[Leica] Victory now Kursk

[n.wajsman at chello.nl (Nathan Wajsman)]

Guys,

I posted my original message as an expression of remembrance, nothing
more, nothing less. I appreciate the replies from Ted, Douglas, Oliver
and others.

I most definitely did *not* intend to spark a thread about military
history of WW2.

I did visit the Commonwealth cemetery at Arnhem this morning, it was
quite moving (and a nice motorcycle ride to get there).

Kind regards,
Nathan

Don Dory wrote:
> 
> Peter,
> What you quoted is the traditional history as it came from the victors.
> Relatively recent research in the German Army archives tell a somewhat
> different picture.
> 
> First, after Kursk, the German Army was strictly defensive so the Soviet
> Army was dominant as you state.  However, it was the Soviet tank force
> that was decimated, only Tankograd saved that aspect of the war.  In
> reality, the Allied invasion of Italy caused Hitler to redeploy many
> panzer divisions to the newly opened southern front.
> 
> The victors, once the German Army had to defend two fronts, had going
> for them the ability to increase the size of their force in spite of
> devastating loses.
> 
> I am not sure if anyone will really know how many were lost in the maw
> of the Eastern Front, but the traditional number of Soviet casualties
> for the brief final push to Berlin are in excess of 300,000.
> 
> Don
> dorysrus@mindspring.com
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lug-bounces+dorysrus=mindspring.com@leica-users.org
> [mailto:lug-bounces+dorysrus=mindspring.com@leica-users.org] On Behalf
> Of GREG LORENZO
> Sent: Saturday, May 08, 2004 11:37 PM
> To: Leica Users Group
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Victory Day
> 
> 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
> 
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-- 
Nathan Wajsman
Almere, The Netherlands

e-mail: n.wajsman@chello.nl
Mobile: +31 630 868 671

http://www.nathanfoto.com/index.html