Waffen-SS Tiger Crews at Kursk

Waffen-SS Tiger Crews at Kursk PDF

Author: French L. MacLean

Publisher: Schiffer Military History

Published: 2020-10-28

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9780764360473

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Kursk is often labeled the "Greatest Tank Battle in History". The Wehrmacht fielded a total of just 120 Tiger tanks during the engagement, including 35 from the 2nd SS Panzer Corps. This corps comprised of the three most controversial divisions of the Second World War: Leibstandarte, Das Reich, and Totenkopf. The war crimes committed by these units (at places like Oradour, Malmedy, and Le Paradis) remain contentious topics of discussion to this day, and their fighting qualities have been analyzed for decades. By examining a focused group of men in great detail, specifically the 226 Tiger crewmen at Kursk, the author provides an insight into the sprawling and enigmatic organization that was the Waffen-SS. This project aims to scrape away the mythology surrounding the most feared soldiers, who crewed the most iconic tank, at one of the most vicious battles of the Second World War.

The Fifth Field

The Fifth Field PDF

Author: French L. MacLean

Publisher: Schiffer Military History

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780764345777

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"The Fifth Field reveals one of the final secrets of the war: how 96 American soldiers in Europe and North Africa were tried by American General Courts-Martial, convicted by military juries, sentenced to death, executed and buried in an obscure, secret plot at an American military cemetery in France"--Author's website.

Claws of Steel

Claws of Steel PDF

Author: Leo Kessler

Publisher: Benchmark Publishing

Published: 2015-01-01

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 1311705325

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SS Wotan is thrown into the war once again at Kursk. Russian T-34s against German Tigers: this is the clash of the titans. In the spring of 1943, SS Wotan is preparing for an all-out desperate attack against a formiddable foe with a formiddable tank: the Russian T-34. But Germany has a card up its sleeve: the brand new Tiger. Its might will form the centrepiece of Operation Citadel, a mighty push to dislodge the Russians from Kursk, and win the Eastern Front once and for all.

Tiger I: German Army Heavy Tank

Tiger I: German Army Heavy Tank PDF

Author: Dennis Oliver

Publisher: Pen and Sword Military

Published: 2019-10-30

Total Pages: 64

ISBN-13: 1526755858

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The Tiger I tank, probably the most famous German armoured vehicle of the Second World War, might have been a war-winning, break-through weapon if it had been produced in sufficient numbers and if it had been introduced earlier on the Eastern Front, before the balance of strength had tipped towards the Soviet Union. At the Battle of Kursk there were not enough Tigers to make a decisive difference and thereafter the Tiger was forced to play a mainly defensive role as the Wehrmacht struggled to withstand the advances of the Red Army. And it is this period in the Tiger tank’s short history that Dennis Oliver concentrates on in this, his third book on the Tiger in the TankCraft series. He uses archive photos and extensively researched colour illustrations to examine the tanks and units of the German army’s heavy panzer battalions. A large part of the book showcases available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of the Tigers of 1943.

The Battle of Prokhorovka

The Battle of Prokhorovka PDF

Author: Christopher A. Lawrence

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2019-06-01

Total Pages: 657

ISBN-13: 0811768120

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The Battle of Kursk was one of the defining moments of World War II. In July 1943, German forces under Erich von Manstein--one of Germany’s best generals--launched a massive attack in an offensive code-named Citadel. A week later, the Soviets counterattacked, sparking a huge clash of tanks at Prokhorovka, the largest armor battle in history, pitting more than 600 Soviet tanks against some 300 German panzers. Though the Germans gained a tactical victory, destroying huge numbers of Soviet tanks, they failed to achieve their objectives, and in the end the battle marked a turning point on the Eastern Front. The Red Army gained the strategic initiative and would not lose it.

The Combat History of German Tiger Tank Battalion 503 in World War II

The Combat History of German Tiger Tank Battalion 503 in World War II PDF

Author: Franz-Wilhelm Lochmann

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-03-01

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 0811769283

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This book tells—with firsthand accounts as well as numerous, never-before-seen photographs—the combat history of German Tiger Tank Battalion 503, the senior Tiger battalion of the German Army, equipped with both the Tiger I and the King Tiger. The unit saw action in the attempted relief of Stalingrad, the tremendous tank engagements at Kursk, and the bitter fighting to relieve German units encircled at the Tscherkassy Pocket. It then defended against the Allies in Normandy in 1944, and ended the war with desperate fighting in Hungary and Austria.

Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS

Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS PDF

Author: Will Fey

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-08-01

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 0811769178

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The Waffen-SS were considered the elite of the German armed forces in the Second World War and were involved in almost continuous combat. From the sweeping tank battle of Kursk on the Russian front to the bitter fighting among the hedgerows of Normandy and the last great offensive in the Ardennes, forever immortalized in history as the Battle of the Bulge, these men and their tanks made history.

Tiger I & Tiger II

Tiger I & Tiger II PDF

Author: Anthony Tucker-Jones

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2013-07-17

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 1473826780

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A pictorial history and analysis of the infamous World War II German tanks. The German Tiger I and Tiger II (known to the Allies as the King Tiger or Royal Tiger) were the most famous and formidable heavy tanks of the Second World War. In their day, their awesome reputation inspired such apprehension among Allied soldiers that the weaknesses of these brilliant but flawed designs tended to be overlooked. Anthony Tucker-Jones, in this illustrated history, tells the story of their conception and development and reconsiders their operational history, and he dispels the myths that have grown up around them. The Tigers were over-engineered, required raw materials that were in short supply, and were time-consuming to manufacture and difficult to recover from the battlefield. Only around 1,300 of the Tiger I and fewer than 500 of the Tiger II were produced, so they were never going to make anything more than a local impact on the outcome of the fighting on the Western and Eastern fronts. Yet the myth of the Tigers, with their 88mm guns, thick armor, and brutal profiles, has grown over time to the extent that they are regarded as the deadliest tanks of the Second World War. Anthony Tucker-Jones’s expert account of these remarkable fighting vehicles is accompanied by a series of color plates showing the main variants of the designs and the common ancillary equipment and unit markings. His book is an essential work of reference for enthusiasts.

Michael Wittmann & the Waffen SS Tiger Commanders of the Leibstandarte in WWII

Michael Wittmann & the Waffen SS Tiger Commanders of the Leibstandarte in WWII PDF

Author: Patrick Agte

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-09-15

Total Pages: 389

ISBN-13: 0811769275

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German Panzer ace Michael Wittmann was by far the most famous tank commander on any side in World War II, destroying 138 enemy tanks and 132 anti-tank guns with his Tiger. In this continuation of his story, Volume Two follows Wittmann and his unit into Normandy to defend against the Allied invasion and provides maps, official documents, newspaper clippings, and orders of battle. A week after D-Day, Wittmann achieved his greatest success. On June 13, 1944, near Villers Bocage, the panzer ace and his crew attacked a British armored unit, single-handedly destroying more than a dozen tanks and preventing an enemy breakthrough. The exploit made Wittmann a national hero in Germany and a legend in the annals of war. He was killed two months later while attempting to repulse an Allied assault, but the book continues beyond his death until the Leibstandarte's surrender.

Sledgehammers

Sledgehammers PDF

Author: Christopher W. Wilbeck

Publisher: Aberjona Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13:

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"Although much is available about Tiger tanks' technical details and some of the most famous soldiers and units that employed them, until now, there has been little concerning the organization and tactical use of heavy tank battalions across the theaters in which they were employed. [Wilbeck] provides an in-depth look at heavy tank battalions' organizations and tactics, including the tactical doctrine by which these elite units were supposed to fight and case studies to illustrate how they were actually employed on the battlefield"--Page 4 of cover.