Background
After the collapse of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad, the Soviet counter-offensives and the Battle of Kursk later in 1943, it became apparent that the tide of war was turning against Germany. Soviet forces were, all along the front, approaching the pre-war border. Partly because of Führer Directive No. 51, which funneled all new men and materials to the Western Front, to meet the expected Allied Invasion, issued on 3 November 1943, Axis forces along the Eastern Front were severely inadequately equipped in comparison to their Soviet opponents, reinforcements were rare, and reserves were stretched thin. Although in this directive Hitler implied that he might be willing to allow withdraws, trading space for time, this proved to be false. This, combined with Hitler's insistence on holding onto captured territory at all costs, made Soviet victories in 1944 nearly inevitable.
| Soviet | Axis | |
|---|---|---|
| Personnel | 6,500,000 | 4,300,000 |
| Tanks | 5,600 | 2,300 |
| Field Guns | 90,000 | 54,000 |
| Aircraft | 8,800 | 3,000 |
Read more about this topic: Stalin's Ten Blows
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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