Due to the deteriorating overall strategic situation of the German Reich since the Allied landings in Italy (July 1943,
Operation Husky ) and in Normandy (June 1944,
Operation Overlord ) in a multi-front war, the condition of this great federation increasingly worsened. There was a lack of soldiers, vehicles, aircraft, fuel and ammunition due to insufficient replenishment. In the words of the German military historian
Karl-Heinz Frieser , Army Group Center was therefore a "house of cards before collapse" in early summer 1944.
[14]
The morale and physical condition of soldiers deployed in the Army Group was poor due to general stagnation, bad news from other theaters of war, and supply shortages. Some of the German soldiers hoped that the war would soon be over after the Allied landings in Normandy.
[15]
Since the winter of 1941-42, German soldiers had often been chronically undernourished, as there were hardly any food reserves in the German Reich due to the long-lasting war and they were no longer able to supply the prescribed cost rates. The resulting persistent
vitamin deficiencies , along with other deficiencies, led to decreased physical performance, as long as the field units were unable to supplement or cover their own food needs through plunder or temporary compulsory farming in the territories they occupy.
[19] [20] Alcohol and stimulants, on the other hand, were often abundant.
[21]
For all vehicles of the Red Army, a fuel consumption of 25,000 tonnes per day was estimated, which could also be provided easily. By contrast, as a result of the
Allied bombing,German units suffered more and more fuel shortages.
[57]
Since the
Battle of Kursk , the number of German combat aircraft deployed on the Eastern Front has been steadily decreasing. The reason for this was that
air force units had been transferred to these theaters of war to defend the Allied landings in Italy and Normandy . Because of the Allied
air superiority suffered the German aircraft forces there high losses. The replacement of these machines devoured most of the newly produced German aircraft. The German aircraft industry was no longer able to fully compensate for the increasing losses of the Luftwaffe.
The imbalance between the German and
Soviet air forces increased until Operation Bagration began. The German
Air Force 6 under
Knight of Greim , which was intended to support the Army Group Center had due to losses and technical failures, which were due to the lack of supply of spare parts and fuel, in June 1944 only 61 operational fighters available.
[85] [A 11]