Customer Reviews

III. Pz. Korps at Kursk

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This book focuses on the role of III Panzer Korps (including 198 I.D., 7.Pz.D, 19.Pz.D, 6.Pz.D, 168.I.D., S.Pz.Abt.503 & the relevant regiments within these divisions) in the battle of Kursk. The author covers the movements, intentions and fighting engagements in each of the above divisions sectors, including the stiff Soviet opposition on a day-by-day analysis over the eight days 5th July to 12th July 1943. The author also draws on the personal experiences from the men that fought there that helps recreate a feel for the battle and conditions that they went through. There are many photos throughout the book that are well researched and captioned in detail including some biographies of individuals. Many of the photos are from two German reporters who were present at the battle and have captured some superb real life images. Also included are several colour profiles of the fighting armour (both German & Russian) that participated in the battle. The author also makes some use of maps, however I found some of them not to be detailed enough to accompany the sometimes detailed text. E.g. the text may describe the fighting for a specific Hill or Village, but these are not located on the map. In conclusion the author shows the Germans were able to inflict tank losses on the Russians in III Pz Korps sector of 7:1. All in all this is a fine book and photo album and the introduction by Guy Sager (author of "The Forgotten Soldier") is a nice touch.

This is an excellent book, full of day to day text and photos on IIIPz Korps (6, 7 and 19 Pz Divs) at Kursk. This Korps held the southern wing of the SS Korps and if they hadn't met such hard resistance they would have been able to protect the SS divisions flank and let the SS drive deep into Soviet territory but such is war and the SS were forced to cover their own flank. Most of the photos I have never seen before. Printed on glossy paper for ultimate quality and in hardback but unfortunately for myself only about 140 pages. Some of the photos are excellent for you modelers out there. The writing is also clear and full of detail on this little written about subject (IIIPz Korps not Kursk itself)If your interested in the battle of Kursk add this to your list.

If you have read a number of books on Kursk including the fine books by Mark Healy and David Glantz but always suspected their coverage to be incomplete when it came to the 3rd PzC which was deployed east of the Donets River, you should consider this book. The other books would provide sufficient coverage to show the 3rd PzC was behind schedule and was too far behind to adequately support the right flank of 2nd SS PzC or to directly assist in the tank battle near Prokhorovka but comprehensive coverage seemed lacking. This book, while awkward in spots, improves that situation. It has good coverage of the tactical and personal experiences of the Korp and its attachments but it too doesn't have complete coverage and is meant to be a supplement to those other books. Quite a few personal experiences, with photos of the men, are described to add to the experience of the tactical coverage. The primary sources for this book are the daily logbook entries of all the divisions under Kempf and the many interviews of the survivors after the war. The biggest contributor was Richard von Rosen, a young tank commander in the Pz Abt 503 who devoted much time and documentation to the author.

The book is broken down by day and by division which makes it easy to follow. The coverage begins on July 5th and ends on July 12th. The primary coverage is given to the 6th, 19th, 7th PzDs along with the Pz Abt 503 and the 198th, 168th IDs. The smaller attachments are only incidentally mentioned. The book closes with a list of daily entries of casualties as well as panzer strengths by division. According to the logbooks, the 3rd PzC lost more panzers than was publicly announced by many books.

There are over 200 fine photos, taken by reporters attached to the 6th PzD, of the men and battle scenes which adds value to the narrative. The weakest link in this book would be the maps. First off there are only 7 colored maps. Its adequate but having a few more maps that show greater detail in shorter timeframes of the German advance would be better. There are many villages in their assault zone that are missing, making it a little difficult to follow some of the action. Even though the 3rd PzC was not directly involved in the immediate Prokhorovka area, the town should have been included on some of the maps as a reference point to allow readers to understand better the progress being made by the Korp in relation to the SS Korp. This book is highly German-centric and the Soviet deployments were inadequate.

Even if you have books by Glantz, Healy and Newton, reading Lodieu will add to your overall understanding of this key campaign and is recommended to all Citadel fans.

The July/August 1943 battle at Kursk was one of the epic engagements of World War II and resulted in the Soviet Army gaining the strategic initiative for the rest of the war. Kursk involved 2.6 million Axis and Russian troops and 8,000 tanks including Herman Breith's IIIrd Panzer Korps. Didier Lodieu's 2007 book, III.PZ.KORPS AT KURSK, details the role played by the Korps' 6th, 7th and 19th Panzer Divisions and the 503rd Panzer Battalion.

After summarizing the Korps' mission at Kursk, Lodieu chronicles its exploits during the first eight days of Operation Citadel followed by a summary of operations after the turning of the German tide at Prokhorovka on 12 July. (Fighting continued until 23 August but now it was the Soviet Army who was on the attack). A final one-page summary details the casualties and losses suffered by Breith's units and the damage they inflicted on the Russians.

Lodieu's book has much to offer. He uses official reports and first-person reminiscences to give life to the dramatic events of early July 1943. The book's 144 pages contain many rare, wonderfully-reproduced and well-captioned b&w photographs of the German and Russian combatants - officers, infantry, tanks, AFVs, artillery pieces, destroyed AFVs, Luftwaffe and VVS aircraft, etc. It also includes almost two dozen nicely-done color profiles of Tigers, T-34s, Marders, BA-10 armored cars, Su76Ms, Panzer IVs, etc.

On the flip side, I would have appreciated many more maps to help me follow the action. Likewise, the English translation made for sometimes clunky reading. Lastly, Lodieu's book lacked an index.

Having said all that, III.PZ.KORPS AT KURSK is a very impressive book and one that all students of the Eastern Front will appreciate and enjoy. Recommended.