Zitadelle: The German Offensive Against the Kursk Salient 4-17 July 1943

Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press, 2010. Book. Very Good. Soft cover. 1st Edition. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. First paperback edition, 2010. 9 3/4" x 6 3/4", 400 pages, [16] pages of colour plates of tanks (finely drawn and signed Creighton '97) and aircraft, 6 pages of maps, black and white text illustrations, chronology, bibliography, detailed appendices. Operation Zitadelle, the code name given by Hitler to the Wehrmacht's last offensive on the Eastern Front in July 1943, has acquired an almost mythic status as one of the greatest clashes of armour in the history of warfare. It has been long depicted as the "the swan song of the German tank arm" by virtue of the huge tank losses experienced by the Germans, however the emergence of new information proves it to be anything but. For all the resources devoted to this operation by the Germans, Zitadelle was an abysmal failure; and while they were not outfought by the Red Army at Kursk, they were out-thought by commanders of outstanding quality. Zitadelle describes the German and Soviet tactics and explores the realities of the battles on sodden ground that culminated in the defeat of the panzers and the Soviet advance on the Reich. Soft covers, slight crease to lower corner of upper cover otherwise a very good copy, with minimal signs of being read, and no inscriptions. .