@ABWorsham4
Hi AB nice to see you :)
Yea read a good one on stalingrad years ago. Posted on the old site. Can’t remember the name. I’ll try and look it up.
80th Anniversaries
-
Like me, most of you have seen the 80th anniversaries of important World War 2 events come and go, being too busy to celebrate. In case we don’t have time later, let’s celebrate the 80th anniversaries of important events in 1943:
2 February 2023: 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad. A devastating loss when Germany could’t afford it. If only Army Group A wasn’t diverted…
13 May 2023: 80th anniversary of the Fall of Tunis. In a world where the West’s contributions are highlighted compared to the Soviet Union, this “Second Stalingrad” (or “Tunisgrad”) this defeat for Germany is often ignored. While the losses for the Axis between the two battles weren’t the same, at least the Western Allies didn’t lose more men than the Axis over the same amount of time.
5 July-23 August 2023: 80th anniversary of the Battle of Kursk. The last major German offensive of the war, even if Manstein’s claims are incorrect I still believe Germany had a chance to win this battle or at least deplete the Soviets more than historically. To anyone hating on Britain’s role in World War 2, remember that the Soviets were only so successful because British intelligence informed them of German plans.
12 July 2023: 80th anniversary of the Battle of Prokhorovka. While not the largest tank battle or one of much importance, it remains the classic “pure tank to tank battle” with none of those other arms making things more complicated.
9 July-August 23: 80th anniversary of Operation Husky. Maybe the largest amphibious invasion in history, it helped collapse the Italian regime and tied up German troops in the future.
24 December 2023: 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive. One of the craziest and biggest offensives ever, Soviet forces crossed the Dnieper river while fighting in the midst of winter. The battle shattered the entire German front and forced enormous transfers of reinforcements from the Western Fronts and reserves.
While there were other major battles such as Operation Kutusov, the Donbas Strategic Offensive and the Invasion of Mainland Italy, the above are the main and some of the most important and decisive battles of the war, second only to the great battles in 1942.
Special honour:
9 December 2023: 100th anniversary of Beer Hall Putsch, the first major outing of the Nazi Party. It would have a profound impact on Hitler’s life.
-
Second special mention:
January 30 2023: 90th anniversary of Hitler becoming chancellor. An obscure moment, but an important one.
Suggested Topics
