Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-7 of 7
 A good start May 12, 2006
T. Kunikov (United States)
31 out of 36 found this review helpful
If you are new to the Eastern Front this is an excellent new short history of the war. It concentrates a little on the military aspect, on the politics, economics, and of course the social intricacies of the war. The author uses a lot of newly released Soviet secondary sources, many of which I have at home and can vouch for, to present the war in a somewhat new light. There are a few mistakes and some omissions throughout the book but nothing too major. I like the authors conclusions about the purges in 1937-1938, while they were costly for the Red Army there is no reason to think that it crippled the officer corps, although it did create an atmosphere of fear and compliance with Stalin which in the end simply added to the disaster that was 1941. All the battles, offensive and defensive operations, are listed and gone through. Losses are given for the Red Army from Krivosheev's book for every operation, this book has become the standard use for Red Army losses in WWII although there are still some controversies about it. But in the end it's very interesting to see how Soviet losses (KIA, MIA, and POW) went down throughout the war. The author gives a good account of the Warsaw uprising and shows how impossible it was for the Red Army to do anything when it occurred, but something might have been done in late August or mid September. Then again the Poles wanted to take the city and use it as a bargaining chip against the Soviets, so it would have served no purpose in putting the Red Army in that kind of situation with no benefit to Stalin. Overall with the use of these new Russian sources from a variety of authors I have to say this is today the best short history of the war and I would gladly recommend it to anyone who wants an introduction to the Eastern Front.
an amazing work of military history April 23, 2006
Jarrod Leeth (Athens, OH)
24 out of 30 found this review helpful
Professor Mawdsley does an admirable job of dissecting and narrating the conflict between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union from 1941-1945, a period which saw some of human history's most intense battles and most horrific atrocities. The book is an in-depth study of Nazi and Soviet strategy, taking each event in turn, from Kharkov and Kiev, to Moscow and Leningrad, pointing out strengths and weaknesses of both sides. The sheer specificity of the text may be off-putting to some, as Mawdsley names dozens of German and Russian commanders, Bock, Kluge, Manstein, Voroshilov, Timoshenko, Guderian, Hoth, Zhukov, Budyenni, all names you would expect to see, and he outlines their individual performances, no matter how disgraceful or outstanding they may be. Though not the focus of the text, Mawdsley does make mention of how the Germans treat Jews and Soviet POWs, but he also talks of Stalin's crimes, and how he executes his own generals, and gives orders without regard for civilian lives (which, of course, Hitler does as well). The starvation of Leningrad is described briefly, but enough to make one consider it one of the great tragedies of the war. As a work of military history, it is extraordinary, particularly in its scope, and how it covers every aspect of the Eastern Front.
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