New Kursk book - Kursk, The Battle of Prokhorovka

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JC
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Re: New Kursk book

#16

Post by JC » 23 Aug 2015, 18:49

This book focuses exclusively on the southern sector, specifically on the XXXXVIII, IISS and III Panzerkorps actions.....JC

Dann Falk
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Re: New Kursk book

#17

Post by Dann Falk » 24 Aug 2015, 17:33

I just reserved my copy too....Just in time... a birthday gift to myself :)


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Alejandro_
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Re: New Kursk book

#18

Post by Alejandro_ » 25 Aug 2015, 09:52

Anyone knows when (and if) is it going to be available in amazon to reserve?

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pintere
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Re: New Kursk book

#19

Post by pintere » 31 Aug 2015, 00:52

Alejandro_ wrote:Anyone knows when (and if) is it going to be available in amazon to reserve?
It's already there.

I need some advice from people who've been in the game longer. Right now it's around $250. How long will it take before that price goes up? It's already somewhat out of my price range, but I'd like to get it before buying new copies becomes impossible! So my question is basically what is the optimal window for getting the book at the best price?

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Re: New Kursk book

#20

Post by krichter33 » 31 Aug 2015, 02:12

Well if you reserve your copy at Aberdeen books you get it for 175.50. Also I'm quite sure it's a small print run, so I wouldn't wait that long...

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pintere
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Re: New Kursk book

#21

Post by pintere » 31 Aug 2015, 03:08

krichter33 wrote:Well if you reserve your copy at Aberdeen books you get it for 175.50. Also I'm quite sure it's a small print run, so I wouldn't wait that long...
That's of course if you are a member.

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Re: New Kursk book - Kursk, The Battle of Prokhorovka

#22

Post by Cult Icon » 31 Aug 2015, 18:03

Any news on future print runs?

It would be neat to hear a review from the first people who get this book.

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krichter33
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Re: New Kursk book

#23

Post by krichter33 » 01 Sep 2015, 02:40

As far as I remember when I signed up at Aberdeen years ago, it's free to become a member. And you don't have to sign up for anything, just give your name and email address...

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Re: New Kursk book - Kursk, The Battle of Prokhorovka

#24

Post by Dann Falk » 03 Sep 2015, 16:41

Aberdeen sent me this email:
If you wished to reserve multiple copies of Kursk: The Battle of Prokhorovka, please reply to this email with the number of copies you'd like to reserve.

So it looks like they are moving forward on printing.

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Re: New Kursk book - Kursk, The Battle of Prokhorovka

#25

Post by Swapilot » 06 Sep 2015, 04:38

I just pre-ordered mine through Amazon. Oh happy day!!!!!!!
Well boys, we got three engines out, we got more holes in us than a horse trader's mule, the radio is gone and we're leaking fuel and if we was flying any lower why we'd need sleigh bells on this thing...

Cheers,
Wiilie

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Re: New Kursk book - Kursk, The Battle of Prokhorovka

#26

Post by Panzer Vorwarts » 06 Sep 2015, 17:08

Just preordered 2 from Aberdeen. Cannot wait.

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pintere
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Re: New Kursk book - Kursk, The Battle of Prokhorovka

#27

Post by pintere » 07 Sep 2015, 00:19

I have a question about the book. One of the subjects I am most fascinated by are small scale tank duels, of which I have read about mainly from the German POV. e.g. The Panzer-Regiment of the GD division engaged Soviet armour at x-location and destroyed x-tanks without loss. Virtually no book I have read really bothers fact checking such claims unless it is for a really famous engagement like at Malinava or Villers-Bocage.

At Kursk there are A LOT of tank duels where I'd like to cross-examine German claims from Soviet sources, in particular whether the amount of tanks the Germans claimed destroyed match up to actual Soviet losses. Can anyone confirm or deny whether this book would be of help in this particular area I'm interested in?

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Re: New Kursk book - Kursk, The Battle of Prokhorovka

#28

Post by JC » 07 Sep 2015, 18:39

Chris asked me to post his answer to this question since he is no longer on the forum:

Well, yes and no.

The problem is that it is hard to reconstruct a fight below division level because the records do not support it. Units below division-level do not maintain any form of detailed narrative record except by happenstance. There are a few cases where a smaller engagement is discussed in depth in some records but I did not find such a case in Kursk. There are interviews from German and Soviet veterans but these were a view from one side and mostly taken some 60 years after the fact. One can reconstruct a battle from interviews from both sides, but we were really never able to obtain interviews from participants of both sides at the same small engagement. There are also award citations, which are dangerous documents to use (I did collect a batch of Soviet citations for Kursk but did not use them).

So, in the end, what you are left with is a daily account of the fighting at the division-level. This I did as systematically and as detailed as the records allowed and did it for all the units involved (which is why the book is so thick). I did supplement where I could by German and Soviet interviews when I had them (had a total of 115 interviews). But, if you are looking for details of platoon and company-level actions carefully constructed from both sides records, this book does not have them, and at this point, I doubt if anyone will be able to assemble them.

We do report for each day the losses suffered by each side in each division-level fight, including the armor losses. The German armor losses are derived from German records, the Soviet armor losses are derived from Soviet records. We also do some direct comparisons of Soviet armor kill claims to German armor losses and both German and Soviet air claims to Soviet and German air losses. We also tried to check the air claims of individual aces to the actual air losses. We did have access to Soviet unit records.

Jeff

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Re: New Kursk book - Kursk, The Battle of Prokhorovka

#29

Post by krichter33 » 08 Sep 2015, 02:41

Comparing the losses and the claims will be fascinating!

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Re: New Kursk book - Kursk, The Battle of Prokhorovka

#30

Post by pintere » 08 Sep 2015, 03:59

Day-by-day losses & comparisons of losses and kill claims? Just what I'm looking for!

(Though not specifically mentioned in your post, am I right in guessing you compare Soviet armour losses to German claims as well?)

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