'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 12, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP group.

That's quite right Mike, it didn't do them much good in the scheme of things.

"Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War" - Early fighting around Prokhorovka, on 8th July, before the massive Soviet counterattack:

"In total, Vatutin's formations lost 343 tanks and self-propelled guns on this day, about two thirds of which were totally destroyed, whereas Hoth's Fourth Panzer Army only suffered complete write-offs of about 20 tanks and self-propelled guns. Yet Vatutin's troops had at least succeeded in bringing Hoth's panzer army to a halt. The war diary of the II SS Panzer Corps recorded: 'After the initially successful break-through through the 2nd [Soviet] position, the operation stalled; enemy operational reserves have to be destroyed in harsh defensive fighting.' But Vatutin's Voronezh Front had paid a high price for its success. Since the beginning of the fighting, 527 of its tanks had been knocked out: 372 of these were destroyed completely. By contrast, the number of losses suffered by the Fourth Panzer Army since the beginning of the attack only amounted to roughly 70 tanks and self-propelled guns."

Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War by Roman Töppel

Marc wrote: "So, I finished this one:

[book:Operation Citadel: Kursk and Orel: The Greatest Tank Battle o..."

I hope your book on Monte Cassino is not as a dry read as the book on Kursk! :)

"Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War" - Details of some of the heavy fighting at Kursk:

"On 7 July, the 7th Panzer Division took control of Batratskaya Dacha and Myasoedovo, but then it had to halt because the 106th Infantry Division was unable to catch up and relieve the 7th Panzer Division. On 8 July, the main effort lay, therefore, in the hands of the 6th Panzer Division, which supported by elements of the 19th Panzer Division, advanced as far as Melikhovo. Meanwhile, the 73rd Panzergrenadier Regiment of the 19th Panzer Division was still engaged at the Soviet defensive positions east of Belgorod, stubbornly defended by the 81st Guards Rifle Division under the command of Major-General Ivan Konstantinovich Morozov. 'In his well-fortified positions, the enemy lets himself be beaten to death', the war diary of Army Detachment Kempf noted. The last Soviet position would only be captured by the 73rd Panzergrenadier Regiment in the evening of 9 July - after they had been attacked by Stukas and flamethrower tanks. The days of heavy fighting east of Belgorod had taken their toll on the regiment; it had lost more than 1,000 soldiers and had nearly been bled white - by 10 July, it was down to a frontline strength of 85 men."

Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War by Roman Töppel

Marc wrote: "In case you're looking for something new to read about the Battle of Kursk, this one just came out:

[..."

I have a copy on pre-order :)

Mike, I read that too. A novel way to solve the problem, but I am sure the depot armourers wouldn't have been too impressed!

"Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War" - Some interesting commentary of the German Ferdinand tank destroy at Kursk:

"According to Soviet propaganda, which still finds its way into accounts of the Battle of Kursk, many Ferdinands were destroyed by Soviet infantrymen using Molotov cocktails. However, records from members of the 656th Heavy Tank Destroyer Regiment paint a very different picture. As an example, the after-action report of Captain Rolf Henning, commander of the 654th Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion, states: 'The initial apprehension that the Ferdinand was very vulnerable to enemy infantry was, in reality, baseless. The bang of the detonation when firing and the Ferdinand's huge impact on morale ensured that during combat no enemy infantryman got close to the Ferdinand.' This experience was shared by the members of the 653rd Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion. Karl Neunert, who at that time was a Sergeant and gunner in a Ferdinand, later remembered: 'I never witnessed any enemy soldier coming near our gun. Besides, the following infantry knew they had to protect us from such attacks.' These statements are confirmed by Soviet records. On 15 July 1943, a Red Army commission scrutinized the Ferdinand tank destroyers left behind by the Germans on the battlefield at Ponyri. It concluded that some of them had indeed been set afire with Molotov cocktails - however, not by Soviet soldiers but by their own crews after their vehicle had been put out of action either by mines or enemy fire or because it had bogged down and could not be recovered. In addition, the recollections of various former members of the 656th Heavy Tank Destroyer Regiment as well as contemporary war diaries and after-action reports show that the Ferdinand proved itself in battle and was well liked by the troops. On the Soviet side it spread terror, as a report of the XXXXI Panzer Corps related: '[The] enemy in some places retreats headlong because of their fear of [the] Ferdinand'."

The Ferdinand on the Eastern Front:
https://mikesresearch.com/2020/05/24/...

Thanks for those updates on the new release titles on the SAS, much appreciated Jerome.

"Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War" - A bit more on some of the Russian defensive works at Kursk, around Ponyri:

"The defenders had reinforced the terrain in front of the fortified settlements with numerous trenches, obstacles, anti-tank strongpoints and mines. Instead of the usual anti-tank mines, Soviet engineers had laid mines linked with large-calibre artillery shells and aircraft bombs to inflict heavy damage on the attacking German tanks. Soon after the beginning of the attack, the commander of the 2nd Battery of the 244th Assault Gun Battalion, First Lieutenant Hans-Dietrich Rade, had the bad luck to hit such a booby trap with his assault gun. The war diary of the 244th Assault Gun Battalion described the incident as follows: 'Gun [of] First Lieutenant Rade [is a] total loss. The hull was ripped open, the turret blown away. First Lieutenant Rade [was] wounded, driver Sergeant {Paul] Rutze [is] dead, the rest of the crew was wounded.' Rade himself recounted: 'I banged my head against the telescope, had a damaged eye and a concussion. I was in hospital until August. They later completely cannibalized the assault gun'."

Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War by Roman Töppel

I'm currently reading Simon Sebag Montefiore' latest book; "The World: A Family History of Humanity". I figured some group members may get a kick out of this story in regard to Tamerlane:

"Tamerlane had planned to be buried in his home town of Kosh, but instead he rested in the Persian-style octahedral Gur Amir with its azure dome in Samarkand beside his grandson Muhammad Shah. Legend claimed that if Tamerlane's grave was disturbed, a more terrible conqueror would arise. In 19 June 1941, on Stalin's orders, the Soviet archaeologist Mikhail Gerasimov opened the grave - identifying the leg fracture of Tamerlane and using the skull to recreate his face, thus enabling us to see what he looked like. Three days later Hitler invaded Russia."

Tamerlane’s Curse:
https://www.advantour.com/uzbekistan/...

"Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War" - Regardless how many times I read about the Russian defensive works at Kursk, the details always amaze me:

"From 1 April to 1 July 1943, 4,240 kilometres of trenches in total were dug, roughly 500 kilometres of anti-tank obstacles were set up and 600,000 mines were laid in the sector of the Voronezh Front. In the area of the Central Front, the extent of trenches reached to about 5,000 kilometres; roughly 400,000 mines and demolition charges were planted. The first defensive belt, the so-called main defence line, was especially heavily mined: 2,043 mines were buried per kilometre in the sector of the Voronezh Front, and 1,130 per kilometre in the sector of the Central Front. The line was furthermore manned by 37 rifle divisions."

Soviet Defensive Tactics at Kursk, July 1943 by Colonel David Glantz:
https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Porta...

Susan wrote: "My name is Susan Shalev and I am pleased to announce my debut WWII Historical novel The German Dressmaker (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...) is available on Amazon. I am excited that it has..."

I hope your novel does well. Keep us posted on any more reviews and news.

Thanks for posting the details of those two new books Jerome, I'm sure some group members will be interested.

Mike wrote: "I'm enjoying this book for its accounts of less well-known formations in the Allied force. Here is an account of a VC and another account that should have been similarly awarded:

The Marathas, too..."

Excellent post Mike, two very brave men. Shame that the young nineteen-year-old didn't receive an award for his gallantry.

"Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War" - Some details the author provided in regard to the strength of the German Panzer divisions prior to the Battle of Kursk:

"In terms of their numerical strength, however, they missed the normal allocation of 200 tanks by a considerable margin. The 19th Panzer Division was actually one of the weakest panzer divisions; its panzer regiments could only muster 87 tanks at the beginning of Operation Citadel. The 11th Panzer Division was at least fitted out with 114 tanks, although 89 of these were obsolete. The 7th Panzer Division, which had proved itself in the previous campaigns and was considered one of the best panzer divisions in the Wehrmacht, only had 112 tanks at its disposal for the offensive at Kursk - 75 of which, moreover, were obsolescent. The best-equipped panzer formation was the Division Großdeutschland, even though its panzer regiment with 135 tanks did not reach the authorized strength either. The same holds for the SS Division Totenkopf, which had 139 tanks in total, but 80 of which were obsolete and no match for the Soviet T-34 tanks."

Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War by Roman Töppel

BA wrote: "Just started this novel and am already on Chapter 5:

Last Citadel: A Novel of the Battle of Kursk by [author:David L. ..."

Sounds like a great story, glad to hear you are enjoying both the book and the audio CD. Keep us all posted on your progress.

"Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War" - Another innovation for Kursk - Panzerschurzen - tank skirts. Initially this add-on armour was hated by the Panzer crews as it complicated maintenance work and didn't appear to be effective, however this soon changed:

"The Battle of Kursk, however, taught the tank crews a different lesson; various reports reflected their change of opinion. An officer of the General Staff of the Army who visited Army Group Centre in August 1943 noted: 'At first, the tank crews strongly opposed the tank skirts, in some cases even removing them. However, they soon proved to be indispensable and were mounted again quickly. It often happened that a tank received more than 100 hits on the skirts.' What remained a problem was the insufficient mounting of the skirts, a flaw many veterans of the panzer troops recall to this day. The skirts were frequently torn off the mounting brackets when a tank was driving past obstacles such as bushes or trees. Some crews remedied this problem by welding the skirts onto the mounting brackets - that way they could no longer be lost, but problems arose when a tank needed fixing or when the skirts had to be removed for rail transport, in which case the soldiers used brute force to remove the plates, knocking them off with sledgehammers."

Panzerschurzen - tank skirts:
https://panzerworld.com/add-on-armor

Dimitri wrote: "started on
Zitadelle: The German Offensive Against the Kursk Salient 4-17 July 1943 by [a..."

I am pretty sure you are going to enjoy the book Dimitri. Keep us all posted.

"Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War" - Of course the issues with the Panther tank was also mentioned:

"The Panther had various technical defects which would sometimes bring the crews to the verge of despair. The tankers above all complained about the faulty final drive, which transfers the rotation speed of the gear to the drive wheels. They also criticized the poor fuel pump, the leaking seals of the fuel and oil lines, the inadequate mounting of the carburettors and the insufficient motor cooling. 'We were sent into combat with these cripples - with a very predictable result', a member of the I. Battalion of the 2nd SS-Panzer Regiment later wrote. This battalion, equipped with the first version of the Panther like the 39th Regiment, took part in the last phase of the Battle of Kursk in late August 1943. As early as one week after its first deployment, 40 of the battalion's 71 Panthers were already in need of repair."

Panthers at Kursk 1943:
https://mikesresearch.com/2019/10/27/...

"Kursk 1943: The Greatest Battle of the Second World War" - What book about Kursk could be considered complete without a chapter or two on the German armoured forces:

"But the Tiger was highly popular with the crews not only because of its superior armour and firepower, it was also fairly spacious and offered the crew a relatively comfortable fighting compartment. Apart from that the Tiger, unlike previous prototypes, had a semi-automatic gearshift transmission and a steering gear which allowed the driver to operate the tank with a steering wheel instead of levers. The driver could also turn the Tiger on the spot without having to fully decelerate one set of treads. The driving experience was therefore exceptionally good, and former tank drivers recall that operating the Tiger was as easy as driving a lorry."

Tiger tank transmission and steering systems:
http://www.alanhamby.com/transmission...