Battle of Kursk Consequences

Despite the big loss the Battle of Kursk was a Soviet triumph. A major German offensive had been stopped before it managed to break through the Soviet lines of defense.

In spite of new tanks and war experienced crews, the German forces failed to break the Soviet forces' lines.

Wehrmacht was also surprised by the large reserves the Soviets had available for the battle, and this came to characterize the war on the Eastern Front.

Kursk was the last major German offensive on the Eastern Front. The rest of the war, the Wehrmacht retreated, and had to settle for responding to Soviet offensives.

The German forces continued to inflict heavy losses on Soviet forces, but thanks to the Soviet Union's major population and industrial production, and especially American lend-lease military aid, it was impossible to stop the Red Army.

Another important result of the Battle of Kursk was that it helped to convince Hitler that his staff was incompetent. Hitler intervened increasingly in the war, until the end, when he found himself involved in tactical decisions.

The opposite happened with Stalin. After seeing Stavka planning be justified on the battlefield, he relied more on his advisers, failed to intervene in the details of warfare, and rarely overruled the military decisions. The Red Army had more freedom and were more flexible towards the end of the war.