The Need for Organisational Resilience - Chapter 2

September 1939 that an entire German army surrendered to the Allies. The following months saw

continuous fighting. The Wehrmacht conducted a series of withdrawals to solidify the frontline, under

constant pressure from the forces of the Soviet Union. In March 1943, the Germans successfully

counter-attacked a Soviet offensive that had threatened to destroy Army Group South. It not only

stopped the Russians in their offensive but inflicted substantial losses. Both sides pondered what to

do next.

Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshall) Erich von Manstein, the mastermind behind the successful

campaign against France and its Allies in 1940, proposed − in the light of the exposure of his position

with depleted men and material – taking a defensive stance, launching only sporadic counter-attacks

into the flanks of Soviet attacking forces; until his forces were replenished to launch a major offensive.

Hitler rejected this approach − only a substantial victory, as in 1940/41, would restore the

Wehrmacht’s prestige after Stalingrad.

Von Manstein proposed further plans to doubly envelop Soviet forces, directed at the city of

Kursk, a vital road and rail junction. This would allow the Germans to repeat the encircling

manoeuvres that had been so successful in the first years of the campaign in the east. On 13 March,

Hitler issued Operational Order No. 6, codenamed Citadel (Zitadelle) .

The launch of Operation Zitadelle experienced serious delays as Hitler impatiently waited for the

production of new types of tanks that, in his mind, would miraculously turn the tide and provide a

decisive success in the east. In May 1943, the Afrika Korps (Panzerarmee Afrika under General Ernst

Rommel) surrendered. Fortunes in the Battle in the Atlantic also turned. In May 1943, the Germans

lost 34 U-Boats, 25 per cent of total operational strength. Hitler needed a decisive victory to keep his

Axis partner Italy on board, and the German people committed to the war effort.

By then, the German forces were being gradually equipped with powerful weaponry; among them

the 54t Tiger I and the 68.5t Tiger II tanks (also informally named by Allied soldiers ‘King Tiger’), each

equipped with the dreaded high-velocity 8.8cm gun. The medium Panther, ultimately destined to be

the most formidable medium tank of WWII − also arrived in greater numbers. Most of these were

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