Surviving Prokhorovka: German armoured longevity on the Eastern Front in 1943–1944

[sevenless]

Just published. Get the original study (88pages) per downloadable PDF here:

 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16161262.2020.1750841

 

Research Article

 

Journal

Journal of Intelligence History 

Surviving Prokhorovka: German armoured longevity on the Eastern Front in 1943–1944

Ben Wheatley 

Received 23 Mar 2020, Accepted 30 Mar 2020, Published online: 01 Jun 2020

 

ABSTRACT

This article attempts to chart the ultimate fate of each German tank, assault gun and tank destroyer of the SS Panzergrenadier Divisions Leibstandarte and Das Reich that participated in the battle of Prokhorovka on 12.7.43 against the Soviet Union’s 5th Guards Tank Army. The central question of the article being; If large numbers of German Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV) did not meet disaster on the ‘tank fields’ southwest of Prokhorovka (as was claimed for many decades by both Soviet and Western historiography), then when exactly did those participating German AFV of the Leibstandarte and Das Reich finally succumb to the Red Army? How long did they survive on the Eastern Front against an ever more sophisticated and skilled opponent? By determining the ultimate fate of these German AFVs in the autumn and winter of 1943/44, it is possible to get a fuller understanding of the battle of Prokhorovka itself.

KEYWORDS: Prokhorovka, Kursk, Kiev, Operation Citadel, Eastern Front, Nazi Germany, Soviet Union, Second World War

 

[sevenless]

A visual examination of the battle of Prokhorovka

Ben Wheatley

Pages 115-163 | Received 05 Apr 2019, Accepted 09 Apr 2019, Published online: 13 May 2019

 

ABSTRACT

The battle of Prokhorovka was steeped in Soviet legend (and myth) for many decades. This remained the case until post-Soviet era research revealed the reality of a Soviet armoured disaster. Building on this knowledge this article explores Luftwaffe reconnaissance photographs taken in the days and weeks immediately following the battle of Prokhorovka. The photographs provide visual confirmation across the battlefield of the demise of the 5^th Guards Tank Army’s 18^th and 29^th Tank Corps’. The battle’s most famous locations are visualized (many for the first time) in wartime photographs; these include the notorious anti-tank ditch, Hill 252.2, Oktiabrskiy state farm, Storozhevoye Woods and the site of Tiger tank duels on and close to Hill 241.6.

KEYWORDS: Prokhorovka, kursk, operation citadel, eastern front, nazi germany, soviet union, second world war, luftwaffe

 

 

https://twitter.com/DrBenWheatley/status/1149485165053272065?s=20

 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16161262.2019.1606545

Edited July 12, 2020 by sevenless