World War II Soviet Armed Forces (3) 1944-45

Osprey Men at Arms #469

by Nigel Thomas, Darko Pavlović (Illustrator)

This book presents a detailed analysis of the Soviet armed forces during the final days of the war, covering the soldiers that successfully turned the tide against the Nazi onslaught and pushed it back into Germany itself. This final part of the series documents the Red Army's push through Germany to Berlin, which eventually culminated in the surrender of the German forces to the Allies in 1945. It also offers a detailed breakdown of all the armed forces that conducted the offensive campaigns on the Eastern Front, including the army, air force, paratroopers, navy and NKVD troops. It also reveals in colourful illustrations the uniforms and organizations of the Russian forces serving against Japan until the eventual surrender of all Japanese Imperial forces in August 1945.

Genres: Military History, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, 20th Century, Soviet Union, Russia

48 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 2012

Reviews

[Michael O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is part of a World War 2 series dealing with the militaria of the various combatants --- in particular with their organization, order of battle, a summary of their campaigns, and their uniforms. This one in particular deals with the militaria of the Red Army, Red Air Force, Soviet Navy, and NKVD/ NKGB.

I've always found it interesting how uniforms of a nation's militaries often reflect the persona and/ or culture of that nation. In particular, the Soviet Union's military uniforms do seem reflective of the militarized totalitarian system in which its military serves --- striking and sharp --- but angular, severe, martial, authoritarian --- with the resplendence of each increasing as one rises through each succeeding rank --- with more and more badges and medals. I do think it stands in contrast with western militaries and the democratic systems in which they serve --- which seem more simplistic, more modest, some even deriving their designs seemingly from business suits or police uniforms of the day --- seemingly an effort to emphasize the commonality of citizen soldiers from lowest to highest rank.

This book is really more a booklet of summaries of Red Army organization and history of the time as well as the same on their uniforms. So, if one is looking for more than that, they'd best look elsewhere. But, for what it's intended to do --- to summarize basic facts about the Red Army of this time period, it serves its purpose well enough.

[Alex MacKenzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another difficult read. I found myself skimming, not really reading, the text and uniform charts. The level of detail in these three volumes is astounding, written by someone who truly knows and loves his subject. The artwork & descriptions are unique and well worth paying attention to.

[John Somers · Rating 3 out of 5]

11/20.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas closes out the trilogy covering the Soviet armed forces in WWII, covering operations, organization, and uniforms, the last in the most detail.

[Robert Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good illustrations, but a struggle to read

So to begin with, the two main reasons I love Osprey publishing's men at arms series is because of the beautiful illustrations and short concise narrative of the soldiers. The illustrations were very good. However I felt like rather than there being a consistent narrative, it was a hodgepodge lists of campaigns and different Soviet units. Though I still enjoyed the book, I found the layout of the text distracting.