Join the TimeGhost Army: bit.ly/WW2_202_PI This is part one of a two part weekly episode, stay tuned for more! We're only able to tackle huge events like this because of all of you in the TimeGhost Army, so go sign up!

The time when Zhukov said "it Zhukin time" and Zhuked the German army was one of the moment in military history

Imagine being a German soldier on the eve of the offensive. Suddenly, 2 hours before you are set off to attack, the enemy starts an artillery barrage against your forces. Basically yelling you: We are ready and waiting for you.

A friend of mine who was a dentist served as a field medic during the battle of Kursk and was blown up/buried in an aid station dugout by either German aircraft or artillery, he didn't know which. He spent about 3 months in recovery and then they sent him to the medical complex for his dental training (in Minsk, I believe) where he met his future wife who was also training to be a dentist. I wrote a short biographical sketch of his life from Barbarossa to the end of the war.R.I.P. Sacha.

It's crazy to think but when this war started, I had just graduated high school and was just starting university. Now I am an Aerospace Engineer working full time more than 500 miles from where I was born and raised. Reflecting on the huge milestones I've seen come and go in that time really puts the length of this conflict into perspective. Thank you for this incredible living exhibit.

I think that this is the battle that really let the Germans know the jig was up. Really curious to see how it develops!

On the fields of Prokorovka, Summer 1943, the tanks lined up in thousands, as far the eye can see

A footnote this week on July 5 1943 is that the town of Boise City in Oklahoma in the United States is mistakenly bombed by a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) B-17 Flying Fortress bomber during a training mission. The mistake happened because the pilots mistook the lights centred around the town’s main square as their practice target when they became disoriented during their practice mission. Fortunately, no one was injured with little damage as the main square was deserted when it happened and only practice bombs were used.

"The German army is a machine, and machines can be broken! " Konstantin K. Rokossovskiy ​💯​✨​ (December 21, 1896 - August 3, 1968)

Some trivia on Kula Gulf: the Niizuki of radar-carrying fame was commissioned into the IJN on March 31st 1943. It sank approximately 14 weeks later making it one of the shortest-lived warships in all of WW2.

Coincidentally, almost to the day, the last Royalist army was destroyed in the Battle of Langport on 10 July 1645, during the first English Civil War...by the New Model Army.

Man! I can't believe we are already at the Battle of Kursk. THE turning point in the war in europe, where the axis armies went on full on defense from now on. It feels like yesterday, when Germany invaded Poland and started this horrible war. As always, I am very glad to support you via the Timeghost army.

Your narration of the beginning of the Kursk battle was excellent teaching me much. The detail of battery mounting in Ferdinans and Tigers was an issue I had not learned from any of the armor channels on these tanks. Well done I always like learning.

It's a helluva journey....and to think we're barely at the halfway point. Glad to see this channel's going strong as always(;

The Panzerjäger Ferdinand did not have a mounted machine gun at this time, but the crews were issued with a loose MG 34, and MPs for defense of the vehicle. The Ferdinand has numerous pistol ports around it's fighting compartment for using these in addition to the hatches. Glad you guys mentioned the mines; the majority of the lost Ferdinand's were directly to mine damage or artillery fire Karl Heinz Munch has written good combat histories with the individual losses tallied. Also worth remembering that huge numbers of early StuG and other Panzerjäger also lacked mounted MGs

I like Eriksen's paragraph quoted by Indy on this one; romantizing in some kind the, IMO, "weird beauty of both German and Soviet war machines deploying" while reminding the reader that this is war and soldiers on both sides were getting wounded and dying by the thousands. Such a nice episode this one, I find myself astonished by the sheer scale of the Battle of Kursk

So this episode was delayed to immerse us, and show how much Operation Citadel was itself delayed, right?

Can’t wait! One of grandfathers fought in this battle, he piloted an IL-2

New Model Army, those intro punts get better and better!

Everyone always focuses on Midway as the great Japanese naval defeat but the events of this week illustrate just how effective and professional the IJN continued to be.

Some people were waiting nearly half an hour for this to start, wow

The opening phone calls have been excellent. This episode is one of the best. (good writers!)

I choose to believe that the "New Model Army" joke was about the British rock group as well as Cromwell's military. Indy seems the right age to have heard of them. :)

This is going to be a big one

For the benefit of those that did not understand the introductory phone call about Walter Model needing a new army, Oliver Cromwell's army that won the English Civil War in the 17th century was called the New Model Army.

I legit had to pause for a moment after that new Model army joke, that got me.

A couple of Movie recommendations for the Battle of Kursk: For the German POV, "Ein anderer Krieg (A Different War)", the second episode of the miniseries Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter (Generation War) (2013), often called the "German Band of Brothers". The second "episode" (with movie length) of this German miniseries is centered in the northern attack by the 9th Army (in particular the 292 infantry division, fighting at Ponyr), and does a pretty good job at depicting the hopelessness of the battle for the Germans. If you have to watch only one, watch this one as it's very well produced and directed. Period covered: May-September 1943 Historical accuracy: 4/5 - Pretty well done overall, although the depiction of Polish partisans has been controversial IMDB grade: 8.2/10 For the Soviet POV: "Proryv (The Fire Bulge)", the first episode of the film series Osvobozhdenie (Liberation) (1970). This film series released in 1970 is comprised of five films depicting the battles of the red army from 1943 to 1945. The first episode deals with the battle of Kursk, from the planning to the clash at Prokhorovka. Compared to the German POV film, it has a documentary feel, focusing almost exclusively in military matters depicting all major leaders and clashes. This one has shots with dozens of tanks rolling over the steppes if that's what you're looking for. Like most Soviet movies, is available for free in the Mosfilm youtube channel. Period covered: Early April-16 July 1943 Historical accuracy: 4/5 -As mentioned, it feels like a documentary at times, but some of the things shown are plain incorrect. IMDB grade: 7.6/10

Allied air commanders continued to make economical investments in their use of air power for the maintenance of air superiority. Spaatz and his subordinates in the NAAF made efficient use of their assets. While heavy and medium bombers struck airfields, often escorted by Spitfires from Malta or P-40s and P-38s from North Africa, fighter-bomber sorties patrolled the island for the hidden landing grounds used by Axis aircraft to avoid these potentially devastating raids. The difficulties experienced by the defending Axis air formations have been well documented. The German fighter force made one final attempt to intervene. General Galland attempted to concentrate three fighter wings on a single airfield in an effort to hit Allied bombers en-mass. While there was an element of risk involved, he felt that some effort had to be made instead of allowing fighter strength to dissipate. The result was extremely heavy air fighting. Technical Sergeant Robert S. Lash, a clerk flying his first mission as an observer with the 2nd Bombardment Group described the air battle on Independence Day 1943. During the raid on Catania aerodrome: “[F]ighters were raising hell. On several occasions I would be safe in saying that every plane [B-17] was sending bullets at fighters - most vivid 4th of July I’ve ever seen, with tracers all over the sky, a formation of bombers, fighters darting in and out and black puffs all around. The fighters followed for 40 minutes, then it ended rather abruptly.” On 5 July, the German concentration meant that the Gerbini complex of landing grounds became an ideal carpet bombing target as the whole plain was covered with aircraft. The ensuing air battle was a disaster for the Luftwaffe. The formation of fighters that managed to intercept the bombers turned out to be too small to deal with escorting fighters. Luftwaffe fighter commander Ulrich Steinhoff, who had already lost a pair of Bf 109s to bombing, was shot down by a Spitfire near Mount Etna. NAAF records indicate that while 100 German fighters were encountered during this first wave, a second wave bombed Gerbini without notable interference. Allied raids stretched Axis fighter defences to their limits. The Regia Aeronautica also suffered heavily during this period. For instance, on 5 July Allied efforts caused the deaths of two of the three leading Italian aces, Franco Lucchini and Leonardo Ferrulli. Super Aereo (Regia Aeronautica high command) statistical returns for the 18 May to 9 July period indicate that Italian bomber strength dropped by 122 aircraft while fighter strength also dropped by 39 aircraft. Bomber serviceability tumbled from 41 to 34 percent while fighter serviceability decreased from 55 to 51 percent. Although these statistics do not precisely reflect the Regia Aeronautia’s losses, they do illustrate that Italian airmen were also subject to the punishment unleashed on Axis airfields in the region. Weeks of air bombardment resulting in both aircraft/aircrew losses and significant damage to bases and technical installations added up. Luftflotte 2’s chief of staff later reported: "In the last few weeks before the landing all the aerodromes, operational airfields, and landing grounds on Sicily were so destroyed in continuous attacks by massed forces that it was only possible to get this or that airfield in running order again for a short time, mainly by mobilizing all available forces, including those of the German and Italian armies." Consequently, Axis aircraft were increasingly forced to turn to semi-permanent and improvised landing grounds in attempts to conceal their aircraft. Energetic resistance from Sicilian property owners and a lack of support on the part of Italian authorities led to difficulties in preparing these temporary sites though. The Germans reduced single-engine fighter strength on Sicily from 185 to 100 by 9 July in order to conserve strength for the landings themselves. At the same time they also withdrew Fw 190 formations from Sicily, thereafter using the island only as an advanced landing ground. Aircraft serviceability was also an issue. Serviceability rates of Sardinian-based fighter-bombers dropped from 55 to 35 percent, meaning fewer would be available for transfer to Sicily when the invasion came. In Sicily, Lieutenant-Colonel Steinhoff observed that “unserviceable aircraft were ruthlessly cannibalized, for the spare-part situation was truly catastrophic.” After the war, Field Marshal Kesselring conceded that by the time of the Allied landings on 10 July the Luftwaffe was unable to effectively intervene on the battlefield. Eagles Over Husky - Alexander Fitzgerald Black

Right, a new model army. The axis better hope it has more PUNch than the first one.

I hope you guys talk about the ‘upgrades’ the Ferdinands get following the end of Citadel, and how the Germans made the incredibly intelligent decision of sending the newly upgraded Elefants to mountainous and rainy Italy

Trivia: USS Helena is the last US surface combat ship larger than a destroyer sunk by the Japanese until USS Princeton during the battle of Leyte Gulf 10/24/44, 15 months later.

Fantastic and captivating episode as always from you Indy :) I always been fascinated by the Battle of Kursk, it was a truly titanic battle.

Awesome coverage! Thanks Mr. Neidell and team.

Great work on those maps, fellows. Truly excellent.

Always fantastic Program....thank you so much......from Florida....Paul

Thank You TimeGhost Team for putting out great content. It feeds the"Beast" hungry for information on the minute details of this atrocious, yet interesting war.

I’ve been waiting three years for this episode!!

Well worth the extra day's wait - thank you!

Great coverage and great image! You guys did an amazing job!

Great episode!! Great work!!

Absolutely love this channel.

Unbelievable stuff. Keep it up TG!

Great research work, kudos 👏 to the entire team

Fantastic episode!

You're real, real good om the WWII history, projecting it in such an increadibly interesting way!!! 👍👍👍

no matter how much I love to read about the 2nd world war, no matter how much I try to educate myself about it - when it comes to gripping, engaging delivery of the subject matter: Indy & team are the apex. much love from the Landsberg/Ammersee region over to you guys!

As always, great episode!

What an episode! Worth the wait and break in the streak! Job well done all!

Uhh, losing 25-35% of the effective tank roster in a day due to repair problems is NOT unusual, all offensives of the Wehrmacht had about one week of air until they ran out of units... As long as you are on the attack that is not too bad and can be kept up with actually repairing them and bringing them forward before all other units also broke down. On the retreat it IS a problem as all defective units will get captured or destroyed fully, so you have no hope of bringing them back again.

My grandfather was an Italian soldier defending the beach in south Sicily. Died few years ago, age 90. Can't imagine what he was thinking those days

Another great video, thank you.

Thank you for your knowledge and works

This was an incredibly great episode - one of Indy's Finest Hours!

What a great episode! What a hook at the end planted

Amazing episode!

Amazing episodes!

Greetings from 🇮🇪! Been following your channels since The Great War🤔😳😊. Great history, very well told and presented.

Absolutely fantastic - first time i've seen your channel and just brilliant to watch - liked and subscribed - thankyou for posting.

Indy you are such a good host! Can’t praise you enough!

I love your channel keep up the great stuff!!!

I feel like we never go more than two weeks before someone important dies in a plane crash. Those old planes were absolute deathtraps.

OMG! IM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS ONE

Epicness of the episode beyond ALL

Hi Indy Awesome video.. Worth to wait. Another offensive. Awaiting for next episode. Thanks.

Love the content fun little fact I might be mistaken but is that a captured Soviet La-5 Fighter plane at 7:30 it has German markings but it looks just like An La-5.

My great uncle served on the USS Strong. Unfortunately I believe the Strong holds the record for the longest unguided torpedo strike. Luckily he survived the sinking.

Thank you for this

What an episode, can't wait for the one of next week

Yeah know I once saw a video on a little talked about aspect of the Battle of Kursk. The Battle in the Air. Most people don't focus on this. Needless to say at the end of it the Soviets suffered a lot. German losses were apparently manageable. But since the Soviets could replace their losses more easily than the Germans it was in the long run a greater loss for the Germans. Nice video.

This week in French politics: The 3rd of July, admiral Robert yields, Martinique joins Free France. Robert stays at port and is the de facto governor while the CFLN sends a new governor for the Antilles and for Martinique, Henri Hoppenot. Hoppenot is a french ambassador. Secretary in 1917 in Rio de Janeiro’s ambassy under Paul Claudel (future poet and playwright). In 1933, he is councilor at the ambassy of Peking/ Beijing, in 1938 he is the Deputy director of the division Europe at the Foreign Affairs. After 1940, he is named by Vichy as a Minister Plenipotentiary in Metevideo in Uruguay. He was first for Giraud in the end of 1942 before changing sides and joining De Gaulle at the beginning of 1943. He then became Director of Civilian Services of the Military Mission in the United-States. In June, he was named representative of the CFLN in the US. The 7th of July, colonel Pierre Bilotte of the FFL (Free French Forces) is nominated secretary in the Military Committee. Bilotte is an officer captured in June 1940. He manages to escape in February 1941, and he joins the USSR, interned until Barbarossa, and became the Free France representative in Moscow. He is exchanged against Russian refugee in London and becomes the Chief of Staff of De Gaulle as a colonel.

Great video

Been waiting for this battle for years

Nice homage to Glantz & House with the title :)

I'm sorry the map people had to work those 16 hour days. This is a very important episode, and was worth the long hours imo, thank you for the hard work :)

Great work!

Worth the wait!

It's very possible that my Great-Grandfather died in this battle. We don't know for sure, since my Grandmother was born in 1941 and didn't remember him at all and her family never got any reports on his exact fate...but since he died in Summer 1943 on the Eastern Front, it is likely he fell at Kursk during Operation Citadel.

The final effort before the unending retreat.

worth the wait

Enjoyed your video so I gave it a Thumbs Up

Stalingrad blunted the sword, Kursk broke it.

Kursk! Been looking forward to this! Also enjoyed the joke at the start :)

Great episode.

Love the show. Keep up the great work. I liked the UK band New Model Army in the 1980s. Nice pun.

Interesting observation--the aircraft shown at ~7:30 in German markings is actually a Soviet-made La-5 fighter.

8:06 The 48th Panzer Corp in the southern pincer were stunned to find a ton of minefields? Yikes. Did they really think they were surprising the Soviets with Citadel?

Thanks!

Excellent reporting of the battlefield action, heightened by the vest fighting desperately against the loud tie.

From afar this tie kind of looks like a painter's pallet... Quite something. 3.5/5

Germans: Holy shit. This is really happening. Russians: Holy shit. This is really happening. Japanese: hehe. We have radar now. Americans: Well, damn.

Great job!

I'm ecstatic to finally be here for the battle of Kursk. I had no clue this was happening at the same time as operation Husky either. Which is incredible. When I talk to my other history nerd friends we constantly debate the importance of certain battles. D-Day was big but Kursk was a whole new beast. I personally believe this was the most important battle in the war especially in the Eastern front. Not just because it was the largest tank battle in human history up until that point but because of how the Germans finally realizing how blatantly screwed they were in the long haul. The Germans fought their asses off here and would eventually score a 4:1 ratio of kills against Soviet armor and it still wasn't enough. If that wasn't enough to achieve victory, God help the other fronts. Ya know!?! Thanks again to Indy and the team for covering this.

Tens of thousands casualties and hundreds of tanks disabled in just the first day! What were the Germans thinking, doing a frontal assault against a fortified position and against a numerically superior foe in in both soldiers and equipment? Can you imagine the Germans doing a frontal assault against the French Maginot Line in the early part of the war?

This trainwreck operation with to 1939 eyes eye-watering numbers is the definition of "mission creep" and "sunk cost fallacy".

I know you guys hear this a lot, but thanks for another excellent chapter in the most comprehensive and entertaining resource for World War II ever created.

You can't blame the phone for that horrendously awesome Dad Joke...

15:45 "It's over Adolf, I have the high ground." -- J. Stalin😀

Erickson may have a way with words but I'd still take Glantz and House over him. They may seem more boring because they are former military men writing the first history of the Eastern Front of WW2 from a Western point of view with access to the Soviet/Russian archives. But that is also what makes their works so important. Since they were some of the very few neutral Western historians who got access to the Russian WW2 archives before Putin closed the archives off to anyone but "historians" who support a very pro Soviet/Russia view.

Well worth the wait👍😀

As always, great video and vest!!!! 🇺🇸