Battle of Kursk & Battle of Midway
| Subject: | 🏺 History |
| Type: | Expository Essay |
| Pages: | 4 |
| Word count: | 979 |
| Topics: | 💣 World War 2, American Imperialism, Army, International Relations, ⚔️ Military Science |
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Table of Contents
Battle of Kursk
The battle of Kursk during the World War II took place adjacent to Kursk city. The battle was the most expensive aerial battle. The Germany army attacked deep and in-depth Russian defenses, after their exhaustion, the Soviets counterattacked thus retaking Belgorod, Orel, and Kharkov. Blitzkrieg strategy that was used by Germans was used for the last time in the eastern front during the Kursk battle (Elder, 2015). The result of the battle gave the Soviet army confidence in their strategy and they fully implemented in the remainder of the war. The strategic move staged by the Soviet was the first successful strategy implementation.
The Hindenburg line had been used by the Germany during the First World War. The line shortened the army line thus increasing the defense capability. The Germany tried constructing the panther-wotan as defense lines in Kursk battle. Hitler, with the intent of hitting the Soviets early, sought to destroy the Kursk salient. The soviet in return erected elaborate defenses as well as the positioning of large reserve to help in counter-attacking. The Soviets defeated the Germanys in a decisive war on the eastern war front (Showalter, 2013). This battle confirmed that the engineers, artillery, and infantry had triumphed over the armor.
The Battle of Midway
The prowess of the Imperial Japan Navy had swept much of the Pacific area and it was at the verge of controlling Australia. Australia had superior strength to the United States Navy since it had the strongest carrier striking force and a mobile air unit. The Japanese planned to overrun the Midway toll islands. Midway was close to the Hawaii military base, the strategy was to lure the US Navy to Midway from Hawaii. The strong Japanese carriers then they could strike the defenseless US fleet. The ambush strategy was perfect and well choreographed. Unfortunately, the US Navy was able to descript the Japanese communication codes. The code-breaking prowess gave the US Navy an advantage over the Japanese since they attack plans leaked to the US Navy. The Japanese attack plan was used against them since the US carriers intercepted the Japanese midway before they could attack. The Japanese lost four of its six carriers that had reigned supreme in the Pacific ocean while the US lost one carrier; the Yorktown. The effectiveness of the Japanese Navy was reduced and thus reduced to defensive for the first time in the Pacific Ocean. While the Japanese had to go back to the drawing board over the losses inflicted on them by a small US fleet in the sea, the US’s carriers; Hornet, wasp, Enterprise, and Saratoga, were free to continue with their campaign against the Japanese across the Pacific (Grove & Rodgaard, 2016). Technological advancement in the communication sector helped the US to decrypt the Japanese communication codes leading to the unprecedented advantage at combat.
The Impact of the battles of Kursk and Midway to World War II
Apart from the Pearl Harbor attack in the Pacific area, the strong Imperial Japanese Navy had overpowered the United States Navy in the sea. Had the Midway Islands fell to the Japanese Australia and other Islands the lay between Hawaii and Australia could have fallen to the Japanese. Such a move could have cut the supply lines for the Allied forces from Australia to the places like the Philippines. The Japanese could have got the chance to roam eastward and link up with the Germany East Africa and thus endanger the French and British colonies across Asia and possibly Africa. Interfering with the French and British colonies such as India could have cut the raw materials supply and a rich source of military personnel recruits. The coiling back of the Japanese Navy to the defensive offered the US Navy a chance to concentrate on the European threat that was posed by Italy and Germany.
The Kursk battle was hurriedly carried out by the Germany so that the eastern allied front could fall before the western front was attacked. The production of Tiger Tanks by Germany was slow and they had to take some time before enough tiger tanks were assembled at the war front (Showalter, 2013). The deployment of the new tanks before they could be tasted exposed the Germany army to unknown outcomes.
The initial losses inflicted on the Germany forces angered Hitler. Hitler decided to micromanage his army on the battlefield. On the other hand, the Kursk battle made Musolin trust his army general and war advisors and thereby giving the soldiers at the war front freedom. Hitler’s army management away from the field could not offer practical solutions thus leading to the demoralization of the Germany soldiers at the war front. A demoralized Germany army faced enemy wars on many fronts after the strengthening of the Soviet by the Kursk win. The French the British and the US attacked from the west while the motivated Soviets inflicted losses from the east (Lyons, 2016).
The use of strategy at war front became decisive and well embraced during the World War II. The wait and exhaust strategy employed by the Soviets during the Kursk battle was replicated throughout the second world war leading to an early win (Elder, 2015). Equally, technological advancement in the communication sector as demonstrated by the US Navy during the Midway battle; decryption of the Japanese communication channels, proved helpful in denoting the enemy’s next plans leading to a superior advantage.
- Elder, E. (2015). The Operational Implications of Deception at the Battle of Kursk. Pickle Partners Publishing.
- Grove, P., & Rodgaard, C. J. (2016). Turning the Tide: The Battles of Coral Sea and Midway. University of Plymouth Press.
- Lyons, M. J. (2016). World War II: A short history. Routledge
- Showalter, D. E. (2013). Armor and Blood: The Battle of Kursk, the Turning Point of World War II. Random House Incorporated.
Offered for reference purposes only.