Stalin's Generals

by Harold Shukman (Editor)

Looks at the lives and accomplishments of twenty-six Russian generals, who succeeded despite Stalin's threats and disastrous interventions

Genres: History, Military History, World War II, Biography

394 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1993

Reviews

[Bill Bruno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stalin's Generals is exactly that, a collection of biographical essays, by varied authors, of the major Soviet generals during WWII (as well as Tukachevsky, who was liquidated in 1937). The usual suspects are there, such as Zhukov, Rokossovsky and Koniev. To me, the two most enlightening biographies were Shaposhnikov and Novikov. The former because I tend to overlook staff officers and the latter because, when I think of WWII air forces, the Soviets tend not to be uppermost in my mind.

That said, the organization is simply in alphabetical order. This would've been an easier read if there had been some sort of thematic organization. This is less useful as an independent read than as a reference supplement.

[Bill V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the three books in this series, Hitler's, Churchill's and Stalin's generals, this is my least favorite. One, I felt there are too many people covered, in fact 2 of the were Red Air Force and another an admiral. I would have removed at least 4 names and expanded the others a bit more. Another problem was the generals overlapped a lot. Many of them were involved in the opening of Barbarossa, Stalingrad and Kursk. Their tasks and results did differ though.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fine collection of military biographies. There was more to the Red Army than Zhukov.