Rommel's only hope of preempting the continuing build-up of British strength was to breech the lightly defended minefields in the south, push fast and deep along the southern corridor, and then swing north toward the coast and into the British rear area. [...] At the beginning of the 12-day battle the force balance favored the British by between 2:1 and 4:1, depending on the standard of measure. [...] Reflecting on the battle, General Walter Watlimont of the German Operations Staff concluded that Kursk "was more than a battle lost; it handed the Russians the initiative and we never recovered it again right up to the end of the war." By the end of 1943 the Russians had forced a withdrawal all along the front south of Smolensk, recapturing 100,000 square kilometers of their territory. [...] A Recent Counter-example: The Failure of Iraqi Defensive Preparations in the Gulf War The most salient factor in the Gulf War was a disparity in the capabilities of the combatants far more pronounced than that found even in Arab-Israeli conflicts. [...] On the other hand, the construction of Iraqi defenses in Kuwait were transparent to the surveillance systems of the United States, which had been closely monitoring Iraqi activities since the beginning of the crisis.
- Pages
- 10
- Published in
- United States of America
