History /
Polish flag over the Reichstag first? [399]
The Germans were very often facing forces superior in numbers on the Russian front , but easily overcame them due to better tactics , better training , better equipment and better leadership...
Things started to go wrong when the advance bogged down in the autumn due to the Russian dirt roads turning into a sea of mud which stopped all wheeled and horse drawn transport...
It got a bit better when the winter came , and the mud froze , but then it got really really cold , the worst winter in a century , and the German troops were without winter clothing , the tanks and trucks were not designed to operate in minus 50 degrees , even the machine guns jammed or broke due to the cold , so the advance stopped again...
About this time the Germans ran into the T34 tank , their tank and anti tank guns were not able to stop it , and it caused a rapid developement of new German tanks , namely the Tiger and Panther.....
The cutting off of an entire german army at Stalingrad , and its later capture was the first major defeat for the Germans , and the retreat from this region turned into a general retreat for all German forces...Now and then the Germans would counter attack and inflict heavy losses on the Russians , but by now the Russians could not be stopped , their tactics had been improved , their equipment in many cases was equal , and the Russian leaders did not care how many Russian lives it took to take a position...
At Kursk , the greatest tank battle ever took place , as the Germans attempted to smash the Russian forces to a standstill , it is seen as a Russian victory , even though the Russian lost far more tanks and troops...The Russians were able to replace the losses , the Germans were not...
The retreat continued...and ended in Berlin...
