Together with aerial support, the Wehrmacht’s tanks had torn swathes through the masses of the Russia Army. Operation Barbarossa had shown the power of armoured warfare when Hitler unleashed Blitzkrieg on the Red Army. This could only be to the advantage of the Germans. A defeat of Russia in the east might result in the collapse of any form of relationship between the Russians and the Allies in the west. It was known that the Russians were becoming increasingly tired at the seeming unwillingness of Britain and America to open up a second front in the west. However, they also hoped to force through a political one. The Germans suffered some 200,000 German casualties.Ī significant point to note is that the Soviet Union was able to replace its losses the Germans were not able to replace theirs.A successful German offensive had obvious military consequences for the Germans.The Soviet's win was costly as it is estimated Soviet casualties numbered 800,000.On 12 July, the Soviets launched a counteroffensive, Operation Kutuzov, and by 24 July, the Soviets had pushed the Germans back past Operation Citadel's original launching point.The Germans attempted an offensive in the south known as Operation Roland, but that attack also failed.
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