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Lukew -> RE: Kursk WW2: Why Russia is still fighting world's biggest tank battle (8/14/2019 3:17:20 PM)
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The Russian Government os obviously playing politics here. Eminent historians such as Nipe, Glantz, Zamulin, Schrank have examined both the Soviet archives and the captured archives of II SS Panzer Corps (held in Washington DC) and have exposed Rotmistrov's account that, prior to 1990 Western historians had to rely upon were in fact no more than a fabrication. The Soviets claimed that II SS Panzer Corps had "hundreds of Panther and Tiger tanks" nut that the SS were decisively defeated losing he numbers of tanks abandoned on the field. As we now know however it was 5th Gaurds Tank Army that lost several hundred tanks. And some very senior German commanders actually came down to the battlefield next day (which tells us that it was the Germans who were in very secure possession of the battle field, not the Soviets)That fact alone tells us that Prokorovka was a clear and decisive tactical success for the Germans. Furthermore, from Nipe's analysis in particular we know that that II SS Panzer Corps only had a few operational Tigers on the day. They never had any Panthers at all, the rest of the German tanks that fought in the battle being Panzer III or IV models.
However, as Schrank shows the 5th Guard Tank Army did achieve something of great significance despite their near immolation. They gained a vital day for the Soviet strategic reserves to come up and move into position. By the end of the day II SS Panzer Corps was temporarily exhausted physically and emotionally. For a couple of days they were incapable of mounting further major offensive operations. Even then Operation Roland, commencing 14 July was more of a local attack that achieved little or nothing of significance and by 17 July 2nd SS Panzer Corps was being withdrawn from the sector to begin operations against a Red Army offensive further south on the River Mius, a battle described in detail by George Nipe in his book Decision on the Mius.
The Russians are just going to have to accept that the story put about by the Soviet Union during the Cold War is tripe. Nobody can put that particular cat back in the bag. They are going to have to accept that II SS Pamzer Corps won a decisive tactical victory. However, by this time Operation Citadel overall had failed, Even if II SS Panzer Corps had been in position to continue on 13 July they would have been placing II SS Panzer Corps in a highly vulnerable position to a further counter offensive by the Soviet strategic reserves in position to counter attack the flanks and rear of the salient. A situation that might have resulted in a German disaster a few days later had major offensive operations continued. Either way, by exhausting and effectively stopping II SS Panzer Corps the Red Army had gained a strategic although pyrrhic victory at the operational level. That of course set the stage for the 4th Battle of Kharkov. The Russian Government should be content with that and start placing greater emphasis on 4th Kharkov which really was a decisive but hard fought Red Army victory.
The fact that the Russian Government is clinging to the old story clearly demonstrates that they are playing politics and are not prepared to admit that the Soviet Union lied for decades about what really happened and were eventually caught out in that lie
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