Very rare Russian signal corps wire spool cable reel mark TK-70 used by the 5th Guards Army recovered Psel River area, south of Kursk on the Voronezh front defended by them against German 2nd SS Panzer corps during the German Kursk offensive in 1943

This is a very rare find from the battlefield a Russian signal corps wire spool cable reel mark TK-70 this is a very early war manufacture not made in massive numbers.The reel which is pretty much complete apart from the center bar and is in 2 parts the wire runner is loose from the main frame it is in relic condition with no paintwork left on it it does have some small rust holes and damage it is in nice condition for a relic still solid it not braking up or falling apart it has its nice brass fittings which are there original colour it has been very nicely cleaned and is perfect to display and nice to find from the battlefield. The reel was used by soldiers of the 5th Guards Army recovered from the area of the Psel River, south of Kursk on the Voronezh front. This area was defended by them against the German 2nd SS Panzer corps during the battle part of Operation Citadel the German Kursk offensive in July-August 1943 in Russia. The reel comes with 2 X A5 laminated information card with pictures of the reel in use.

For Operation Citadel the Germans used four armies along with a large portion of their total tank strength on the Eastern Front. On 1 July, the 9th Army of Army Group Centre based in the northern side of the salient contained 335,000 men (223,000 combat soldiers); in the south, the 4th Panzer Army and Army Detachment "Kempf", of Army Group South, had 223,907 men (149,271 combat soldiers) and 100,000–108,000 men (66,000 combat soldiers) respectively. The 2nd Army, that held the western side of the salient contained an estimated 110,000. In total, the German forces had a total strength of 777,000–779,000 men, and the three attacking armies contained 438,271 combat soldiers Army Group South was equipped with more armoured vehicles, infantry and artillery than the 9th Army of Army Group Centre. The 4th Panzer Army and Army Detachment "Kempf" had 1,377 tanks and assault guns, while the 9th Army possessed 988 tanks and assault guns. German industry produced 2,816 tanks and self-propelled guns between April and June, of which 156 were Tigers and 484 Panthers. At Kursk, a total of 259 Panthers, about 211 Tigers, and 90 Ferdinands were used. Photo below Tiger I heavy tanks of the German 2nd SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich', Kursk, Russia, June 1943.