Tigers and Panthers in the Battle of Kursk
19.99 €
Out of stock
Tigers and Panthers in the Battle of Kursk
19.99 €
The newest German tanks, the Tigers and Panthers, were destined to become the Wunderwaffe that would turn the tide of the war in favor of the Third Reich. Although the heavy Pz.VI Tiger had received its baptism of fire on the Eastern Front as early as September 1942 near Leningrad, the Germans had to wait until the following summer for their mass use. In Operation Citadel about one and a half hundred Tigers were used for the first time, which amounted to only 7.5% of the total number of German tanks at Kursk, but the effect produced by the new Panzers was so great that the Red Army command was forced to take special measures to combat "Tigerphobia". On the contrary, the debut of "Panthers" in the Battle of Kursk turned out to be depressing: in a month of fighting out of 212 vehicles were irretrievably lost 156, i.e. three quarters! Unlike the "Tigers", the Soviet troops considered the "Panthers" much less dangerous enemy, very vulnerable in the side projection - their side armor penetrated not only 76-mm guns, but even "Sorokopyatki". "Panther-type tanks did not justify the hopes placed on them: they could easily be set on fire, and the crews did not have sufficient training...", "Von Strachwitz used Panthers like an idiot...", - this is how Hitler's officers evaluated the debut of the Pz.V Panther. What posed the greatest threat to the Tigers - Soviet tanks, artillery or minefields? Who is to blame for the failure of the Panther's debut - their commanders, who made inexcusable mistakes, or the top leadership of the Reich, who bet on this overweight and unreliable, extremely complex, expensive and, most importantly, superfluous tank? How prominent a role did the Tigers play in the famous battle of Prokhorovka and should we believe the victory accounts of the Panzerwaffe ace? How did the tactics of combat use of German tanks change, and the combat order Panzerkeil ("tank wedge") was transformed into Panzerglocke ("tank bell")? NEW book by a leading historian of armored vehicles in all the details answers the most difficult and controversial questions of the combat use of "Tigers" and "Panthers" at the Kursk Bulge. The edition is illustrated with exclusive photographs.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author
- All books in the series The main battles of the Great Patriotic War. Illustrated Encyclopedia