Kursk: The Air Battle

"To date, no single study has been written in English on the air aspects of the battle in which, literally, thousands of aircraft were pitted against each other."

Kursk: The Air Battle is the third in a series of four by Christer Bergström, published by the British publisher Ian Allan on the history on the air war on the Eastern Front.

Based on archive material from both sides and interviews with a large number of the pilots who fought this battle, this is an exciting day-by-day study of the fierce air war which was being fought in the skies above the battlefield during the Battle of Kursk on the Eastern Front in July 1943. A close study such as this - which also goes into detail to analyse the air war and its results - inevitably will lead to a whole new understanding of this important piece of air war history.

Synopsis
Compiled by one of the world's leading experts on the subject of the air war over the Eastern Front, Christer Bergstrom, "Kursk: The Air Battle", is the third in a series of books covering the major phases of the air war in this theatre of operations. It will be required reading for all historians of the Luftwaffe during World War 2 and those with a specific interest in the Eastern Front in particular.

The German 'Kursk' offensive, 'Operation Zitadelle,' was launched on 4 July 1943. Strong Soviet defence ensured that the Germans failed to make their planned breakthrough and, after three weeks, defence was turned to attack by the Soviets, as two counter-attacks saw the Red Army seize the initiative and ultimately force the Germans to retreat. During the month of August, Soviet forces recaptured strategic cities such as Oryol, Belgorod and Kharkov.This book provides a detailed history of the air battles where were a part of this operation. To date, no single study has been written in English on the air aspects of the battle in which, literally, thousands of aircraft were pitted against each other.

The strength of the author's writing lies in its detail, his ability to tell the story from the viewpoints of both sides and from both strategic and tactical contexts. There is also much unique eye-witness material and the text will be accompanied by a large number of rate and previously unpublished photographs, 'biography boxes', plus data tables, technical assessments and appendices.

Hardback, format 303 x 227 mm; ca 150 mono and colour photographs; word count a. 100,000 words.

Check out my friend Pawel Burchard's excellent website on the Kursk air war here

* Barbarossa: The Air Battle: Was published in April 2007. Click here for more information.

* Stalingrad: The Air Battle: Was published in August 2007. Click here for more information.

* Bagration to Berlin: The Final Air Battles in the East 1944 - 1945: Was published in July 2008. Click here for more information.

These books study the air war on the Eastern Front from a slightly different angle than Black Cross/Red Star. The "Ian Allan books" are more oriented towards planning and strategy, while the Black Cross/Red Star books are more of operational histories.