OSPREY PUBLISHING 2023 ISBN 978 1 4928 5908 2 H/B 316PP. £25
II SS PanzerKorps lost 16 AFVs at Prokhorovka (3%) of its pre-battle total, and 41 AFVs (8%) for the whole of Operation Citadel! No accurate count of panzer losses exists for the 12 July 1943 Prokhorovka battle. Here the author presents his evidence that SS-Panzer Grenadier divisions LSSAH, Das Reich and Totenkopf armour losses were very low, after new-found NARA archive material.
Data is analysed and collated into dozens of tank strength tables from 4 Panzer Army monthly MTO chassis numbers, 10-day divisional engineers’ status reports, weekly Meldung, and daily divisional operations officers assessments, even tracking individual vehicles. Account is taken of confounding factors: the pitfalls of Totalausfalle and Homeland repair records, new and returned repaired vehicles, re-allocation of LSSAH AFVs to Das Reich and Totenkopf when LSSAH temporarily transferred to Italy, and unit transit interruptions when DR and Totenkopf re-located to the Mius Front and status reports redirected to alternative higher commands.