Last Citadel: A Novel of the Battle of Kursk
by David L. Robbins
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One nation taking a desperate gamble of war. Another fighting for survival. Two armies locked in a bloody cataclysm that will decide history. . . David L. Robbins has won widespread acclaim for his powerful and splendidly researched novels of World War II. Now he casts his brilliant vision on one of the most terrifying--and most crucial--battles of the war: the Battle of Kursk, Hitler's desperate gamble to defeat Russia, in the final German offensive on the eastern front. Last Citadel Spring show more 1943. In the west, Germany strengthens its choke hold on France. To the south, an Allied invasion looms imminent. But the greatest threat to Hitler's dream of a Thousand Year Reich lies east, where his forces are pitted in a death match with a Russian enemy willing to pay any price to defend the motherland. Hitler rolls the dice, hurling his best SS forces and his fearsome new weapon, the Mark VI Tiger tank, in a last-ditch summer offensive, code-named Citadel. The Red Army around Kursk is a sprawling array of infantry, armor, fighter planes, and bombers. Among them is an intrepid group of women flying antiquated biplanes; they swoop over the Germans in the dark, earning their nickname, "Night Witches." On the ground, Private Dimitri Berko gallops his tank, the Red Army's lithe little T-34, like a Cossack steed. In the turret above Dimitri rides his son, Valya, a Communist sergeant who issues his father orders while the war widens the gulf between them. In the skies, Dimitri's daughter, Katya, flies with the Night Witches, until she joins a ferocious band of partisans in the forests around Kursk. Like Russia itself, the Berko family is suffering the fury and devastation of history's most titanic tank battle while fighting to preserve what is sacred-their land, their lives, and each other-as Hitler flings against them his most potent armed force. Inexorable and devastating, a company of Mark VI Tiger tanks is commanded by one extraordinary SS officer, a Spaniard known as la Daga, the Dagger. He'd suffered a terrible wound at the hands of the Russians: now he has returned with a cold fury to exact his revenge. And above it all, one quiet man makes his own plan to bring Citadel crashing down and reshape the fate of the world. A remarkable story of men and arms, loyalty and betrayal, Last Citadel propels us into the claustrophobic confines of a tank in combat, into the tension of guerrilla tactics, and across the smoking charnel of one of history's greatest battlefields. Panoramic, authentic, and unforgettable, it reverberates long after the last cannon sounds. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Good story well narrated. Little known battle that was a clear turning point in WW2. Well thought out plot very successfully inserted into a realistic story of the very ugly combat world that this battle presented.
Maps, detailed drawings of tanks, and period quotes add to the feeling of authenticity in this intensively researched novel of the battle of Kursk. (Have to admit that with the many I've read about WWII this is an epic contest that slipped under my radar.) Is it a story about complex family relationships or the story of when "two million men clashed in the largest battle that mankind has ever seen?" Is it the story of individuals--men and women--fighting for their lives or machines battling for supremacy. Is it the story of generals calling the shots or the men on the field pulling the trigger.
It is the individual who kept me glued to the pages. You may know how the battle ends, but you don't know about the individuals. For me show more daughter, sister, lover, and fellow partisan Katya slipped from believable on several occasions, and some of her scenes, including the ending, were contrived. But man does not create perfect, and this book is great. show less
It is the individual who kept me glued to the pages. You may know how the battle ends, but you don't know about the individuals. For me show more daughter, sister, lover, and fellow partisan Katya slipped from believable on several occasions, and some of her scenes, including the ending, were contrived. But man does not create perfect, and this book is great. show less
not Robbins best novel. This one needed some tightening up. It seemed too disjointed. Unlike "War of the Rats" this one didn't have the suspense and action. Somehow it just didn't grab me like "War of the Rats" did. Trying to turn the T34 tank into a facsimile of a horse and the tank driver into a facsimile of a Cossack horseman from the Steppes just didn't work. The Spanish-turned-German tank commander had more life and likability than did the the Cossack. The battle action is fun to read and that seems to be Robbins talent.
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Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2003
- Important places
- Kursk, USSR; USSR
- Important events
- World War II (1939 | 1945); World War II, Eastern Front (1941-06-22 | 1945-05-05); Battle of Kursk (1943-07-12 | 1943-08-23)
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Statistics
- Members
- 191
- Popularity
- 171,330
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.95)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 1
