Yes,

the victories at Kharkov were truly remarkable but one must remember that the Germans retreated several hundred miles from the lines they had in Nov 1942 and this did not look good. As well Stalingrad was for Russians a huge propaganda victory even though their losses were enormous to achieve this. ( Like you see all remember Stalingrad but how many remember Kharkov?)

It also seems that Kursk became some kinda obsession to Hitler with all its Red Army forces inside it.

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