II SS Panzer Corps at Prokhorovka

davidbfpo · Mar 13, 2021

Note having skimmed the first article id'd I discover it is the third in a series by Dr Ben Wheatley, UEA History., so the order has been changed and they are only on open access for a limited period.

Not my area of interest, so hopefully this is the best thread location!

No.1. 'A visual examination of the battle of Prokhorovka'. The 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 5th Guards Tank Army’s 18th and 29th 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.
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Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16161262.2019.1606545

No.2. published in June 2020: 'Surviving Prokhorovka: German armoured longevity on the Eastern Front in 1943–1944' by the author and that too is on open access: The 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.
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Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16161262.2020.1750841?src=recsys

No. 3. 'Citadel, Prokhorovka and Kharkov: The armoured losses of the II SS Panzer Korps Sonderverbände during the battle of Kursk, July-August 1943'. The Abstract:

The three armoured SS Sonderverbände (special units) Leibstandarte, Das Reich and Totenkopf which constituted the II SS Panzer Korps played a key role during the battle of Kursk (5.7–23.8.1943), first during Operation Citadel (5–16.7.43) and then (minus the Leibstandarte) during the defence of Kharkov (3–23.8.43). For the first time, as a result of a recent archival discovery (complete armoured inventories for 20.7.43 and 1.8.43), this article can give the exact number of armoured losses the II SS Panzer Korps sustained during Operation Citadel, which included the supposedly crippling armoured battle of Prokhorovka (12.7.43). The article also establishes the actual number of operational AFV that was available to the II SS Panzer Korps before, during and after Operation Citadel. Taken together this information allows for a detailed examination of Hitler’s strategy preceding the defence of Kharkov, including his decision to send the II SS Panzer Korps to the Mius Front (30.7–2.8.43).
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Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16161262.2021.1889278

The author's last tweet:

Only the soldiers of the Red Army deserve our continuing respect at Prokhorovka.
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