Enjoy For Free The Road To Stalingrad: Stalins War With Germany Outlined By John Erickson In EReader Version

outstanding recounting the years leading up to June,, and then through the Soviet tideturning victory at Stalingrad in, as seen from the Soviet side.


Well worth reading if you want a very different look at World War, and an area of it largely unknown to people in the US.
The Soviets really won World War, not the West, Talk about precise . . this book is amazing in its details, Going down to minute details in German and Russian military unit names and numbers meant I had to concentrate all the way through, . and it ain't no small book either, One of the best books I've ever read on WWII Eastern Front, This book is written exclusively from the Russian Army point of view, I always wanted to read one that was extremely detailed on Soviet strategy and operations, However, no maps. The author goes into fantastic descriptions of Soviet divisions, corps, and armies, yet without any maps, the overall picture of German Army groups and Soviet Fronts are completely lost to me.
If I had not read other Eastern Front histories, I would have been totally in the dark, I can only imagine the frustration of anyone else picking up this book as a firsttimer visiting the RussoGerman War, Great description, poor illustration. Colossal conflict

The lastchapters of

this book are by far the best they constitute overpages, Prior, I feel, the author has a hard time distinguishing the trees from the forest and the forest from the trees, These chapters are filled with endless sentences like ", . . theth Airborne corps to use histh andth Brigades, . ", " the escape eastwards forrd,th and nowth Army was, . " and on and on, This approach makes for a very dry dissertation of the largest military conflict in recent history,

Nevertheless Erickson does not glorify nor glamourize the Red Army, Stalin's Russia was not only unprepared for this colossal conflict with the German armies, it was incompetently led, Stalin had killed off his officer corps by the end of the's and was selfquarantined in the Kremlin listening only to advisors who told him what he wanted to hear.
Erickson is correct when he describes Stalin as the 'top' leader in the Soviet Union, Erickson's description of Stalin and the decisionmaking process is interesting if concise,

It is only in the lastchapters that the battle scenarios are well painted by Erickson, and one feels the horror of Dante's inferno that existed in Stalingrad.
Why the German armies became entrapped in this cauldron of total destructiveness is unknowable, but it lead to their first major defeat in the Second World War aside from their aborted invasion of Britain.


Do not read this book for a glimpse of civilian life in either the German or Soviet zone, There is no mention of the Einsaztgruppen killing squads who butchered entire villages, or of Jewish life throughout Germanoccupied Soviet territory,

This is "military history," but when it does step out of that zone, it is interesting and Erickson offers insights into both protagonists.


Some maps would have been helpful there were none in my edition, This book does not have the 'Soviet patriotism' of sitelinkAlexander Werth's sitelinkRussia at War: and is better for it,

The Road to Berlin:
sitelinkThe Road to Berlin is much like the first volume The Road to Stalingrad, but the events, if possible, even overshadow those of the first book such as the battle of Kursk, the annexation of Eastern Europe under the Soviet yoke, and the fall of Berlin.
Orchestrating all of this is the figure of Stalin,
But much like the first volume there is a blur of details, i, e. military groupings and geographical minutiae, Is it necessary to list all the Guard units, divisions, battalions, etc, that took forth on the assault on the Baltic States Words like "hammer," "break through," etc, abound.

Yet there are many rewards, Erickson writes entirely from the Soviet perspective with no glorification of their overall role in the defeat of Nazi Germany, There are gems of dialogue between Stalin and his generals vividly illustrating the brutality of the regime, Once it became apparent that the Nazis were to be expunged from the Soviet Union the next step was to occupy as much land as possible in Eastern Europe.
With production in full swing byand an army numbering somemillion entering Eastern Europe never mind the agreements at Yalta promising free elections in Poland or democratic selfdetermination for the countries liberated from Nazi domination Erickson discusses this countrybycountry.
He also brings up the notorious Soviet standstill in front Warsaw while the Nazis methodically routed and slaughtered Polish partisans, The Soviet army may have had to regroup, but they never told this to the Polish partisans,

Do not read this book for details of the liberation of the concentration and death camps it merits only a few sentences and there is even less on the treatment of Soviet citizens in areas occupied by Germany.
Also very little is said on the barbaric treatment meted out by Soviet troops once they entered "liberated zones, "



A very thorough book of an important part of military history, John Erickson is meticulous and detailed in his research and given the book was first published in thes during the height of the Cold War the information that John presents is all the more insightful.


Probably not a good starting point for an Eastern Front novice due the vast amount of detail covering units, ORBATs etc, One let down is the complete lack of maps, I find good maps greatly enhance a military history work and in particular a book like this really needs them to further emphasis the sheer scale of this conflict.
In many ways still the standard military history of the Eastern Front in WWII, equalled perhaps only by Glantz more modern work, Readers of "When Titans Clashed" will be familiar with Erickson's narrative, but I think Erickson tells it better, "The Road to Stalingrad" has great sweeping passages that describe the scene outside of actual combat, This book and Glantz's remain military history there's probably not a lot here for those who like sweeping history, and it's true that granular detail can become confusing in military histories.
"The Road to Stalingrad" isn't like, say, "The Face of Battle," but it remains, in my opinion, a genuine achievement by an historian, A new paperback version of the first volume in John Erickson's monumental, critically acclaimed history of the SovietGerman war, In fascinating detail, The Road to Stalingrad takes us from the inept command structures and strategic delusions of the preinvasion Soviet Union through Russia's humiliation as her armies fell back on all fronts, until the tide turned at last in Stalingrad.
The assessment of the generals and political leaders, as well as of the wranglings within both the Allied and Axis commands, is completely unsparing, The climactic battle, so vividly described here, leaves the Red Army poised for the long fight towards Berlin,
This is not to be missed by any military buff or student of World War II,
A very detailed account of the German invasion of Russia up until the tied is turned on the Eastern Front, Best to read with a map close at hand, Well documented and concise but a map of the Soviet Union and prior readings of the war is probably recommended,
There is much one can write of the soviet military and the war from Russian generals wanting to make unilateral treaties with Hitler to the Abwehr being innundated with Red moles, either may have explained some of Stalin's choices.
Either is a book in itself,
As far as what this book focused upon, it stayed on path with military history and can almost be considered a reference book due its in depth discussion of strategy.
Written inn a very academic style, from the Soviet point of view, which is more interesting than the Nazi point of view, Would you believe there are NO MAPS So an atlas I found photocopies of the Times Comprehensive more convenient is essential,

All the same, a great, though strenuous read,

Excellent overview of the preinvasion and early war periods, Emphasis on operations but no maps, An excellent detailed account of the SovietGerman War in WW, Erickson has done an incredible amount of research, and is refreshingly frank in presenting his own opinions along side the historic facts, His accounts of the diplomatic meetings between Soviet and British leaders are particularly great, giving you a clear picture of everyone's agendas and motivations before taking you into the smoke filled rooms to witness the big decisions being reached.
Early on the book does occasionally bog down under the weight of all the statistics he presents you with in the process of setting the stage, and you will want to have a map or three of Soviet Russia handy for reference since there are none in the book, but it's by far the best and most complete treatment of the subject that I've found so far.
Comprehensive in scale. Described the macro view of the events, Excellent large picture of Armies, Corps, and Divisions on both sides, the Wehrmacht and the Red Army, Burdensome and ponderous at times, though, But allinall, an excellent historical account in its depth and accuracy, .