Without a doubt, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June of 1941 started the largest land campaign of the 20th century. So much has been written about it, in one form or another, that many of us think that we know all about it. Well, that is partially true, but the whole truth is that much of what we have read in the past has been basically retold from the same sources. What has been lacking is a truly well-researched look at this event.

This particular book covers the events of 1941 from the initial time before the invasion until Operation Barbarossa failed at the gates of Moscow in December of that year. 

There are many reasons why things developed the way they did. One of the biggest was Stalin. He was not a good military leader, yet due to his personal paranoia, most in his military who were had been either executed or sent to the gulags. This left incompetent cronies in charge of his military. These men were choses for loyalty and not ability. Stalin also refused to believe that everything his intelligence services were telling him about an imminent invasion were true. As a result, the German onslaught came as a total surprise with those few commanders who saw it coming being unable to prepare due to orders from their seniors.

Once the invasion was realized, it was too late to do anything about it and as a result, began months of failure on the Soviet side. There were glimmers of success from time to time, but the swift movement of the German Army were able to overcome even these events.

On the German side, they pretty much did everything right. They had competent commanders, good equipment, seasoned and motivated soldiers and an excellent air force. By all rights, they should have succeeded, yet they did not. So what stopped them. Well, it was a combination of events that included a renewed Soviet fighting spirit and finally getting some competent leadership for one, but there was much more and I'll leave you to get that from the book.

The author has gathered as much primary documentation as he could on the events of those six months, comparing what were often conflicting reports to glean as much as possible from them. One thing that you may find disturbing is that the author has documented quite a bit on the various atrocities caused by the Nazi party, SS troops and those in conquered countries who sympathized with the Nazi cause. This extends to some very graphic photos and I think there are more photos of dead and mutilated people in this book than I've ever seen in a history. It isn't pretty, but it was definitely part or warfare on the Eastern Front and what made the Soviets so ruthless when the tide turned.

In all, it is a book that will prove to be a benchmark for others to follow, and undoubtedly one of the most accurate accounts of this part of WWII history.

August 2016

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