by
Robert Taylor
34" by 23"
A very RARE Publishers Proof Edition
Print Number 9/50
This is Nicolas Trudgian's most popular print!
$795
On 5 July, 1943 over 6000 German and Russian tanks clashed near the
town of Kursk, just 300 miles south
of Moscow. It was the beginning of what became the greatest tank battle
in history. In the skies above this
conflagration, an air battle of monumental proportions raged, with
the German and Russian air forces locked
in combat. This was war on a scale hitherto never imagined.
A full week later the Battle was still raging, reaching a crescendo
on 12 July when Hoth's 4th Panzer Army
met head-on with Rotmistrov's 5th Guards Tank Army near the village
of Prokhorovka. With the Russian T34s
electing to fight at close quarters, so desperate was the fighting
that opposing tanks resorted to ramming
each other. As the battle moved across the landscape all became utter
confusion.
Playing a major role in the air were the Luftwaffe's Ju-87 Stukas,
equipped with massive 37mm cannons
slung under their wings. Led by Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the legendary Stuka
pilot, these formidable tank-busters
made a significant contribution to the Battle of Kursk.
Nicolas Trudgian's new painting records the dramatic events at Kursk
in a spectacular rendition that captures
the very essence of this mighty land and air battle. Dominating the
scene are a pair of Ju-87s. Having knocked
out two T34s, they weave over the landscape as they try to avoid the
attentions of Russian Yak 9s, the gunner
of Rudel's aircraft - in the foreground - blazing away with his machine
gun. A pair of Fw19Os have entered the fray,
and the air is filled with smoke and cordite.
In a typically detailed Nicolas Trudgian landscape, below the aerial
contest Russian and Panzer tanks are seen
in close combat, desperately maneuvering to gain some advantage. The
old farm buildings show the ravages of war;
tank tracks crisscross the fields, stretching into the distance where
the battle extends to the horizon.
A masterpiece in military art.
Adding great significance to Nicolas Trudgian's authentic battle scene
reconstruction, each print in the edition
is signed by two Luftwaffe Stuka veterans, who are joined by one of
the leading Panzer Knight's Cross
holders who fought at the Battle of Kursk.
