Chapter 14- Operation Citadel Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 14, German commanders debated whether to attack in the Summer of 1943 or to wait for the enemy to attack. Western forces were poised to attack the Germans in Africa and Italy, which affected the number of German forces available in the East. A large Russian salient to the west around the town of Kursk presented itself as a possible target, between Orel on the north and Kharkov on the south. Hitler had left a large salient to the east on the Southern front, even still maintaining the 17th Army in the Kuban bridgehead in the Caucasus region. Operation Citadel was planned for May as a giant pincer attack on the Kursk salient, but was postponed until June and then delayed by Hitler until July. By that time the opposing Soviet front was strong and...