The Fascination with Kursk

[Sgt Jasper]

For me personally, I think the interest -- wouldn't call it fascination in my case as I'm not that interested -- stems largely from Soviet-era hype on the battle in general and Prokhorovka in particular. I don't at all mean to undercut the historical significance of the campaign, but now that the records of both sides are public, it seems that the armored forces involved weren't nearly as large as the propaganda had led us to believe. It nonetheless appears to me that the Kursk campaign was the Germans' last chance to reverse the tide in the East. It was a slim chance at best, but after Kursk there was no chance at all.