In April 1943 military action in Russia was halted by the spring muddy season.
The Red Army was recovering from the setback in the Ukraine where Manstein
had used the divisions transferred from France to stop the Soviet offensive and
retake Kharkov. Although the Western Allies were still bogged down in
Tunisia, Hitler was aware of their plans to attack somewhere in the Mediterra-
nean, rather than France. Stalin wanted to resume the attack as soon as
possible; however, the Soviet General Staff, learning of the German plan to
attack Kursk, advised him to let the Germans strike first.

The Battle of Kursk had its origins in the offensives ordered by Stalin in late
January 1943 to drive the German and satellite armies back to the Dnieper
River. However, the German Sixth Army was still holding out in Stalingrad,
diverting several Soviet armies. The final phase of the destruction of that pocket
began on January 22, 1943. Four days later the pocket was split into two
segments as the Soviet armies exerted maximum pressure to finish off the
Germans. On January 31, 1943, the recently promoted German Field Marshal
Friedrich von Paulus surrendered, and the Soviets claimed 91,000 prisoners of
war. The prisoners were marched out of Stalingrad and placed on trains at
Saratov and sent to Tashkent. Only half of those that reached Saratov survived
the train trip. Most of the prisoners suffered from symptoms of an enlarged
heart and respiratory disease, brought on by the fear of death or capture, and
malnutrition during the two months in the pocket. About 5,000 survived
captivity and return to Germany after the war. ¹ In the Stalingrad area, over
209,000 men were killed or went into captivity during the period November 23,
1942, to February 2, 1943. ² When the losses outside of the pocket are added,
the total casualties at Stalingrad were 300,000 men.

In addition, the Germans lost prestige and the Nazi reputation of invincibili-
ty. Although the defeat at Moscow in December 1941 had marked the first

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