The initial German invasion took almost no one in the Soviet Union by surprise except for the dictator Josef Stalin. Russian generals had been anticipating this for quite some time, but were afraid to contradict Stalin in any way, shape or form for fear of disappearing to a gulag or being killed. The result was that the Germans were pretty well able to move where they wanted and made huge gains during the first weeks of the campaign. Only in a few spots was there any concentrated resistance as most Soviet commanders had little experience and so tosses their assets away piece-meal.

The large scale destruction of Soviet equipment (most of which was admittedly obsolete or obsolescent) and equally large number of prisoners made for excellent photo ops and German combat photographers wasted no time in photographing not only the destruction and prisoners, but also the men of the conquering army.

In line with others in the series, this is basically a photo book using images from a variety of sources to show what it was like for German soldiers to be fighting against the Soviets. The book covers a broad expanse of different weather conditions and terrain to show the variety of uniforms and clothing that were worn by German soldiers. It also includes a look into the weapons that they used.

As one would expect, there are a considerable number of images of destroyed or abandon Soviet equipment. The requisite images of German soldiers on the march forward or inspecting Soviet tanks is part and parcel of the book as well. There are sections on artillery, communications, convoys, daily life and taking charge of prisoners. The sort of things that diorama modelers love to see 

The center of the book has full page artwork of the men involved and goes into detailed description of their uniforms and equipment. Stephen Andrew has done a fantastic job of showing these men and I know that modelers will appreciate his attention to detail.

Overall, this is a superlative book for those who are looking for the greatest accuracy when doing figures or dioramas of the period and as such can be highly recommended.

July 2008

Review book courtesy of www.dragonmodelsusa.com . Get yours at your local retailer or ask them to order it for you.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.

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