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Books on the Eastern Front of WW2
Found a Table of Contents for the book above; Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front: The German Infantry's War, 1941 - 1944.Table of Contents:
Introduction: the German infantry's war;
1. The Wehrmacht and German society;
2. Preparations for war;
3. 'Attack with a ruthless offensive spirit and ... a firestorm of destruction': the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa;
4: 'Will the continuation of this attack be worth it?' The drive on Leningrad;
5: 'It is only a question of where, not if, civilians will starve': the 121st Infantry Division and the occupation of Pavlovsk;
6. The failure of Operation Barbarossa: the fusion of ideology and military culture;
7. The Soviet winter offensive 1942: Demiansk and the Volkhov River;
8. 'The population ... shouted out to the interpreter that one would rather be shot instead of being left to starve': the evolution of military necessity;
9. 'From one mess to another': war of attrition in Northwest Russia;
10: 'We need to fight to the end, so oder so': combat and the reconstruction of Army Group North;
11. A more rational occupation? The contradictions of military necessity;
12. 'As miserable representatives of the miserable twentieth century, we burned all of the villages': the scorched earth retreat to the Panther Line;
Conclusion. The primacy of military necessity.
I'm currently reading David Stahel's third book on the Eastern Front; "Operation Typhoon" and learnt something new. I was aware of the issues in regards to the different gauges between German and Russian railway lines but that wasn't the biggest problem the German forces faced in regard to rail transport in Russia:"Yet owing to their greater size Soviet locomotives could also carry larger loads or fuel and water and therefore travel longer distances between service stops. German locomotives, in contrast, needed more frequent stops, which posed a completely new problem for the rapid extension of the railways. While rail conversion was relatively unskilled work, the addition of locomotive sheds, turntables, sidings and water towers introduced a whole new set if requirements, which had not been foreseen and could not be improvised quickly. On average the Germans had to build one new service installation between each pair of Soviet stations and, without the requisite skilled labour or heavy construction materials, delays were inevitable."
That's the first time I have read of that problem in regard to converting Russian railway lines to German use during the war on the Eastern Front. Had anyone else read of this issue before?
by David Stahel
Again read something I was not aware of in my current book. I knew of the Spanish Blue Division fighting in Russia but had not read previously of the Spanish Blue Squadron (Escuadrilla Azul).For more information:
http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/airc...
I have read this book on the Blue Division which has been recently re-released in card cover:
(no cover) Hitler's Spanish Legion: The Blue Division in Russia by Gerald R Kleinfeld
by Gerard R Kleinfeld
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Again read something I was not aware of in my current book. I knew of the Spanish Blue Division fighting in Russia but had not read previously of the Spanish Blue Squadron (Escuadrilla Azul).For ..."
The Blue Squadron was new to me too.
Glad I'm not the only one who hadn't heard of them before :)
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I'm currently reading David Stahel's third book on the Eastern Front; "Operation Typhoon" and learnt something new. I was aware of the issues in regards to the different gauges between German and R..."When I was 3rd AD, in the mid 70's we were always told about the gage difference in the rail roads.
Another point Stahel brings up is the difference in locomotive's, russian engines were bigger with bigger broilers for the longer stints they traveled between stations.
Yes, it's a point/issue I had not read of before.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I'm currently reading David Stahel's third book on the Eastern Front; "Operation Typhoon" and learnt something new. I was aware of the issues in regards to the different gauges between German and R..."Yes, I'd seen that (IIRC) in James Dunnigan's column in /Strategy & Tactics/ back in the early- or mid-80's. As both a railfan and a wargamer, it struck me as plausible.
It was also pointed out that adding these infrastructure points meant that a lot more places needed to be guarded against the partisans.
I knew someone that worked for them. He called it the glory days of Wargaming. Alghouth he talked more about Al Nofi, than Dunnigan. Lee wrote: "'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I'm currently reading David Stahel's third book on the Eastern Front; "Operation Typhoon" and learnt something new. I was aware of the issues in regards to the different gauge..."
It might have been Nofi, now that you mention it.If you have further interest down that way, the podcast "Guns, Dice, Butter" has been seeking out interviews with the SPI old-timers, as well as talking about newer games.
Maybe not. Dunnigan was the name that came out of SPI with the most familiarity. Nofi from my understanding went back to teaching. My favorite story about him was that he wrote an article about the ACW and titled it 'The Slave Holders Rebellion of 1863'
He invited those that didn't agree to come and talk to him at the High School where he taught History. Which happened to be in Harlem.
I don't know if it is true or not, but it is classic.
My friend wouldn't be able to make that podcast, he passed away a few years ago. But he left a metric butt ton of fond memories.
From my current book on 'Operation Typhoon'. During the German drive onto Moscow and with Russian forces retreating towards Kalinin this incident occurred during a night movement with retreating Russians and advancing Germans mixed up on one road:“The operations officer of the 1st Panzer Division, Lieutenant-Colonel Walther Wenck, who, rather uncharacteristically for a German staff officer, was renowned for his wry humour, reported back to the corps: ‘Russian units, although not included in our march tables, are attempting continuously to share our road space, and thus are partly responsible for the delay or our advance on Kalinin. Please advise what to do?’ The message was returned: ‘As usual, 1st Panzer Division has priority along the route of advance. Reinforce traffic control!!’ On the same night Major Carl Wagener, the operations officer at Panzer Group 3, recorded a routine question to the leading panzer company, ‘Who is driving point?’ The answer came back: ‘Ivan’.”
by David Stahel
From my current book, the cold weather has really started to bite and no warm weather equipment or clothing is available:"The army issued a special pamphlet to the troops trying to provide practical tips for managing while ill equipped in the cold weather. It advised that an extra pair of army socks could be cut to provide holes for the thumb and index finger allowing the discharge of a weapon. As one soldier commented bitterly: ‘Someone was obviously not aware that our boots have been almost worn to scrap and that our socks were little more than rags, already with so many holes in them that we would have no difficulty in finding enough to poke all five fingers through’.”
Also from my book:“Not only did the German high command refuse to take steps which actively assisted their troops, they even took steps which worsened their plight. At Riga, thousands of Jewish labourers were employed, some directly under Army Group North’s command, tailoring millions of captured sheepskins into articles of clothing for the troops. They produced ear-protectors, fur caps, waistcoats and more. This, however, did not save them. At the end of November 1941 the entire workforce were shot ‘in accordance with the Fuhrer’s orders’ when the Riga ghetto was liquidated.”
by David Stahel
From the answer he got back about reinforcing traffic control, seems he wasn't the only one with a sense of humor. 'Aussie Rick' wrote: "From my current book on 'Operation Typhoon'. During the German drive onto Moscow and with Russian forces retreating towards Kalinin this incident occurred during a night movement with retreating Ru..."
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Also from my book:“Not only did the German high command refuse to take steps which actively assisted their troops, they even took steps which worsened their plight. At Riga, thousands of Jewish ..."
I will add to that with a great story. I interviewed a German SS officer, Brigadefuehrer Otto Kumm, who was then a Lt. Col. tasked with reinforcing the supply route to Kharkov. He was given several hundred Ukrainian Jews as a labor force to repair the roads. He contacted the paymaster as to how they would pay the laborers. The paymaster, a colonel said they were not employees, but prisoners. Kumm reminded him that the Geneva Convention stated POWs could not be forced to work in a combat zone. A superior officer arrived, gathered all the Jews, and marched them to the train station. They were gone. The route was not secured in time. Kumm then asked his superior, Paul Hausser where his labor went. Hausser said "Himmler" needed them elsewhere, that's all I know."
Interesting story Colin, thanks for sharing that account with the group members.
Colin,You have the most intersting stories - please keep it up!
Here is an account from the book Operation Typhoon where a German tanker from the 4th Panzer Division was talking about combat against the Russian T-34:"There is nothing more frightening than a tank battle against superior force. Numbers - they do not mean so much, we were used to it. But better machines, that's terrible ... The Russian tanks are so agile, at close ranges they will climb a slope or cross a piece of swamp faster than you can traverse the turret. And through the noise and the vibration you keep hearing the clangour of shot against armour. When they hit one of our panzers there is often a deep long explosion, a roar as the fuel burns, a roar too loud, thank God, to let you hear the cries of the crew."
by David Stahel
From my book, this tends to explain why ‘Operation Typhoon’ failed, not discounting the Soviet’s valiant defence of Moscow:“Poor planning, operating difficulties and low transport capacity meant that the October crisis was a preordained fact, exacerbated by the bad weather, but not caused by it. The extension of the front to the east strained resources even further so that by the beginning of November Army Group Centre required at least thirty-two trains a day just to meet its operating costs, but only sixteen were arriving. With grossly insufficient supplies reaching the forward railheads, the army group then faced the secondary problem of moving the provisions they did get to the front. Part of the problem was the distance which supplies were being transported because the railheads could not keep pace with the advance. Hell’s 15th Infantry Division, for example, was receiving part of its supplies from as far back as Smolensk, some 350 kilometres from its current position. At the same time Schroeck’s 98th Infantry Division was transporting its munitions from between 300 and 400 kilometres in the rear. Even with the completion of the planned railhead to Viaz’ma (as of 23 October) the front was still another 115 kilometres eastwards at its nearest point and 200 kilometres to Kalinin in the north. Even under normal circumstances these were protracted distances, but in the prevailing conditions there could be no question of a workable supply system. Accordingly, although the German command refused to accept it, Operation Typhoon’s drive on Moscow was largely doomed.”
Another interesting account from the book Operation Typhoon:“By the end of October the division’s [6th Panzer Division] surviving tanks had averaged a distance of 11,500 kilometres for the Mark IIs, 12,500 kilometres for the Czech 34(t)s and 11,000 kilometres for the Mark IVs. There were so few spare parts remaining that in the case of the Czech 35(t) Raus reported that from forty-one broken-down tanks only ten could be repaired by cannibalising the others. As Raus concluded, ‘perhaps the armoured hulls are still salvageable’.”
by David Stahel
message 373:
by
Geevee, Assisting Moderator British & Commonwealth Forces
(new)
This looks a really good book Rick. Is it a little more accessible that Glantz or Erickson would you say?
Very much so, the author uses a lot of first-hand accounts throughout the book and the narrative is well paced, never boring and although detailed does not bog down. I found it a pretty good read overall. It is the first book of a projected two volumes covering 'Operation Typhoon', this volume covers to the end of October, the next volume ( unknown release date) covers the end of the operation.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Very much so, the author uses a lot of first-hand accounts throughout the book and the narrative is well paced, never boring and although detailed does not bog down. I found it a pretty good read o..."I'm looking forward to the next book.
This new title is due for release in November 2014. I'm not too sure how much new information the author may be able to offer but it may be of interest to some members in the group:
Enemy in the East: Hitler's Secret Plans to Invade the Soviet Union by Rolf-Dieter MüllerDescription:
Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, led to one of the most brutal campaigns of World War II: of the estimated 70 million people who died in World War II, over 30 million died on the Eastern Front. Although it has previously been argued that the campaign was a pre-emptive strike, in fact, Hitler had been planning a war of intervention against the USSR ever since he came to power in 1933. Using previously unseen sources, acclaimed military historian Rolf-Dieter Muller shows that Hitler and the Wehrmacht had begun to negotiate with Poland and had even considered an alliance with Japan soon after taking power. Despite the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, at the declaration of war in September 1939, military engagement with the Red Army was still a very real and imminent possibility. In this book, Muller takes us behind the scenes of the Wehrmacht High Command, providing a fascinating insight into an unknown story of World War II.
Another November 2014 release and it looks like it covers something a bit different on the war on the Eastern Front:
Sacrificing Childhood: Children and the Soviet State in the Great Patriotic War by Julie K DegraffenriedDescription:
During the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War, from 1941 to 1945, as many as 24 million of its citizens died. 14 million were children ages fourteen or younger. And for those who survived, the suffering was far from over. The prewar Stalinist vision of a "happy childhood" nurtured by a paternal, loving state had given way, out of necessity. What replaced it--the dictate that children be prepared to sacrifice everything, including childhood itself--created a generation all too familiar with deprivation, violence, and death. The experience of these children, and the role of the state in shaping their narrative, are the subject of this book, which fills in a critical but neglected chapter in the Soviet story and in the history of World War II. In Sacrificing Childhood, Julie deGraffenried chronicles the lives of the Soviet wartime children and the uses to which they were put--not just as combatants or workers in factories and collective farms, but also as fodder for propaganda, their plight a proof of the enemy's depredations. Not all Soviet children lived through the war in the same way; but in the circumstances of a child in occupied Belarus or in the Leningrad blockade, a young deportee in Siberia or evacuee in Uzbekistan, deGraffenried finds common threads that distinguish the child's experience of war from the adult's. The state's expectations, however, were the same for all children, as we see here in children's mass media and literature and the communications of party organizations and institutions, most notably the Young Pioneers, whose relentless wartime activities made them ideal for the purposes of propaganda. The first in-depth study of where Soviet children fit into the history of the war, Sacrificing Childhood also offers an unprecedented view of the state's changing expectations for its children, and how this figured in the nature and direction of post-war Soviet society.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "This new title is due for release in November 2014. I'm not too sure how much new information the author may be able to offer but it may be of interest to some members in the group:[bookcover:Ene..."
Looks verrrrryyyyyy interesting...
Another new release due out in October 2014 that may interest some members of the group, it does me!
A German General on the Eastern Front: The Letters and Diaries of Gotthard Heinrici 1941-1942 by Dr Johannes HurterDescription:
The Eastern Front, 1941. Operation Barbarossa. Hitler's armies advance into the Soviet Union to conquer Lebensraum in the East. Among the corps commanders is General Gotthard Heinrici, a career soldier, a highly decorated First World War veteran, who observed and recorded in his diary and letters the unprecedented harshness of the German conduct of the campaign. With remarkable candour he described his experiences at the front and the everyday lives of the troops under his command - and the appalling conditions in which the war was fought. In his writings he revealed his growing doubts about Hitler's strategy and his mounting concern as the Wehrmacht was implicated in war crimes and the first actions of the Holocaust. This selection from Heinrici's diaries and letters, edited and with a perceptive introduction by Johannes Hurter, gives a fascinating inside view of the fighting on the Eastern Front from a commander's perspective. It is also provides an unusual insight into the feelings, attitudes and acute anxieties of one of the Wehrmacht's most able generals in the midst of a brutal campaign.
Also posted in the New Release thread.
The book Death of the Leaping Horseman: The 24th Panzer Division in Stalingrad has just been re-released by Stackpole in the US. I understand this is a revised edition and at a much more affordable price than the first issue. It may interest some members of the group:
Death of the Leaping Horseman: The 24th Panzer Division in Stalingrad by Jason D MarksDescription:
The gripping story of an elite panzer division and its battles in the shattered streets of Stalingrad. In "Death of the Leaping Horseman: 24th Panzer-Division in Stalingrad," the untold story of 24th Panzer-Division's savage fighting on Stalingrad's outskirts - and in the devastated ruins of the city itself - is revealed in a detailed day-by-day account. Beginning in the heady days of the victorious march toward Stalingrad in August 1942, the book follows the Division into Stalingrad's suburbs as it is slowly and inexorably sucked into the fiery crucible that was Stalingrad. Panzer losses and casualties increased daily until finally, after three months of draining combat, the Division was reduced to a battlegroup consisting of a couple of panzers and a few hundred men. Woven through official combat reports and entries from the Division's war diaries are gripping accounts from the few remaining veterans - including an Oakleaves winner and several Knight's Cross winners. Contains over 200 photos and 85 maps and aerial photos.
ooh, that looks good AR - added to the TBR:)
David Stahel has a new book due out sometime in early 2015 (Feb-March). It looks like it will be another interesting account of the German army on the Eastern Front:
The Battle for Moscow by David StahelDescription:
In November 1941 Hitler ordered German forces to complete the final drive on the Soviet capital, now less than 100 kilometres away. Army Group Centre was pressed into the attack for one last attempt to break Soviet resistance before the onset of winter. From the German perspective the final drive on Moscow had all the ingredients of a dramatic final battle in the east, which, according to previous accounts, only failed at the gates of Moscow. David Stahel now challenges this well-established narrative by demonstrating that the last German offensive of 1941 was a forlorn effort, undermined by operational weakness and poor logistics, and driven forward by what he identifies as National Socialist military thinking. With unparalleled research from previously undocumented army files and soldiers' letters, Stahel takes a fresh look at the battle for Moscow, which even before the Soviet winter offensive, threatened disaster for Germany's war in the east.
Also posted in the New Release thread.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "David Stahel has a new book due out sometime in early 2015 (Feb-March). It looks like it will be another interesting account of the German army on the Eastern Front:[bookcover:The Battle for Mosc..."
Is it Feb, yet....damn can't wait for that one.
Hopefully it will be as good as his other books.
I'm sure it will. heard him on an old podcast a while back.Its at:
New Books in Military History.
David Stahel, "Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East".
Feb 13 2012.
Doubledf99.99 wrote: "I'm sure it will. heard him on an old podcast a while back.Its at:
New Books in Military History.
David Stahel, "Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East".
Feb 13 2012."
Oh great, another website where I can waste...uh I mean, spend many hours on books I haven't read yet.
Currently reading
by John Erickson so far it is as highly detail and informative as The Road to Stalingrad: Stalin`s War with Germany but one thing is peeving me, the author keeps referring to the "SS Gross Deutschland" Division. This division was indeed seen as an elite formation but it belonged to the Wehrmacht, not the SS. Just a minor grip in an otherwise good read so far.
Had the same issue. I read both his books covering the Eastern Front, both very good and offering a perspective from the Soviet side but that was a pet peeve of mine as well.
This book is due out in March 2015 and should interest those members who love reading about the war on the Eastern Front:
Hans Sturm: A Soldier's Odyssey on the Eastern Front by Gordon WilliamsonDescription:
There are many biographies of former soldiers of the Wehrmacht, many of whom had fascinating and exciting stories to tell, and several of whom were highly decorated. However, few can match Hans Sturm in his astonishing rise from a mere private in an infantry regiment, thrown into the bloody maelstrom of the Eastern Front, to a highly decorated war hero. A young man who had displayed fearless heroism in combat, earning him some of Germany's highest military awards, Sturm hated bullies and injustice, and reacted in his normal pugnacious and outspoken manner when confronted with wrongdoing. From striking a member of the feared Sicherheitsdienst for his treatment of a Jewish woman, to refusing to wear a decoration he felt was tainted because of the treatment of enemy partisans, Sturm repeatedly stuck to his moral values no matter what the risk. Even with the war finally over, Sturm's travails would not end for another eight years as he languished in a number of Soviet labour camps until he was finally released in 1953.
Also posted in the New Release thread.
Good news, my copy should be on the way soon then as well :)
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Good news, my copy should be on the way soon then as well :)"I'll have to wear my snivel gear while reading it..
Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front 1941-1942: SchwerpunktHavent read stahel who apparently makes the point that the germans were a busted flush by late 41
Forczyk doesnt agree as the german russian tank killing ratio was massively in the germans favour.
By august 1941 the germans were starting to have numerical superiority in overall machines available and the soviets had lost most of the t-34 and kv-1 s they had at the start of barbarossa. Russian industry was not producing tanks in quantity either .
But i havent read stahel so cant comment really
Just finished with The Battle for Moscow, and what a good read. This is the 4th book by Mr. Stahel on the final few months of Operation Barbarossa, this book covers the push to Moscow, and what a brutal push it was. Goes into great detail on Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front, it's key leaders and the culture of the force, it's practices and policies in the rear areas, its logistics, and above all the soldiers on the line. I saw a logistics unit motto once that read "Try fighting without us."
The Battle for Moscow
David Stahel
Love the motto. Logistics is supreme. You can tell it is not just an empty slogan, and that you can feel the pride it would put in the members of the unit. When I got razzed for being in Air Defense Artillery I would just say, "Never taste napalm, theirs or ours."
This June 2015 release is sure to generate some interest:
The Battle of Moscow 1941-1942: The Red Army's Defensive Operations and Counter-offensive Along the Moscow Strategic Direction by Richard W. HarrisonDescription:
The Battle of Moscow, 1941–1942: The Red Army’s Defensive Operations and Counteroffensive Along the Moscow Strategic Direction is a detailed examination of one of the major turning points of World War II, as seen from the Soviet side. The Battle of Moscow marked the climax of Hitler’s “Operation Barbarossa,” which sought to destroy the Soviet Union in a single campaign and ensure German hegemony in Europe. The failure to do so condemned Germany to a prolonged war it could not win.
This work originally appeared in 1943, under the title "Razgrom Nemetskikh Voisk pod Moskvoi" (The Rout of the German Forces Around Moscow). The work was produced by the Red Army General Staff’s military-historical section, which was charged with collecting and analyzing the war’s experience and disseminating it to the army’s higher echelons. This was a collective effort, featuring many different contributors, with Marshal Boris Mikhailovich Shaposhnikov, former chief of the Red Army General Staff and then head of the General Staff Academy, serving as general editor.
The book is divided into three parts, each dealing with a specific phase of the battle. The first traces the Western Front’s defensive operations along the Moscow direction during Army Group Center’s final push toward the capital in November–December, 1941. The study pays particular attention to the Red Army’s resistance to the Germans’ attempts to outflank Moscow from the north. Equally important were the defensive operations to the south of Moscow, where the Germans sought to push forward their other encircling flank.
The second part deals with the first phase of the Red Army’s counteroffensive, which was aimed at pushing back the German pincers and removing the immediate threat to Moscow. Here the Soviets were able to throw the Germans back and flatten both salients, particularly in the south, where they were able to make deep inroads into the enemy front to the west and northwest.
The final section examines the further development of the counteroffensive until the end of January 1942. This section highlights the Soviet advance all along the front and their determined but unsuccessful attempts to cut off the Germans’ Rzhev–Vyaz’ma salient. It is from this point that the front essentially stabilized, after which events shifted to the south.
This new translation into English makes available to a wider readership this valuable study.
Also posted in the New Release thread.
Another new book on Stalingrad, from the Russian perspective:
Stalingrad: The City that Defeated the Third Reich by Jochen HellbeckDescription:
Just days after the Germans surrendered at Stalingrad, legendary Red Army sniper Vasily Zaytsev described the horrors he witnessed during the five-month long conflict: “one sees the young girls, the children who hang from trees in the park... I have unsteady nerves and I'm constantly shaking.”
He was being interviewed, along with 214 other men and women—soldiers, officers, civilians, administrative staffers and others—amidst the rubble that remained of Stalingrad by members of Moscow’s Historical Commission. Sent by the Kremlin, their aim was to record a comprehensive, historical documentary of the tremendous hardships overcome and heroic triumphs achieved during the battle.
20 soldiers of the 38th Rifle Division vividly recount how they stumbled upon the commander of the German troops, Field Marshal Friederich Paulus, defeated and hiding in a bed that reeked like a latrine. A lieutenant colonel remembers the brave 20 year-old adjutant who wrapped his arms around his commander’s body to protect him from a flying grenade. Working around the clock, Nurse Vera Gurova describes a 24 hour period during which her hospital received over than 600 wounded men – equivalent to one every two and an half minutes. Countless soldiers endured shrapnel wounds and received blood transfusions in the trenches, but she can’t forget the young amputee who begged her to avenge his suffering at Stalingrad.
This harrowing montage of distinct voices was so candid that the Kremlin forbade its publication and consigned the bulk of these documents to a Moscow archive where they remained forgotten for decades, until now. Jochen Hellbeck’s Stalingrad is a definitive portrait of perhaps the greatest urban battle of the Second World War—a pivotal moment in the course of the war re-created with absolute candor and chilling veracity by the voices of the men and women who fought there.
Also posted in the New Release thread.
A book by the husband of one of our members, Phyllis, which I am sure would interest a few members here in the group:
by Georg Rauch
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
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Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front: The German Infantry's War, 1941 - 1944
Description:
By 1944, the overwhelming majority of the German Army had participated in the German war of annihilation in the Soviet Union and historians continue to debate the motivations behind the violence unleashed in the east. Jeff Rutherford offers an important new contribution to this debate through a study of combat and the occupation policies of three frontline infantry divisions. He shows that while Nazi racial ideology provided a legitimizing context in which violence was not only accepted but encouraged, it was the Wehrmacht's adherence to a doctrine of military necessity which is critical in explaining why German soldiers fought as they did. This meant that the German Army would do whatever was necessary to emerge victorious on the battlefield. Periods of brutality were intermixed with conciliation as the army's view and treatment of the civilian population evolved based on its appreciation of the larger context of war in the east.
(Also posted in the New Release thread.)