Operation Zitadelle 1943The Greatest Tank Battle\nAuthor(s): Mark Healy\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: The History Press Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: The History Press Ltd\nISBN-13: 9781803993430, 978-1803993430\nSynopsis\nIn July 1943, Hitler launched Operation Zitadelle, the last German offensive on the Eastern Front. It was an attempt to shorten the German lines by eliminating the Kursk salient and was designed to result in the encirclement of the Red Army. In reality, the German tanks came up against impenetrable Russian defences: minefields, artillery and anti-tank emplacements, spread through lines 250km deep and manned by Russian troops whose actions often verged on the suicidal. The greatest tank battle in history, Operation Zitadelle assured the Nazis defeat and was the swan song of the German tank arm.\n\nInvolving over 9,000 tanks, 5,000 aircraft, 35,000 guns and mortars, [url] million troops and 230,000 casualties, the Battle of Kursks scale and barbarity eclipsed all ot.