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Spicer, Barry
Wittmann`s Tiger At Kursk
Ace tank commander Michael Whittman in his Tiger I as he pauses before leading his third platoon of the 13th schwere SS Panzer Kompanie into a clash of armour, the magnitude and ferocity of which never before witnessed.
Barry Spicer, once again combines historical and technical detail with panoramic depth to illustrate the scale of the battle about to commence.
Operation Citadel, July 1943; Hitler's desperate attempt to preempt the anticipated Russian summer offensive, commenced on the Kursk salient, 300 miles south of Moscow.
Panzers from Germany's three premier SS Panzer Divisions - the 3rd SS Totenkopf on the left, the 1st Leibstandarte in the centre and the 2nd SS Das Reich to the right - were deployed with the heavy Tigers in the front, followed by the lighter Panzer IIIs and Ivs.
Whittmann and his platoon would take their place in the front ranks of the Leibstandarte. Overhead. Stuka formations led by Hans-Ulrich Rudel were already winging their way to soften up the Soviet positions in the vicinity of Prokhorovka.
Whittmann survived the battle. In the 10 days of fighting, Whittman and crew destroyed 30 enemy tanks and 32 anti-tank guns.
