audiobook Zitadelle: The German Offensive Against the Kursk Salient 4–17 July 1943 by Mark Healy in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A must read for buffs of military history; tanks; strategy and multi-level thinking.By Soh Jian YiAn extremely heavy (in terms of content; details and topographical memory) book on military history; with a few hundred pages of text; interspersed with black-and-white and color photos of the key people involved and machines used.The author paints a comprehensive picture of the thoughts and considerations of the leadership on both sides of the conflict; with slightly more emphasis on the German perspective; as the title suggests. He goes into depth into multiple factors; each of which weight the chances for success for either faction.With this foundation laid down; giving readers an understanding of the situation from top-down as well as ground-level; he then goes into the day-by-day narrative of each division's and Army's moves; disasters; and heroics. Nicely; much more is fleshed out beyond the age-old historical chronicle and the older texts that mistakenly describe the Greatest Tank Battle in history as a firestorm of equal attrition. Without revealing any potential spoilers; the German army's superiority in many aspects still stands out and stands them in good stead; up until the Soviets finally demonstrate that they played the long-term game better than their enemy did. Which mirrors in principle the same sorry situation Japan landed itself in when it challenged America in the Second World War.Weaknesses:- Some minor spelling and grammatical errors.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. You are not going to be disappointed with this book trust me!By Nasha NaufalOh I really love this book a lot as I have wanted to get it since 2013 but somehow kept postponing buying it till this year over other books and I must say I am fully satisfied by Mark Healy's narration and British style of writing as I have bought only one of his brief and concise books on the Battle of Kursk albeit I find there are quite a few minor spelling errors in this book as I have now read half way through it. I think the publisher had rushed the book into publication which may have result in the typography errors here and there though I would say it's negligible for me. Lots of colorful and black white pictures of the tanks of both German and Red Army involved in Kursk. The book is stimulating and entertainingly contagious making it hard for me to put it down (ok that's a bit exaggerating) but yeah it makes you want to keep reading and I usually pick the book up whenever I feel like it and on one of my free time.11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Well Worth Five StarsBy David M. DoughertyThis book is well-written; scholarly and thorough although generally written from the German side. Based on much new evidence on the German offensive Zitadelle (Citadel) to eliminate the Kursk salient in July of 1943; it offers new insight and even new information for historians to ponder. As such this work should be included on the shelf of every serious student of the Eastern Front alongside the works of Glantz and House; "Battle of Kursk"; from the Soviet side; Zetterling and Frankson; "Kursk 1943: A Statistical Analysis"; Newton; "Kursk - The German View"; based on documents produced by the American Army from Wehrmacht participants after the war; and Restayn and Moller; "Operation Citadel Vol I: The South" and Operation Citadel Vol II: The North". These six works should satisfy all but the more devoted readers. The author argues that Citadel was a political necessity for Hitler to regain the possibility of Germany's winning the war. All of the operational commanders were against it; and other options such as Manstein's "Backhand" plan to fight a mobile defensive war were available. By a careful analysis of events; the author takes the Army Chief of Staff Zeitzler off the hook for delaying the operation until it no longer had a chance for victory. In the southern attack it can be argued that the Germans were successful to a point; inflicting grievious casualties on the Soviets; especially on the tank formations. Nonetheless; the Germans were unable to achieve their objectives and the battle evolved into a significant strategic defeat. The battle eliminated the German reserves; greatly damaged their striking power; and destroyed their ability to win any further subsequent major battles in 1943. The Red Army had finally achieved dominance in summer conflicts and although it could be repulsed (like on the Narva or in the Western (South) Ukraine); it could not be defeated such as to lose the war. In many respects; this battle sealed Germany's doom -- the remainder was just killing. There were several myths exploded in this very fine work -- such as the Soviets being able to destroy large numbers of German Tiger tanks. The Tigers fought extremely well; taking an enormous toll of Soviet tanks of all types; and just from a German tanker's perspective; their battle was a victory. After 24 hours of battle at Prokhorovka; Rotmistrov's tank army had been reduced from 850 tanks to only 150-200 servicable machines. Such losses truly indicate the ferocity of the fighting; and substance to the claim that Kursk was the greatest clash of armour ever. The German Panthers and Ferdinands were hot off the production line and generally failed in their missions. The Panthers experienced significant "teething" problems and were generally disabled from mechanical problems rather than enemy action. In addition; the lack of German infantry to support the panzer formations increased casualties in those units and led a lack of coordinated attacks. Soviet soldiers no longer fled at the approach of tanks; and without infantry in support; German tank formations were vulnerable to destruction by individual Soviet soldiers. In short; Germany no longer possessed the manpower necessary to defeat the Soviet Union -- it could only delay the ultimate end. These points are just a few of many in this excellent work. My only negative is that the maps were few and not greatly detailed (and in the front of the book.) The photos aid in giving a sense of the terrain; and the battle developed in context to an extreme degree. The writing is crisp and well-organized. Even the appendixes are useful although I would have like to see personnel strengths included. I recommend this work without reservation to all readers interested in World War II and the Eastern Front.