World War II - World War II by Numbers - Battle of Kursk

World War II in Numbers continues for our month of World War II and World War I documentaries.  This has been a fascinating series to check out.
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Allied ships are heading towards the French coast.  They had quietly been building up their strength and will be landing on French beaches.  The Royal Air Force is keeping the Luftwaffe at bay.  Unfortunately, this invasion is a disaster.  Sixty percent of the soldiers die in this invasion.  It is not June 1944, it is August 1942.  What happened was a test to see how hard it was going to be to land in France.  However, the Soviets are suffering heavy losses and Stalin needs that second front.

In Autumn 1943, Stalin is complaining that the Americans and the English are dragging their feet.  The Soviet Army has been dealing with the Nazis and suffering heavy losses.  He made the argument that the war would end sooner if a second front would opened up.  Churchill and Roosevelt did not talk about invading Europe.  Hitler wanted to totally destroy the Soviet Union and defeat Stalin.  The two armies would meet up in a small village known as Kursk.

The Nazis wanted to circulate Kursk and isolate the remaining Soviet troops from the rest of the Soviet Union.  However, they did not count on the Soviet tanks the T-34.  The T-34 ran on diesel and this gas freezes at a lower temperature.  The Nazi tanks ran on regular gas and so they had to light fires under the tanks at night to keep them warm.  The T-34 also had armor that caused shells to bounce off of them.  The Nazis copied the design into the Panther and the Tiger tanks. 

After the original invasion, the citizens of Kursk worked alongside the Soviet soldiers to prepare the city for invasion.  When the Germans retreated the first time, thousands of Kursk citizens were executed.  Kursk did not want to see that happen again.  The civilians dug a lot of anti-tank ditches, planted mines around the city, and fortified the defenses.  The Soviets had the bigger army and seemingly had the upper hand in the battle.  This battle would be decisive in history.  Hitler’s tanks performed badly in the first days of the battle.  However, this battle was the biggest tank battle in history.

The battle of Kursk grinds on for months.  The tanks smashed into each other.  Who could turn their gun to the enemy quicker?  800,000 Soviet soldiers died in the battle, but those losses could be replaced.  The 200,000 German soldiers could not be replaced.  The Soviet Union showed its industrial might.  The Germans could not produce the amount of equipment needed to continue the fight.  The Germans started their two-year retreat from the Soviet Union.

The tide was turning in the Mediterranean.  The Allies invaded Italy.  Unfortunately, the Allies made an error, they left the straits between Sicily and the Italian toe free.  The Italian Army and Germans escaped into the toe so they were able to defend the mainland.  Mussolini as a result of this invasion was overthrown and the Italian Army was surrendering.  Hitler did not want this and send the German troops into Italy to hold the peninsula.  Italy will take more time than the Allies expected.  It was a land full of mountains and the Germans could easily defend the terrain.  How would the Allies take Italy?

To continue to learn more about the final years of World War II and the numbers continue to watch this documentary.

This would be another good episode to show in a history classroom for both high school and middle school.