Mauled at Stalingrad; the German army looked to regain the initiative on the Eastern Front with a huge offensive launched near the city of Kursk; 280 miles southwest of Moscow. Armed with the new Panther tank; Hitler and Field Marshal von Manstein were confident that they could inflict another crushing defeat on the Soviet Union. What they did not know is that the Soviets knew about the coming attack; and they were ready.This book focuses on the southern front of this campaign; which featured the one of the biggest clashes of armor of the war; as over a thousand tanks clashed in the battle of Prokhorovka. It examines in detail the tactics and mistakes of the army commanders as they orchestrated one of the bloodiest battles in World War II. Using campaign maps; stunning photographs; and vivid artwork; this new study; a companion to CAM 272 Kursk 1943: The Northern Front; examines whether the German offensive was doomed from the start as it takes the reader through this titanic clash of armor.
#201375 in Books imusti 2014-06-19 2014-06-19Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.15 x .85 x 6.25l; 1.55 #File Name: 1472533917416 pagesBloomsbury Academic
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Very insightful book for the series professional war gaming student ...By chris daltonVery insightful book for the series professional war gaming student and teacher. not for the feint of heart in deciding to enter the world of war gaming that goes beyond the computer glorified children's versions. Philip Sabin knows his topic and all of its nuances. I work in a professional war gaming department and across the board; the seasoned professionals with whom i'm associated all have his book on their shelves for ready reference.2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. An excellent alternative to traditional historyBy Tommy M. McguireConsider a traditional history of a war: You learn the dates; places; the actors; what happened; and hopefully why. What you do not learn is the consequences of alternative choices nor the effects of the constraints that the actors were under.Sabin offers an alternative to the traditional study of history; using simulations which allow students to take the place of the actors in a conflict. These offer the hope of exploring alternative choices as well as allowing the students to understand viscerally what the actors would have felt they could do.Sabin's simulations are wargames; tabletop games which are cheap; easy to construct for a specific scenario; focused on the specific issues of a conflict; and understandable by students quickly. These are significant advantages over other; more technological; simulations.For an extra illustration of the possibilities; check out Sabin's other book; Lost Battles; which uses a flexible wargame toolkit to examine many battles in the ancient middle east.2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. An Interesting Look at the Design and Use of WargamesBy Andrew WyllieThis book takes a look at the development and use of 'Conflict Simulations' or wargames. The initial chapters of the book were a slow read for me and seem to be a little too academic for what I would consider a book trying to reach a general audience about this topic; but after these inital chapters the pieces of his reasoning and his design logic seem to fall more into place; so I would suggest the reader be patient and keep reading for a little bit.I have been a wargamer for a good part of my life and over the years have collected a sizeable group of different types of games. This book goes into the details of items that are present in a lot of wargames like zones of control and explains what they are representing and not treating is just as a game mechanic. The author spends a lot of time describing how different types of conflict situations (or wargames) are designed and developed. He talks about the differences that you would see about fighting in Ancient Roman times versus a more modern conflict like World War II.One thing I have noticed that since I started reading this book; whenever I am playing either a board wargame or a computer version; I seem to be examining and thinking about what the designer was thinking or try to get across regarding certain elements of their design. What are they stressing as being important versus what might have been glossed over as a simple side-note or something beyond the player's control. Before reading this book; I do not remember thinking about such items in the games I play.I would recommend this book to anyone who has every played a board wargame and might have wondered what has gone into the making of it. He even discusses computer wargames and indicates which ones he thinks are good simulations and which ones are more geared less toward recreating a conflict and more towards the general entertainment category. This book will get you thinking differently about the games and how the modern military in a lot of countries use very similar games to train the soldiers of today.
