The
II.SS-Panzer-Korps and the road to Prokhorovka, July 1943 * Revealing, detailed
account of the II SS-Panzer-Korps at Kursk, 1943, based principally on combat
reports and first-hand accounts
George Nipe, author of Last Victory in Russia and Decision in the
Ukraine, has written a revealing and unprecedented re-analysis of the
II.SS-Panzer-Korps’ operations during the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943.
Unlike all previous books on the subject, which refer almost exclusively to
Russian accounts of the battle, Blood, Steel and Myth makes extensive use of
original German source material. In so doing he convincingly exposes the
conventional wisdom, which through its constant repetition over the years has
assumed mythic status, as being fundamentally flawed and patently untrue.
Based principally on Heer and Waffen-SS combat and intelligence reports
from the southern sector of the Kursk salient, as well as the individual
accounts of veterans, the book covers in detail the daily progress of Operation
Citadel. With meticulous attention to detail the author illustrates the
unfavourable circumstances and erroneous command decisions which doomed
Germany’s last major
offensive in Russia irrevocably to failure.
The personal notes, conversations and official orders of generals
Hausser, Hoth, and Manstein are all closely scrutinized to shed new light on
this much celebrated but incorrectly recounted clash of arms, with particular
attention being paid to the “greatest tank battle in history” at Prokhorovka.
Nipe sets the record straight with all the conviction of an Eastern Front
historian whose veracity and impeccable scholarship have been proven time and
again. Blood, Steel and Myth is heavily illustrated with hundreds of rare photos
and numerous maps to provide a strong visual component to this unique account of
the Kursk Offensive’s southern front.
