Chief Culprit: Stalin's Grand Design to Start World War II [Hardcover]

Viktor Suvorov (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 14, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1591148383 | ISBN-13: 978-1591148388 | Edition: 1St Edition

Bestselling author Victor Suvorov probes newly released Soviet documents and reevaluates existing material to analyze Stalin's strategic design to conquer Europe and the reasons behind his controversial support for Nazi Germany. A former Soviet army intelligence officer, the author explains that Stalin's strategy leading up to World War II grew from Vladimir Lenin's belief that if World War I did not ignite the worldwide Communist revolution, then a second world war would be needed to achieve it. Stalin saw Nazi Germany as the power that would fight and weaken capitalist countries so that Soviet armies could then sweep across Europe. Suvorov reveals how Stalin conspired with German leaders to bypass the Versailles Treaty, which forbade German rearmament, and secretly trained German engineers and officers and provided bases and factories for war. He also calls attention to the 1939 nonaggression pact between the Soviet Union and Germany that allowed Hitler to proceed with his plans to invade Poland, fomenting war in Europe.

Suvorov debunks the theory that Stalin was duped by Hitler and that the Soviet Union was a victim of Nazi aggression. Instead, he makes the case that Stalin neither feared Hitler nor mistakenly trusted him. Suvorov maintains that after Germany occupied Poland, defeated France, and started to prepare for an invasion of Great Britain, Hitler's intelligence services detected the Soviet Union's preparations for a major war against Germany. This detection, he argues, led to Germany's preemptive war plan and the launch of an invasion of the USSR. Stalin emerges from the pages of this book as a diabolical genius consumed by visions of a worldwide Communist revolution at any cost--a leader who wooed Hitler and Germany in his own effort to conquer the world. In contradicting traditional theories about Soviet planning, the book is certain to provoke debate among historians throughout the world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A provocative study…compelling...A highly controversial study, Suvorov's book is nevertheless well researched and warrants further examination into this critical period in the history of the war."



-- War in History --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

VIKTOR SUVOROV is the author of eighteen books that have been translated into more than twenty languages, including Inside the Aquarium: The Making of a Top Soviet Spy and Icebreaker: Who Started the Second World War? A Soviet army officer who served in military intelligence, he defected in 1978 to the United Kingdom, where he worked as an intelligence analyst and lecturer. He lives in England.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press; 1St Edition edition (November 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591148383
• ISBN-13: 978-1591148388
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.9 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #894,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 68 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Suvorov is absolutely brilliant January 27, 2009

By Karun Mukherji

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have read Suvorov's books. But this one is exceptionally brilliant,for it contains some stunning facts and disclosures which kept me spellbound.

For me every para, every page ,every chapter of this book were a revelation. Military buffs you will never regret exploring it ; if not , you have missed something

Firstly,author impugns the established wisdom on World War II Soviet Union was an innocent victim of Nazi aggression. Suvorov argues Stalin hatched plans to invade Germany. Exploiting German preoccupation in the West ,he started massing troops along the border as a prelude to launching a war of liberation. Soviet dictator succeeded in entangling Nazi Germany in a war with Western democracies. Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact and carve-up of Poland was a step in this direction.

Stalin had aggressive intentions and Suvorov has adduced arguments buttressing this view. If Red Army planned a defensive war they should have entrenched behind a web of obstacles ,entanglements. This would have slowed an invading force giving sufficient room for a defending army to launch a counter-strike;for instance, Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943. Instead,author argues, Soviets did things to the contrary.Buffer space was demolished as a result nation came to share a common border with Nazi Germany.Bridges across rivers Bug,Vistula were kept intact.while Red Army erected supply dumps,ammunition depots,airbases closer to the border. What were they for? Sounds shocking.

Author dwells on the nature of Soviet troop deployment.Immense concentration of forces in narrow strips of land which wedged deep into enemy territory. For a nation planning a defensive war this tantamount to suicide. Of particular significance is massing of Soviet forces along the Lvov bulge.Thrust from here along the north western axis toward Baltic coast would have severed Wehrmacht from its supply bases in Germany apart from depriving it of precious oil from Ploeisti in Romania.A maneuver of unprecedented strategic beauty ,a lethal blow which would have destroyed Germany in one shot.Unfortunately for Stalin ,Hitler guessed axe was about to fall upon his neck and swiftly acted to prevent it. Therefore Field Marshal Keitel's comments that Soviets planned a first strike and Germans preempted it stands vindicated.

Suvorov debunks the argument the Red army was an ill-trained,ill-equipped ,poorly-led rabble.Author argues Red Army was primarily trained for offensive and capable of carrying war into enemy territory. Most striking comment is about winter war with Finland which author argues Red army won but was mistakenly assessed by the West. Also details about Soviet TB-7 strategic bomber were terrific. Further author has made narration lively by using metaphors. I liked Suvorov's didactic, simple ,clear writing. I take this opportunity to appeal to publishers kindly make Suvorov's other titles available in English.

The book was an eye-opener to me. For years Soviet propaganda tried to convince that Nazi Germany launched a sneak attack. Author has shown this to be a hoax. World escaped a Soviet-style revolution only by a whisker. Ironically, it was Hitler who averted this calamity.Finally,author while accusing the Bolsheviks of using all forms of aliases for concealing their identities himself has used a pseudonym to cloak his identity which again is ironical.

88 of 102 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Kudos to Suvorov November 23, 2008

By Dr. W. Peters

Format:Hardcover

Viktor Suvorov in his book Ice Breaker and his new work The Chief Culprit gives the real history behind World War II in Europe. He moves the whole question beyond the wooden typical explanation of the Germano-Soviet conflict into a titanic conflict for the survival of Europe against massive odds.

Joseph Stalin brutalized the Russian people to produce the largest military machine the world has ever seen for one purpose - World Revolution. In the book Hitler's Stooge, Soviet figures are revealed that show Soviet Communists were responsible for the deaths of 132 million people of the Soviet Union from 1917-1989. This was the human cost of the Soviet build up.

The typical history is that Russia was backward, their equipment poor, and the army badly trained. Suvorov goes into excruciating detail about the high quality and astronomical quantity of Soviet weaponry. And, of course, of Stalin's long term plan to invade and conquer Europe in the summer of 1941 - so that Europeans could also enjoy the wonderful benefits of the Gulag.

The only problem with the book is that the print is quite small, and may be a problem for some people. It should have been a larger size for easier readability.

It is hoped that the success of this book will encourage the author to have his other works upon the subject translated into English to further flesh out the history and understanding of Stalin's plan.

This is history at its best. That the world dodged the bullet of World Revolution by less than 2 weeks in 1941 is a revelation deserving of our attention. This is a definite "must read" for everyone interested in the background of World War II, and of Stalin and his dream.

47 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Great Conspiracy December 8, 2008

By Marcus Laver

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The core of Suvorov's argument is that there was a giant Communist conspiracy in Europe in the 1930s and early 40s to enable the Soviet Union to smash its way into the West and fulfil its objective of world revolution. This book goes much further than 'Icebreaker' to explain Stalin's behaviour towards Hitler in the period leading up to the start of the Russo-German war in June 1941. Stalin studied Nazi ideology and Hitler's book 'Mein Kampf' in considerable detail. He always knew Hitler would attack him, so he set out to prepare the Soviet Union for war - not just any war, but a total, global war. The only thing that Stalin was not expecting was a German attack in 1941; he believed Hitler would not attack while the UK was still in the war. But Stalin's foresight ensured that even after suffering huge defeats in the Western USSR, he could continue the war perfectly well, in the knowledge that most of the heavy production factories were well established in the Urals.

For Stalin, Germany was the gateway to the West. He needed to smash it in order to spread his ideology to Western Europe and beyond. After reading this book it becomes pretty clear that Hitler not only had no choice but to invade the USSR, but that his failure to defeat Britain in 1940 guaranteed his defeat.