PDF Kursk: The Air Battle; July 1943 by Christer Bergstrom in History

Review

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. The beginning of the end ...By WryGuy2"Kursk: The Air Battle; July 1943" by Christer Bergstrom; is a book dealing with air portion of the German summer offensive in the Soviet Union in July 1943; Operation Citadel; and the Soviet counteroffensive on the northern part of the battle zone (the Orel bulge) in the latter part of July 1943.There have been many; many books written about Operation Citadel; as it represented Germany's last strategic offensive on the Eastern Front; and it's where the Soviets showed that it would be they; not the Germans; who would dictate the pace of the remainder of the war. Although the area being fought over was only a small portion of the Eastern Front; the forces assembled by both sides consisted of a significant proportion; if not outright majority; of their available armor and aircraft. So far as I can tell; this is the only book in print in English that focuses on the air portion of this titanic struggle.The author discusses the situation in the air before the offensive kicks off; describing some of the air attacks both sides performed in the run-up to Citadel. He then shifts to a day by day description of the combat from both sides perspectives; and provides insights and analysis of the operations for both combatants. The book is chock-full of photographs from the battle's time frame; evenly divided between the Germans and Soviet point of view; and has many quotes from participants in the battle; both from published memoirs and from replies he obtained from surviving veterans.Mr Bergstrom shows the tremendous impact that the air portion of the battle had on the ground fighting ... air power played a key role in the battles; and the presence or absence of one side's air force often spelled success or failure in that day's fighting. He states that overall; each air force had a great defensive victory ... the Soviets in helping stop Citadel; and the Germans in keeping the Soviet counteroffensive from being another Stalingrad; and after reading his book; I'd have to agree.The author closes the book with listings of units; available aircraft; claimed victories/losses; and actual victories/losses; which are the result of extensive study of both side's records. While this shows that from a pure number perspective; the Germans shot down many more aircraft than they lost; Mr Bergstrom's narrative explains that numbers are deceiving and that Soviet performance improved greatly during the battle.I highly recommend this book. It provides good information and analysis on the air forces of both sides during a critical campaign on the Eastern Front; and provides a comprehensive view of the role of that the German and Soviet Air Forces played in outcome of the battles.35 of 36 people found the following review helpful. Balanced perspectiveBy Iva BuchI have always had a great interest in the battle of Kursk which resulted in some of the most brutal and savage fighting of the Eastern front in July 1943.Having bought a large number of books on the armoured and ground offensives; this took my eye as something completely different than what I was used to reading.Having never read any of Christer Bergstom's books; his offering on Kursk The Air Battle 1943 was something I knew very little about.However once I started reading I could not put it down and showed that the sacrifice on the ground was matched by the sacrifice in the air where Soviet pilots attempted to stop the German offensive.The book gives a fascinating look into the onboard weapons employed by both sides in the conflict; the aircraft; the men and tactics used.It is told from both a Russian and German perspective so gives a fair account of the fighting.Kursk saw the first use of the Henschel 129 and Ju87 cannon equipped aircraft which in the hands of men such as Hans Ulrich Rudel; were devastating on Russian armoured columns. These types of aircraft could and did in fact influence the outcome in halting a Soviet offense.On the flip side the Russians demonstrated the lessons they had learned from the Germans in the first years of the war. New fighter tactics and the mass use of the IL 2 Shturmovik with effective fighter escort turned the tables and eventually stopped the German momentumn.The book is broken up into various sections and deals with the battle in the North and South as well as the German retreat from the Orel Bulge between the 16th - 31 July.It was during this period that the air war took another twist with night fighting; as each side tried to gain control of the darkness to harass the enemy.The author has gone to great pains in his research and must be commended as he not doubt waded through various propaganda figures to come up with a balanced aircraft loss chart for both sides at the conclusion of his book.There are wonderful photos of all the main aircraft types involved; some of the leading personalities/aces and even the odd colour photo.There are a large number of appendix; orders of battle charts; and even a chart on individual Luftwaffe losses during the battle.At a little over 140 pages the book is printed on glossy paper and is a very easy read.I would have no hesitation in recommending this book and I await Christer Bergstom's next offering on the final days of the air battles on the Eastern Front10 of 11 people found the following review helpful. First-Rate History of Kursk Air Battles!By Mike O'ConnorChrister Bergstrom supplies another piece of the Eastern Front air war puzzle with this impressive history of the air ops flown by the Luftwaffe and Russian Air Force during the July 1943 Kursk offensive. As with other Bergstrom books; KURSK; THE AIR BATTLE: JULY 1943 is exhaustively-researched; well-illustrated and densely-written.Kursk; which witnessed the greatest tank battles in history; turned out to be Hitler's last (offensive) gasp on the Russian Front. Designed to tidy up the front lines; delays on Hitler's part enabled the Russians to construct defenses in depth that withstood the German pincer attack that began on 5 July.As documented in Bergstrom's book; air power played a significant role in the Kursk fighting. Time and again Luftwaffe or VVS units smashed or seriously impeded their opponents' attacks/counter-attacks and rear area movements. Initially Luftwaffe fighters savaged VVS units time and again yet the Russians learned from their mistakes and; by the end of the Kursk campaign; were triumphant.KURSK; THE AIR BATTLE: JULY 1943 displays the usual strengths and weaknesses of books by this author. The accuracy of the text can't be questioned; Bergstrom's research is impeccable as always. His bibliography lists dozens of German; Russian; U.K. and U.S.A. archives; hundreds of books in various languages; pilot logbooks; and so on. The book features over 140 bw and color photos; some of which are previously unpublished; along with maps and artwork.And; as always; Bergstrom crams a lot of information in his narrative. Though he includes a number of first-person reminiscences; Bergstrom's book can sometimes be dry. Likewise a spotty translation makes for uneven reading. Bergstrom describes how "Soviet fighters struck down on the few German fighters..." One tank brigade is described as "operating in a guerilla fashioned nature." In relating the shootdown of a VVS pilot; Bergstorm notes: "Ltr. Petr Vostrukhin...never got out of his descending Yak fighter." "With his Yak-1 set burning;" another pilot bails out; badly injured; and so on.If possible; I would have given Bergstrom's book 4 1/2 stars because of the readability factor.Yet; until something better comes along; Bergstorm's book will stand as the authoritative book on Kursk air ops. Highly recommended.