Battle of kursk, july 5august 23, 1943, unsuccessful german assault on the soviet salient around the city of kursk, in western russia, during world war ii. The map the map used for the battles of kursk scenarios is based off a section of the panzer campaigns kursk 43 map. Seventeen questions and answers about battle group. Russia holds the third place in the world regarding its defense spending. Although it was the entire 19th infantry regiment of the russians which was thus attacked, only a few bombs each round up to 5 kilograms sufficed to utterly wipe them out to the last man. Whenever i think of this attack, my stomach turns over. You can assume their might rating reflects general supernatural competence, and other effects may work automatically or differently when used by a battle group en masse. The battle, involving thousands of tanks in a confrontation which raged for over six weeks in the peak of the summer heat, took place on the wide fields between the cities of oryol and belgorod in. Finally, the heart of g luboky boi rested with a third element, the dd dalno go.
Being set in kursk the largest tank battle in history bgk supports good size tank on tank battles. The book is organized into eighteen easily digestible chapters and proves an absorbing read, even for those who consider themselves otherwise well informed on the topic. The battle began with the launch of the german offensive operation citadel german. New on e23, drivethru rpg, and wargame vault is prochorovka. It will comfortably handle 10 to 15 tanks or selfpropelled guns a side plus support in that forementioned 3 hours. The battle of kursk was a world war ii engagement between german and soviet forces on the eastern front near kursk in the soviet union during july and august 1943. The germans did win at kursk in the sense that they inflicted higher casualties on the soviets and came very close to breaking through the initial lines of defense, especially at. The offensive action by army group south heeresgruppe sud was countered by the defence and ultimately offense of voronezh and steppe fronts. Pz towed pak marder iii marder ii stug t34 lssah 4 0 11 0 79 12 9 18 21 0 34 dr 0 1 47 0 30 12 8 16 2 8 33 18 t 0 0 59 5 42 11 8 19 11 0 28. However, it would be more appropriate to say that germany was defeated by the combined effects of the battles of moscow in 1941, stalingrad in 1942, and kursk in 1943. I dont think the germans could have routed the soviets at kursk.
The battle of kursk began on the afternoon of july 4, 1943 with a divebombing attack by a squadron of stukas around butovo in the kursk salient. The paper number of enlisted men is 000, but real figure is 800000. Unternehmen zitadelle, on 5 july, which had the objective of. Documents and materials, 27 march to 23 august 1943, vol.
The battle of kursk was a second world war engagement between german and soviet forces on the eastern front near kursk 450 kilometres or 280 miles southwest of moscow in the soviet union, during july and august 1943. Comparative strengths and losses in the battle of kursk. The next day hitler ordered to stop operation citadel, and the russians started their counter attack north of kursk. The name battle group gives a hint to what this family of rules is all about. The battle of kursk on germanys eastern front in world war ii was one of the most important battles in world history and a major turning point in the war. Russian army, general data russia is the second world military power taking into account its strategic arsenal and the third as a conventional military power. Although the german offensive was called off on july 17th, when hitler directed the withdrawal of ii ss panzer corps, the fighting in the salient did not end on that day. How did the defending soviet forces suffer such disproportionate casualties, and how did they win in spite of them. Have every unit in kursk collect near the entrance to the south, then go to your base in the northeast. This campaign scenario is operation citadel with the following hypothetical operation added to itby mid june it became obvious to the german high command that the russian defenses in the kursk salient might be too difficult to overcome. These fast, fun and authenticfeeling rules, written by veteran games designer warwick kinrade author of kampfgruppe normandie, are designed to play at 15mm and 20mm 172nd scales. Ive already had a lot of research and knowledge from previous years but im having some trouble making it into a arguable thesis. The german offensive was codenamed operation citadel and led to one of the largest armoured clashes in history, the battle of prokhorovka. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
The dates covered are from july 4th 1943 to july 12th 1943. Kursk 1943 wasnt the greatest tank battle of all times. The deliberate defensive operation that the soviets implemented to repel the german offensive is referred to as the kursk strategic defensive operation. Imho a slightly more user friendly version of the qrs for battlegroup. While the germans consider the battle occurred from july 515, 1943 and the soviets from july 5august 23, 1943, both agree it began on july 5, when germany launched its third and final offensive during its war against the soviet union, an operation code named operation citadel zitadelle. Abstract the battle of kursk on germanys eastern front in world war ii was one of the most important battles in world history and a major. The battle of kursk takes readers behind soviet lines for the first time pdf to discover what the red army knew about the plans for hitlers offensive operation citadel, relive tank warfare and handtohand combat, and learn how the tide of battle turned. The battle involved over 4 million people from both sides, in addition to 70,000 artillery guns, 23,000 tanks and 12,000 warplanes. For the offensive phase 512 july for 9th army, 520 july for 4th panzer army and ad kempf as i recall, german casualties were roughly 79,000 killed, wounded and missing. Analysis and significance of the battle of kursk in july. Valeriy nikolaevich zamulin, a phd candidate, is a leading russian scholar of the battle of kursk. Intelligence and the battle of kursk, 1943 for students of the sovietgerman war, the revelations concerning allied signal intelligence between 1939 and 1945 only underscore our ignorance of the intelligence aspects of the second world wars greatest land campaign. Seventeen questions and answers about battle group mechanics 09172016, 01.
Sporadic arrivals of new conscripts and equipment, especially for the mechanized units and the waffen ss, gave the german defenders the means. It turned into the battle of kursk, the greatest tank battle in history. This is the story of the largest tank battle in military history, as elite ss troops face off against russian defenders determined to stop them whatever the cost. Some effects may even be inappropriate for a battle group to use. Battlegroup kursk rules and first supplement kursk wargamer. The latest supplement for the battlegroup world war two game is themed around the battle for tobruk in 194041 but also has some extra. Due to stubborn russian resistance and hitlers change of heart. Revisiting a lost victory at kursk a thesis submitted to the graduate faculty of the louisiana state university and agricultural and mechanical college in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts in liberal arts in the interdepartmental program in liberal arts by jonathan p. I am sending you, in one group, all those reports on what is called the atomsplitting bomb. Analysis and significance of the battle of kursk in july 1943.
Operation citadel and edelweiss, kursk salient, july 4th 1943. A waffenss tiger i tank scores a direct hit on a t. Operation citadel was the last great german push against russia during wwii. Build and deploy an infantry division hq, then attach the units at the southern entrance of kursk to that new division hq. Koltunov, kurskaia bitva the battle of kursk moscow. They were composed of heavier tanks such as the giant t35 and medium t28 tanks. The russian battle group, containing cruisers, submarinehunting warships and russias lone aircraft carrier the admiral kuznetsov. Since 1996, he has been working intensively in the most important russian and foreign archival institutes, including the central archive of russias ministry of defense and in the us national archive, in order to gather and analyse documentary sources on the events in the kursk bulge in the. Review a switchers guide to battlegroup wwii tabletop wargame. Battle group kursk offers up a great game with a strong emphasis on command and control and on the historical character of the fight for the kursk salient in the summer of 1943.
The salient was a bulge in the soviet lines that stretched 150 miles 240 km from north to south and protruded 100 miles 160 km westward into the german lines. David glantz 1999 book the battle of kursk is an example. The battle of kursk operation citadel and the last nazi. House seek to separate myth from fact to show what really. Collected pictures of the ww2 battle of kursk the biggest. At the battle of kursk, the soviets suffered a staggering 860 000 casualties, compared to the germans losing about 250 000 men. The third battle of kharkov was fought between feb. After the battle the battlefield in kursk was filled with many hundreds of burnt tanks and crashed aircraft, and so many dead soldiers.
You could do brit vs german late 41 onwards right off the bat as practically all the dak equipment will be in the bg barbarossa and kursk lists, while most of the brit stuff will either be in overlord or one of the lendlease russian battle groups. Nov 16, 2014 you could do brit vs german late 41 onwards right off the bat as practically all the dak equipment will be in the bg barbarossa and kursk lists, while most of the brit stuff will either be in overlord or one of the lendlease russian battle groups. Unternehmen zitadelle was a german offensive operation against soviet forces in the kursk salient during the second world war on the eastern front that initiated the battle of kursk. The kursk defensive operation 1 july 1943 red army strengths sources. Reviewed in the united states on march 14, 20 battle group kursk offers up a great game with a strong emphasis on command and control and on the historical character of the fight for the kursk salient in the summer of 1943. From a report by the senior general staff officer in the voronezh front to the chief of the general staff concerning the defensive operations. The deliberate defensive operation that the soviets implemented to repel the german offensive is referred to as the kursk strategic. That lets me play a game to completion in 2 to 3 hours on a clubnight. Conducted by colonel general filipp golikovs voronezh front, the goals of the operation were the capture of kursk and kharkov. The battle of stalingrad, 17 july 1942 2 february 1943 the ukraine and crimea, november 1941 july 1942 kursk, 4 july 27 august 1943 operation citadel the battle of north africa 19401943. As the battle of stalingrad was concluding in early february 1943, soviet forces launched operation star. Another myth is that the battle of prokhorovka was the turning point not really, the northern attack had already failed and the germans had already lost more than they could afford. Koltunov, kurskaia bitva v tsifrakh the battle of kursk in numbers, vizh 6 june 1968.
Mar 24, 2014 kursk 1943 wasnt the greatest tank battle of all times. The battle of kursk facts and fiction historical articles. Add to basket add to wishlist mortem et gloriam mortem et gloriam ccc measuring sticks. It is a fact that in june of 1943, the german army tried out an utterly new type of weapon against the russians at a location 150 kilometers southeast of kursk. The german army after the battle of kursk by walter s. May 11, 2010 the battle of stalingrad, 17 july 1942 2 february 1943 the ukraine and crimea, november 1941 july 1942 kursk, 4 july 27 august 1943 operation citadel the battle of north africa 19401943. Join me for a look at the rulebook for battlegroup a world war ii tabletop miniatures game by iron fist publishing. Russian warships to bypass spanish refueling port, as nato. In particular the german squads had their mg42s cut out as seperate units. For my sophomore project ive decided to do my research paper on the significance of the battle of stalingrad and the battle of kursk and its impact on the eastern front of world war 2. The day after as well as half of july 14 the tank battle shattered the earth. Sep 10, 2010 the german order of battle at kursk afvs in ii.
A study of the battle of kursk at prokhorovka, one of the largest tank engagements in world history, which led to staggering losses imncluding nearly 200,000 soviet and 50,000 german casualties within the first ten days of fighting. Battle of kursk f acts the battle involved over 4 million people from both sides, in addition to 70,000 artillery guns, 23,000 tanks and 12,000 warplanes. Out of print battlegroup blitzkrieg now available digitally supplement for the battlegroup world war ii gaming rules covering the invasion of. Start by sending the two infantry units in the southern towns north to the bottom entrance of kursk the center town.
However it does a very good job of supporting infantry too you can run a russian rifle division horde if you like. The battle of kursk was one of the key confrontations of the second world war, in terms of both its terrifying scale and its ultimate significance. Revisiting a lost victory at kursk lsu digital commons. Demolishing the myth, the tank battle at prokhorovka kursk. We played another game of battle group normandy over the weekend and while we enjoy the general concept, we were a bit put off by how the army lists and game mechanics interacted.
Soviet defensive tactics at kursk, july 1943 army university press. The battle of kursk comes to a climax at the battle of prokhorovka on july 12, 1943. The battle of kursk was the first time in the second world war that a german strategic offensive was halted before it could break through enemy defences and penetrate to its strategic depths. Zapotoczny the wehrmachts strength and combat effectiveness in the east after the battle of kursk entered a period of steady decline. The dpp tank group was designed to engage enemy centers of resistance, such as machine guns and infantry groups, located between 1. Armor at kursk is a game depicting the largest tank battle in the history of warfare on july 12, 1943 between the german ss panzer korp and russian 5th guards tank army.
Drawing on both german and soviet sources, david m. It lasted 50 days and nights and ended on 23 august with a conclusive victory of the soviet army. Battle of kursk axis and allies faqwalkthrough by deuce. A new and innovative games system for recreating the epic battles around kursk in 1943 on the eastern front. Citadel was the decisive battle on the eastern front in world war ii because after this battle the initiative passed to the soviets, who would never lose it again. Since 1996, he has been working intensively in the most important russian and foreign archival institutes, including the central archive of russias ministry of defense and in the us national archive, in order to gather and analyse documentary sources on the events in the kursk bulge. For purposes of comparison, it really dependes on the definition of the battle of kursk in time and space, so to speak.
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