Continuing in their series on the air war on the Eastern Front, Midland now has From Barbarossa to Odessa; the Luftwaffe and Axis Allies strike South-east June-October 1941. Yeah, a long title, but there it is. This is Volume 2, the battle for Odessa 1 August to 17 October 1941.

As you may well expect, this is a day to day diary of the events in the air at the time. What makes this volume especially impressive is that it includes the missions of the Axis Allies, in particular with this volume is a great deal on the Rumanian and Hungarian air force operations of the time. The Luftwaffe is almost an afterthought!

This title opens with a brief background and an order of battle for the forces involved. Then we go into a day by day account of events. This section is divided into smaller sections for ease of reading with the events of the day starting with the first missions and ending with the last. Not only are mission details given, but there is information on base moves, new or different aircraft types that were involved and other interesting snippets of information pertaining to those events.

This is all accompanied by a superlative selection of photographs and a few profiles. In fact, for me, it is as much the quality and selection of images that drew my attention as much as anything. There are also subsections that include information on specific pilots or events of note; the 'there I was' sort of thing that most of us love to read. It is followed by an assessment of the campaign (which in this volume ends with the capture of Odessa by Axis forces), and some other tables in the appendix.

This is not a book one rushes through. There is a considerable amount of information presented and the type font is rather small. However, it makes for a cracking good read and especially so as it has information on the lesser known forces involved in the conflict.

I am very much looking forward to other books in this series and I know that once you start reading one, you'll be drawn into it as was I. An excellent read and reference book. Most highly recommended.

July 2008

Review book courtesy of Specialty Press, where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books. Visit their website at the link above or call them at 1-800-895-4585

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