Clash of Armor
Kursk and the Battle of the
Bulge
“War is the locomotive of History.” – Leo Tolstoy
I. Introduction
A. The tank was not
a new concept. Leonardo Da Vinci
presented his design for an “armored car”
(tank) in 1487, however it was not until the First World War that a
practical vehicle, code named ‘Tank’ would enter the battlefield as a viable
weapon.
B. After the war,
many military theorists saw the potential for the tank to change the nature of
the battlefield. (Liddell Hart, Anon Chaffe, George Patton)
C. During the Battle
of France, 1940, the French & British had bigger tanks, better tanks and
more tanks than did the Germans, however…
Unlike the Allies, the Germans knew how to use the tank to best effect.
Unlike the Allies, the Germans knew how to use the tank to best effect.
That said, the Germans realized they too needed a heavy tank and began a design program that resulted in the Mark VI Tiger I. The Tiger entered active service in late 1942.
D. German invasion of the Soviet Union (June 22, 1941)
did not proceed as planned. The Soviets
had twice as many tanks as the Germans had estimated and, more importantly in
the T34, a tank design far more advanced than anything the Germans possessed.
The nasty surprise presented by the T34 spurred the Germans to reevaluate their own design concepts. The Army wanted an exact copy of the T34, but German engineers thought they could improve on the Soviet design. The result was the Mark V Panther.
The nasty surprise presented by the T34 spurred the Germans to reevaluate their own design concepts. The Army wanted an exact copy of the T34, but German engineers thought they could improve on the Soviet design. The result was the Mark V Panther.
Soviet T34/76 – a nasty surprise for the Germans in 1941.
German Mark V ausf.G Panther, December 1944 – Arguably the
best tank of WWII.
German Mark VI Tiger I, armed with the 88mm main gun, it was
the most feared tank on the battlefield, inspiring ‘Tiger Terror’ on both the
Eastern and Western Fronts.
II. Kursk -- July 1943
“Is it really
necessary to attack Kursk, and indeed in the east this year at all? Do you
think anyone even knows where Kursk is? The entire world doesn't care if we
capture Kursk or not. What is the reason that is forcing us to attack this year
on Kursk, or even more, on the Eastern Front?” -- General Heinz Guderian,
Panzer Leader ©1950
1. Destroy (kill or capture) large concentration of Soviet Forces in and around
the town of Kursk. (The Kursk Bulge)
2. Regain control of the war in the East.
a. Shorter defensive lines thus freeing up troops for redeployment to Italy
b. Follow on attacks were planed to finally capture Leningrad and then Moscow
3. Restore the faith of Germany’s allies who were now considering the possibility that Germany would lose the war.
4. Persuade Turkey to join the war on the side of Germany.
2. Regain control of the war in the East.
a. Shorter defensive lines thus freeing up troops for redeployment to Italy
b. Follow on attacks were planed to finally capture Leningrad and then Moscow
3. Restore the faith of Germany’s allies who were now considering the possibility that Germany would lose the war.
4. Persuade Turkey to join the war on the side of Germany.
One distinguished
American Historian has called the Germans, “…the most professionally skillful army of modern times.” – Max Hastings, Overlord ©1984
B.
Forces Available
Soviet:
Men: 1.9 million
Tanks: 5000
Artillery: 31,000
Aircraft: 3000
German:
Men: 780,000
Tanks: 3000
Artillery: 7400
Aircraft: 2100
NOTE: These numbers are for the German offensive, July 5-17. If one adds in the Soviet counter-offensive, these total numbers increase significantly
Soviet:
Men: 1.9 million
Tanks: 5000
Artillery: 31,000
Aircraft: 3000
German:
Men: 780,000
Tanks: 3000
Artillery: 7400
Aircraft: 2100
NOTE: These numbers are for the German offensive, July 5-17. If one adds in the Soviet counter-offensive, these total numbers increase significantly
C. Tiger Terror and
the “Myth” of Prokhorovka
1. “Death Ride” of the Panzers?
2. Every Tank a Tiger? (only 15 available at height of the battle)
3. The 5-to-1 Rule
4. The “Biggest” Tank Battle in History?
5. The Michael Licari Essay
https://web.archive.org/web/20140912164146/http://www.uni.edu/~licari/citadel.htm
1. “Death Ride” of the Panzers?
2. Every Tank a Tiger? (only 15 available at height of the battle)
3. The 5-to-1 Rule
4. The “Biggest” Tank Battle in History?
5. The Michael Licari Essay
https://web.archive.org/web/20140912164146/http://www.uni.edu/~licari/citadel.htm
“When we was in the bocage we were assaulted by them Tigers. You know what I mean by assaulted? I mean assaulted!” – Moriarty, Kelly’s Heroes
D. Personalities of Note
1. Lt. Michael Wittmann
Tiger Tank Platoon Leader in the 1st
SS Panzergrenadier Division He is
credited with destroying over 37 T34 Tanks and 47 anti-tank guns at Kursk. By the time of his death, in August of 1944,
his “kills” will total 138 tanks.
2. Lt. Aleksandra Samuenko
T34 Tank Platoon Leader in the 1st Guards Tank Army She is credited with destroying 3 Tiger tanks during the Kursk battles and is awarded the Order of the Red Star. She died on March 3, 1945 from wounds received in battle 70 Km east of Berlin. She was 23 years old.
T34 Tank Platoon Leader in the 1st Guards Tank Army She is credited with destroying 3 Tiger tanks during the Kursk battles and is awarded the Order of the Red Star. She died on March 3, 1945 from wounds received in battle 70 Km east of Berlin. She was 23 years old.
3. Cpt.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel
Flying a Ju87 Stuka Dive Bomber equipped with twin 37mm anti-tank guns, Rudel is credited with killing 12 T34 tanks on his first day. By war’s end his total will include 519 Soviet tanks, 1 Battleship, 1 Cruiser, 1 Destroyer, and nearly 1000 other vehicles of various types. Rudel died in 1982.
Flying a Ju87 Stuka Dive Bomber equipped with twin 37mm anti-tank guns, Rudel is credited with killing 12 T34 tanks on his first day. By war’s end his total will include 519 Soviet tanks, 1 Battleship, 1 Cruiser, 1 Destroyer, and nearly 1000 other vehicles of various types. Rudel died in 1982.
4. Lt.
Antonina Lebedeva
Credited with over 1500 flying hours, 3
air battles and 12 combat missions, Lebedeva was shot down twice and destroyed one German Me-109 fighter. On July 17, during an evening combat
mission her plane went missing and she was listed as KIA. Her body was discovered in 1982 by school
children.
5. Lt. Eric
Hartmann
On July 7, during the fierce areal
battles above Kursk, Hartman destroyed
seven Soviet fighters. By the war’s end
Hartmann would be the most
successful fighter pilot in history with over 352
Allied aircraft shot down while having never been shot down himself.
E. The Results – By
the Numbers
1. Losses - Manpower
Soviet:
KIA: 70,330
WIA: 107,517
MIA: 34,000
German:
KIA: 9,036
WIA: 43,159
MIA: 1,960
2. Losses – Material
Soviet:
Tanks:1,900
Aircraft: 459
German:
Tanks: 323
Aircraft: 159
F. Outcome –
Political & Military
1. Could the Germans have won at Kursk?
2. Who lost the battle – Hitler or his Generals?
3. Was Kursk the “Turning Point” of the War?
2. Who lost the battle – Hitler or his Generals?
3. Was Kursk the “Turning Point” of the War?
“I have done my
utmost to let the events speak for themselves, and if any conclusion was
reached, it was that there are no simple lessons in history, that it is human
nature that repeats itself, not history.
We often learn more about the past from the present, in fact, than the
reverse.”
-- John Toland from the introduction to his book The Rising
Sun-The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1936-45
III. Wacht am Rhein – The Battle of the Bulge
A. Objectives – Why Attack Here & Now?
1. The element of Surprise
2. The “Quiet Sector”
3. Split the Allies
4. Take the port of Antwerp
5. Force a Truce in the West
3. Split the Allies
4. Take the port of Antwerp
5. Force a Truce in the West
6. Free up units for the Eastern Front
B. Forces Available
1. Germans
Manpower: 450,000
Tanks & Assault Guns: 1224
AFV: 1500
2. United States
Manpower: 700,000
Tanks & Assault Guns: 4,380
AFV: 7,800
Note: Time was
the real enemy of the Germans and as each day passed Allied strength increased
while German strength decreased. These
numbers represent totals at the height of unit commitment to the
battlefield. For example, at the time of
the initial German assault on December 16th:
German forces available:
Men: 406,000
Tanks & Assault Guns: 1,224
Allied forces available:
Men: 228,741
Tanks & Assault Guns: 3,329
C. Caught by Surprise
1.
Initial German
Success
2.
Operation Greif
3.
Those Damned Engineers
4.
“Nuts!” --
Bastogne and the 101st Airborne
5.
Kampfgruppe
Peiper and the Crossroads of Death
D. Personalities of Note
1. LTC. Otto Skorzeny
1. LTC. Otto Skorzeny
Known as “Hitler’s Commando” Skorzeny carried out
several special
operations, most notably the rescue of Mussolini in July 1943. For the Ardennes Offensive he was in charge
of Operation Greif. After the war he lived in Spain and actually worked as a Mossad agent.
Fluent in several languages (including French and English) he served as Himmler’s aide before
becoming a panzer commander
of some renowned. At the Bulge his unit, Kampfgruppe
Peiper, committed some of the worst battlefield atrocities of the war. Sentenced to death, Peiper was released in
1956. After the war Peiper lived in
France, translating books on
military history. He was murdered, on
July 14, 1976.
3.
PFC Kurt Vonnegut
Serving as an Infantry Scout with the 106th
Infantry Division, Vonnegut
was captured on December 22 and sent to a POW camp
in Dresden, Germany. He survived the
firebombing of the
city (February 13--15, 1945). His
experiences formed the basis
for his book, Slaughter House Five,
considered by many to
be one of the great American novels.
4. Cpl. Mel Brooks
Served as a Combat Engineer with the 78th
Infantry Division. The
Combat Engineers were vital in slowing the German advance in the first week of the
battle. After the war Brooks became a successful
comedian and film director.
“This is
undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war and will, I believe, be
regarded as an ever famous American victory.”
--
Winston Churchill, House of Commons, January 22, 1945
E. The Results – By
the Numbers
1. Losses -- Manpower
German:
KIA: 15,652
WIA: 41,600
MIA: 29.183
Allied:
KIA: 20,876
WIA: 42,893
MIA: 23,662
2. Losses – Material
German:
Tanks & Assault Guns: 600
Aircraft: 800
Allied:
Tanks & Assault Guns: 800
Aircraft: 647
F. Outcome –
Political & Military
1. Could the Germans have won?
2. Who lost the battle – Hitler or his Generals?
2. Who lost the battle – Hitler or his Generals?
3. What if…
a. The Germans had launched this attack on the
Eastern Front?
b. The Germans had used these forces for defense only?
b. The Germans had used these forces for defense only?
IV. Sources / Further Reading
Kursk
The Battle Of Kursk by David
M Glantz & Jonathon M House, ©1999
Exhaustively researched and well written, this is the very
best book on the battle.
Citadel – The Battle Of Kursk
by Robin Cross, ©1993
Operation Citadel by Janusz
Piekalkiewics, ©1987
Kursk-- The Greatest Tank
Battle by M.K. Barbier, ©2002
Kursk 1943 – The Tide Turns
In The East by Mark Healy, ©1993
Waffen-SS Kursk 1943 Volumes
1-6 by Remy Spezzano, ©2002
Incredible collection of photographs covering Waffen-SS
operations at Kursk.
Tiger I On The Eastern Front
by Jean Restayn, ©1999
Tigers At The Front – A Photo
Study by Thomas L Jentz, ©2001
Tiger Tanks by Michael Green,
©1995
Tiger Ace – The Story of
Michael Wittmann by Gary L Simpson, ©1994
Battle of the Bulge
A Time For Trumpets – The
Untold Story of The Bulge by Charles MacDonald, ©1985
Ardennes 1944 – The Battle Of
The Bulge by Antony Beevor, ©2015
Snow & Steel – The Battle
Of The Bulge by Peter Caddwick-Adams, ©2015
Battle Of The Bulge - Hitler’s Ardennes Offensive 1944-1945 by
Danny S Parker, ©1991
Hitler’s Last Gamble – The
Battle Of The Bulge by Trevor N Dupuy, David L Bongard and Richard C Anderson,
©1994
Engineering The Victory – The
Battle Of The Bulge by Colonel David Pergrin, ©1996
The Bitter Woods by John S.D.
Eisenhower, ©1969
Battle Of The Bulge – The
First 24 Hours by David Jordon, ©2003
Nuts! – The Battle Of The
Bulge by Donald M Goldstein, Katherine V Dillon and J Michael Wenger, ©1994
Ardennes – The Secret War by
Charles Whiting, ©1984
Armageddon – The Battle For Germany
1944 –1945 by Max Hastings, ©2004
The Battle Of The Bulge –
Hitler’s Last Hope by Robin Cross, ©2002
Ardennes 1944: Peiper &
Skorzeny by Jean-Paul Pallud, ©1987
Ardennes 1944 - Hitler’s Last
Gamble In The West by James R Arnold, ©1990
The Malmedy Massacre by John
M Bauserman, ©1995
Massacre At Malmedy by
Charles Whiting, ©1973
A Peculiar Crusade – Willis M
Everett and the Malmedy Massacre by James J Weingartner, ©2000
On-Line Resources / Videos of Interest
Book review of Armor &
Blood by Dennis E Showwalter, The Daily
Beast
Tank Encyclopedia On-Line
resource about Tanks and AFV’s
Web site for the Tank Museum
at Bovington, UK. They have a working
Tiger tank, among other AFV’s.
War History On-Line web site
Essays on the Ardennes
Offensive and on the Malmaedy Massacre Trial
Survey & Review of books
about the Battle of Kursk
Videos of Interest on YouTube
Tiger Vs. Sherman
Tiger Day at Bovington Tank
Museum
US Army 1943 Training Film,
“Crack That Tank”
Documentary on the Tiger Tank
Documentary on the Panther
Tank
US Army Signal Corps 1945
Newsreel on The Battle of the Bulge using captured German film footage.
The Tiger II (King Tiger)
M4E8 Sherman
Final Thoughts
“The military
makes demands which few if any other callings do, and of course emotionally
disturbed people talk about being trained to kill… The whole essence of being a
soldier is not to slay but to be slain.
You offer yourself up to be slain, rather than setting yourself up as a
slayer. Now one can get into very deep
water here, but there’s food for thought in it.”
-- General Sir John
Hackett, War The Lethal Custom, ©1985
& 2004, p129.
“Politicians may … pretend
that the soldier is ethically in no different position than any other
professional. He is. He serves under an unlimited liability, and
it is the unlimited liability which lends dignity to the military profession …
There’s also the fact that military action is group action, particularly in
armies … The success of armies depends to a very high degree on the coherence
of the group, and the coherence of the group depends on the degree of trust and
confidence of its members in each other.
Now what Arnold Toynbee used
to call the military virtues – fortitude, endurance, loyalty, courage, and so
on – these are good qualities in any collection of men and enrich the society
in which they are prominent. But in the
military society, they are functional necessities, which is something quite,
quite different. I mean a man can be
false, fleeting, perjured, in every way corrupt, and be a brilliant
mathematician, or one of the world’s greatest painters. But there’s one thing he can’t be, and that
is a good soldier, sailor, or airman.
Now it’s this group coherence and the unlimited liability which, between
them, set the military professional apart, and I think will continue to do so.”
--General Sir John Hackett, War ©1985, p140.
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