Unternehmen Zitadelle

E34350

Unternehmen Zitadelle was the German codename for the major 1943 offensive on the Eastern Front that led to the Battle of Kursk, one of the largest tank battles in history.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf German military operation
military offensive
alsoKnownAs Operation Citadel
belligerent Nazi Germany
casualtiesSide heavy German casualties
heavy Soviet casualties
characteristic one of the largest tank battles in history
commander Erich von Manstein
Günther von Kluge
Hermann Hoth
Walter Model
conflict World War II
country Germany
delayedUntil 1943-07-05
endDate 1943-07-17
front Eastern Front
hasCodenameLanguage German
hasPart northern pincer attack by Army Group Center
southern pincer attack by Army Group South
intelligenceFactor Soviet foreknowledge of German plans
involves Battle of Prokhorovka
leadsTo Battle of Kursk
location Kursk salient
near Kursk
objective eliminate the Kursk salient
regain strategic initiative on Eastern Front
opposedBy Soviet Union
opposedByUnit Red Army Central Front
Red Army Steppe Front
Red Army Voronezh Front
opposingCommander Georgy Zhukov
Konstantin Rokossovsky
Nikolai Vatutin
outcomeConsequence beginning of continuous Soviet offensives
permanent loss of German strategic initiative on Eastern Front
partOf Eastern Front of World War II
planningApprovedBy Adolf Hitler
planningDate 1943-04
preparation extensive Soviet defensive fortifications
reasonForDelay awaiting new tanks and equipment
result German offensive failure
Soviet victory
startDate 1943-07-05
theater Soviet–German War
uses Ferdinand tank destroyer
Panzerkampfwagen V Panther
Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I
year 1943

Referenced by (2)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Operation Citadel
alsoKnownAs
Battle of Kursk
GermanCodename

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