaded - 2024

[@georgemitov7664]

There is bit of distorted information - this video should have started with more information before the battle started . In June Stalin got hold of Germans plans to attack Red Army at Kursk. Russian knew every step of German plans thankfully to Enigma decoded Wehrmacht plans .

[@philliphall5198]

I agree ☝️

[@HOTSHTMAN53]

My granduncle fought in the battle of Kursk with the 48th Army (Orel direction). My great grandfather also fought in the battle of Kursk in the 40th Army. Both didn’t know each other, would only meet a decade later. Both finished the war (Granduncle in Gdansk, Great Grandfather in Bern)

[@TheStudio-div]

it was miracle they survive the war even soviet prison.

[@HOTSHTMAN53]

@@TheStudio-div what!? None of them went through Soviet prison😂 The only people that got sent were those accused or convicted of treason, cowardice, exploitation of resources, corruption, negligence on the field, manslaughter, war crimes, etc. My great grandfather took part in over 178 battles and nothing happened to him. Same goes for my Granduncle who was in combat and in recon from the very first day of the war.

[@Neodreth]

Looking at the loses alone and without knowing the outcome you would expect Germany won the battle. Which shows that in war quantity is more important than quality.

[@ThomasAnderson-ll5hg]

"Cross of Iron", the 1977 film by Sam Peckinpah and starring James Coburn, is the most realistic depiction of war on the Eastern Front. It's told from the German pov, but accurately displays the ferocity of the conflict on both sides. I highly recommend it to anyone who's watched this video.

[@ettoresorbara2078]

One of the best movie about the Eastern front is 1993 or 94 movie german movie called STALINGRAD

[@pashvonderc381]

@@ettoresorbara2078 Check out “ Generation War “, a German tv production too

[@donramonramirez5141]

​@@ettoresorbara2078Si señor ... Es esa : Stalingrado 👍👍👍🇦🇷

[@SteveBrownRocks2023]

C.O.I. is a GREAT movie! 👏🏽😎

[@000DAAN000]

Wow! This is amazing please continue making them!!!

[@wiitmann205]

Absolutely outstanding mini documentary on the Battle of Kursk! I will be signing up with NEBULA. 👌

[@jeffreywaugh926]

Of all the videos I’ve watched and all I learned about the battle of Kursk, this video is by far the most comprehensive and I learned so much new information

[@JusBross]

They never had a chance in this battle. War was already lost by the Battle of Moscow in 1941.

[@tomg9557]

I like this take, I see Stalingrad cited as the main turning point usually but it is absolutely valid to claim that Germany lost the instant the eastward blitz stalled.

[@JusBross]

@@tomg9557the research shows that even if Stalingrad had fallen, Germany would’ve been unable to keep pressing. Their supply lines were stretched to the limits and the oil fields Baku were just out of reach.

[@ugbuga]

@@JusBross Correct by November 1942 German armies had no resources to launch any meaningful offensive while the USSR would be on Position to Launch Mars Uranus Little Saturn Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh offensive and the Voronezh-Kastornoye offensive all in a space of 3 Months it was clear that the Soviet system was absurdly more efficient than the Axis one.

[@EternalModerate]

@@ugbuga Had they managed to hold onto their gains from fall blau, they may have had a chance.

[@BiggestCorvid]

I love this channel so much. Not a wehraboo to be seen 😢 Fascism runs on dreams, unfulfillable promises, and stolen property. Started with the MEFO Bills and now we're here.

[@albertstadler2639]

This video is so on point, thanks for the great work!

[@thehealthychefri]

So educational and well put together thank you!

[@stevenewman1393]

👌😎👍Very totally wonderfully cool and nicely greatly informatively explained and executed in every detail way shape and format provided by you on the Battle of Kursk and why the German forces totally lost the confertation with the Soviet forces, A job very fabulously well done indeed Sir!.

[@anshuldwivedi1919]

Love this channel & the team

[@gore0ru]

The General Staff and Stavka (Headquarters) are different organizations. The Stavka determines the strategy, determines the direction of the attack, the General Staff prepares the battle, and the Stavka carries out the battle.

[@colder5465]

Another point is why Germans had qualitative superiority over Soviets in the Kursk battle. This wasn't because the Germans were Übermensch and the Russians were Untermensch. Of course, the Soviet Union was a much more arm country than Germany including the reserves of conquered Europe. Yes, Stalins government managed the feat of "running 100 years in one decade" but it wasn't enough. (By the way, just for information: when the WW1 started and all the warring countries started mobilising their automobile transport the only country which had no effect from this step was Czar's Russia. The reason was simple: while France produced roughly 50000 cars a year, the US half a million, Czar's Russia produced in 1914 only 100 cars (in letters: one hundred)). But there was another reason; before the war the bulk of Soviet industry was in Southern Russia and the Ukraine. It was very vulnerable. When the war started, the Soviets managed a great feat of relocating their industries to the Urals region. But that relocation had one very negative effect: the industry simply couldn't cope with relocation and production simultaneously. So the whole 1942 was a hunger year for the Red Army in terms of weapons and ammunition. The paramount task for the industry was to restore production. First and foremost. Developing new models was impossible in view of this. The Soviets captured their first Tiger tank on Leningrad front in 1942 but simply didn't have resources for developing their answer. Actually, not only the Kursk battle but the whole battle for Ukraine the Soviets led on their old obsolete model of T-34-76 medium tank and improved version of the heavy KV-1 tank (KV-1C), which was improved mainly with a new gear box. The weapon was the same: 76mm gun not adequate for new German tanks. Only in late fall of 1944 Soviet industry managed to produce significant numbers of a new version T-34-85 medium tank and a new model IS-1 heavy tank which were capable of fighting German Tiger and Panther tanks more or less effectively. And what's far more important, the Soviets managed to produce them in very high numbers, much higher than the German's.

[@jamesmorrison4976]

You forgot without lend lease the Russians would have been crushed!

[@ronanchristiana.belleza9270]

@@worldoftancraft and you are just even more absurd

[@WDM1966]

Excellent video; many thanks for sharing it!

[@SergiiZolotaryov]

Дякуємо!

[@WarMonkeyOG]

Quality of these documentaries are really fantastic! Love this channel

I can also highly recomend Dr. Töppels Book and indeed all his work. Nice Video. Seeing the losses visualized side by side is always eye opening.

[@Burningwhisky96]

Amazing Channel, i always love detailed video's of battles

[@NUCL3ARTAC0S]

Babe wake up, Real Time History just dropped an analysis of the battle of Kursk

[@mi12386]

Thank you from a russian Canadian, my grandfather was serving the war from September 1941 to August 1945 as an artillery officer

[@bk210]

Interesting how history repeats itself..

[@johnearle1]

By the time Kursk was launched, STAVKA already knew who was attacking, and where. All Kursk did was confirm that Germany would lose the war. The wholesale squandering of men and equipment made the job easier for the Soviets.

[@scotkillough2240]

Excellent Episode and presentation.

[@genaro5766]

You're always so historically funny at the end of the video . HAHAHA 😀 !!!! Thank you , I love this channel .

[@jessealexander2695]

Thanks!

[@Sketch_Sesh]

Great overview of the situation!

[@elementalgolem5498]

1943: and the t-34 rolls into the battle of Kursk! 2024: and the t-34 rolls into the battle of Kursk! 😂😂

[@felipe-vibor]

Delusional 😂

[@kindlingking]

Battle of Sudzha district in western part of Kursk region you mean?

[@NaumRusomarov]

Respect for yet another excellent video. ❤

[@exposedhobo]

Americans in the comments - "yes but I learned in history class that the allies won the war and Russia just sent a few suicide meatshields"

[@blockboygames5956]

Better documentaries than anything on mainstream tv. Wonderful work. Thank you. :)

[@alexboric88]

Great documentary, and I am very impressed about the details, especially the pronunciations of German and Soviet names. Very professional.

[@ultrametric9317]

Great work. You are a treasure!

[@Wombah-rc6zz]

This documentary is very accurate!

[@lnebres]

Your pronunciation of Russian names and place names is spot-on. Love it.

[@syrehn7684]

we runnin this one back again

[@gkame8501]

A very well done video.

[@robertmay2499]

Wonderful presentation. A job well done.

[@welcometonebalia]

Thank you.

[@Eli_yago82]

Literally almost all same cities mentioned as in current battles

[@blockmasterscott]

I think the Germans just didn’t have the resources or manpower to win at Kursk.

[@Enzo012]

From the looks of it they could have easily won if they had double what they had.

[@Noodle_7607]

Germany could have won if Hitler hadn't wasted most of Germanys resources earlier in the war

[@stevem2323]

@@Enzo012 Yep.

[@ToddSauve]

Yes, in a war of attrition, the Germans simply could not compete with the Soviets. Not that many generals on either side much cared about their losses in human beings. They were just cannon fodder in a war of lines on a map. Sad but true.

[@Isaac-muntz]

​@@Enzo012Except they didn't. Half their fighting force were wiped out in leningrad and stalingrad. And the soviets could replace men and equipment the Germans couldn't

[@aleksandard.3311]

super simple explained, great footage, well done !

[@LoyalDoggies]

History repeats itself but few learn from it. Bravo to those who learn from their past

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

Jesse doing a Real Time History video on Kursk? Sign me up!

[@DanOneOne]

the casualty numbers here don't add up. You make an impression that Germany lost 20 tanks of which only 4 totalled, while they destroyed 300+ tanks. If that was the case they wouldn't have lost or retreated. They would have continued exactly the same tactics and destroy another 300+ tanks while losing 20, and then another. And after a while there will be no tanks left from the Soviets... It smells fishy... It reminds me of German propaganda : "We are Winning Decisively! (then inflate soviet casualties as a proof). But we retreated 100 km!". If you are causing so much damage you shouldn't retreat. You should have had another 700000 troops and Soviets only 1.3mln. Destroy another 1.2mln next 2 days and the army will be destroyed. So it's a very sneaky propaganda.

[@SweetNovemberMe]

yeah, i also noticed that these numbers are very inacurate...

[@alexanderkolganov3654]

The usual bull, German style. They miraculously won all the battles but ended the war in Berlin. They could have won in Berlin too, easy, just so happened weren't in the mood those days or fallen down with a flu all of a sudden or diarrhea. According to the West Russians are losing in Ukraine too right now, like they're used to doing, so in line with this logic you surely know who's winning actually.

[@cov.teo.8131]

I've noticed this a long time ago as well.

[@M0ngergang]

Yeah those numbers don't add up for as well. Lost 20 tanks and destroyed 300+ that means you're winning.

[@giorgospapazoglou6106]

I don't care about the content, came here for the comments.

[@AwesomeDude799]

I've been wanting a video about this from you guys.

[@oldguy217]

Very informative and put together well, Thankyou.

[@justinbradfield1489]

“They only have 210,000 men.” The scale of these battles is incomprehensible today.

[@kapytanhook]

We got 1m vs 1.2m on the same Frontline nowand rapidly growing. We will het battles that big, hold your horses

[@mineown1861]

Even if they pinched out the salient, they would still have had to contain and reduce it . The soviet kotusov counteroffensive would probably have enveloped the envelopers, thus hastening the collapse of the Eastern tront. So rather like breaking through to the sixth army at stalingrad , it was just as well they didn't succeed .

[@AllenorLP]

This Article is about the First Battle of Kursk. To reach the Article about the Second Battle of Kursk click here.

[@kohtalainenalias]

Great narration!

[@russwoodward8251]

Wow. I'm also following on Nebula. Nice production. Thank you!

[@squishy7780]

Anyone here after Ukraine invaded Kursk

[@gemmamudd7167]

Yes me😅😅