Images of Kursk: History's Greatest Tank Battle, July 1943 (Photographic Histories)

Images of Kursk is an illustrated account of a pivotal battle on the eastern front during World War II. At Kursk, the Germans threw 900,000 men and 2,500 tanks against more than 1 million soldiers and 3,000 tanks of the Red Army in a savage battle of attrition.Unlike many pictorial accounts of the war on the eastern front, Images of Kursk draws upon both German and Russian archive material. All the photographs of the Red Army at Kursk, moreover, are previously unpublished images. The book begins with the buildup of forces before the battle and then illustrates the offensive by two German army groups against the Kursk salient. The images convey the true scale, intensity, and horror of the fighting as the Germans tried in vain to batter their way through the Soviet defensive systems. A chapter is devoted to the climactic battle at the village of Prokhorovka, in which 1,000 tanks engaged each other furiously at point-blank range.With authoritative text and extended captions,Images of Kursk is an enthralling pictorial record of the battle that shifted the strategic initiative on the eastern front to the Red Army for good. Written in an informative yet exciting style, it will appeal to military specialists and laymen alike.