Lecture | The Eastern Front From Kursk 1943 To Ukraine 2023

In his lecture, Maj Gen Mungo Melvin will not only describe the battle of 80 years ago but also draw some interesting comparisons with the current fighting in Ukraine over much the same ground.

In late August 1943, the German Army Group South was retreating towards the river Dnipro in Ukraine following the failed battle of Kursk, Operation Citadel, the Wehrmacht’s final major offensive on the Eastern Front. In the early summer of that year, however, the prospects for the operation had looked favourable: the Soviet Army had been defeated in Field Marshal Erich von Manstein’s spectacular spring counter offensive that had led to the recapture of Kharkov (now Kharkiv). In order to exploit his success, Manstein had urged a rapidly conducted subsequent offensive with the objective of pinching off the Kursk salient with attacks from the north and south simultaneously. Hitler, however, repeatedly delayed the operation in order to build up the necessary forces, including new tank units. In the interim, the Red Army made good use of the time to construct a series of formidable defensive lines and to gather new strategic reserves. When the German attack was launched on 5 July 1943, progress was disappointingly slow. Dubbed as the greatest tank battle in history, losses on both sides were extremely high. With its numerical superiority, the Red Army could absorb them better. Unnerved by the Allied landings on Sicily on 10 July 1943, Hitler eventually called off the attack on 17 July – by which time a major Soviet counter-offensive was already underway. On 23 August 1943, Kharkov was liberated.

Mungo Melvin served for 37 years in the Royal Engineers and the General Staff before retirement. He attended the German Armed Forces Staff College, served as the chief planner in 1st (UK) Armoured Div in the First Gulf War and commanded an engineer regiment in the Balkans. Later roles included Chief Engineer of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and GOC of the British Army’s Support Command in Germany. He also taught strategy at RCDS. He was a specialist military adviser to the UK’s House of Commons Defence Committee from 2012 until 2017. Since 2012 he has been a Senior Associate Fellow of the RUSI, London. In 2016 he became Chairman of the Royal Engineers Historical Society, and an Honorary Vice President of the Western Front Association. His biography, Manstein: Hitler’s Greatest General was published to critical acclaim in 2010. His next major work, Sevastopol’s Wars: Crimea from Potemkin to Putin, was published in April 2017. Alongside editing the next volume of the Royal Engineers history (2000-2019) he has also embarked on a major new study into the role of decisive battle in warfare. Mungo Melvin continues to advise NATO and UK forces.

Enjoy a post lecture supper in the Castle Bistro from 8pm
2 courses £25
3 courses £30