Kursk (by popular demand!)

What do you know? The Russians had other attack plans as well. I thought that Kursk was already theirs but maybe I was wrong...

"On August 3, 1943, the Soviets attacked Kursk and overtook the city in a quick fashion."

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212881/redarm.html

 

The cover of Rudel´s book:



http://hem.passagen.se/fieldmarshal/tiger2.jpg





[ 19. November 2002, 02:44 PM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]

 

Check the Tiger pic ( the net site address ) under Rudel´s book cover...somehow it would not show up...Protected I guess?
That´s a great pic of Tiger!

 

Rudel's book and what cover ? Is this a new European publication Kai ? The pics that are on your post have been in several other W-SS books, including Nipe's book on Kursk and the Mius River and Tigers in Combat II bei Schneider.

E

 

I think these pictures are from Kursk.





from

regards

 

Hmmm...
Something like a dream come true for a panzer General...Eh?

" Under Hoth´s command, squeezed into a frontage of twenty-eight miles, were nine of the finest divisions in the German army:running west from south of Belgorod were 7th,19th and 6th Panzer
( III Panzer Corps ), SS Totenkopf, SS das Reich, SS Leibstandarte ( II SS Panzer Corps ), and 11th Panzer,Grossdeutschland and 3rd Panzer ( XLVIII Panzer Corps )-the most powerful striking force ever assembled under a single German commander!"

------

"To achieve this concentration, the rest of the eastern front had been ruthlessly pillaged.Second Panzer Army, to the north in the Orel salient, had lost all its armoured formations to Model, and along the rest of the front there were only 890 tanks..."

 

Very true, Kai... Had the germans only known the depth of the defences the russians had prepared for them!
"To achieve this concentration, the rest of the eastern front had been ruthlessly pillaged.Second Panzer Army, to the north in the Orel salient, had lost all its armoured formations to Model, and along the rest of the front there were only 890 tanks..."
I would even have to wonder about 890 tanks for the rest of the front. From what I've read (although I don't have time to check sources at the moment!), I get the idea that there were far fewer tanks than that available to the rest of the front... maybe as few as 300... But again, can't remember offhand what source that is from. I wonder if the 890 number is for all tanks, but serrviceable tanks were more like 300?

 

On the Partisan system in the area as well:

"Postwar Soviet sources estimated, that in the winter 1942-43 some 60 per cent (!) of Bielorussia was under the effective control of partisans. Other "partisan" regions included the Porkhov area south of Leningrad, the wooden northern part of the Ukraine and the forests of Bryansk.In the Orel region some 18,000 partisans controlled an area containing nearly 500 villages.The "partisan regions" had their own airstrips into which supplies could be flown and from which wounded be evacuated.

It was not until 14 July 1943 that Stavka ordered the partisans to launch an all-out attack "Rail-war" against the enemy;nevertheless, the battle of the rails had been gathering pace for several months in the rear of AGC where many rail lines converged in territory ideal for partisan warfare.In January 1943 german reports logged 397 attacks on railways on the region,with damage to 112 locomotives. In February the number of attacks rose to about 500, then 1045 in May and 1092 in June when , in the rear of AGC, forty-five bridges were blown up and 298 locomotives damaged!!

In May OStheer mounted five major anti-partisan opearations in the region, the firts of which-Gypsy king-involved 18th Pz divisions. It was claimed that, in the campaign, 3152 partisans were killed and twenty four guns, three tanks, fourteen antitank guns, fifty mortars, two aircraft, 124 machine-guns and 1130 small arms were destroyed- a relatively disappointing rate of return for the diversion of substantial forces from the front-line duties.As soon as the last anti-partisan opearation " Neighbour help 2 " mcame to an end on 6 June, there was a renewed upsurge in partisan activity."

In Robin Cross´ " The battle of Kursk "

 

More unbelievable moves by Germans after Kursk...

" Further evidence of the German belief that the blow dealt to Russian armour would not be repaired until the winter is provided by the insistence on a rigorous tank inspection programme which took in all vehicles in need of repair and sent them back to maintenance depots in Kharkov and Bogodukhov.This created such a logjam that, after 1 August, tanks and assault guns were being sent as fas as Kiev, even for minor repairs to the running gear and gunnery-control equipment. In this way much of Manstein´s armoured strength was dissipated."

-------

During operation Zitadelle Army Group South took approx. 24,000 prisoners, a fraction of the millions who had fallen into German hands in 1941-42.

An example on Army Detachment Kempf´s losses: 106. division had lost 3224 officers and men, 320. division 2839 and 168. division2671. In terms of combat infantry in each division, these losses represented casualty rates of, respectively 38,29 and 27 %, each suffered within a fortnight. In 1944 the worst-hit British divisions in North-West Europe took six months to match such casualty rates.

At the end of August manstein was complaining that, for the 133,000 casualties sustained by AGS in July and August, there had only been 33,000 replacements.

The battle of Kursk by Robin Cross

 

Fron Robin Cross´book operation Zitadelle:

" In contrast the air battle in the south on the 5th July seemd like a re-run of the drubbings regularly inflicted by the Luftwaffe on Soviet aviation. It had yielded German claims of 432 Soviet aircraft destroyed, 77 by II/JG3 alone. Flight lieutenant Johannes Wiesse of JG52 claimed 12 victims, in spite of having force-landed five times during the course of the day´s fightings. Close behind was the claim of eleven kills made by the ebullient Flying officer Walter Krupinski, also of JG52, whose penchant for high living had prompted his comrades to dub him "the count". Admitted German losses were no more than 26 air craft. Seen solely in terms of aircraft claimed shot down, 5 July 1943 was the greatest sigle day of air combat in the second world war, unequalled even by the air fighting at the height of the " Marianas Turkey shoot" in the Pacific in June-July 1944."

 

STAUDEGGER, Franz (RK)
(1923 - 1991)
SS-Unterscharführer:
Born: 12. 02. 1923 in Bleiburg b. Klagenfurt / Kärnten, Österreich.
Died: 16. 03. 1991 in Frankfurt am Main.
Promotions:
Assignments:
Decorations & Awards:
Ritterkreuz des E.K.: 10. 07. 1943 (Immediately awarded), as SS-Uschaf., 13.(schwere-)Kp./SS-Pz.Rgt. der SS-Pz.Gren.Div. "LSSAH"/Heeresgruppe Süd, Eastern Front;
1939 EK I: 6.07.1943; 1939 EK II: 20.03.1943;

The Soviet 3rd mechanized Corps launched a fierce counter attack, the main weight of which fell on a single Tiger of 1st Panzer Regiment´s 13th Company commanded by Lieutenant Staudegger who, in a two-hour battle, claimed over twenty T-34´s destroyed...

The following battles took Tigers and their crews to the honors. The SS-Unterscharfuhrer Franz Staudegger was one of them, destroying 22 Russian tanks in single day's clash. The SS journal, Das Schwarze Korps, so described his exploit.

[...] a strong Soviet armored unit is spotted. The Unterschrfuhrer Franz Staudegger, a big and large Carinthian, jumps on the turret of his Tiger and heads for the front. On the ridge, a grenadier signal to him that five Soviet tanks have already been destroyed by Panzerjagers in close assaults. In a few minutes the Tiger's gun destroys other three T-34s. Staudegger moves his Panzer towards the noman's land.

Two other T-34s appeared on the railway. In the space of a minute they are reduced to flaming wreckage. Other five tanks are after the rear side of the rail-ridge. They are also destroyed in a fierce exchange of gunfires. Continuing to advance Staudegeer finally see the announced Soviet armored formation in a large downhill. Rapid as an eagle, the gun fires round after round from a protected position. 22 tanks are destroyed, the anti-tank projectiles are exhausted. The remaining tanks are hit by explosive rounds which damage a big number of them.

Staudegger returns on rear-march with his Tiger tank, maintaining the opponents to a security distance. The ammunitions are exhausted, the engine is giving some troubles and the fuel is nearly out. The grenadiers hails with enthusiasm the Tiger passing through their positions. Sponteneausly the Regimental commander bestow the 1st Class Iron Cross to the audacious panzer commander. The Fuhrer confers him the Cross of Knight of the Iron Cross for his extraordinary courage and engagement

http://www.geocities.com/pentagon/quarters/4635/tanks/tiger1/tiger1.htm

 

Staudegger!

 

I guess the Russians that saw this never recovered...

On 12 th July by the early afternoon 2nd Guards and 2nd Tank Corps had broken into the woods west of Belenichino and the farms east of the village Kalinin.The battle for the railway embankment at Belenichino was particularly intense, and not without those surreal moments which punctuate heavy fighting. A company report from Das Reich´s Der Fuhrer Regiment records that Second-Lieutenant Krueger, who had been wounded twice in the previous day´s fighting, was struck by a rifle bullet which set one of his incendiary grenades on fire. Tearing off his trousers and underpants, Krueger continued to fight, naked from the waist down, at the head of 10th Company until its objectives were taken.
( Krueger was KIA on the 14th ).

 

And what Soviets that were able to make it through Kursk most likely got killed when they attacked the 2nd SS Pz. during the battles for the Mius in August of 43.

E

 

Thanks for his picture--I like the shot with him wearing his Dot-pattern Camo.

 

It is interesting to note that this one piece dot pattern unit was worn as standard for W-SS Panzer and Stug crews only to be replaced later around Normandy with the two piece in summer and fall/winter dot and blotch patterns. I've even got pics of the one piece being worn in the Ardenne.

E

 

On Luftwaffe action from Robin Cross´ "Battle of Kursk":

In contrast the air battle in the south on the 5th July seemed like a re-run of the drubbings regularly inflicted by the Luftwaffe on Soviet aviation.It had yielded German claims of 432 Soviet aircraft destroyed, 77 by II/JG3 alone. Flight lieutenant Johannes Wiesse of JG 52 claimed 12 victims, in spite of having force-landed five times during the course of the day´s fighting (?). Close behind was the claim for eleven kills made by the ebullient Flying officer Walter Krupinski, also of JG 52, whose penchant for high living prompted his comrades dub him
" The Count ". Admitted German losses were no more that twenty-six aircraft. Seen solely in terms of aircraft claimed shot down, 5 July 1943 was the greatest single day of air combat in WW2, unequalled even by the air fighting at the height of the " Marianas Turkey shoot" in the Pacific in June-July 1944.



[ 22. January 2003, 07:03 AM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]

 

Erich--that is a RARE pic--I thinks your collection is much better than mine and grateful for it

 

pics of Das Reich Panzer members right before detraining in Belgium in late 44. Some of the chaps are also appearing with the similiar U-boot Lederjacke with epaulette's.

E.

 

I can only drool at the thought of imagining what all is in your photos

Also--im trying to drum up participation in a new Poll in the Free Fire forum on having a photo section here. Im turning the screws on Otto now