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Operation Barbarossa by Nigel Askey #1
Operation Barbarossa: the Complete Organisational and Statistical Analysis, and Military Simulation, Volume I
In June 1941 the German Wehrmacht launched Operation the attack on the USSR and the largest land invasion in recorded history. The titanic battles that followed led to the greatest loss of life ever experienced in a military campaign. Since the end of WWII there has been intense discourse about the key operational and strategic decisions made by the German and Soviet high commands on the East-Front, especially during the critical period from July to September 1941. Operation the Complete Organisational and Statistical Analysis, and Military Simulation focuses on 1941 - when the USSR came closest to defeat. It includes full analyses of the belligerents’ armed forces, weapons, equipment, personnel, transport, logistics, war-production, mobilisation and replacements. Uniquely, the work formalises a sophisticated military simulation methodology extending from the tactical to the strategic level, and applies this methodology to each of the belligerents. Volume I, the first of six volumes, is primarily concerned with the structure of this methodology, but uses many of the events and weapons from Operation Barbarossa as illustrative case studies. The complete work represents the most historically accurate, advanced and comprehensive quantitative analysis yet, of the 1941 campaign on the East-Front. Operation the Complete Organisational and Statistical Analysis, and Military Simulation is the culmination of over ten years of research and collation. It brings together an immense amount of information from many published and unpublished sources, and presents it with contextual history and analyses. The professional researcher or amateur scholar of WWII is provided with a comprehensive data source, containing the details of all the armed forces involved on the East-Front during 1941, as well as the relevant economic and logistical support. Currently no other single work provides a comparable reference of the actual Soviet and Axis land, air and naval forces involved in what was the most decisive and destructive campaign of WWII.
- GenresHistory
210 pages, Hardcover
First published June 10, 2013
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32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 15, 2021
More noise on past events from one more Nazi fan boy.
March 21, 2015
Review by Steven Zaloga, Journal of Slavic Military Studies, March 2015.
Operation Barbarossa: The Complete Organization and Statistical Analysis, and Military Simulation, (Lulu Press: 2013-14)
Nigel Askey has been deeply involved in computer war-games and has begun to publish a multi-volume reference work dealing with the armed forces involved in Operation Barbarossa in 1941. While this might be dismissed by military historians as simply another war-game spin-off, Askey provides an unparalleled data base for anyone interested in the campaign. The sheer size of this project has made it impractical to publish through conventional routes, and so Askey has taken advantage of the new print-on-demand capabilities of Lulu Press. As a result, the books range in price depending on size with the retail price of Volume I being $59.00, rising to $139 for the larger Volume IIA; actual prices on the internet through Lulu or Amazon are lower.
I examined the first three volumes of the series, which promise to eventually number about eight volumes. The books are soft-cover, print-on-demand, and large format (8 x 11 inch). The production value is very good, with an extensive use of graphics.
Volume I provides the organizational explanation of the subsequent volumes of the series. This explains Askey's concepts for evaluating the combat effectiveness of opposing military formations, their weapons, as well as the impact of the logistical and command network. While this discussion will be of most interest in readers involved in computer simulation and war-gaming, the book is a very useful introduction to methods of evaluating combat performance for military historians in general. This volume is quite substantial, totaling 196 pages.
Volume IIA is the first of the resource volumes and is subtitled "The German Armed Forces, Mobilization, and War Economy from June to December 1941" and numbers 708 pages. This begins with an extremely detailed examination of Wehrmacht order of battle, weapons, support equipment. It then turns to a detailed examination of tables of organization and equipment of the German infantry and panzer divisions as well as the most significant corps and army level units such as signals, artillery, engineer and other forces. This provides considerable detail on the variations in strength of German units based on both the theoretical KStN charts but compared to actual strength figures available through archival resources. Aside from division-by-division examinations, this volume contains a great deal of useful analysis. For example, it examines the differences in divisional field artillery through the different mobilization waves of the German infantry divisions.
Volume IIB is a continuation of Volume IIA, numbering 396 pages. This amplifies the detail of Volume IIA by detailed actual deployed strength and equipment of the Wehrmacht in June-July 1941, as well as reinforcement and actual strength through December 1941. It next turns to the Luftwaffe in 1941, an assessment of supply-distribution efficiency in 1941, German naval forces in the East in 1941, and a series of appendices on weapons holdings, inventory and production affecting the 1941 campaign.
The next two books, Vols. IIIA and IIIB will cover the Red Army; Volume IV will cover Axis allied forces.
These books are an extremely useful resource to military historians seeking detailed assessments of the armed forces on the Russian Front in 1941. They are based on extensive archival research, and provide a level of detail far beyond that found in conventional military histories. Even for Russian Front specialists, they provide a valuable synthesis of data that is otherwise scattered through specialist studies and archival resources. While they are of special interest to readers interested in military simulation and analysis, they offer an unprecedented data-base for military historians studying the 1941 Barbarossa campaign.
Operation Barbarossa: The Complete Organization and Statistical Analysis, and Military Simulation, (Lulu Press: 2013-14)
Nigel Askey has been deeply involved in computer war-games and has begun to publish a multi-volume reference work dealing with the armed forces involved in Operation Barbarossa in 1941. While this might be dismissed by military historians as simply another war-game spin-off, Askey provides an unparalleled data base for anyone interested in the campaign. The sheer size of this project has made it impractical to publish through conventional routes, and so Askey has taken advantage of the new print-on-demand capabilities of Lulu Press. As a result, the books range in price depending on size with the retail price of Volume I being $59.00, rising to $139 for the larger Volume IIA; actual prices on the internet through Lulu or Amazon are lower.
I examined the first three volumes of the series, which promise to eventually number about eight volumes. The books are soft-cover, print-on-demand, and large format (8 x 11 inch). The production value is very good, with an extensive use of graphics.
Volume I provides the organizational explanation of the subsequent volumes of the series. This explains Askey's concepts for evaluating the combat effectiveness of opposing military formations, their weapons, as well as the impact of the logistical and command network. While this discussion will be of most interest in readers involved in computer simulation and war-gaming, the book is a very useful introduction to methods of evaluating combat performance for military historians in general. This volume is quite substantial, totaling 196 pages.
Volume IIA is the first of the resource volumes and is subtitled "The German Armed Forces, Mobilization, and War Economy from June to December 1941" and numbers 708 pages. This begins with an extremely detailed examination of Wehrmacht order of battle, weapons, support equipment. It then turns to a detailed examination of tables of organization and equipment of the German infantry and panzer divisions as well as the most significant corps and army level units such as signals, artillery, engineer and other forces. This provides considerable detail on the variations in strength of German units based on both the theoretical KStN charts but compared to actual strength figures available through archival resources. Aside from division-by-division examinations, this volume contains a great deal of useful analysis. For example, it examines the differences in divisional field artillery through the different mobilization waves of the German infantry divisions.
Volume IIB is a continuation of Volume IIA, numbering 396 pages. This amplifies the detail of Volume IIA by detailed actual deployed strength and equipment of the Wehrmacht in June-July 1941, as well as reinforcement and actual strength through December 1941. It next turns to the Luftwaffe in 1941, an assessment of supply-distribution efficiency in 1941, German naval forces in the East in 1941, and a series of appendices on weapons holdings, inventory and production affecting the 1941 campaign.
The next two books, Vols. IIIA and IIIB will cover the Red Army; Volume IV will cover Axis allied forces.
These books are an extremely useful resource to military historians seeking detailed assessments of the armed forces on the Russian Front in 1941. They are based on extensive archival research, and provide a level of detail far beyond that found in conventional military histories. Even for Russian Front specialists, they provide a valuable synthesis of data that is otherwise scattered through specialist studies and archival resources. While they are of special interest to readers interested in military simulation and analysis, they offer an unprecedented data-base for military historians studying the 1941 Barbarossa campaign.
June 15, 2015
Where to begin?
Volume I of this literature series is like the build-up to a military operation itself. All of the necessary methodologies in creating a new and more accurate simulation in respect to Operation Barbarossa are brought forth by the author.
The book provides a clear definition of what military simulations are and how they have previously been understood along with clear explanations for associated terminologies, concepts and sub-concepts. An analysis of the historical usage of war games – including a justification of their continued importance – is conducted to provide a backdrop of how military simulations are constantly refined to increase the historical accuracy of their calculated scenarios. Naturally, as a consequence of the ground-breaking research provided in Volumes IIa and IIb (and those yet to be released), the author critiques some of current methods used by popular strategy games and historical think tanks in their theoretical replaying of Operation Barbarossa and World War II as a whole.
Askey’s work in Volume I also clears up understandings on very suggestive military concepts relating to Operation Barbarossa and warfare in general (e.g. whether all army divisions are really the same in terms of their authorised strength, actual strength upon being committed to combat and in comparison to those of other then contemporary armies). Efforts in regards to this matter in Volume I goes as far as comparing the explosive power and suppression effect of artillery shells (based on typical calibres) to air-dropped, high-explosive bombs – who ever really knew that a the shell from a 170 mm field gun more-or-less equated to a 50 kilogram bomb? Or that you have to possess a howitzer whose shot exceeds 350 mm in order to replicate the blast of a 500 kilogram bomb? The old breed of historians never drew such parallels, because they never applied mathematics to their descriptions of military items. Askey compensates for these previously unconsidered realities.
In proposing new parameters for an updated simulation of Operation Barbarossa, important items of war – be it a rifle squad, a shell, machine gun, tank, warplane or even a supply truck – are given a combat value based on factors relating to mobility, rate-of-fire, turret crew compliment, reliability, range, accuracy, penetration and so on (it really is a long list).
Theory vs. practice (or how it technically should have happened vs. how it did happen) is a MAJOR theme throughout this entire book, and indeed the other volumes in the series as a whole, when assessing the realities of the weapon systems, strategies, unit-level tactics and orders of battle employed by the major factions in Operation Barbarossa.
One absolute must with regards to engaging with Askey’s Barbarossa series is that all volumes – currently available and yet to be released – be acquired by a would-be reader. So forget “The Road to Stalingrad” or “The Storm of War” and purchase Askey’s Barbarossa series if you really wish to know the itty-gritty guts of how war – within the context of Operation Barbarossa (perhaps one of conflict’s greatest expressions) – works.
Volume I of this literature series is like the build-up to a military operation itself. All of the necessary methodologies in creating a new and more accurate simulation in respect to Operation Barbarossa are brought forth by the author.
The book provides a clear definition of what military simulations are and how they have previously been understood along with clear explanations for associated terminologies, concepts and sub-concepts. An analysis of the historical usage of war games – including a justification of their continued importance – is conducted to provide a backdrop of how military simulations are constantly refined to increase the historical accuracy of their calculated scenarios. Naturally, as a consequence of the ground-breaking research provided in Volumes IIa and IIb (and those yet to be released), the author critiques some of current methods used by popular strategy games and historical think tanks in their theoretical replaying of Operation Barbarossa and World War II as a whole.
Askey’s work in Volume I also clears up understandings on very suggestive military concepts relating to Operation Barbarossa and warfare in general (e.g. whether all army divisions are really the same in terms of their authorised strength, actual strength upon being committed to combat and in comparison to those of other then contemporary armies). Efforts in regards to this matter in Volume I goes as far as comparing the explosive power and suppression effect of artillery shells (based on typical calibres) to air-dropped, high-explosive bombs – who ever really knew that a the shell from a 170 mm field gun more-or-less equated to a 50 kilogram bomb? Or that you have to possess a howitzer whose shot exceeds 350 mm in order to replicate the blast of a 500 kilogram bomb? The old breed of historians never drew such parallels, because they never applied mathematics to their descriptions of military items. Askey compensates for these previously unconsidered realities.
In proposing new parameters for an updated simulation of Operation Barbarossa, important items of war – be it a rifle squad, a shell, machine gun, tank, warplane or even a supply truck – are given a combat value based on factors relating to mobility, rate-of-fire, turret crew compliment, reliability, range, accuracy, penetration and so on (it really is a long list).
Theory vs. practice (or how it technically should have happened vs. how it did happen) is a MAJOR theme throughout this entire book, and indeed the other volumes in the series as a whole, when assessing the realities of the weapon systems, strategies, unit-level tactics and orders of battle employed by the major factions in Operation Barbarossa.
One absolute must with regards to engaging with Askey’s Barbarossa series is that all volumes – currently available and yet to be released – be acquired by a would-be reader. So forget “The Road to Stalingrad” or “The Storm of War” and purchase Askey’s Barbarossa series if you really wish to know the itty-gritty guts of how war – within the context of Operation Barbarossa (perhaps one of conflict’s greatest expressions) – works.
April 3, 2020
This series is fascinating and seeks to address many aspects of the first six months of Operation Barbarossa during WWII. I am sure I will end up buying the complete series.
There are however some minor editing errors, but then again that is part of my job
There are however some minor editing errors, but then again that is part of my job
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews