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Books on the Eastern Front of WW2
What many historians have lead us to believe, but according to David Stahel the Wehrmacht broke it's back in 1941, way before the battles of Stalingrad or Kursk took place.
message 103:
by
Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces
(last edited Jun 01, 2012 12:33PM)
(new)
Kris wrote: "'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Another interesting statistic from the book Kiev 1941: "In the twekve-month period from the beginning of August 1941 to the end of July 1942, September 1941 was the costlies..."
Kris I agree completely, especially when you consider too the unsuitability of their personal equipment for the environment and the inability of their logistic chain to meet any kind of sustained demand.
i've not heard of it either. considering the few jillionbooks, articles, shows, etc that i've seen and on the eastern
front it seems peculiar.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: " I've never heard of 'Stalin's socks' before, has anyone else? ."
These are terrific books and I enjoyed them immensely when I read them when they first came out..I had to read them with a heavy use of maps of the Eastern Front to fully grasp what he was writing. His earlier book on the Soviet High Command I also suggest looking at.And of course , all that was just as I was on the verge of meeting David Glantz who completely blew my mind the first time I heard him speak in 1985
message 106:
by
Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces
(new)
Looks like I might have to grab a copy of one of Glantz's books following the recommendations here.
Try his book on Kursk first Geevee and see what you think. It's one of the best detailed accounts on that battle and it will give you a feel for his writing.
by David M. Glantz
I've decided to purchase a copy of Deadlock Before Moscow as it apparently covers the fighting around Vilikiye Luki in some detail. Just don't know when I will get a chance to read it!
by Franz Kurowski
I've just mentioned this book in the 'new purchases' thread but figured I'd post the detials here as well in case Eastern Front fans missed it:
by Samuel W. Mitcham Jr.Description:
The story of history's greatest military operation and the commanders who nearly led it to success . . .
This book not only tells the story of Operation Barbarossa but describes the expertise, skills, and decision-making powers of the men who directed it. The result is an illuminating look at the personalities behind the carnage, as summer triumph turned to winter crisis, including new insights into the invasion's many tactical successes, as well as its ultimate failure.
This objective is massive in scope, because Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, was massive in scale, arguably the largest military operation of all time. In the single Battle of Kiev, for example, the Red Army lost over 600,000 prisoners, and twice as many men killed as the United States lost in the entire Vietnam War. The campaign also changed the world forever. Before Barbarossa, Hitler's Wehrmacht seemed invincible, like an unstoppable force of nature. No one, it seemed, could check the Fuhrer's ambitions, much less defeat him. (The Battle of Britain, of course, was seen as a defeat for the Luftwaffe rather than the Wehrmacht. The German Army was still undefeated, and it was by no means clear in the spring of 1941 that German pilots would not yet finish off the United Kingdom.) Barbarossa changed all of that. By the end of 1941, Allied victory seemed to be a very real possibility. Few would have bet on it 16 or 17 months earlier.
Pitting Germany in total war against the Soviet Union on a 1,000-mile front, Operation Barbarossa was truly staggering in its magnitude. Wars, however, are not fought by numbers, they are fought by men. Very often, writers stereotype German officers into two categories: Prussian gentlemen or Nazi monsters. There were, of course, both-but there were also varying shades of gray. In this book we learn of the goats and heroes, famous commanders and undersung leaders, and about those who were willing to stand up to the Fuhrer and those who subordinated themselves to his will. The result is a book that casts a fresh perspective on one of history's most crucial military campaigns.
Reviews:
"... 'a must read' for Eastern Front fans, as well as anyone seeking to find out more about the titanic struggle between Hitler and Stalin that determined the outcome of World War II in Europe." - Armchair General
"...an illuminating look at the personalities behind the carnage... an excellent work that casts a fresh perspective on one of history's most crucial campaigns." - Scale Military Modeler
"...uses a chronological approach, dealing with the various officers as they appear in the narrative, weaving their story into the bigger picture of the unfolding campaign... A good book for anyone interested in the Germany Army in World War II or in the Eastern Front." - Strategy Page
I've also just mentioned this book in the 'new release' thread but figured it wouldn't hurt to post the details here as well:
by Hans SchauflerDescription:
From Barbarossa to Stalingrad, from Kursk to Kurland, panzers formed the backbone of the German forces that attempted to defeat the Soviet Union between June 1941 and May 1945. Written by tank veterans who survived the Eastern Front, Panzer Warfare on the Eastern Front provides a firsthand look at armored combat in that epic theater of World War II.
All the major panzer operations and campaigns are covered in the words of men from the 4th, 9th, 11th, 16th, and 18th Panzer Divisions: Operation Barbarossa, the opening invasion of the Soviet Union; the second offensive of 1942, culminating in Stalingrad; the massive armor battle at Kursk in the summer of 1943; the disastrous disintegration of the front in 1944, when entire units were decimated by tides of Soviet tanks; and the bitter, chaotic fighting as the war ended in 1945.
With from-the-turret immediacy, the accounts compiled here capture what it was like to fight in a panzer on the Eastern Front, where whole crews could be wiped out by a single enemy shell, where enemy tanks could lurk just beyond the tree line, where muzzles could flash and thunder in the calmest nights.
One veteran remembers his commander’s final words before launching a desperate attack: “Write your wills, comrades!” Another describes how an officer played an organ in a bombed-out church--a jarring but peaceful moment amidst the carnage of war. Others recount acts of compassion and humanity, such as food provided by Russian peasants and a Soviet soldier who refused to fire. All of them convey the heady joy of victory and the fear and anguish of stalemate and then defeat.
These are war stories with a powerful punch
Good suggestions Aussie Rick they are going on the TBR list for me...thx.
Kris wrote: "Good suggestions Aussie Rick they are going on the TBR list for me...thx."They are on mine now as well :)
I've just added these two books to Goodreads. They are not due out till the end of 2012 but for those who enjoy reading about the Eastern Front you may want to keep you eye out for them later this year:
by Svetlana GerasimovaDescription:
Historians consider the Battle of Rzhev ""one of the bloodiest in the history of the Great Patriotic War"" and ""Zhukov's greatest defeat"". Veterans called this colossal battle, which continued for a total of 15 months, ""the Rzhev slaughterhouse"" or ""the Massacre"", while the German generals named this city ""the cornerstone of the Eastern Front"" and ""the gateway to Berlin"". By their territorial scale, number of participating troops, length and casualties, the military operations in the area of the Rzhev - Viaz'ma salient are not only comparable to the Stalingrad battle, but to a great extent surpass it. The total losses of the Red Army around Rzhev amounted to 2,000,000 men; the Wehrmacht's total losses are still unknown precisely to the present day. Why was one of the greatest battles of the Second World War consigned to oblivion in the Soviet Union? Why were the forces of the German Army Group Center in the Rzhev - Viaz'ma salient not encircled and destroyed? Whose fault is it that the German forces were able to withdraw from a pocket that was never fully sealed? Indeed, are there justifications for blaming this ""lost victory"" on G.K. Zhukov? In this book, which has been recognized in Russia as one of the best domestic studies of the Rzhev battle, answers to all these questions have been given. The author, Svetlana Gerasimova, has lived and worked amidst the still extant signs of this colossal battle, the tens of thousands of unmarked graves and the now silent bunkers and pillboxes, and has dedicated herself to the study of its history.
About the author:
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Gerasimova is a historian and museum official. After graduating from Leningrad State University with a history degree, she worked in the Urals as a middle school history teacher, before moving to Tver, where she taught a number of courses in history and local history, and about museum work and leading excursions in the Tver' School of Culture. She earned her Ph.D. in history from Tver State University in 2002. For more than 20 years, S.A. Gerasimova has been working in the Tver' State Consolidated Museum, and is the creator and co-creator of a many displays and exhibits in the branches of the Museum, and in municipal and institutional museums of the Tver' Oblast. Recent museum exhibits that she has created include "The Battle of Rzhev 1942-1943" and "The Fatal Forties … Toropets District in the Years of the Great Patriotic War." She has led approximately 20 historical and folklore-ethnographic expeditions in the area of Tver' Oblast and is the author of numerous articles in such journals as Voprosy istorii [Questions of History], Voenno-istoricheskii arkhiv [Military History Archive], Voenno-istoricheskii zhurnal [Journal of Military History] and Zhivaia starina [The Living Past], and of other publications. In 2009, she served as a featured consultant to a Russian NTV television documentary about the Battle of Rzhev, which quickly became controversial for its very frank discussion of the campaign. Stuart Britton is a freelance translator and editor residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has been responsible for making a growing number of Russian titles available to readers of the English language, consisting primarily of memoirs by Red Army veterans and recent historical research concerning the Eastern Front of the Second World War and Soviet air operations in the Korean War. Notable recent titles include Valeriy Zamulin's award-winning 'Demolishing the Myth: The Tank Battle at Prokhorovka, Kursk, July 1943: An Operational Narrative ' (Helion, 2011), Boris Gorbachevsky's 'Through the Maelstrom: A Red Army Soldier's War on the Eastern Front 1942-45' (University Press of Kansas, 2008) and Yuri Sutiagin's and Igor Seidov's 'MiG Menace Over Korea: The Story of Soviet Fighter Ace Nikolai Sutiagin' (Pen & Sword Aviation, 2009). Future books will include Svetlana Gerasimova's analysis of the prolonged and savage fighting against Army Group Center in 1942-43 to liberate the city of Rzhev, and more of Igor Seidov's studies of the Soviet side of the air war in Korea, 1951-1953.
by Lev LopukhovskyDescription:
This book describes one of the most terrible tragedies of the Second World War and the events preceding it. The horrible miscalculations made by the Stavka of the Soviet Supreme High Command and the Front commands led in October 1941 to the deaths and imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of their own people. Until recently, the magnitude of the defeats suffered by the Red Army at Viaz'ma and Briansk were simply kept hushed up. For the first time, in this book a full picture of the combat operations that led to this tragedy are laid out in detail, using previously unknown or little-used documents. The author was driven to write this book after his long years of fruitless search to learn what happened to his father Colonel N.I. Lopukhovsky, the commander of the 120th Howitzer Artillery Regiment, who disappeared together with his unit in the maelstrom of Operation Typhoon. He became determined to break the official silence surrounding the military disaster on the approaches to Moscow in the autumn of 1941. In the present edition, the author additionally introduces documents from German military archives, which will doubtlessly interest not only scholars, but also students of the Eastern Front of the Second World War. Lopukhovsky substantiates his position on the matter of the true extent of the losses of the Red Army in men and equipment, which greatly exceeded the official data. In the Epilogue, he briefly discusses the searches he has conducted with the aim of revealing the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Soviet soldiers, who to this point have been listed among the missing-in-action - including his own father. The narrative is enhanced by numerous photographs, colour maps and tables.
About the author:
Lev Nikolaevich Lopukhovsky graduated from the prestigious Frunze Military Academy in 1962 and spent the next ten years serving in the Soviet Union's Strategic Rocket forces, rising to the rank of colonel and a regiment commander, before transferring to a teaching position in the Frunze Military Academy in 1972 due to health reasons. Lopukhovsky is a professor with the Russian Federation's Academy of Military Sciences (2008), and has been a member of Russia's Union of Journalists since 2004. Since 1989 he has been engaged in the search for those defenders of the Fatherland who went missing-in-action in the Second World War, including his own father Colonel N.I. Lopukhovsky, who is now known to have been killed while breaking out of encirclement in October 1941. Motivated by his father's disappearance, he had previously taken up the intense study of the Viaz'ma defensive operation and wrote the initial manuscript of the present book. In 1980 this manuscript was rejected by military censors, because it contradicted official views. Lopukhovsky is the author of several other books about the war, including Prokhorovka bez grifa sekretnosti [Prokhorovka without the seal of secrecy] (2005), Pervye dni voiny [First days of the war] (2007) and is the co-author of Iiun' 1941: Zaprogrammirovannoe porazhenie [June 1941: A Programmed Defeat] (2010). For his active search work, he was awarded the civilian Order of the Silver Star. Stuart Britton is a freelance translator and editor residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has been responsible for making a growing number of Russian titles available to readers of the English language, consisting primarily of memoirs by Red Army veterans and recent historical research concerning the Eastern Front of the Second World War and Soviet air operations in the Korean War. Notable recent titles include Valeriy Zamulin's award-winning 'Demolishing the Myth: The Tank Battle at Prokhorovka, Kursk, July 1943: An Operational Narrative ' (Helion, 2011), Boris Gorbachevsky's 'Through the Maelstrom: A Red Army Soldier's War on the Eastern Front 1942-45' (University Press of Kansas, 2008) and Yuri Sutiagin's and Igor Seidov's 'MiG Menace Over Korea: The Story of Soviet Fighter Ace Nikolai Sutiagin' (Pen & Sword Aviation, 2009). Future books will include Svetlana Gerasimova's analysis of the prolonged and savage fighting against Army Group Center in 1942-43 to liberate the city of Rzhev, and more of Igor Seidov's studies of the Soviet side of the air war in Korea, 1951-1953.
Rolf Hinze has followed on from his account; Crucible of Combat with a new book covering the German Army and it's defence of the Southern Sector of the Eastern Front during 1944-45. The new book is titled; With The Courage Of Desperation and I dare say it may interest some readers here.Crucible of Combat
by Rolf HinzeWith The Courage Of Desperation
by Rolf Hinze
Just added this new release (October - UK) to Goodreads, it may interest a few members here:
by Niklas Zetterling & Anders FranksonDescription:
At the end of September 1941, more than a million German soldiers lined up along the frontline just 180 miles west of Moscow. They were well trained, confident, and had good reasons to hope that the war in the East would be over with one last offensive. Facing them was an equally large Soviet force, but whose soldiers were neither as well trained nor as confident. When the Germans struck, disaster soon befell the Soviet defenders. German panzer spearheads cut through enemy defences and thrust deeply to encircle most of the Soviet soldiers on the approaches to Moscow. Within a few weeks, most of them marched into captivity, where a grim fate awaited them. Despite the overwhelming initial German success, however, the Soviet capital did not fall. German combat units as well as supply transport were bogged down in mud caused by autumn rains. General Zhukov was called back to Moscow and given the desperate task to recreate defence lines west of Moscow. The mud allowed him time to accomplish this, and when the Germans again began to attack in November, they met stiffer resistance. Even so, they came perilously close to the capital, and if the vicissitudes of weather had cooperated, would have seized it. Though German units were also fighting desperately by now, the Soviet build-up soon exceeded their own. The Drive on Moscow, 1941 is based on numerous archival records, personal diaries, letters and other sources. It recreates the battle from the perspective of the soldiers as well as the generals. The battle, not fought in isolation, had a crucial role in the overall German strategy in the East, and its outcome reveals why the failure of the German assault on Moscow may well have been true turning point of World War II.
Here is a book that was published in 2011 that I must have missed. In case it interests anyone else, here are the details:
by Roger R. ReeseDescription:
Inept leadership, inefficient campaigning, and enormous losses would seem to spell military disaster. Yet despite these factors, the Soviet Union won its war against Nazi Germany thanks to what Roger Reese calls its "military effectiveness": its ability to put troops in the field even after previous forces had been decimated.
Reese probes the human dimension of the Red Army in World War II through a close analysis of soldiers' experiences and attitudes concerning mobilization, motivation, and morale. In doing so, he illuminates the Soviets' remarkable ability to recruit and retain soldiers, revealing why so many were willing to fight in the service of a repressive regime--and how that service was crucial to the army's military effectiveness. He examines the various forms of voluntarism and motivations to serve--including the influences of patriotism and Soviet ideology--and shows that many fought simply out of loyalty to the idea of historic Russia and hatred for the invading Germans. He also considers the role of political officers within the ranks, the importance of commanders who could inspire their troops, the bonds of allegiance forged within small units, and persistent fears of Stalin's secret police.
Brimming with fresh insights, Reese's study shows how the Red Army's effectiveness in the Great Patriotic War was foreshadowed by its performance in the Winter War against Finland and offers the first direct comparison between the two, delving into specific issues such as casualties, tactics, leadership, morale, and surrender. Reese also presents a new analysis of Soviet troops captured during the early war years and how those captures tapped into Stalin's paranoia over his troops' loyalties. He provides a distinctive look at the motivations and experiences of Soviet women soldiers and their impact on the Red Army's ability to wage war.
Ultimately, Reese puts a human face on the often anonymous Soviet soldiers to show that their patriotism was real, even if not a direct endorsement of the Stalinist system, and had much to do with the Red Army's ability to defeat the most powerful army the world had ever seen.
Reviews:
"Encyclopedic in scope, Why Stalin's Soldiers Fought solidifies Reese's reputation as one of the foremost scholars on the social history of the Red Army in both peace and war. Comprehensive, thoughtful, and perceptive, it will likely stand as a classic in its genre for years to come." - David M. Glantz, author of The Stalingrad Trilogy
"Fresh, challenging, provocatively argued, and extensively researched, this is a major contribution to our understanding of the Red Army." - Reina Pennington, author of Wings, Women, and War: Soviet Airwomen in World War II Combat
"Reese's best book yet." - Mark von Hagen, author of Soldiers in the Proletarian Dictatorship
About the author:
Roger R. Reese is professor of history at Texas A&M University and author of Stalin's Reluctant Soldiers: A Social History of the Red Army, 1925-1941; Red Commanders: A Social History of the Soviet Army Officer Corps, 1918-1991; and The Soviet Military Experience: A History of the Soviet Army, 1917-1991.
I've decided to order a classic account covering the Eastern Front; From Moscow to Berlin: Marshall Zhukov's Greatest Battles. I'm sure it will make interesting reading.
by Georgi K. ZhukovDescription:
Here is the inside story of four of the most colossal military clashes in history, by Soviet Russia's greatest World War II commander. Marshal Zhukov tells how he directed the Red Army's bitter last-ditch defense of Moscow, masterminded the encirclement and defeat of some 600,000 German troops at Stalingrad, smashed the last great German counteroffensive of Kursk-Orel in history's mightiest tank battle, and led the awesome, climactic assault on Berlin. Zhukov also provides intimate detail of Kremlin discussions behind critical military decisions, and reveals the behind-the-scenes story of disputes and controversy between himself and Soviet dictator Stalin.
Just added this new release to Goodreads as I figured it may interest a few readers/members here:
by Jacky Radey & Charles C. SharpDescription:
There was only one point in the Second World War when Nazi Germany had a chance of winning. That point was October 1941, when most of the Red Army's forces before Moscow had been smashed or encircled, and no reserves were available to defend the capital. All that stood in Hitler's way were a handful of Soviet rifle divisions, tank brigades and hastily assembled militia. According to German accounts, their spearheads were stopped by the mud, but a close examination of German records shows this was not so. Instead it is clear that it was the resistance of the Red Army and bad, arrogant planning that halted the Wehrmacht. This is the dramatic story that Jack Radey and Charles Sharp tell in this compelling study of a previously unknown part of the Battle of Moscow. Using archival records from both sides, they reveal how the Soviets inflicted a stunning defeat on a German plan to encircle six Soviet armies the middle of October 1941.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Just added this new release to Goodreads as I figured it may interest a few readers/members here: by Jacky Radey & Charles C. SharpDescr..."
Whoa Rick, it seems to be very interesting - put onto my TBR-list immediately.
I'm about 1/4 of the way through the book Crucible of Combat and I'm finding parts of it interesting, like these statistics about the evacuation of the Kuban bridgehead:As of 29 September the daily averages for the evacuation operation increased significantly to 10,549 men, 745 motor-vehicles, 3,209 horses and cattle, 1,068 horse-drawn vehicles and 4,423 tones of supplies.
These stats show once again the Wehrmacht’s dependency of horses compared to motorized transport.
The major problem with this book so far is the translation, for example: "Despite weather-determined unfavorable terrain conditions ...."
by Rolf Hinze
I found this statistic pretty amazing in regards to the amount of shells fired and what that corresponds to in regards to freight:The second battle of Kirowograd opened east of the city with an extraordinary heavy artillery preparation on 5 January, at 0600 hours in the morning, with an estimated expenditure of 188,000 rounds, an amount corresponding to the carrying capacity of ten goods trains.
This account about the fighting around the Nikopol Bridgehead remained me of the British ‘bite & grab’ tactics used on the Western Front later in WW1 to frustrate the usual German response of a quick local counter-attack against any area gained by the attackers:“ ….. the Soviets succeeded with their later ‘salami tactic’ which was a surprise attack with overwhelming forces, in repeatedly forcing short sectors of the German main line of resistance back, securing this line against armoured counterattacks with antitank forces that were brought up and thus, a bit at a time, dangerously gnawing their way into the bridgehead.”
I've just finished reading about the battle of Targul Frumos in my current book, a pretty interesting battle:The Targul Frumos battle grew out of an offensive in the Targul Frumos-Iasi area by 2nd Ukrainian Front against Armeegruppe Wöhler.
On the Axis side, the main force engaged was Kircherner's 57th Panzerkorps, which had available three of the most famous divisions on the Eastern Front: Grossdeutschland, SS-Totenkopf and 24th Pz.Div. There were also a number of other units involved, most notably Radu Korne's Divizia 1 Blindata.
The Soviets threw several armies into this battle, but the main assault force consisted of S.I. Bogdanov's 2nd TkA (3rd TK, 7th TK, 16th TK and 1st KK) and P.A. Rotmistrov's 5th GvTkA (18th TK, 20th TK, 28th TK and 29th TK, 5th GvMK and 8th MK).
Unlike so many battles in the East in 1944, the Germans were well-prepared to conduct a defense in depth at Targul Frumos and were able to coordinate the actions of dug-in defenders holding key terrain features with counterattacks by mobile forces to conduct what has since been called a "defensive Blitzkrieg." They won a decisive victory, destroying a staggering number of Soviet tanks (a couple of hundred on the first day alone) and winning GD a unit citation. Targul Frumos is notable for being the first clash between the famous German Tiger tank and the new Soviet JV Stalin heavy tank. - Taken from the Axis History Forum.
For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Ba...
by Rolf Hinze
I came across this interesting account in the book I'm currently reading; Crucible of Combat. Has anyone ever heard of this Bataillon ‘Alexander’ before? I was wondering if it was the usual 'Hiwis' that most German units had attached to them.".....On the other side, however, there were Soviet volunteers in the Bataillon ‘Alexander’ attached to the 2nd SS-Panzer Division ‘Das Reich’ in action in the German main line of resistance against the Soviets.They proved themselves in night-patrols with their knowledge of the Russian language, and also in tracking the partisan bands in action to the rear pf the main line of resistance."
by Rolf Hinze
I also found this information interesting:“ …. On the road, a Panzer IV required 300 liters of petrol. For the Panther 365 liters, a Tiger 782 liters. On the terrain these amounts doubled, and in mud, tripled. The Soviets were better off in this regard. The T 34 required only 180 liters on the road, the JS II 210 liters, with similar increases in consumption on the terrain, particularly in mud.”
Hi, AR,I haven't ever heard of the Batallion "Alexander," either. The fuel consumption statistics you cite are very interesting, indeed. I wonder how the fuel efficiency of the Sherman compares...?
I will have to dig around and see what I can find on the Sherman.
AR, when sharing your findings, please discriminate between fuel burned on the road versus after being hit.'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I will have to dig around and see what I can find on the Sherman."
This book sounds like it has a lot to offer for those passionate about books covering the battles and fighting on the Eastern Front:
by Stephen BarrattDescription:
On 24 December 1943, the Red Army launched the first of a series of winter offensives against the German Army Group South under von Manstein, the overall object of which was to liberate western Ukraine from occupation. This first offensive was undertaken by forces of the 1st Ukrainian Front under General Vatutin, and struck the German 4.Panzerarmee commanded by General der Panzertruppen Raus. It is known to Soviet historians as the Zhitomir-Berdichev operation.
In the space of three weeks, Vatutin's troops achieved a spectacular level of success, advancing over 100 kilometres on a wide front and pushing back the 4.Panzerarmee on every sector. They liberated Zhitomir and Berdichev as well as a number of other towns in the region, and by the middle of January, the 1st Ukrainian Front had achieved almost all of its initial objectives. By this time though, von Manstein had brought in the headquarters of the 1.Panzerarmee to help coordinate the defense, and the Germans began to stabilize their shattered front line with a series of counterattacks aimed at the over-extended position of many of the forward Soviet units. These counterattacks, conducted over the following three weeks, succeeded in creating a series of loosely-held pockets, inflicting considerable losses in men and material of the Red Army, and eventually restoring some form of cohesive defensive position.
Nevertheless, the limited success von Manstein had achieved was only temporary. The combination of Russian assault and German counterattack had created the preconditions for the next two Soviet winter offensives; the Korsun'-Shevchenkovskii operation and the Rovno-Lutsk operation. For the first time, here is a detailed and well-researched history of the important but neglected operation that was to be the beginning of the liberation of western Ukraine. Based on the unpublished records of the German 1st and 4th Panzer Armies, and supplemented by comprehensive mapping and order of battle data, this book provides an authoritative, detailed, day-by-day account of German operations as they developed in response to the Soviet offensive. It also gives a vivid insight into the planning and decision-making of the German Army field commands in conducting not only a mobile defense, but also a series of counterattacks which, in the final analysis, could do little more than provide a temporary respite in the face of the growing strength and skill of the Red Army.
This history is being published in two separate volumes, which together will cover operations that took place between 24 December 1943 and 31 January 1944. This first volume describes events until 9 January 1944, during which period the German forces were pushed back forcibly under the weight of the Soviet offensive, and includes 140 detailed daily situation maps in color to allow the reader to follow operations as they developed day by day. The maps are presented in a separately bound map book to aid the reader's use of the study. The second volume will cover the period from 10 to 31 January 1944 and will describe the series of counterattacks undertaken by the Germans as they tried desperately to stabilize a situation that had already slipped beyond their control. Together this two volume set comprises a ground-breaking survey which, in the breadth of its scope and the depth of its detail, is likely to set a new standard for future studies of operational combat on the Eastern Front.
Review:
"Barrett does a superb job detailing the course and outcome of this important Soviet offensive from the German perspective. His careful and detailed study of German military records provides the essential basis for subsequent balanced accounts of how Field Marshall von Manstein conducted maneuver war against an essentially faceless but numerically superior enemy." - David M. Glantz
message 132:
by
Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces
(new)
One for the TBR thanks Rick.
Yes, I'm seriously thinking of ordering a copy at the moment :)
message 134:
by
Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces
(last edited Oct 15, 2012 12:37PM)
(new)
You should there is a postman/woman whose job depends on you :)
I'm supporting two at my current purchasing rate - I'm doing what I can to keep the global economy spinning :)
This book is not due out until mid next year (2013) but it would be well worth putting on your wish list if you have an interest in this subject:
by Cathryn PrinceDescription:
In late January of 1945, with the Allied victory imminent, nearly 10,000 German refugees attempted to flee the advancing Red Army aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a cruise liner-turned-escape ship. As the ship set sail in the dark of night, three torpedoes from a Soviet submarine struck the boat, causing catastrophic damage, and throwing women, children, the elderly, and wounded soldiers into the frigid waters of the Baltic Sea. When a few hours later first light broke, over 9,000 people had drowned in one of the worst maritime disasters of all time. For 65 years, both East and West kept this story hidden. The drowned were citizens of the future East Germany and part of the Soviet Bloc. And the German victims inspired little sympathy in the West. In Death in the Baltic, award winning author Cathryn Prince reconstructs the story of unimaginable horror by drawing on original interviews with remaining survivors and newly declassified records. Weaving the personal narratives into the broader history, she gives this overlooked WWII catastrophe its place in history.
Also posted in naval campaign thread.
OK, here is another new release due out early next year (2013) that I am sure will interest a few members here:
by Bill YenneDescription:
Of all the major air forces that were engaged in the war, only the Red Air Force had units comprised specifically of women. Initially the Red Air Force maintained an all-male policy among its combat pilots. However, as the apparently invincible German juggernaut sliced through Soviet defenses, the Red Air Force began to rethink its ban on women. By October 1941, authorization was forthcoming for three ground attack regiments of women pilots. Among these women, Lidiya Vladimirovna Lilya Litvyak soon emerged as a rising star. She shot down five German aircraft over the Stalingrad Front, and thus become history's first female ace. She scored 12 documented victories over German aircraft between September 1942 and July 1943. She also had many victories shared with other pilots, bringing her possible total to around 20. The fact that she was a 21-year-old woman ace was not lost on the hero-hungry Soviet media, and soon this colourful character, whom the Germans dubbed "The White Rose of Stalingrad", became both folk heroine and martyr.
Also posted in aviation campaign thread.
I'll definitely get the White Rose.
I think I will have join you as well :)
I've just ordered a second-hand HB edition of; Battle for the Caucasus for my library. Here are some details just in case it interests other keen readers of the Eastern Front:
by Andrei GrechkoDescription:
The Battle for the Caucasus (July 1942-October 1943) coincided in time with the Stalingrad and Kursk battles, and played an important role in bringing about a radical change in the course of the Second World War.
In this book the prominent Soviet military commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union Andrei Grechko, gives a stage-by-stage account of the heroic Battle for the Caucasus: the heavy fighting in the Don and Kuban steppes, the battles on the Stavropol Heights and in the foothills of the Caucasus, the defense of Novorossiisk, Krasnodar, Maikop, Tuapse and Armavir and the destruction of the enemy forces in the passes of the Main Caucasian Range.
Signs of an impending turning-point appeared in January 1943 when divisions and then armies went over to the offensive driving the enemy out of Stavropol, Kransodar and the Kuban. Like a mighty mountain torrent the entire mass of Soviet troops swept the Germans out of the North Caucasus. It was a magnificent display of the power of Soviet arms, and the fraternity and friendship of the Soviet peoples.
The author objectively examines every phase of the great battle and reinforces his conclusions with documents.
I've found a review for the book; The Battle for the Caucasus that may interest those who enjoy books covering the Eastern Front.
by Andrei GrechkoReview:
"While the battle for Stalingrad was going on another huge offensive was being undertaken by the Germans in the Caucasus to give them the oil that they would eventually need if they wanted to continue the war they had started. Andrei Grechko was one of the commanding generals in the Caucasus and in this book details the actions undertaken by various fronts and battle groups. This is a combination of land armies, flotillas, and air force armies and their struggle against German and Romanian troops for control of Southern Russia.
One can easily get bogged down in all the names of villages, towns, and cities as well as the enormous amounts of troop formations, from battalions, regiments, brigades, divisions, corps, to armies but the overall impression you will be left with is that these battles might have been even more instrumental than Stalingrad was. There were more German divisions with Army Group A which was in the Caucasus and they might have been trapped if it wasn't for the resistance that the 6th Army would eventually put up at Stalingrad after being surrounded. Aside from the general tone there are many personal stories of bravery and heroics on the part of Red Army men and partisans who were working against the Germans.
The recounting of 'Malaya Zemlya' was excellent as well as descriptions of operations in Novorossiisk which witnessed some of the most ferocious fighting during the war. Overall a solid investment for an understanding of a part of the war that most overlook or skim over." by T. Kunikov
I recently ordered a copy of The Drive on Moscow by Niklas Zetterling & Anders Frankson and figured it might be interesting to get a copy of The Defense of Moscow 1941 by Jacky Radey & Charles C. Sharp as well and to read both books one after the other to get the view from both sides.
by Niklas Zetterling & Anders Frankson
by Jacky Radey & Charles C. Sharp
a pretty good resource about a signficant, but scarcely-covered event (Korsun/Cherkassy Pocket):
and supposedly, one of the best books regarding the battle for Berlin:
BLOODY STREETS is out of print and costs (as of this moment): $1018 (new) and $370 (used) on Amazon ... YIKES
Two excellent books there Dachokie and I am lucky that I have copies of both in my library, just need time to read them!
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Two excellent books there Dachokie and I am lucky that I have copies of both in my library, just need time to read them!"I've got Hells's Gate, but I can't justify buying Bloody Streets at this point. How is it? Is it the "ultimate" Battle for Berlin book it is said to be and what separates it from Beevor's Berlin 1945?
Just from a browse, it offers more in photographs and maps but not sure of the narrative itself, will try and read it soon and let you know.
This new book which is due out in February 2013 may interest some of the group members who enjoy alternative histories:
by Peter TsourasDescription:
It is early September 1942 and the German commander of the Sixth Army, General Paulus, assisted by the Fourth Panzer Army, is poised to advance on the Russian city of Stalingrad. His primary mission was to take the city, crushing this crucial centre of communication and manufacturing, and to secure the valuable oil fields in the Caucasus. What happens next is well known to any student of modern history: a brutal war of attrition, characterised by fierce hand-to-hand combat, that lasted for nearly two years, and the eventual victory by a resolute Soviet Red Army. A ravaged German Army was pushed into full retreat. This was the first defeat of Hitler's territorial ambitions in Europe and a critical turning point of WWII. But the outcome could have been very different, as Peter Tsouras demonstrates in this fascinating alternate history of this fateful battle. By introducing minor - and realistic - adjustments, Tsouras presents a scenario in which the course of the battle runs quite differently, which in turn throws up disturbing possibilities regarding the outcome of the whole war.
also posted in New Release thread.
This March 2013 release (UK) sounds like it has the potential to be a very interesting account:
by Artem DrabkinDescription:
What was it like to confront the German panzer armies as an anti-tank gunner on the Eastern Front during the Second World War? How could you hope overcome of one of the best-equipped, well-trained and tenacious armoured forces of the time? And how did the Red Army's tactics and skills develop over the course of the war in order to counter the threat posed by the elite troops of the Wehrmacht? The vivid personal narratives of Red Army anti-tank men selected for this book give a fascinating insight into these questions - and into the first-hand experience of anti-tank warfare seventy years ago. Their testimony reveals how lethal, rapid, small-scale actions - gun against tank - were fought, and it shows how such isolated actions determined the outcome of the massive offensives and counter-offensives that characterized the struggle on the Eastern Front. Panzer Killers is a valuable addition to the series of graphic eyewitness accounts of every aspect of the Red Army's war on the Eastern Front.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "This March 2013 release (UK) sounds like it has the potential to be a very interesting account: by Artem DrabkinDescri..."
Thanks for the post AR. I definitely want to read more about the Eastern front and that sounds like a great book. US release is in April 2013 and now on my wishlist.
THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP
Books mentioned in this topic
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Opening the Gates of Hell: Operation Barbarossa, June–July 1941 (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Richard Hargreaves (other topics)Richard Hargreaves (other topics)
Richard Hargreaves (other topics)
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Richard Hargreaves (other topics)
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"In the twekve-month period from the beginning of August 1941 to the end of July 1942, September 1941 was the costliest month on the eastern..."
Wow that is incredible and really shows the scope of this conflict. It is amazing to me that the Germans where able to fight at the level they did for so long with those kind of losses since they had a fraction of a population to draw from compared to the soviets...