The Second World War on the Eastern Front

Description

Russia's engagement with Germany on the Eastern Front during World War II was ferocious, unprecedented and bloody, costing millions of civilian and military lives. In this challenging new book, Lee Baker distinguishes myth from reality and deflates the idea that this war, while gargantuan in scale, was in essence a war like any other.

Cover 2
Half Title 3
Title Page 5
Copyright Page 6
Introduction to the Series 7
Dedication 8
Table of Contents 9
Acknowledgments 12
List of Maps 15
List of Plates 16
Chronology 17
Who’s Who 20
Glossary 24
Maps 27
Part One: Analysis 33
- Introduction 35
- 1. The Background 50
  - The Origins of the War on the Eastern Front 50
  - Planning ‘Operation Barbarossa’ 58
  - Soviet Preparations for War 68
- 2. 22 June 1941: The Invasion 72
  - The Border Battles 72
  - The Battle for Leningrad 80
  - The Battle for Kiev 84
  - The First Major German Defeat: Rostov 86
  - Mass Murder in the USSR 88
  - The Battle for Moscow 90
- 3. The War Turns Against the Germans, 1942–43 97
  - ‘Operation Blue’ 97
  - The Battle for Stalingrad 105
  - German Efforts to Halt the Red Army 108
  - The Partisans 110
  - ‘Operation Citadel’ 113
- 4. The Soviet Union on the Offensive 122
  - Battles for the Ukraine 122
  - The Relief of Leningrad 126
  - ‘Operation Bagration’ 127
  - The Destruction of Army Groups North and South 135
  - The Battle for Berlin 138
- 5. Assessment 143
Part Two: Documents 149
- 2 Hitler letter to Mussolini, 21 June 1941 150
- 1 Nazi–Soviet Pact, 23 August 1939 150
- 3 Directive for ‘Operation Barbarossa’ 151
- 4 Directive for Special Areas during ‘Operation Barbarossa,’ 13 March 1941 152
- 5 Decree for the Conduct of Courts-Martial in the East, 13 May 1941 153
- 6 ‘Commissar Decree,’ 6 June 1941 153
- 7 Stalin’s speech on 3 July 1941 154
- 8 Decree on the Treatment of Civilians, 23 July 1941 155
- 9 Halder’s Diary, 3 July 1941 155
- 10 Halder’s Diary, 11 August 1941 156
- 11 Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau’s order, 10 October 1941 156
- 12 Hitler comments on motorization, 29 October 1941 157
- 13 Order for German forces to go on the defensive, 8 December 1941 158
- 14 Hitler comments on the winter 1941–42, 12 and 17 January 1942 158
- 15 Order for ‘Operation Blue,’ 5 April 1942 159
- 16 Soviet order concerning discipline in the Red Army, 28 July 1942 159
- 17 A German witness to a mass shooting, 5–6 October 1942 160
- 18 A German soldier describes the retreat in the Ukraine, Summer 1943 161
- 20 A Soviet soldier reports on combat during ‘Operation Bagration,’ 29 June 1944 162
- 19 ‘Fortified Areas’ Order, 8 March 1944 162
- 21 A German soldier reports on fighting on the Eastern Front, 14 January 1945 163
- 23 Hitler’s Last Proclamation to the Eastern Front, 15 April 1945 164
- 22 Decree for the destruction of German industry, 30 March 1945 164
Further Reading 167
References 171
Index 175

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