By 1943, after the catastrophic German defeat at Stalingrad, the Wehmacht's panzer armies gradually lost the initiative on the Eastern Front. The tide of the war had turned. Their combined arms technique, which had swept Soviet forces before it during 1941 and 1942, had lost its edge. Thereafter the war on the Eastern Front was dominated by tank-led offensives and, as Robert Forczyk shows, the Red Army's mechanized forces gained the upper hand, delivering a sequence of powerful blows that shattered one German defensive line after another. His incisive study offers fresh insight into how the two most powerful mechanised armies of the Second World War developed their tank tactics and weaponry during this period of growing Soviet dominance. He uses German, Russian and English sources to provide the first comprehensive overview and analysis of armoured warfare from the German and Soviet perspectives. This major study of the greatest tank war in history is compelling reading. AUTHOR: Robert Forczyk is a leading expert on the history of armored warfare, and he has made a particular study of the Second World War on the Eastern Front. SELLING POINTS: . A major reassessment of the greatest tank war in history . Focuses on the development of armoured warfare during the sequence of offensives launched by the Red Army after Stalingrad . Includes in-depth analysis of tank actions during key operations that culminated in the capture of Berlin . Graphic insight into the tactics and the weaponry of the time as they were tested in battle . First-hand accounts from the tank crews on both sides . Second volume of a two-volume study 30 illustrations