Battle of Kursk with James Holland

·26 min·2 clips

James Holland reveals why the German plan to encircle a million Soviet troops at Kursk was a strategic fantasy from the start.

Host James Rogers introduces the episode from Toronto, noting the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Kursk and welcoming returning guest James Holland. Holland briefly updates on his current projects, including a new book on the 1943 Italian campaign titled 'The Savage Storm' and the We Have Ways Fest. The conversation then focuses on Kursk, set after the German defeat at Stalingrad. Holland explains the strategic context, describing the Kursk salient as a large bulge in the front lines that the Germans aimed to pinch off. He argues the operation made little strategic sense, as Germany had lost the initiative and was overextended. Holland emphasizes the importance of the Mediterranean front to Hitler for protecting oil supplies from Romania. He details the Soviet defensive preparations, which included eight layered lines of fortification. The discussion covers the changing composition of the German army by 1943, with professional soldiers replaced by ideologically driven but less effective troops. Holland describes the battle's progression, noting the northern German attack stalled quickly, and the famous tank battle at Prokhorovka was less decisive than often portrayed. He explains Hitler called off the offensive due to the Allied invasion of Sicily, which he prioritized. Holland discusses the subsequent Soviet counter-offensives, Operation Kutuzov and Rumyantsev, and the concept of 'deep battle.' The episode concludes with statistics on the battle's scale, including four million troops and over 6,000 Soviet tank losses, and a promotion for Holland's new book.

As heard by us

Kursk becomes a study in attrition, delay, and Hitler's delusions.

Warfare uses the 80-year anniversary of Kursk to ask whether the German offensive was doomed before it began. James Patton Rogers and James Holland place the battle inside a German war machine already weakened by Barbarossa, then sharpen the point by showing how that machine was…

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Why you'd press play

If Kursk sounds like a map problem, this episode turns it into a question of Hitler's delusions.

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