Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/05/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Nathan Wajsman wrote in part: > > - the Russians who lost 20 million people during the war and whose > stand at Stalingrad was arguably the turning point of the war, > certainly on the Eastern Front; > Hi Nathan, >From a military standpoint Stalingrad cost the German Army in excess of 20 excellent infantry divisions and revealed the German high command's inflexibility and inability to accept tactical realities. These missing infantry divisions were a major factor behind the subsequent German defeat at Kursk, in the summer of 1943, which I believe to have been the true turning point of the war in Europe. At Kursk, the Soviets largely destroyed Germany's Panzer force. The Soviets continued to hold the initiative until the end of the war. I believe that although the Western Allies helped hasten the end of the war, the Soviet Union after Kursk simply could not lose and it was just a matter of time until Germany's utter defeat. Regards, Greg