Hitler’s War on RussiaThe Russian Front was the decisive theatre of World War II, with the great mass of the German Army and Luftwaffe locked in battle with the Red Army in the largest land campaign in history. On a 1,200 mile front, from the Arctic Circle to the Caspian Sea, in baking summer heat and freezing winter temperatures, millions of men and women fought the most vital battle of the war. Had the Germans won in the East, a Nazi victory would have been almost inevitable. This book examines the German campaign on the Eastern Front, from their first significant defeat at the gates of Moscow in 1941 to the defeat at Stalingrad and the Russian capture of Berlin marking the end of the war in Europe, exploring how Hitler's flawed dream of conquest in the East brought about the end of the Thousand Year Reich in little over a thousand days. This is the non-illustrated edition of Ostfront wth about 20,000 words of new material from the author. |
Contents
| 8 | |
| 15 | |
THE RED ARMY | 27 |
TO THE GATES OF MOSCOW | 41 |
ATTACK AND COUNTERATTACK | 68 |
THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD | 91 |
THE CORRELATION OF FORCES | 116 |
THE LAST BLITZKRIEG | 149 |
THE WRITING ON THE WALL | 171 |
PRUSSIAN ROULETTE | 181 |
GOODBYE TO BERLIN | 192 |
NOTES | 205 |
| 212 | |
| 215 | |
| 225 | |
Common terms and phrases
6th Army ADOLF HITLER advance aircraft Allied areas armoured Army Group Army’s artillery assault attack Baltic battalions battle began Berlin bombers British campaign camps casualties cent chief command concentrated continued Corps counter-attack death December defeat defences destroyed early east factories Field Marshal fighters fighting followed forces formations four France front front line German Army German forces ground Group South Guards guns hands heavy Hitler industrial infantry divisions invasion Italy July June Kharkov killed Kursk London losses lost Luftwaffe major Manstein miles military million months Moscow Nazi November numbers offensive officers operations ordered Panzer divisions Poland positions prisoners production Red Army regiments remained reserve River Russian Second soldiers Soviet staff Stalin Stalingrad strategic strength summer supply tanks took troops Ukranian units USSR vehicles victory weapons weeks western winter World