From the Don to the Dnepr: Soviet Offensive Operations, December 1942 - August 1943 (Soviet (Russian) Military Experience) [Paperback]

David M. Glantz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0714640646 | ISBN-13: 978-0714640648 | Publication Date: January 2, 1992 | Edition: annotated edition

This book provides an in-depth study of the Soviet Army during the offensive operations that started with Battle of Stalingrad in December 1942 and went until Spring 1943. The lessons learned by the Soviet Army from these experiences helped design the military steamroller that decimated the German panzer divisions at Kursk in the Summer of 1943.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; annotated edition edition (January 2, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714640646
• ISBN-13: 978-0714640648
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,353,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David M Glantz is a former US Army intelligence specialist with a unique knowledge of the Russian army and Russian military history. His WHEN TITANS CLASHED is the standard single volume account of the war in Russia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good and detailed account of Russian Front operations, April 5, 2000

By 

Otavio Maia Chelotti (Swizerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From the Don to the Dnepr: Soviet Offensive Operations, December 1942 - August 1943 (Soviet (Russian) Military Experience) (Paperback)

"From the Don to the Dnepr" is a very detailed operational account, primarily from the Russian point of view, of offensive Soviet operations on the Southern Front in the period after the encirclement of Stalingrad to the post-Kursk offensive to retake Kharkov.

As usual in Glantz's books the level of detail is very impressive, especially when one considers that, due to the age of the book, it was written with relatively less access to Soviet sources. The OBs presented, for instance, lack the thoroughness that one has come to expect in his latest books.

On the other hand, it is drier and more "professional" in approach, without the somewhat irritating flights of rethoric or use of hackneyed expressions that sometimes afflict his latest work, in special "Operation Mars" and "The Battle for Kursk". Maps are somewhat rudimentary, but much more plentiful and easier to read than in the books mentioned above.

The book is esential reading for anyone interested in the history of the Russian Front, especially as it covers in great detail a period that tends to be overshadowed by Stalingrad and Kursk.

Incidentally, it is worth mentioning that Operation Rumyantsev, the Soviet counterattack after the defeat of the German offensive at Kursk, is covered in far greater detail in this book than in his subsequent work.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A balance of detail and readability unsurpassed, September 29, 2003

By 

G. B. Caygill (Lower Hutt, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: From the Don to the Dnepr: Soviet Offensive Operations, December 1942 - August 1943 (Soviet (Russian) Military Experience) (Paperback)

Glantz draws extensively, but not exclusively on Soviet sources, and gives detailed strategic and operational overview of the fighting in the Don area after Stalingrad. What I appreciated most was the detail in the perspective of situations facing the Germans and Russians, and where their planning differed in both time scale and flexibility. How Manstein managed to achieve a counteroffensive move whilst STAVKA still interpreted the moves as a withdrawl to the Dnepr is instructive.

The style used in this work is slightly less exhaustive than that used in Kursk and the better for it. Best estimates for the ground forces of both sides are given, but it would have been desirable to mention air assets and sortie information also (this is hardly a criticsm as this information is almost never included in WW2 studies).

Overall one of the best works on the development of operations on the Eastern Front showing understanding of the problems facing both sides.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting but incomplete, May 31, 2004

By 

Czerwiñski Ukasz "filuh" (Poland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: From the Don to the Dnepr: Soviet Offensive Operations, December 1942 - August 1943 (Soviet (Russian) Military Experience) (Paperback)

unfortunately, this book, with all of its very useful info, tells only the story of russian offesnsive in the south during winter 42/43 and of the rumyantsev operation in the summer of 43. It lacks the info about the southern and southwestern fronts offensive during summer 43, not mentioning the northern part of the theather. also missed the averall race to the dneper. Not an exhausting book. And the price is too high.