Author : Anders Frankson
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 26,78 MB
Release : 2016-12-05
Category : History
ISBN : 113526810X
The battle at Kursk in 1943 is often referred to as the greatest tank battle in the history of warfare. This volume makes extensive use of German archival documents as well as various Russian books and articles. As well as an account of the battle, it addresses methodological issues.
Author : Roman Toeppel
Publisher : Helion
Page : 230 pages
File Size : 13,50 MB
Release : 2021-11-15
Category :
ISBN : 9781914059629
The Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 was one of the greatest battles in military history involving more than 3 million soldiers, 10,000 tanks and 8,000 aircraft. While many books have been written on this allegedly most decisive battle of the Second World War, many legends live on, above all because of misleading information that recur in most publications - even in the most recent ones. Based on almost 20 years of research reassessing the primary sources, Roman Toeppel sheds light on the phase of decision-making, the preparations and the development of the battle in an engaging style that grips the reader's attention from the first page on. The author concentrates on little-known developments and events leading the reader to astonishing results. He also gives entirely new insights into the historiographic appraisal of this battle, putting thoroughly researched facts against erroneous popular beliefs, myths and legends that have been passed down among historians for generations.
Author : David M. Glantz
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 372 pages
File Size : 14,59 MB
Release : 2021-04-14
Category : History
ISBN : 1135233179
This volume offers detailed information about the Red Army's preparation for and conduct of the Battle of Kursk, the nature of the war on the German Eastern Front, and on the range of horrors that have characterized warfare in the 20th century.
Author : Mark Healy
Publisher : The History Press
Page : 168 pages
File Size : 25,17 MB
Release : 2012-01-31
Category : History
ISBN : 0752481282
In July 1943, Hitler launched Operation Zitadelle, the last German offensive on the Eastern Front. It was an attempt to shorten the German lines by eliminating the Kursk salient and was designed to result in the encirclement of the Red Army. In reality, the German tanks came up against impenetrable Russian defences: minefields, artillery and anti-tank emplacements, spread through lines 250km deep and manned by Russian troops whose actions often verged on the suicidal. The greatest tank battle in history, Operation Zitadelle assured the Nazis' defeat and was 'the swan song of the German tank arm'. Involving over 9,000 tanks, 5,000 aircraft, 35,000 guns and mortars, 2.7 million troops and 230,000 casualties, the Battle of Kursk's scale and barbarity eclipsed all other clashes in Europe. In this book, historian Mark Healy gives a clear, concise account of those dramatic days in 1943.
Author : Lloyd Clark
Publisher : Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
Page : 460 pages
File Size : 38,94 MB
Release : 2011-11-04
Category : History
ISBN : 0802195105
“A comprehensive analysis of WWII’s greatest land battle and one of history’s greatest armor engagements.” —Publishers Weekly On July 5, 1943, the greatest land battle in history began when Nazi and Red Army forces clashed near the town of Kursk, on the western border of the Soviet Union. Code named “Operation Citadel,” the German offensive would cut through the bulge in the eastern front that had been created following Germany’s retreat at the Battle of Stalingrad. But the Soviets, well-informed about Germany’s plans through their network of spies, had months to prepare. Two million men supported by six thousand tanks, thirty-five thousand guns, and five thousand aircrafts convened in Kursk for an epic confrontation that was one of the most important military engagements in history, the epitome of “total war.” It was also one of the most bloody, and despite suffering seven times more casualties, the Soviets won a decisive victory that became a turning point in the war. With unprecedented access to the journals and testimonials of the officers, soldiers, political leaders, and citizens who lived through it, The Battle of the Tanks is the definitive account of an epic showdown that changed the course of history. “A stellar account of the Battle of Kursk in 1943.” —Booklist
Author : Walter S. Dunn Jr.
Publisher : Stackpole Books
Page : 232 pages
File Size : 28,71 MB
Release : 2008-07-21
Category : History
ISBN : 1461751225
The story of history's largest armored battle Descriptions of Tigers, Panthers, and T-34s in combat Based on declassified Russian documents and captured German records A significant turning point of World War II, the battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 was the Germans' last major offensive on the Eastern Front. Marked by pitched clashes between German Tiger tanks and Soviet T-34s, the engagement began well enough for the Germans, but the Soviets delayed them long enough to bring their reserves forward, counterattack, and force Hitler to call off the attack. Hundreds of thousands lay dead or wounded on both sides, but the Soviets won the battle and seized the initiative for the rest of the war.
Author : Robert Forczyk
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 100 pages
File Size : 23,75 MB
Release : 2017-03-21
Category : History
ISBN : 1472816927
Mauled at Stalingrad, the German army looked to regain the initiative on the Eastern Front with a huge offensive launched near the city of Kursk, 280 miles south-west of Moscow. Armed with the new Panther tank, Hitler and Field Marshal von Manstein were confident that they could inflict another crushing defeat on the Soviet Union. What they did not know is that the Soviets knew about the coming attack, and they were ready. This book focuses on the southern front of this campaign, which featured one of the biggest clash of armour of the warin the battle of Prokhorovka which involved over a thousand tanks. It examines in detail the tactics and mistakes of the army commanders as they orchestrated one of the bloodiest battles in World War II. Using campaign maps, stunning photographs and vivid artwork, this new study, a companion to Campaign 272 Kursk 1943: The Northern Front, examines whether that the German offensive was doomed from the start as it takes the reader through this titanic clash of armour.
Author : Robert Forczyk
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 204 pages
File Size : 24,35 MB
Release : 2014-09-20
Category : History
ISBN : 1782008217
The Kursk campaign was the major German offensive of 1943 and the last strategic offensive the Germans were to launch on the Eastern Front in World War II. In the summer of 1943, recoiling from defeat at Stalingrad, Hitler conducted a limited objective offensive to eliminate the Soviet Kursk salient. Operating a classic pincer attack of the kind that succeeded during the 1942 Kharkov campaign he hoped that the resulting heavy losses inflicted on the Red Army would give the Wehrmacht time to recover its strength. However, the Soviet anticipation of the attack led to extensive losses on both sides as Soviet anti-tank mines and fierce fighting pushed the Germans back, liberating the German-held Orel in the process. Focusing on the northern front of the battle with Generaloberst, Walter Model's forces pitted against General Rokossovsky's Central Front between 5 July and 18 August, this volume will explore both the German offensive and the Soviet counteroffensive. Using documents from both sides, extensive photographs – both contemporary and modern, maps and bird's-eye-views this title will shed new light on this often ignored part of the battle.
Author : Valeriy Zamulin
Publisher : Helion and Company
Page : 418 pages
File Size : 31,1 MB
Release : 2017-07-27
Category : History
ISBN : 191311807X
In this book, noted historian of the Battle of Kursk Valeriy Zamulin, the author of multiple Russian-language books on the Battle of Kursk and Destroying the Myth: The Tank Battle at Prokhorovka, Kursk, July 1943: An Operational Narrative takes a fresh look at several controversial and neglected topics regarding the battle and its run-up. He starts with a detailed look at the Soviet and Russian historiography on the battle, showing how initially promising research was swamped by Party dogma and censorship during the Brezhnev area, before being resumed with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Zamulin then transitions to discussions of how the southern shoulder of the Kursk bulge was formed, preparations for the battle on both sides, and the size and composition of Model’s Ninth Army. He then examines such controversial topics as whether or not the II SS Panzer Corps was aware of the pending Soviet counterattack at Prokhorovka, and the effectiveness of the Soviet preemptive barrage that struck the German troops that were poised to attack. Zamulin also discusses whether or not General Vatutin, the Commander-in-Chief of Voronezh Front, erred when arranging his defenses. Zamulin also takes a look at how the myth of 1,500 tanks colliding on a narrow strip of farm fields became perpetuated in Soviet and foreign history books, when in fact it was impossible for the 5th Guards Tank Army’s tanks to attack in massive wave after wave due to the constrictions of the terrain. Zamulin also reveals incidents of the battle that were long kept “behind the curtain” by Soviet censorship. For example, the 183rd Rifle Division defending the Prokhorovka axis was repeatedly struck by friendly aircraft, and a Soviet tank counterattack overran the positions of one of its battalions. Zamulin discusses other cases of fratricide in the Voronezh Front, including the death of one of the 1st Tank Army’s foremost tank commanders in a friendly fire incident. In the process, he reveals that a wave of suicides swept through the junior command staff of the 5th Guards Tank Army immediately prior to the famous counteroffensive on 12 July 1943. All in all, Valeriy Zamulin with this collection of essays and articles, two of which have been reprinted from the Journal of Slavic Military History, makes a new contribution to our knowledge and understanding of this pivotal, epochal battle of the Second World War.
Author : Colonel David M Glantz
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
Page : 84 pages
File Size : 29,57 MB
Release : 2015-11-06
Category : History
ISBN : 1786250438
In his classic work, On War, Carl von Clausewitz wrote, “As we shall show, defense is a stronger form of fighting than attack.” A generation of nineteenth century officers, nurtured on the study of the experiences of Napoleon and conditioned by the wars of German unification, had little reason to accept that view. The offensive spirit swept through European armies and manifested itself in the regulations, plans, and mentality of those armiehe events of 1939, 1940, and 1941 in Poland, France, and Russia respectively again challenged Clausewitz’ claim of the superiority of the defense and prompted armies worldwide to frantically field large armored forces and develop doctrines for their use. While blitzkrieg concepts ruled supreme, it fell to that nation victimized most by those concepts to develop techniques to counter the German juggernaut. The Soviets had to temper a generation of offensive tradition in order to marshal forces and develop techniques to counter blitzkrieg. In essence, the Soviet struggle for survival against blitzkrieg proved also to be a partial test of Clausewitz’ dictum. In July 1943, after arduous months of developing defensive techniques, often at a high cost in terms of men and material, the Soviets met blitzkrieg head-on and proved that defense against it was feasible. The titanic, grinding Kursk operation validated, in part, Clausewitz’ views. But it also demonstrated that careful study of force organization and employment and application of the fruits of that study can produce either offensive or defensive victory. While on the surface the events of Kursk seemed to validate Clausewitz’ view, it is often forgotten that, at Kursk, the Soviets integrated the concept of counteroffensive into their grand defensive designs. Thus the defense itself was meaningless unless viewed against the backdrop of the renewed offensive efforts and vice versa. What Kursk did prove was that strategic, operational, and tactical defenses could counter blitzkrieg.
