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The Battle of Kursk |  | Authors: David M. Glantz, Jonathan M. House
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
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Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 51217
Media: Paperback
Pages: 485
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 1.5
ISBN: 0700613358
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5421
EAN: 9780700613359
ASIN: 0700613358
Publication Date: July 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Immense in scope, ferocious in nature, and epic in consequence, the Battle of Kursk witnessed (at Prokhorovka) one of the largest tank engagements in world history and led to staggering losses--including nearly 200,000 Soviet and 50,000 German casualties within the first ten days of fighting. Going well beyond all previous accounts, David Glantz and Jonathan House now offer the definitive work on arguably the greatest battle of World War II. Drawing on both German and Soviet sources, Glantz and House separate myth from fact to show what really happened at Kursk and how it affected the outcome of the war. Their access to newly released Soviet archival material adds unprecedented detail to what is known about this legendary conflict, enabling them to reconstruct events from both perspectives and describe combat down to the tactical level. The Battle of Kursk takes readers behind Soviet lines for the first time to reveal what the Red Army knew about the plans for Hitler's offensive (Operation Citadel), relive tank warfare and hand-to-hand combat, and tell how the tide of battle turned. Its vivid portrayals of fighting in all critical sectors places the famous tank battle in its proper context. Prokhorovka here is not a well-organized set piece but a confused series of engagements and hasty attacks, with each side committing its forces piecemeal. Glantz and House's fresh interpretations demolish many of the myths that suggest Hitler might have triumphed if Operation Citadel had been conducted differently. Theirs is the first account to provide accurate figures of combat strengths and losses, and it includes 32 maps that clarify troop and tank movements. Shrouded in obscurity and speculation for more than half a century, the Battle of Kursk finally gets its due in this dramatic retelling of the confrontation that marked the turning point of the war on the Eastern front and brought Hitler's blitzkrieg to a crashing halt. This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 22
 SCHOLARLY AND EXCITING! January 14, 2010
JOJO DANCER
3 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book points out that the Soviet Union would have had their rear ends handed to them by the Germans at kursk had they not received 17,000 UNITED STATES made jeeps and 90,000 UNITED STATES made trucks. The USA sent food, clothing etc.... The united states capitalist system won the war on both fronts. The USA factory workers were the biggest muscle in the Allies war of attrition. Obviously, due respect must be given to the Russian foot soldier for his dogged determination, courage and bravery. But, if America stayed out of the war, it would have been a nightmare for the Soviets. Anothe source i read stated that the SOVIETS received almost a half a million vehicles from the UNITED STATES during world war two.
Great book on this subject January 6, 2010
B. Watts (Australia)
Detailed write up on the actions during the Kursk battles.
Highly recommend this book for anyone interested in this subject.
A Best Book for Battle Buffs November 4, 2009
Eugene Mcmanus (Pictou, Nova Scotia)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
World War II was one of the major events, if not the major event, of the twentieth century. Three of the four major competing political philosophies: communism, fascism and democracy, collided, and two were hopefully, relegated to the trash heap of failed ideas. Democracy survived. Two of these philosophies collided in eastern Europe, as Adolf Hitler and the Nazi fascist machine attempted to expand into Russia and neutralize the growing Soviet communist threat. Four major encounters along that contributed in a significant way to the final denouement of the Nazi fascist experiment. These battles were the Siege of Leningrad (St.Petersburg), the attack on Moscow, the showdown at Stalingrad (Volgograd) and the slug fest at and around the town of Kursk. Hitler an the Nazi war machine lost all four. Following the loss at Kursk, most of the Nazi High Command concluded the war could not be won, and so advised Hitler. This book chronicles how Hitler and the Nazis approached the battle, the thinking by Stalin and the Soviet High Command, the assumptions on both sides, and what the final deciding factors were.
There are other books about both the Soviet-Nazi conflict and associated battles, and about Kursk in particular. However, anyone interested in the whys and wherefores of Kursk most surely needs to have this book nearby.
Very Good coverage of the tank battles near Prokhororovka June 10, 2009
Dave Schranck (Anaheim Ca)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
The war for Hitler and his Allies had been deteriorating since Stalingrad and Hitler had to have a major victory to keep his coalition together. Though he wasn't convinced that Citadel would be that victory, his Chief of Staff sold him on it.
The first two chapters is an introduction and overview of the first two years of the war. Talks a little bit about Hitler and his reasons for the offensive on the Kursk salient, rebuilding of the Wehrmacht and also about his obsession with weaponry etc. The section on Tigers, Panthers and Elephants is of special interest.
The next chapter, "Preparations" presented the buildup of the armies for both sides and also describes the extensive defensive efforts made by the Russians. An abbreviated Order of Battle is included. A table is also furnished that shows the superiority of men, tanks and guns the Russians had over the Germans. This superiority plus the benefit of well built defenses gave the Germans little chance of winning this engagement. This chapter was a big help in acclimating the reader for the upcoming battle.
The next 5 chapters describe the operational details of the assault and the Soviet counterattack. I was a little surprised with this section for Mr Glantz missed some coverage. There are several other books that have minor battle action, especially in III PzC sector, that is missing here but this book is still overall the most complete tactical coverage I can find. The battles involving the 48th PzC and the 2nd SS PzC on the southern boundaries are especially revealing. The way the passages are written you can easily see how the two Korps worked and protected each other against frontal and flank attacks. The author excelled with the tank battle near Prokhorovoka which made up for the missing coverage of the few days prior to this engagement.
A key interest to many is the number of panzers that were destroyed in the campaign. Mr Glantz creates a spreadsheet, broken down by Corps, Division, type of tank, and by day. In summary, the Germans for both fronts lost 323 destroyed tanks and 1612 damaged but recoverable tanks compared to 1614 destroyed Russian tanks. The author makes a point that the Germans were able to repair and redeploy most of those 1612 panzers. Mr Healy in his book, "Zitadelle", makes similar arguments and numbers.
There are 32 good maps spread out throughout the book; you'll have a pertinent map close by to study as the narrative develops. The maps are busy with lots of detail but are much more readable than the maps Mr Glantz has in his last two books. There are so many units involved and individual engagements that maps are critical in following this campaign and these maps are helpful in this respect. There are a few interesting photos as well.
There is a terrific Appendix that includes detailed Orders of Battle for both sides which will be very helpful. There is also an extensive Notes Section, Bibliography and Index if further study is desired.
The author does such a good job of describing the battle. You can see the momentum change from the German's beginning few days of the assault to the slowing of their advance and then the stopping of the advance at Prokhorovka. The Germans never really had a chance to reach their objectives; the Soviets had build too strong of a defense, had too many men and definitely had too many tanks for the Germans to overcome. The book also shows the Soviet's continuing habit of grinding down the German offensive, sacrificing their first echelon in order to suck the enemy in and launch a counter offensive in an attempt to surround and destroy the enemy. It happened in front of Moscow, at Stalingrad and now here.
Mr Glantz ends the book with important and poignant conclusions about the battle action and for the expectations of the rest of the war. The Germans lost all strategic long term offensive capabilities and would be forced on the defensive, limited to minor tactical counter-attacks for the rest of the war. There were political implications as well that were discussed. Also of interest was Manstein's argument with Hitler to start Citadel as soon as possible. The Field Marshall didn't believe the addition of the new Panther would make up for the lengthy delay. The author suggests that had the Germans launched earlier, without waiting for the new Panthers, that the results wouldn't have changed drastically.
This battle is so important to the outcome of the war and Mr Glantz does a very good overall job of telling us about it. This is one of the three best books (English) on this campaign and if you're a war buff you should definitely read it not only for its tactical coverage but also for its strategic importance. The other two authors are Mark Healy and Steven Newton. Their books offer different insights and they complement each other for a fuller picture.
 Kursk Deluxe February 16, 2009
E. Preston (Jacksonville, IL United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is an exhaustive look at a major WWII battle.
I found its detailed very good but the writing dull
in parts. Over-all though a very solid effort to
give a comprehensive look at an important battle that
gets insufficient attention in the West.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 22
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