ARMOR AND BLOOD

One of America's most distinguished military historians offers the definitive account of a critical World War II battle--Kursk--a struggle that involved 3.5 million men, and was perhaps the largest battle in history.

Kursk was a titanic tank battle at a point in World War II when the stakes couldn't have been higher. It was one of the greatest battles of World War II in terms of numbers and significance. Two million Russians and nearly a million Germans, eight thousand tanks and tens of thousands of artillery pieces, met in the heart of the Soviet Union, in an encounter both sides knew would shape the rest of the war. The adversaries were at the peak of their respective forms. On both sides the generals and the dictators they served were in agreement on where, why, and how to fight. The result was a death grapple between two of history's greatest fighting forces--a battle that might possibly be the greatest of all time. Kurst was an unjustly forgotten battle; because the heroes here were the Soviets, Kursk hasn't gotten the attention it deserves -- as essentially the death blow to the German Army-- until now. After Kursk, Hitler could mount no more than local operations on any front--ripostes that postponed but could not avert final defeat.
All the elements are here for a compelling narrative. ARMOR AND BLOOD is scrupulously researched, documented and illustrated, with maps, photos and source notes. This will be a model of military history, written by a foremost scholar and former President of the Society for Military History, the major association in the field. Showalter has taught history at Colorado College since 1969, and is a visiting professor and guest lecturer at West Point. He has also served as a distinguished visiting professor at both the United States Military Academy and the United States Air Force Academy and is a former president of the Society for Military History.