Dennis Showalter - Armor and Blood

32 Hoth’s decision to attack“KTB, 4. Panzerarmee, 27.6.1943,” National Archives, T-313, reel 365; and Steven H. Newton, “Army Group South’s Initial Assault: Analysis and Critique,” in Kursk: The German View , pp. 382–385.

33 Major General Friedrich FangohrFangohr, “Fourth Panzer Army,” in Kursk: The German View , pp. 77–79.

34 Panthers had reached Army Group South on July 1Jentz, Panzertruppen , vol. 2, pp. 96–100, excerpts reports describing technical and tactical issues in detail.

35 Hoth’s final attack ordersSilvester Stadler, Die Offensive gegen Kursk 1943: II.SS-Panzerkorps als Stosskeil im Grosskampf (Osnabrück: Munin-Verlag, 1980), pp. 23–27.

36 Constructed around its panzer divisionsShowalter, Hitler’s Panzers , pp. 242–252 passim, is a bare-bones overview. Among the massive body of literature on the Waffen SS, the best overview remains Bernd Wegner, The Waffen SS: Organization, Ideology, and Function , trans. Ronald Webster (London: Blackwell Publishing, 1990). It is supplemented and developed by René Rohrkamp, “Weltanschaulich gefestigte Kämpfer”: Die Soldaten der Waffen-SS 1933–1945 (Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh, 2010). For details of organization and equipment during Citadel, David Porter, Das Reich at Kursk: 12 July 1943 (London: Amber Books, 2011), is excellent and generally applicable to Leibstandarte and Totenkopf as well.

37 Mass and fighting spiritGeorge M. Nipe, Blood, Steel, and Myth: The II. SS-Panzer-Korps and the Road to Prochorowka, July 1943 (Stamford, CT: RZM Publishing, 2012), p. 65–84, is detailed, clearly presented, and generally eschews SS mythmaking. Valeriy Zamulin, Demolishing the Myth: The Tank Battle at Prokhorovka, Kursk, July 1943: An Operational Narrative , trans. and ed. Stuart Britton (Solihull, UK: Helion & Co., 2011), pp. 92–102, presents the Russian perspective.

38 Third German trump card was the LuftwaffeBergström, Kursk: The Air Battle , p. 30.

39 Army Detachment KempfCf. Colonel General Ehrhard Raus, “ Armeeabteilung Kempf,” in Kursk: The German View , pp. 47–53, for a command perspective; Didier Lodieu, III. Pz. Korps at Kursk , trans. Alan Mackay (Paris: Histoire and Collections, 2007), for a tactical overview based heavily on unit war diaries; and Franz-Wilhelm Lochmann et al., The Combat History of German Tiger Tank Battalion 503 in World War II , trans. Fred Steinhardt (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2008), pp. 107–108, for the role of the Tigers.

1 Katukov, working in his undershirt“Katukov,” in Armstrong, Red Army Tank Commanders , pp. 58–59.

2 Vatutin’s high-risk decisionZamulin, Demolishing the Myth , pp. 104–110; Glantz and House, Battle of Kursk , pp. 101–103.

3 “Flying light”Bergström, Kursk: The Air Battle , pp. 56–57.

4 A strongpoint in itselfSpaeter, Grossdeutschland , pp. 120–123; Mellenthin, Panzer Battles , pp. 55–56.

5 To the Pena RiverTraditionsverband der Ehemaligen 3. Panzer-Division, Geschichte der 3: Panzer Division Berlin-Brandenburg, 1935–1945 (Berlin: Buchhandlung G. Richter, 1967), p. 375; Zamulin, Demolishing the Myth , p. 116.

6 Infantryman who did not expect miraclesHealy, Zitadelle , p. 236.

7 A network of fortified heightsCf. the day’s combat reports in Stadler, Offensive gegen Kursk , pp. 49–53, and the narrative in Nipe, Blood, Steel, and Myth , pp. 114–141, and Zamulin, Demolishing the Myth , pp. 114–133.

8 “Tough and determined resistance”“18:00 Uhr., Tagesmeldung ‘LSSAH,’” in Stadler, Offensive gegen Kursk , p. 43.

9 Hoth’s orders for the next day“Panzerarmeebefehl Nr. 2,” in ibid., pp. 52–53.

10 “A complete success”KTB, 4, Panzerarmee, Chefnotizen für 6.7.1943, National Archives T-313, roll 369.

11 Zeitzler refusedMelvin, Manstein , p. 373.

12 Easier stated than achievedLodieu, III. Pz. Korps , pp. 30–46.

13 Arguing with his superiorsGlantz and House, Battle of Kursk , pp. 113–115.

14 “Pick up the pace!”“Panzerarmeebefehl Nr. 2,” in Stadler, Offensive gegen Kursk , p. 53.

15 Stukas were overheadBergström, Kursk: The Air Battle , p. 59.

16 Grossdeutschland was stopped in its tracksSpaeter, Grossdeutschland , pp. 121–122; Jentz, Panzertruppen , vol. 2, p. 96; Glantz and House, Battle of Kursk , pp. 126–129.

17 Success won by finesse and maneuverSpaeter, Grossdeutschland , p. 123.

18 Tigers at the apexNile, Blood, Steel, and Myth , pp. 169–175; Zamulin, Demolishing the Myth , pp. 134–137.

19 “Excellent Luftwaffe support”“18.00 Uhr.: Div. ‘Das Reich’ Tagesmeldung,” in Stadler, Offensive gegen Kursk , p. 60.

20 Corridor the Russians were determined to shutIbid., p. 57.

21 Naked from shirttail to bootsOtto Weidinger, Division Das Reich (Osnabrück: Munin-Verlag, 1969), pp. 177–178.

22 Hausser submitted his report to Hoth“22.40 Uhr.: Tagesmeldung an die Armee,” in Stadler, Offensive gegen Kursk , p. 61.

23 Fourth Panzer Army must be stoppedGlantz and House, Battle of Kursk , pp. 113–114; Zamulin, Demolishing the Myth , pp. 138–139.

24 One of the hardest days in the Battle of KurskZamulin, Demolishing the Myth , pp. 95–96.

25 “Larger units” and “heavier tanks”Armstrong, Red Army Tank Commanders , pp. 58–59.

26 Crews could often repair track damage themselvesZetterling and Frankson, Kursk 1943 , pp. 120–123; Healy, Zitadelle , p. 258.

27 The Russians had other ideasCf. Lodieu, III. Pz. Korps , pp. 46–57, and Nipe, Blood, Steel, and Myth , pp. 175–182.

28 “Keep a few for interrogation”Erhard Raus, Panzer Operations: The Eastern Front Memoir of General Raus, 1941–1945 , comp. and trans. Steven H. Newton (New York: Da Capo Press, 2003), p. 203.

29 A disconcerting imageManstein, Verlorene Siege , p. 499; Melvin, Manstein , pp. 373–374.

30 The image of a tar baby“Panzerarmeebefehl Nr. 3,” in Stadler, Offensive gegen Kursk , pp. 57–58.

31 Transferred the bulk of their respective mobile forcesHealy, Zitadelle , p. 271; Nipe, Blood, Steel, and Myth , pp. 216–217.

32 Syrzevo itself held outSpaeter, Grossdeutschland , pp. 123–124; Healy, Zitadelle , pp. 271–272.

33 Mistakes are in the nature of warMellenthin, Panzer Battles , p. 233.

34 Division ordered the battle group to hold its groundSpaeter, Grossdeutschland , p. 124; Healy, Zitadelle , pp. 272–274; Bergström, Kursk: The Air Battle , pp. 62–64.

35 No fewer than twelve attacksGlantz and House, Battle of Kursk , p. 135.