Changes

==Situation in the East==

==Situation in the East==

It is fairly common to describe the Nazi-Soviet War as a three-phase affair, with the phases largely determined by the degree of strategic initiative. In the first phase (call it June 1941 to November 1942) Germany had dominant strategic initiative and launched major offensive operations in Barbarossa and Case Blue. In this period, virtually all of the Red Army’s attempts to go on the strategic offensive collapsed with heavy casualties, as at Kharkov and Rzhev. In the second phase (roughly from December 1942 to November 1943) the Red Army was able to attack with great success, but the Germans still retained the ability to organize operations of their own (most notably the Battle of Kursk). In the third and final phase (December 1943 to the end of the war), the Red Army held full-spectrum dominance and the Wehrmacht could do little more than desperately try and fail to hold its positions.  

It is fairly common to describe the Nazi-Soviet War as a three-phase affair, with the phases largely determined by the degree of strategic initiative. In the first phase (call it June 1941 to November 1942) Germany had dominant strategic initiative and launched major offensive operations in Barbarossa and Case Blue. In this period, virtually all of the Red Army’s attempts to go on the strategic offensive collapsed with heavy casualties, as at Kharkov and Rzhev. In the second phase (roughly from December 1942 to November 1943) the Red Army was able to attack with great success, but the Germans still retained the ability to organize operations of their own (most notably the Battle of Kursk). In the third and final phase (December 1943 to the end of the war), the Red Army held full-spectrum dominance and the Wehrmacht could do little more than desperately try and fail to hold its positions.  

 

The closing months of 1943 marked a new phase in the war, but the men in the Wehrmacht eastern army hardly noticed. There was no operational pause, no obvious phase change, only a continuous and rolling wave of Red Army offensives - sequential operations in action. The Soviet autumn offensives put the Red Army on the attack everywhere, with Field Marshal [[Erich von Manstein]]'s Army Group South falling back in a desperate state to get behind the Dnieper River.

The closing months of 1943 marked a new phase in the war, but the men in the Wehrmacht eastern army hardly noticed. There was no operational pause, no obvious phase change, only a continuous and rolling wave of Red Army offensives - sequential operations in action. The Soviet autumn offensives put the Red Army on the attack everywhere, with Field Marshal [[Erich von Manstein]]'s Army Group South falling back in a desperate state to get behind the Dnieper River.

The Dnieper forms an enormous “S” as it bends back and forth across Ukraine, the line of the river is significantly longer than a line directly north to south from the same points. Attempting to defend a line along the course of the river from just north of [[Kiev]] to the [[Black Sea]] committed Army Group South to some 560 miles of front, though the actual north-south dimensions of the space were less than 300 miles - and that was already more than enough for this overstretched force.

The Dnieper forms an enormous “S” as it bends back and forth across Ukraine, the line of the river is significantly longer than a line directly north to south from the same points. Attempting to defend a line along the course of the river from just north of [[Kiev]] to the [[Black Sea]] committed Army Group South to some 560 miles of front, though the actual north-south dimensions of the space were less than 300 miles - and that was already more than enough for this overstretched force.

 

===Warsaw Ghetto Uprising===

===Warsaw Ghetto Uprising===

{{See also|Warsaw Ghetto Uprising}}

{{See also|Warsaw Ghetto Uprising}}

The elite tactical units of [[Nazi Germany]] participated in the battles in the Kharkov, Belgorod and Kursk regions. The SS Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler originated as Hitler's personal Bodyguard of 100 before the war, was built to division strength by volunteers during the war, and participated in the fighting.  

The elite tactical units of [[Nazi Germany]] participated in the battles in the Kharkov, Belgorod and Kursk regions. The SS Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler originated as Hitler's personal Bodyguard of 100 before the war, was built to division strength by volunteers during the war, and participated in the fighting.  

 

The Wehrmacht command developed a summer offensive plan, codenamed Operation Citadel. Immediately after the capture of [[Kharkov]], the Germans with the reinforced remnants of the company of heavy Tiger tanks, made a dash along the Kharkov-Kursk highway, as a result of which on March 17, 1943 they captured [[Belgorod]]. German forces attempted to encircle Soviet forces in the Kursk Salient (Kursk Bulge) on the eastern front, but strong Soviet resistance defeated the German assault.  

The Wehrmacht command developed a summer offensive plan, codenamed Operation Citadel. Immediately after the capture of [[Kharkov]], the Germans with the reinforced remnants of the company of heavy Tiger tanks, made a dash along the Kharkov-Kursk highway, as a result of which on March 17, 1943 they captured [[Belgorod]]. German forces attempted to encircle Soviet forces in the Kursk Salient (Kursk Bulge) on the eastern front, but strong Soviet resistance defeated the German assault.