This book covers three battles. The Battle Of Prokhorovka during the Kursk Offensive, The Battle along the Mius River, after Kursk and The Battle Of Bogodukhov during the Soviet Offensive after Kursk. Specifically it is about the II SS Panzer Corps in all of these battles.
The book offers a different point of view and covers some events with a different outlook than other books before. It shows how Prokhorovka might have actually been a tactical victory for the II SS Panzer Corps, a different view than the usual myth-"hundreds of destroyed German tanks". This book shows that is was actually the other way around. The 5th Guards Tank Army was practically destroyed by the II SS Panzer Corps. The Red Army lost over 300 tanks and the Germans around 70 Panzers during Prokhorova.
This book shows that while Prokhorovka may have been a victory the Battle Of Kursk itself was not. The authour maintains that the battle should not have been called off, and provides some evidence that supports that fact. Manstein himself wanted to continue the attack for this same reason. The Red Army had reserves saved up for their planned offensive "Operation Rumyantsev" as well as other reserves and did not want to use them up stopping the Germans. The Soviet reserve for the front that the Germans were attacking in, 5th Guards and 5th Guards Tank, were already committed. Thus, if the Germans continued the Soviets would have no choice but to committ their reserves that were being saved for their upcoming offensive, thus, their offensive would be late, or not happen at all. The course of the war could have been changed. The German Panzers in the area could have destroyed the Soviet Reserve as they did at Prokhorovka.
There is evidence to support this. The Soviets launched offensives to draw the German Panzers from Kursk. Even the Soviet High Command saw the risk of a German breakthrough. The offensives at Izyum and the Mius were launched for this purpose. The 3rd Panzer, 2nd SS Panzer, 3rd SS Panzer and 23rd Panzer were sent to the Mius in late July. The 5th SS Panzer and 17th Panzer were sent to Izyum at the same time. Thus the German offensive power in the Kursk area was weakened by the Soviet diversionary attacks.
Other events as well pulled troops from the Kursk area. The 1st SS Panzer Division was sent to Italy as a deterent to the Italian army. The Grossdeutschland Division was sent North of Kursk in reaction to a Soviet offensive in the Orel area. So, it seems that it was not the "heroic fighting effort of the Red Army" that defeated the German Army at Kursk after all.
The Battles of the Mius area and The Battle of Bogodukhov show how the II SS Panzer Corps was shuffled along the front to the most threatened areas. Despite being worn down, exhausted, low on strength and in need of refitting this Corps and the divisions in it, 2nd SS Panzer, 3rd SS Panzer and 3rd Panzer Divisions, always did their best and pushed out their most supreme effort in accomplishing their missions.
This book was a good read and was very enlightening. But as usual I have my share of nitpicks.
Other than some poor writing, poor editing and some incorrect unit research this book is a good read. If you can look by some of the mistakes and see the point that the authour is trying to make. I agree with his points in a way. Maybe the course of the war could have been changed during and after the Kursk battles. Who knows?
NIPE JR., George M. Decision in the Ukraine. Winnipeg : J.J. Fedorowicz, 1996.
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All contents written by Christian Ankerstjerne unless stated otherwise