A ground-breaking new study that transforms our understanding of one of the most famous battles of the Second World War, widely mythologized as the largest tank battle in history.
Today in Russia there are three official sacred battlefields: Kulikovo, where the Mongols were defeated in 1380; Borodino, where Russian troops slowed Napoleon’s Grande Armée before Moscow in 1812; the third is Prokhorovka, where the Soviet annihilation of Hitler’s elite SS Panzer force on 12 July 1943 in the largest armoured clash in history has traditionally been described as a key turning point in the war.
The Panzers of Prokhorovka challenges this narrative. The battle was indeed an important Soviet victory, but a very different one to that described above. Based on ground-breaking archival research and supported by previously unpublished images of the battlefield, Ben Wheatley argues that German armoured losses were in fact negligible and a fresh approach is required to understand Prokhorovka. This book tackles the many myths that have built up over the years, and presents a new analysis of this famous engagement.
Foreword by Dr Karl-Heinz Frieser
Preface
Introduction
1. The Historical Record
2. Prelude to Prokhorovka, February–11 July 1943
3. The Battle of Prokhorovka, 12 July 1943: The Statistical Battle
4. The Battle of Prokhorovka, 12 July 1943: A True Narrative
5. From Attack to Defence: The Battle of Kursk Following Operation Citadel, mid-July–31 August 1943
6. The ‘Death’ of the ‘Panzers of Prokhorovka’, September 1943–April 1944
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendices
List of Figures
List of Illustrations in Plate Section
List of Maps
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
List of Frequently Used Abbreviations
Notes
Index
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