The Western Allied landings in Italy opened a new front, further diverting German resources and attention. Though the location, plan of attack and timing were determined by Hitler, he blamed the defeat on his General Staff. Unlike Stalin, who gave his commanding generals the liberty to make important command decisions, Hitler's interference in German military matters progressively increased while his attention to the political aspects of the war decreased. The opposite was true for Stalin; throughout the Kursk campaign, he trusted the judgment of his commanders, and as their decisions led to battlefield success it increased his trust in their military judgment. Stalin stepped back from operational planning, only rarely overruling military decisions, resulting in the Red Army gaining more freedom of action during the war. All told, 239 Red Army personnel were bestowed the USSR's highest degree of distinction, the title Hero of the Soviet Union (HSU), for their valour in the Battle of Kursk. Two women, Guards Senior Sergeants Mariya Borovichenko and Zinaida Mareseva, were awarded the HSU title posthumously for their valour under fire while serving as combat medics. Borovichenko was assigned to the 32nd Guards Artillery Regiment, 13th Guards Rifle Division, 5th Guards Army and Mareseva served in a medical platoon in the 214th Guards Rifle Regiment, 73rd Guards Rifle Division, 7th Guards Army. Casualties The casualties suffered by the two combatants are difficult to determine, due to several factors. German equipment losses were complicated by the fact that they made determined efforts to recover and repair tanks. Tanks disabled one day might be back in action the next day. German personnel losses are clouded by the lack of access to German unit records, which were seized at the end of the war. Many were transferred to the United States national archives and were not made available until 1978, while others were taken by the Soviet Union, which declined to confirm their existence. Soviet losses The Russian military historian Grigoriy Krivosheyev, who based his figures on the Soviet archives, is considered by historian David Glantz as the most reliable source for Soviet casualty figures. His figures are supported by German historian Karl-Heinz Frieser. The German historian Roman Töppel disagreed. Having consulted the armies and units archives, he writes that Krivosheyev's figures on Soviet losses at Kursk are underestimated by 40%. Krivosheyev calculated total Soviet losses during the German offensive as 177,877. The Central Front suffered 15,336