Thanks for your continued interest. Finally started back to work on the book this week, even though there is still a lot of other work going on at the Institute. Still, I hope to get this thing wrapped up in the next few of months.

Of course, I could always take a three month unpaid sabbatical.

[This message has been edited by Chris Lawrence (edited 04-08-2005).]

Long time no see - it seems you no longer roam internet forums like you used to, you've left the Madman alone to speak for the SLS across the e-scape. :-)

In any case, I do periodically search Amazon for your Kursk book and am looking forward to it.

One question though (warning: might be a spoiler):

Is there any kind of "official" report on the Panther that addresses the fact no spare parts - or spare part production for that matter - had been provided? If there is, who is named as responsible? Also, is there any kind of speculation as to what the impact of having gaskets etc. on hand might have had on Panther serviceability?

Also, whatever happened to Lauchert after Citadel?

I just received a list of new Russian language books, and there is a massive one about Prokhorovka.
I thought you might be interested :-)

Prokhorovka - neizvestnoe srazhenie velikoj vojny
by V.N. Zamulin

Hardcover - 734 pages
AST, Tranzitkniga 2005
ISBN: 5-17-022743-4

Ozhestochennye boi letom 1943 goda u zheleznodorozhnoj stancii Prokhorovka na Kurskoj duge voshli v oficial'nuju sovetskuju istoriografiju kak krupnejshee tankovoe srazhenie Vtoroj mirovoj vojny. Issledovanie V.N. Zamulina, osnovannoe na analize podlinnykh dokumentov voennogo vremeni, predlagaet novyj vzgljad na sobytija 12-14 ijulja 1943 goda. Kniga prednaznachaetsja kak dlja specialistov, tak i dlja ljubitelej voennoj istorii.

Best regards, Thomas

quote:

---

Originally posted by AlexH:
Also, whatever happened to Lauchert after Citadel?

---

Hi there

From Lexikon der Wehrmacht:

quote:

---

[Meinard von Lauchert ging 1924 zur Reichswehr und diente im Reiter-Regiment 5. Als Abteilungskommandeur machte er den Polen- und Frankreich-Feldzug mit. Bei Beginn des Rußlandfeldzuges war er Major und Kommandeur des Panzer-Regiments 35. In dieser Position erhielt er am im Herbst 1941 das Ritterkreuz. 1944 wurde er zum Oberst befördert und Kommandeur des Panzer-Regiments 15. Am 15. Dezember 1944 übernahm er das Kommando über die 2. Panzer-Division, mit der er an der Ardennen-Offensive teilnahm. Nach dem Krieg geriet Lauchert in französische Gefangenschaft, aus der er 1948 entlassen wurde.

---

Let me know if you need a translation.

All the best

Andreas

quote:

---

Originally posted by AlexH:
I'm not literate in either German or Russian.

---

You should work on that.

In the meantime:

No....I am not roaming the internet forums much anymore. Things have been a little busy at the Institute.

Sorry for the wait on the Kursk book. I am still struggling to clear time to work on it. Workload it lighter now, so I can usually get a few hours on it each week, so we are slowly closing in on finishing. Now...if I was unemployed....I could get this thing done in two months and start working on my next book.

quote:

---

Is there any kind of "official" report on the Panther that addresses the fact no spare parts - or spare part production for that matter - had been provided?

---

You know, I've never looked at that issue. There were scores of them still unrepaired a month after the battle that were then lost in the Soviet counteroffensive.

quote:

---

Also, is there any kind of speculation as to what the impact of having gaskets etc. on hand might have had on Panther serviceability?

---

There was more than one thing wrong with the Panther, but it certainly would have helped getting them back servicable before the Soviet counteroffensive.

quote:

---

Also, whatever happened to Lauchert after Citadel?

---

Well, Lauchert had a long and interesting career. I happen to have interfaced with a gentleman who is working up a biography of Lauchert. He managed to pick up all of Lauchert's letters from the war, which is a wonderful resource.

Lauchert went on to command the 2nd Panzer Division at Ardennes, and then disappeared from the scene around March 1945 for a couple of months (AWOL?). After the war was brought up on a couple of war crime charges but not convicted of anything. Got divorced (has a few living children). Later on, ended up as a consultant for that truly awful Battle of the Bulge movie (I would consider that to be the nadir of anyone's career).

I'll tweak the Lauchert expert and see if he wants to add a few comments to the forum.

[This message has been edited by Chris Lawrence (edited 06-10-2005).]

Thanks for the heads up, but already aware of the book and have met with Valeri Zamulin ealier this year and gave him a bunch a German records. I am trying to bring him back over to the states at some point this year, but need a full-time Russian translator for a few months (one of the reasons we are looking for a Russian speaking intern). Unfortunately, my Russian has never been strong enough.

Thanks for the translation!

Chris,

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris Lawrence:
No....I am not roaming the internet forums much anymore. Things have been a little busy at the Institute.

---

OTOH, I was keen on following a rematch with Mr. Glantz or Mr. Jentz....

Whomever remains standing will meet Mr. Zaloga in the finals. :-)

quote:

---

Sorry for the wait on the Kursk book.

---

About Panther spare parts - it was not until after Zitadelle that spare parts production was even contracted for. More info on that in Spielberger's.

Another "old hand" from the Strachwitz threads.

quote:

---

Originally posted by AlexH:
OTOH, I was keen on following a rematch with Mr. Glantz or Mr. Jentz....

---

Yea, I'm not sure how productive that would be.

quote:

---

I'm eager to see the cool and arcane statistics that are rumored to be in there.

---

quote:

---

About Panther spare parts - it was not until after Zitadelle that spare parts production was even contracted for. More info on that in Spielberger's.

---

Thanks Alex. You wouldn't by any chance be able to email, fax or mail me the pages in question (like I need to re-open and edit the Panther section one more time)?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris Lawrence:
Thanks Alex. You wouldn't by any chance be able to email, fax or mail me the pages in question (like I need to re-open and edit the Panther section one more time)?

Chris

---

I'll look for the info and contact you offline.

I'm trying to figure out the Soviet forces that SS Totenkopf faced on the morning of July 12. Most "popular" accounts of the battle at Prokhorovka focus on the actions involving LSSAH between the Psel and the rail line. As I understand it, SS Totenkopf was heavily engaged on that day as well in a set of swirling tank battles, and ended the day in possession of hill 226.6 (German designation), the town of Polyezhaev. These were considered important objectives to clear LSSAH's flank for its move on the town of Prokhorovka itself.

What I'm having trouble resolving is which Soviet units faced Totenkopf as they made this move.

My question is specific to only that slice of the battlefield along the N banks of the Psel and hill 226.6. I'm just trying to figure out the story of SS Totenkopf's major battle on 12th July.

General belly-aching follows:
Prokorovka is a tough battle to figure out, made even more difficult by the confusing duplications of names. As an example we have a critical action involving the 5th Guards Tank Army, the 5th Guards Army, and the 5th Guards Tank Corps! And then, there are the place-names ...

The Osprey book on Kursk shows only the town of Bogoroditskoye to the west of Prokorovka on the Psel. Of course there were many small villages and hamlets along the Psel, more than 10 just in the area west of Prokhorovka. I tried to search for maps on Bogoroditskoye, and found that there are more than 20 towns by that name in Russia and the Ukraine ... but I can't find any that are near Prokorovka! No Bogoroditskoyes, but two Beregovoes, and to add to the confusion between Koslovka and Andre'evka, about 10 km west of Prokorovka, is a small hamlet called ... "Prokorovka"!

I have come upon a map which shows the 42nd GRD (much decimated by this point, I expect) deployed on a line on both sides of the Psel from about Poleshaev through Prelestnoe. But it also places the 9GAD backstopping the 42nd GRD up near Beregovoe and the Voroshilov state farm. My understanding was that 9GAD was heavily engaged by LSSAH to the SW of Prokhorovka.

I have a Soviet battle map which shows the 24th GTB (of the 18th GTC?) in action on the NW side of the Psel, but it places LSSAH on the NW side of the Psel and SS Totenkopf on the open plains to the SE, which I know isn't right.

I also have a map that shows the 95th GRD deployed in a defensive line in front of Polezhaev. But the map that places 42nd GRD in a line from Prelestnoe to Polezhaev shows 95th GRD back-stopping the 52nd GRD further to the NW, due N of SS Totenkopf blocking any possible move towards Oboyan.

And then there is the whole question of the 5GTC, which figures in several accounts but is absent from any maps I've been able to find of the battlefield.

As I said, its a tough battle to figure out. I wouldn't be surprised if 75% of my maps are 80% correct, but all at different moments in time...

Someone ought to write a book to sort it all out for clowns like me...

-Mark 1

[This message has been edited by Mk 1 (edited 08-31-2005).]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mk 1:
Chris (or others of Kursk-interest...):

Someone ought to write a book to sort it all out for clowns like me...

---

Working on it in my spare time. Forgive me if I hold off answering this post right now. Currently working through the details of some other operations right now and I hate to get pulled in more directions that I already am. Maybe in a while.

It would help to know what maps you are looking at.

33rd Army Corps

52 GdRD (3380 men as of 7/11)
151 Gd Rifle Regt
155 GdRR
153 GdRR
11 Mech Rifle Bde (very weak)
57 Gd Indep. AT Bn
124 Gd Arty Regt

95 GdRD (8781 men as of 7/10)
290 GdRR
284 GdRR
287 GdRR
233 Gd Arty Regt.
103 Gd Indep. AT Bn
26 Gd Abn Regt (9th Gd Abn Div)

649 IPTAP
301 IPTAP
6 Gds Abn Div (reserve)
459 Mortar Regt.
1440 SU Regt (on 7/12 didn't take part - no ammo)
8/66 Gd Mortar Reg (Katyushas)
444,445/316 Gd Mortar Regt
361/80 Gd Mortar Regt

This is not complete and Chris can probably add to it.

I just wanted to inform you about a book about documents relating to the Battle of Kursk:

Organy gosudarstvennoj bezopasnosti SSSR v Velikoj Otechestvennoj vojne: Sbornik dokumentov. Tom 4. Kniga 1: Krushenie operacii «Citadel'»
850 pages, published in 2007.

This book belongs to a series of excellent books about Soviet intelligence reports, starting in 1940.

By the way, when will your book be available?

Best regards, Thomas

quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris Lawrence:
First, I have to finish writing it. Debating right now whether to commit the next four months to that.

---

[left foot] Tap tap tap [/left foot]

[looking at watch] hmmm. [/looking at watch]

The calendar of my watch includes month as well as day. So ... 4 months come, and 4 months go.

But it doesn't include the year. Sigh.

Yet we watch, and hope, and wonder.

Ahh, we're just teasing, Chris. Really. That's the problem with any prediction of the future. Hard to be confident of the date on which something will be done. Easy to be confident on a date by which it won't be done -- that is whichever date you predict for it to be done!

Life intrudes and all that.

But still, we do hope to see a new book. I still want to understand this battle, and after all the readings I've done, I don't.

Oh well, back to my old copy of Martin Caidin's "The Tigers are Burning".

The manuscript is complete. I am currently going through comments by a half dozen reviewers and are about 1/3rd the way through those. Most of it is minor editing. We are currently working on the graphics also.

So...work on the book has slowed for the next two months while I concentrate on "Understanding Insurgencies" but will then continue. Expect it to be complete later this year (finally). This time, I expect no major interruptions (like wars) to interfere with the process.

quote:

---

Originally posted by blackmax:
Do you think your critisism of Galntz et al was fair in the light of having to wait 8 years for your book to emerge. Would it not have been a better course to follow to allow your book to stand without having to refrence other work. Glantz has most probabaly published 10 or more books in the time youve taken just to talk about yours.

---

Well, it was my intention to get the book out in 2002/2003, but work interferred with that. I then had to put the book on hold in 2004 because of the workload at the Institute and it was more than 4 years before I could get back to it. I am not a full-time author, or even a part-time author.

As far as fairness of criticism...that is a good question for expert critics like Siskel & Ebert (who I don't think ever made a movie), Dave Marsh of Rolling Stone (who I don't think ever made an album), or the millions of people who post reviews on Amazon.com or Rotten Tomatos. Not sure why you single me out among all the people who have ever reviewed or commented on someone's work. Have you ever rated a movie, record or book?

Anyhow, if there were any errors in my 30 something comments that I wrote up back in 2003, I would appreciate knowing about them.

I am doing a project and I chose "The Battle of Kursk". I have to write 10 to 12 pages description of the battle.

1 page for introduction and 1 page for conclusion, the other is up to me.

I need suggestions on how to structure the contents.

What is more important to describe.

I want to focus more on statistics, because in my country most of the professors believe in the soviet propaganda statistics.

I want to show what really happened at Kursk and what were the causes of it.

What are good book recommendations that have more accurate statistics?

And what country that would be? Just curious.

[This message has been edited by Hernán (edited 01-27-2010).]