OPERATION CITADEL VOLUME I

Questo volume descrive i combattimenti nella zona sud dell’offensiva durante la prima metà di luglio 1943. Traccia lo sviluppo dei concetti operativi che portarono ai combattimenti e il resoconto giorno per giorno delle battaglie, compresa un’ampia copertura di la “madre di tutte le battaglie tra carri armati” a Prokhorowka. L’autore dissipa molte idee sbagliate e leggende che circondano la battaglia, inclusa la prova inconfutabile che le perdite tedesche non erano così alte come le fonti sovietiche hanno a lungo sostenuto.

Although there are many books about this operation, Operation Citadel Vol.1: The South is the first of two volumes that offer something for everyone, whether a modeller, historical gamer, WW II enthusiast or serious historian. Jean Restayn has provided the reader with a brief and highly readable overview of the fighting combined with first-person accounts. In addition, the book features 702 photographs (many never seen before or previously miscaptioned), 48 full-colour profiles of German and Russian vehicles, three pages of colour tactical insignia employed by the Germans on their vehicles, and four full-page colour maps outlining the fighting.

This volume describes the fighting in the southern area of the offensive during the first half of July 1943. It traces the development of the operational concepts that led to the fighting, and the day-by-day accounts of the battles, including extensive coverage of the “mother of all tank battles” at Prokhorowka. The author dispels many misconceptions and legends surrounding the battle, including irrefutable evidence that German losses were not nearly as high as Soviet sources have long claimed.

The fighting in the south was primarily conducted with armoured formations, including some of the most famous ones that Germany had as part of its war machine: Panzer-Grenadier-Division “Grossdeutschland”, SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division “Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler”, SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division “Das Reich”, SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division “Totenkopf”, and schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503.