Battle of Kursk

[sfscriv]

The largest tank battle in the history of mankind occurred from 5 July to 23 August 1943. The battle was the final strategic offensive the Germans were able to mount in the east, and the decisive Soviet victory gave the Red Army the strategic initiative for the rest of the war.

Germans: 2,928 tanks
912,460 men, 9,966 guns and mortars, 2,110 aircraft

Soviets: 7,996 tanks
2,501,779 men, 25,013 guns and mortars, 2,792 aircraft

The Germans hoped to shorten their lines by eliminating the Kursk salient created in the aftermath of their defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad. They envisioned pincers breaking through its northern and southern flanks to achieve a great encirclement of Red Army forces. The Soviets, however, had intelligence of the German Army's intentions, provided in part by the British. This and German delays to wait for new weapons, mainly the Tiger heavy tank and the first significant battlefield appearance of the new Panther medium tank, gave the Red Army time to construct a series of defense lines and gather large reserve forces for a strategic counterattack.

Advised months in advance that the attack would fall on the neck of the Kursk salient, the Soviets designed a plan to slow, redirect, exhaust, and progressively wear down the powerful German panzer spearheads by forcing them to attack through a vast interconnected web of minefields, pre-sighted artillery fire zones, and concealed anti-tank strong points comprising eight progressively spaced defense lines 250 km deep.

The preparation of the battlefield by Red Army military engineers was thorough. Reports indicate 503,993 anti-tank mines and 439,348 anti-personnel mines were laid. On average, 1,500 anti-tank and 1,700 anti-personnel mines were laid per kilometer of front. Further supporting the Soviet infantry were 6,000 76.2 mm anti-tank guns which were skillfully camouflaged. Gunners were instructed to concentrate their fire on the more vulnerable Panzer IV tanks, which formed a majority of the Panzer division strength.

[psyco6]

Check out the book Blood,Steel and Myth.
Covers the SS Panzer Corp and all info is from German sources.Very well written and illustrated.
Shot down a lot of facts about the battle.

Look on Amazon for the authors name.I bought and read it last year and learned quite a bit.As most books written were from Soviet sources.The author discusses that in the book.He does not bad mouth other authors and in their defense says that is what was available at the time.

[sfscriv]

Blood, Steel, and Myth: The II.SS-Panzer-Korps and the Road to Prochorowka

Author - George Nipe Jr.

The book covers in detail the daily progress of Operation Citadel. The author sets the record straight with all the conviction of an Eastern Front historian. With meticulous attention to detail the author illustrates the unfavorable circumstances and erroneous command decisions which doomed Germany's last major offensive in Russia irrevocably to failure.

[sfscriv]

The Battlefield: The Battle of Kursk (2008)

This episode is from the landmark television series Battlefield. Featuring fascinating archive footage from all over the world, the program includes a review of the political and military situation before the battle, portraits of leaders and commanders, an explanation of weapons and tactics, and the story of the battle itself. Vivid graphics place the battle into the context of the war as a whole.