After Stalingrad, the Wehrmacht was still a force to be reckoned with, but the Red Army had finally proven itself in battle, winning a major battle and going on the offensive. This was perhaps the great crossroads of the war. Much of the Soviet Union still lay in German hands, however, from the Baltic Sea to Ukraine. Within a few weeks, the lines had settled and the great offensives and retreats had given way to smaller skirmishes along the line. Manstein was able to stabilize the German line, fight off the Red Army attacks and even retake ground such as the strategically important city of Kharkov. The German situation was salvaged, however, largely due to the exploits of Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, arguably the most gifted field commander in all of World War II. Aimed at a giant salient in the German lines around the Russian town of Kursk, the attack proved to be the largest tank battle in history, and ended in dramatic failure for the German army.Īfter the German disaster at Stalingrad in February 1943, many predicted that the Wehrmacht would soon disintegrate in the face of ever more daring Red Army attacks. And if you haven’t, hopefully they give you some small measure of understanding for what those who have fought have been through.On July 5, 1943, Adolf Hitler's last big offensive in Russia began.
(We did not, however, count Star Wars – go cry into your Wookiee dolls, nerds.) If you’ve ever been on the frontlines yourself, these movies will resonate. As a result, this list runs the gamut, from depictions of very real conflicts, including both World Wars, Vietnam and the so-called ‘War on Terror’, to fictional battles occurring on faraway planets. In considering the greatest war films ever made, we paid special attention to those movies that view combat from multiple angles. Why do we fight? What happens when it’s over? And ultimately, is it ever worth it? They ask the important questions about the nature of war itself. But the best war movies go deeper than mere cinematic bravado.
Military conflict is at the centre of some of the greatest films ever made, and no wonder – few other man-made nightmares serve as such natural backdrops for suspense, horror and heroism.
War is hell, but hell makes for great drama.
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