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Modern Military History
Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War
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.
205 pages, Hardcover
Published July 19, 2018
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202 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 2, 2021
What military battle could possibly have cost 1,4000,000 killed & wounded and destroy 8,000 tanks on both sides over just a few days' time? Such was the insanity of Hitler and his generals in the battle of Kursk. Hitler, having indifferently presided over systematically killing his own citizens in terribly planned campaigns, had by now pretty much assured total defeat in WW ll--particularly after the Stalingrad disaster. Hitler's military ineptness, lack of tactical flexibility, and impulsivity made German humiliation once again inevitable.
Keep in mind we're not talking about German genocide against Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and dissidents here. We're talking about Hitler's own antipathy for his ardent best fans--members of the Nazi party & Wehrmacht who loved him enough to die for him without a second thought. [It's oddly like Trump directly contributing to the deaths of perhaps 200,000 US citizens due to COVID inactivity, and then lacking understanding why he wore out his welcome here and there.]
The Russians were of course desperately trying to get a giant gang of Nazi thugs and murderers known as the Wehrmacht out of their living room [so to speak]--out of Kursk & out of Russia.
Military communiques among the Wehrmacht command discussed this meat grinder of a battle almost as though it was a board game, where war was fought as second nature at the behest of a totalitarian dictator--Hitler's psychopathic personality being much like Donald Trump's incidentally.
The German author has a great command of well-researched battle history from archives and testimonials, but he does seem oddly bemused by the Russians having expended many times the military resources to grind down the Wehrmacht in this battle, as though German command expertise and tactical superiority require endless reiteration to demonstrate that, at their core, the Germans were somehow superior to the Russians. Of course the Germans were better at war-fighting in day-to-day battle scenarios then the Russians. But not in long term war-planning; at that they were terrible.
Aside from the author's ignoring the huge reliance the Wehrmacht had on utilizing millions of horses to pull around their military equipment throughout WW ll, nonetheless this book is a very good snapshot of this almost unbelievable battle. Why the common ignoring of the massive use of horses by the Wehrmacht throughout WW ll? Because of the the lack of glamor around horse poop from millions of German horses compared to the shiny technologically superior Tiger tanks rumbling around--unreliable as they may have been. Allied troops were frequently stunned by all the horses the Germans used--regarding how primitive that was. This story has been a part of the false mythology of German engineering superiority for many decades and persists to this day. For instance, it only took the Russians a little over a year to develop a tank superior to any tank the Germans ever had in WW ll. Ah, the master race--it will always be with us.
Keep in mind we're not talking about German genocide against Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and dissidents here. We're talking about Hitler's own antipathy for his ardent best fans--members of the Nazi party & Wehrmacht who loved him enough to die for him without a second thought. [It's oddly like Trump directly contributing to the deaths of perhaps 200,000 US citizens due to COVID inactivity, and then lacking understanding why he wore out his welcome here and there.]
The Russians were of course desperately trying to get a giant gang of Nazi thugs and murderers known as the Wehrmacht out of their living room [so to speak]--out of Kursk & out of Russia.
Military communiques among the Wehrmacht command discussed this meat grinder of a battle almost as though it was a board game, where war was fought as second nature at the behest of a totalitarian dictator--Hitler's psychopathic personality being much like Donald Trump's incidentally.
The German author has a great command of well-researched battle history from archives and testimonials, but he does seem oddly bemused by the Russians having expended many times the military resources to grind down the Wehrmacht in this battle, as though German command expertise and tactical superiority require endless reiteration to demonstrate that, at their core, the Germans were somehow superior to the Russians. Of course the Germans were better at war-fighting in day-to-day battle scenarios then the Russians. But not in long term war-planning; at that they were terrible.
Aside from the author's ignoring the huge reliance the Wehrmacht had on utilizing millions of horses to pull around their military equipment throughout WW ll, nonetheless this book is a very good snapshot of this almost unbelievable battle. Why the common ignoring of the massive use of horses by the Wehrmacht throughout WW ll? Because of the the lack of glamor around horse poop from millions of German horses compared to the shiny technologically superior Tiger tanks rumbling around--unreliable as they may have been. Allied troops were frequently stunned by all the horses the Germans used--regarding how primitive that was. This story has been a part of the false mythology of German engineering superiority for many decades and persists to this day. For instance, it only took the Russians a little over a year to develop a tank superior to any tank the Germans ever had in WW ll. Ah, the master race--it will always be with us.
August 24, 2018
Premetto che ho l'edizione cartacea e non quella Kindle e l'ho molto apprezzata oltre che per il testo anche per le cartine piuttosto ben fatte ed esaustive.
Tornando al testo, ottimo lavoro! L'autore, uno storico di professione, demistifica tutte le opere precedenti a tema questa colossale battaglia della Seconda Guerra Mondiale, la ripulisce da tutti gli errori più o meno intenzionali riportati nei vari memoriali dei vecchi protagonisti (errori naturalmente legati ad interessi personali, a nessuno piace fare cattiva figura di fronte al mondo) ed utilizzando fonti primarie riporta alla luce il reale svolgimento della battaglia di Kursk.
Interessante e probabilmente definitivo, oltre che ben scritto.
Tornando al testo, ottimo lavoro! L'autore, uno storico di professione, demistifica tutte le opere precedenti a tema questa colossale battaglia della Seconda Guerra Mondiale, la ripulisce da tutti gli errori più o meno intenzionali riportati nei vari memoriali dei vecchi protagonisti (errori naturalmente legati ad interessi personali, a nessuno piace fare cattiva figura di fronte al mondo) ed utilizzando fonti primarie riporta alla luce il reale svolgimento della battaglia di Kursk.
Interessante e probabilmente definitivo, oltre che ben scritto.
October 6, 2019
The author is an academic, and he wrote an academic book. It provides a great introduction on different models of German tanks deployed in 1943 at this battle, with alll the details on protection and firepower. The strategy and tactics are also discussed in detail, with references from both sides on the considerations at stake and of course backed up with tons of references. Furthermore the movements of every kind of army formation are also described in detail. What I missed? The personal story to highlight the actions that took place. Ryan's " Stalingrad, enemy at the gate" provided just that.
May 28, 2018
Overall a great book about one of the biggest battles of WW2. The author goes into details and gives you a good overview of this huge battle. The author is biased towards the Germans, but it is understandable since most of his sources are German and Soviet sources are almost non-existent/inaccessible. He goes against the official narrative, trying to uncover the truth about the Battle of Kursk.
August 24, 2020
This book wasn`t what I was looking for in a personal account of actual tank battle duels but I gained insight of the strengths and weeknesses on both sides. The Russians had a big resourse of man power but not much for training which led to many deaths. Russian generals lied about how much German men and machinery that they were destroying led Stalin to comitt more men to the slaughter, thinking matters were going great. Even today Russia is hiding the statistical facts of losses in their war machinery to historians so as to promote the great patriotic war.
June 21, 2024
This was excellent. It was a critical analysis of the battle bringing into question the repeated (and inaccurate) depictions of the decision making, losses on both sides. Well worth the time to get a more accurate picture of what really happened. The Russians really took serious losses which Soviet propaganda had diminished. It is clear their tradecraft needed more work and in every category, they suffered 4-6 times as many losses. Further hitler is blamed for a number of decisions that were made, when in actuality, these are from generals who were covering their own asses in their memoirs.
February 6, 2026
Die überragende Quellenarbeit und Aufarbeitung jeglicher Details sorgt für einen schlechten Lesefluss. Allerdings wahrscheinlich das Standardwerk zu Kursk.
February 22, 2025
Roman Töppel liefert mit Kursk eine der (meiner Meinung nach) besten neuen Analysen zum Zweiten Weltkrieg und entmystifiziert viele falsche Vorstellungen über die berühmte Schlacht. In seiner präzisen Untersuchung räumt er auf beiden Seiten mit Lügen und Mythen auf. Oft wird behauptet, die Wehrmacht habe einen „strategischen Sieg“ errungen, doch Töppel zeigt, dass keines der deutschen Ziele erreicht wurde.
Töppel räumt auch mit der sowjetischen Propaganda auf, die die Schlacht als völligen deutschen Misserfolg darstellt, und zeigt die tatsächlichen Verläufe und die militärischen Entscheidungen, die auf beiden Seiten getroffen wurden.
Ein Muss für alle, die sich mit Militärgeschichte (auch wenn nur als Hobby) befassen.
Töppel räumt auch mit der sowjetischen Propaganda auf, die die Schlacht als völligen deutschen Misserfolg darstellt, und zeigt die tatsächlichen Verläufe und die militärischen Entscheidungen, die auf beiden Seiten getroffen wurden.
Ein Muss für alle, die sich mit Militärgeschichte (auch wenn nur als Hobby) befassen.
December 27, 2019
Overview & Review of Kursk
A well written and thoughtful book on Kursk. Along with The Battle of Kursk, Glantz & House; Demolishing the Myth, Zamulin; and Blood, Steel, & Myth, Nipe this book redefines the 1943 Battle of Kursk, the largest concentration of troops, armor, and artillery for a one week battle ever assembled. Easy to read for a technical subject. Recommended.
A well written and thoughtful book on Kursk. Along with The Battle of Kursk, Glantz & House; Demolishing the Myth, Zamulin; and Blood, Steel, & Myth, Nipe this book redefines the 1943 Battle of Kursk, the largest concentration of troops, armor, and artillery for a one week battle ever assembled. Easy to read for a technical subject. Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews