Date: 24-Oct-2015

Coming mid October "Kursk: The Battle of Prokhorovka"

This the one book on Kursk that anyone interested in the battle must own, and if one must own only one book on the battle, this is that book! Nearly 1700 pages and oversized! The biggest single volume book on military history ever published?

Reserve your copy today! estimated retail $195 (Aberdeen customers $175.50)

http://www.aberdeenbookstore.com/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=253516

Kursk: The Battle of Prokhorovka is the first definitive account of the largest tank battle in history. This book is unique in that it draws upon in-depth research in both the German and Russian archival records. This was research that was begun in the 1990s, after the Soviet Union had fallen, when The Dupuy Institute was able to gain access to the Russian military archives. The book is built from the actual unit records from both sides, as opposed to the sometimes distorted narratives and legends that have grown up over the battle. It then compares and contrasts those records with the stories and interviews collected from veterans. It is an attempt to cover the entire range of fighting, from the strategic decisions, the operational art, to the tactics and the personal stories. It is a detailed description of the battle, a quantitative analysis of the battle and personal description of the battle as seen through the eyes of the participants. Over hundred German and Russian participants on both sides were interviewed exclusively for this book. It is a unique body of research that will not be replicated.

This is a large book. This is because the amount of unique material collected on the battle was unparalleled, first as part of a U.S. Army funded research project and then as an extended book project. The book includes 29 fold-out maps, 94 maps in the text, 41 charts, graphs and diagrams, 166 tables, 194 statistical sheets covering each engagement, 100 separate sidebars of discussion, 66 German and Soviet commander biographies, and four photo sections with 289 photos. They are drawn from both German and Soviet sources.

The Battle of Kursk was the largest armor battle in history. On 5 July 1943, three German panzer corps, under command of German General Erich von Manstein, tore into the Soviet fortified defenses south of Kursk. Driving back the Soviet Voronezh Front’s desperate defense, under command of Soviet General Nikolai Vatutin and future Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev, the fight culminated in the famous tank battle at Prokhorovka. This book focuses on the German offensive in the south of the Kursk salient that was the high point of the Battle of Kursk. It addresses all units that fought in the battle, not just the Panther and Tiger tanks, not just the SS, not just the tank busting Stukas.

http://www.amazon.com/Kursk-Battle-Prokhorovka-Christopher-Lawrence/dp/0971385254/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441144463&sr=8-1&keywords=Kursk%3A+the+battle+of+Prokhorovka&pebp=14411444 93249&perid=1FED73SNY8Y5NTP7GRT5

The book is now at the port of Los Angeles and going through customs, I expect it to arrive between October 23rd and 30th. Those on the list will receive an email once the book arrives so you can order.

See: http://www.aberdeenbookstore.com/

So, will be available before Halloween. At 1,662 pages, it is pretty scary.

This review is from: Kursk: The Battle of Prokhorovka (Hardcover)
This book is highly researched and well thought-out and when you add up and evaluate all of the parts of this book, it’s a most impressive effort but that’s to be expected when you consider the dedication of Mr Lawrence along with the deep pool of experience and support of the Dupuy organization.

The book begins with a bountiful Prolog/Prehistory (roughly 350 pages) It includes war history as well as immediate pre battle conditions, preparations and assessments of both sides for the upcoming operation. This preface mentions Kharkov and Stalingrad but also Leningrad and Moscow as well as a myriad of other topics not directly related to Operation Citadel. I found these topics interesting though some weren't essential to Operation Citadel. One topic of interest concerns: Did Germany have a chance to defeat Russia. Despite the German kill ratios being higher than the enemy's, the reserve pool of draftees for the Soviets were too large and the Red Army would be able to outlast the Germans in this extended war. In other words could the Germans bleed the Soviets white before they had to surrender. Not earth shattering material but still an interesting discussion.

The next nearly 1,000 pages covers Operation Citadel on the southern salient and the subsequent Soviet counter offensive. The time is from early July to mid August when the Soviets recovered all lost ground. The battle history is delivered chronologically in two, three or four day chucks. Its not as precise as daily coverage but it makes for a smoother, easier to follow dialog. The battlefield was broken up by German Corps sector with activity of the 48th PzC leading the narrative, followed by the SS in the center and ending with the 3rd PzC on the right flank. This may sound surprising when discussing a book of such dimensions but while the operational narrative was very interesting, effective and covered equally from both sides, it was not exhaustively complete. There is still material that can be found in other high quality books that could still expand your horizons.
Besides the smooth delivery of battle history, Mr Lawrence inserted hundreds of timely, well chosen quotes to supplement his commentary. Though most of the quotes were operational in nature, it made the narrative seem more personal. It will allow the reader to understand that the officers of middle to upper ranks and some enlisted men had a pretty good understanding of the circumstances occurring in their sector. These comments delivered some of the analysis that supplemented the author's commentary as the battle progressed.The air war is also given good coverage in both text and data tables.

The next major segment to consider will be Maps. There are many black and white maps spread out throughout the book; they appear to be original war maps. Some German and some Soviet. With a little time the German maps were pretty well deciphered but the Russian language maps were more difficult to study. The author also provided a few fold out maps that were twice the size of the other maps and were easier to read. For me the difficulty in reading some of these maps clearly brought down the effectiveness of this section but this may not be an issue for others. Another issue to consider is that these maps are not fully populated which also brings down their utility a little. Having more unit designations on the maps could clearly help the reader follow the narrative and analysis.

The next major category to consider is the vast array of statistical tables. I didn't count them but scattered throughout the book there are probably 200 data tables. Some tables are used as summaries for individual battles while the remaining tables which are housed in the Appendix are generally overall campaign summaries. There is tremendous amount of information here and even if the US Army gathered some of it post war, it must have taken Mr Lawrence a lot of time to gather, organize and resurrect this data into these nifty tables. These tables could clearly be helpful to researchers.

The Appendix just mention is roughly 350 pages and contains more than tables. I also enjoyed the sections on commander profiles and even if you're well read on the war, there probably will be some nuggets of interesting information you can learn on your favorite officers. Following these profiles are many portraits of officers on both sides. You get to see the portraits of the names that are so frequently mentioned. Its another way of personalizing this battle.

There are other photos to study. There are war time aerial photos of the battle sites as well as present day photos of the terrain; both types were useful in understanding what the Germans had to contend with in reaching the Psel River area as well as seeing how the Soviets were able to stop the advance. Other battlefield photos are included to round out the visual aspect.

There is also a large Bibliography, Footnotes and a useful Index if further study is desired.

I enjoyed this read a great deal and fully appreciate the effort Mr Lawrence has made in writing such a thoughtful book and strongly recommend it to all enthusiasts of the Campaign.

The book is still available from Aberdeen Bookstore. I gather it has pretty much sold out everywhere else (RZM, JJF, Amazon, etc.)

We do have a second shipment arriving soon and Amazon.com should have them by 14 December.

quote:

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Originally posted by Chris Lawrence:
There is a link to an article I wrote on how the Kursk book was written on the Aberdeen Bookstore page: Did I Just Write the Largest History Book Ever?

[This message has been edited by Chris Lawrence (edited 12-09-2015).]

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Nice story. I like the alternative title...

And by the way, just got this week the book here in Argentina (had to import it from "unofficial" channels, don't ask...), it's a monster!. I'm afraid of just to taking it out of the box. I promise I will read it soon

I do think the book actually sets a record for size, but I am not sure. Waiting for someone to correct me. Will have a shorter version of the same article posted on the History News Network soon.

http://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/161443

Longer version of the article is here (because I really don't do short articles):