Classic Publications - Ian Allan Publishing Ltd.

Kursk - The Air Battle: July 1943

by  Christer Bergstrom

Reviewed By  Brian R. Baker, IPMS# 43146

MSRP: $49.95 ISBN (10) 1 857802 388 1 ISBN (13) 978 1 90322 388 8 Website: www.ianallanpublishing.com Review Sample supplied by Specialty Press: www.specialtypress.com This book, by a Swedish author who has written a number of excellent books on World War II, continues a series for the publisher on the epic battles on the Eastern Front in the war between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. This is the third in the series, starting with Barbarossa, and continuing with Stalingrad. Another title is forthcoming. It is mainly a historical text, written primarily for readers interested in the course of the battles instead of modelers per se. However, being both a historian and a modeler, it was a book that I found difficult to put down, and it relates everything anyone could possibly want to know about the subject, and then much more. The bibliography is very impressive, ranging from archival material from Germany, Russia, the United States, and Sweden, to numerous books published in many countries. In addition, many unpublished sources are used, including such gems as German Ace Gunther Rall's personal logbook. It doesn't get much better than that. Kursk is regarded by most historians as the turning point in the war between Germany and the Soviet Union. Although this book deals mainly with the air war, it gives an excellent account of how the specific air encounters affected the actions on the ground, which were, of course, the factors in deciding who won and who lost. The author goes into explicit details on the planning and preparations that went into this major battle, and who knew what, and when. He provides personal accounts from both sides, giving contemporary impressions of the course of the conflict. He discusses the issue of over-claiming; a problem common to both sides in a battle, and compares these to actual reported loss records. He also includes short inserts explaining some specific detail or factor and how it affected the big picture. There is an excellent map in the front of the book, and my only complaint there is that he could have placed very small area maps in each chapter showing exactly where the events were taking place, so that the reader doesn't have to keep referring back to the map for guidance. Next time, I'll make a color copy of the map so I can have it handy. One very useful tool provided in the book is a glossary of terms and abbreviations used. This covers three entire pages, and explains some of the terms commonly used in the text. This includes military organizations and units, research facilities, important individuals, and even aircraft types. Although some are self-explanatory, others require explanation. While reading the text, I made notes of some of the more important terms, and they were helpful. There were really no negative factors in this book that I can comment on. Since this book was probably written in Swedish and then translated into English, there were a few strange phrases used, but these were very few, and only a former English teacher like me would notice this. However, one statement on page 23 said that the recently trained Russian pilots in a certain encounter had only 13 to 15 flight hours, compared with their German counterparts, who had over 70 hours, while the pre-war pilots trained in peacetime had over 120 hours. This required some explanation, which probably meant that the Russians had very little flight time in the type of aircraft they were operating, and certainly not much tactical training. He could not possibly have meant total flight hours, but this was not explained. The record of those inexperienced units certainly proved this, but when the Russians changed their tactics during the battle, their more experienced crews held their own against the Luftwaffe. Another major feature of this book is the photographs. A few were in color, but most are previously unpublished, and they help to illustrate the men and equipment used in this battle. The author does not, unfortunately, go into color information on the types of aircraft illustrated, although he does concentrate on the markings on occasion. The last chapter, Results and Conclusions, brings the whole event into perspective. Conclusions are drawn based on the author's research, and the reader is left in no doubt of why the battle turned out the way it did. This chapter reminds me of the writing of another great historian, Richard Overy, in his overall grasp of the major factors involved in the conflict. The reader should be left with a basic understanding of what happened, why it happened, and what mistakes were made that allowed it to happen. Following this is a series of appendices, giving tables showing orders of battle, commanders, individual losses of aircraft and personnel, and specific organizations involved on either side. Anyone who is interested in the German-Russian conflict of World War II should get a copy of this book. Thanks to IPMS/USA and Specialty Press for the review text.

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