Kursk: The Clash Of Armour

Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II / the Violent Century: Battle #7

by Geoffrey Jukes

As the hot weeks of waiting dragged by, time after time the Soviet soldiers rehearsed their tasks. The Germans meanwhile assembled an immense force totalling thirty-five divisions. Now both sides were ready for battle. But neither the German nor the Soviet commanders knew the exact time Citadel would begin. That was still Hitler's secret...The greatest armoured battle of all time.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, World War II, Military Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

A former civil servant and scholar in international relations, Geoffrey Jukes spent 14 years in the UK Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Colonial Office, specialising in Russian/Soviet military history, strategy and arms control. He was a Senior Fellow in International Relations at ANU from 1967 to 1993, and an Associate of the Centre for Arab & Islamic Studies (the Middle East & Central Asia) until his death in 2010.

Reviews

[Carlos Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

以前星光的雄心壯志。
現在看來缺點滿滿...字太小，圖片不清晰。
不過翻譯跟價格還是可以的，內容雖然有點舊，但也還能一讀。
軍迷推薦。

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The German Plan was to grab initiative back after Stalingrad by mounting an offensive with their new Superweapons with a narrow focus. Their new Tiger and Panther Tanks and their new Ferdinand assault Guns would return overwhelming power to the Panzer and Panzer Grenadier mobile formations- and they would pinch off the salient around Kursk- popping a pimple in their front- freeing a whole army group for more operations. But German factories did not put out such complex machines- and the aircraft wanted for the offensive in the sort of number that American, British and Russian factories did. Getting enough tanks and men together took longer - debugging the new gear took longer still. Geoffrey Jukes , a Soviet Expert and historian gives us a concise history of the campaign- explaining how the Soviets knew it was coming- and where it was coming- and prepared accordingly. Defensive line after defensive line, all bristling with Anti Tank guns -and mines- and cleared fields of fire for Russian Assault Guns and Tanks. And if the German were making two assaults from both north and south- Would they be potentially open to a counterattack on their own flanks....?
Of course- the salient was really a great way to hold the German Armies' attention, and the Russians had been busy themselves-Jukes show graphically with lines drawings of gear , maps and great diagrams- in the style of these Ballantine's Illustrated History of WWII series- that the Russians had amassed an even larger force. Using their superior intelligence-their own NKVD sources- and what Ultra the Anglo-Americans would share- the Soviet Stavka knew all other offensives were feints - and could use this opportunity to really push the Germans out of their beloved Rodina. There were more Soviet "Fronts" than German "Army Groups"- approximately equivalent formations- and the German were suddenly being bundled out of Russia and The Ukraine wholesale. I have read several other books on this topic and this one really clarifies how the Russians were able to use all the lessons the Germans had taught them at such high cost- to beat the German at their own game- armoured and mobile columns slicing through the German lines and encircling whole divisions and corps- endangering whole other parts of the front like the Crimea and Romania. Kursk was not just the last initiative of the Panzerwaffe- it really was the beginning of the end for Germany on the Eastern Front- losses of men and equipment on a titanic scale - losses that could never be made up again. All the concepts that would be used in the Bagration Campaign of summer'44, were first used in the Kursk campaign- and the Generals that mastered those techniques here were the ones that followed Zhukov into the pantheon. A great quick read on a pivotal point of WWII.
With simplified adult themes and little graphic violent description, this is a great little history for a Junior reader over about 10/11- with an interest in Russian or Ukrainian History. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, these books are great. The Gamer gets a ton of campaign/scenario ideas- and a single short volume to hand to a Warhammer guy who gets the FOW/CoC/Battlegroup/BloodRedSkies bug and wants to understand the Great Patriotic War- but not get too bogged down in prose. The Modeler gets a lot of diorama/build ideas- from the text and the plethora of b/w pics that pepper the book. The Military Enthusiast gets a pivotal battle/campaign of WWII well explained- and a good bibliography to start with- although the 1968 Publication date means there are post-Soviet revelations on this battle that are not covered. Still- it's a great start to understanding this battle / campaign in particular and Soviet warfare in general. Well worth the read.

[Iain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would better be titled "East Front, 1943" as it's a solid treatment of the southern portion of the eastern front from after the encirclement of Stalingrad through the Soviet Summer offensive. Jukes seems to take Zhukov's memoirs a bit too seriously and, as is typical for western histories of the time, his account suffers from a lack of access to Soviet archives as well as post-Cold War scholarship.

That said, I found this to be one of the better members of the classic Ballantine's Battle Book series.

[Timothy Gretler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vintage 1968 story of the Battle of Kursk with extra information on the situation before and after the battle. Kursk truly was the turning point in the Eastern theater of WWII. The Nazis never recovered and the Soviets kept right on rolling. Love these Ballantine Illustrated Histories. $1 back in the day. I gobbled these up when I was a kid, whether in the library or when I could come up with a buck.

[IKO · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een in detailbeschrijving van de aanloop en het verloop van deze iconische slag. Wel niet zoveel diepgang en vooral veel aandacht voor troepensterktes en verliezen. De analyse zou iets dieper mogen gaan, maar al bij al onderhoudend

[Jeff Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geoffery Jukes does an excellent job setting the stage and describing all the main players in this epic battle that did turn the tide of World War Two for the allies. The defeat of the vaunted SS divisions around Prokhorovka sealed the fate of Hitler and his thousand year Reich.

There are many other works out there which go into greater depth and detail, but if you’re a novice, unfamiliar with the largest tank battle in the twentieth century, this is a good place to start.

Five stars

[John Ashtone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in the 'Purnell's' Hist of WW2 series, later rebranded as Ballantine's a good well researched overview of the build up to the battle and the battle itself.

It also covers the immediate consequences and Germany retreating from Ukraine.

The book covers the standard of equipment and the way the Tanks were deployed, all in all a good read.

[Lewis M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first book about the battle at Kursk that I read. A short and compact volume, part of the Ballentine's history series, I have read and re-read this book several times. The author covered the armies, the build up, the weapons, and the German attacks well.

[Michael Brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and informative read in Ballantine's 1960s "battle book" softcover format that I enjoyed as a teenager.