Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War [Hardcover]

Rodric Braithwaite (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2006

A brilliantly researched and realized history, an essential addition to the literature of World War II.

The 1941 Battle of Moscow—unquestionably one of the most decisive battles of the Second World War—marked the first strategic defeat of the German armed forces in their seemingly unstoppable march across Europe. The Soviets lost many more people in that one battle than the British and Americans lost in the whole of the war. Now, with authority and narrative power, Rodric Braithwaite tells the story in large part through the individual experiences of ordinary Russian men and women.

Setting his narrative firmly against the background of Moscow and its people, Braithwaite begins in early 1941, when the Soviet Union was still untouched by the war raging to the west. We see how—despite abundant secret intelligence—the breaching of the border by the Wehrmacht in June took the country by surprise, and how, when the Germans pushed to Moscow in November, the Red Army and the capital’s inhabitants undertook to defend their city. Finally, in the winter of 1941–1942, they turned the Germans back on the very outskirts.

Braithwaite’s dramatic, richly illustrated narrative of the military action offers telling portraits of Stalin and his generals. By interweaving the personal remembrances of soldiers, politicians, writers, artists, workers, and schoolchildren, he gives us an unprecedented understanding of how the war affected the daily life of Moscow, and of the extraordinary bravery, endurance, and sacrifice—both voluntary and involuntary—that was required of its citizens.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1941, Moscow was ruled by Stalin and besieged by Hitler's armies, so it teemed with disagreeable characters, tragic events and a great deal of unrewarded heroism. Although the siege was a miserable experience for Muscovites, readers will enjoy reading about it. Braithwaite (Russia in Europe) was British ambassador from 1988 to 1992, so he clearly knows Russia. Early 1941 was a modestly hopeful time: a short-llived decrease in arrests after the massive purges of the '30s coincided with an increase in food in the stores. The official press had lavished praise on the 1939 Nazi-Soviet Friendship Pact, but by spring 1941 many Soviet leaders had seen enough evidence to convince them of an imminent German invasion. But the paranoid Stalin suspected an Allied plot to take the pressure off Britain, so Hitler's June 22 attack devastated Russia's unprepared troops. By autumn, Wermacht armies were threatening the capital, leading to the greatest battle in history, with more than 900,000 Russian deaths—more than all WWII British and American casualties combined. Most accounts emphasize the fighting, but Braithwaite mixes interviews, diaries, memoirs and letters to portray the reactions of dozens of individuals to that catastrophic year. This is an absorbing contribution to what he considers WWII's turning point. (Sept. 30)
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From The New Yorker

As German troops approached Moscow in June, 1941, two million people were evacuated from the city, in seventy thousand trainloads, including forty carriages and thirty-five freight cars carrying the sets, staff, and props of the Bolshoi Theatre. But, after a brief spell during which Stalin seemed paralyzed—and despite his habit of having his own generals shot—the Russians turned and attacked. Braithwaite concludes that it was not, as the Germans liked to claim, the Russian winter that undid the Wehrmacht; rather, an unexpectedly strong Soviet counteroffensive delivered Hitler's first major defeat. The cost included almost a million Soviet soldiers dead. Braithwaite, who was Britain's Ambassador to Moscow from 1988 to 1992, interviewed a remarkable range of Muscovites for the book, from students and nurses who joined the fight to a metro worker who dug Stalin's secret bunker, and he has produced a symphonic evocation of a great city at war.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Knopf (September 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400044308
• ISBN-13: 978-1400044306
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #463,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fight for Mother Russia, December 3, 2006

By 

Christian Schlect (Yakima, Washington/USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War (Hardcover)

Ambassador Braithwaite has written a fine book for the person interested in one of history's greatest battles, that for Moscow in 1941. While lightly covering the direct military engagement, the focus really is on the civilians in Moscow and how they heroically survived the threat of the German army, harsh weather, scant supplies, and their own, often dysfunctional, leadership. Or, died trying.

If you are only familiar with the U.S. and British work against the Germans in World War II, buy and read this book.

(The British ambassador's earlier book on events in Moscow from 1988-1992--Across the Moscow River: The World Turned Upside Down---is one I also recommend.)

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Stars of Death stood over us, January 26, 2007

By 

Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War (Hardcover)

and innocent Russia squirmed
under the bloody boots . . . "
Anna Akhmatova: "Requiem"

After June 22, 1941, when Hitler's armies launched a massive invasion of the Soviet Union, it is fair to say that Russia squirmed not (just) under the boots of the NKVD (the actual subject of Akmatova's poem) but under the boots of millions of German soldiers, under the treads of thousands of German tanks, and under the bombs of thousands of German bombers.

The first year or so of the war on the eastern front saw the Germans advance toward Moscow, Leningrad, and Stalingrad. Historical accounts of the battles of Stalingrad and Leningrad are legion. For some reason, accounts of the advance on Moscow have commanded less attention even though the Battle of Moscow was fought over territory the size of France and involved seven million soldiers. Rodric Braithwaite, former British Ambassador to the USSR/CIS from 1988 through 1992, has evened the scales a bit in his well-crafted "Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War".

"Moscow 1941" is not a military history of the Battle of Moscow. Although there are maps and a discussion of the key battles sufficient to give the reader a feel for the order of battle, this is really a compilation of stories about how Moscow and its citizens dealt with the war and the threat of the approaching German armies. As such it has something of the feel of an oral history about it. Joseph Stalin is reputed to have said: "[a] single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." Braithwaite has taken the Battle of Moscow and interlaced a general discussion of the battle with the accounts of soldiers, schoolgirls, actors, factory workers, party leaders, and people from all walks and stations of life. In so doing he has taken the story of the Battle of Moscow out of the realm of statistic and into the realm of tragedy, survival and, ultimately, triumph.

I found Braithwaite's writing style to be to the point. His writing is concise and not overly dramatic or florid. He seems content (rightfully I think) to let his sources speak for themselves. Braithwaite also does a good job providing general background information sufficient for any reader not thoroughly immersed in the history of the USSR to get a feel for the socio-political context of the times. Braithwaite provides a concise summary of the events leading up to the war on the eastern front, including Stalin's devastating purge of the Red Army's high command (from Tukachevsky on down through the officer ranks) to the Army's poor showing in its Winter War with Finland in the winter of 1940-1941.

I think that Braithwaite's "Moscow 1941" makes for a valuable addition to the historical record of the war on the eastern front. In particular I think Braithwaite has done an excellent job in personalizing one of World War II's greatest battles by presenting the reader with some insight into how it must have felt to be a citizen of Moscow during those dark hours. I was pleased to see Braithwaite make ample use of some excellent source material. For example, Braithwaite makes good use of the war reporting of Soviet author and journalist Vasily Grossman whose war reporting was admired by millions of Soviet soldiers and citizens. (I think Antony Beevor's "A Writer at War: Vasily Grossman with the Red Army 1941-1945" makes an excellent companion volume for "Moscow 1941".)

Rodric Braithwaite's "Moscow 1941" is an excellent popular history of the Moscow home front during the early stages of World War II on the eastern front. I think it can be enjoyed by those with any level of interest or knowledge of the subject matter. Highly Recommended. L. Fleisig

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Moscow 1941 is a riveting account of HItler vs. Stalin in the bloody summer and fall of 1941, February 6, 2007

By 

C. M Mills "Michael Mills" (Knoxville Tennessee) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War (Hardcover)

Sir Winston Churchill cogently described Russia as "an enigma wrapped in a mystery.' The Russian soul has endured centuries of oppression by tsars and dictators. The Russian soul has produced geniuses in literature such as Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Chekhov and many others; musicians such as Tchiakovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Rachmaninoff to name a few. The Russians are a tough lot. Napoleon discovered that following his disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812. Adolf Hitler and the over three million man army he launched against his erstwhile ally the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 would learn this sanguinary lesson as well.
Over 80& of German casualties in World War II took place in the Eastern Theatre of War. Statistics show that for every American/ British soldier who died in battle, eighty-five Russians died. Over 25 million Soviet soldiers and civilians died in the struggle of the two worst dictatorship of the twentieth century.
Stalin ruled the Soviet Union with cunning, unbelieavable cynicism and cruelty on a monumental scale of evil. He had murdered many of his leading generals in pre-WW II purges. Millions had been sent to the gulags in Siberia while whole peoples suffered cruel deportations. The Soviet Union was a land under lock and key in 1941. Famine, starvation and disease ran rampant. The Soviets did have a mechanized army and after the shock of the Nazis suprise attack rebounded to fight the Germans to the hilt in the battle of Moscow costing them almost one million casualties. Such battles as Kursk, Leningrad and Stalingrad destroyed Hitler's Faustian dream of world conquest and destuction of Communism.
Bratihwaite was British ambassador to Russia from 1988-1992. His book is based on countless first person accounts from survivors and their family members. He knows the primary and secondary literature on the little reported battle of Moscow. He writes with sober insight. Many readers will be amazed at the horrific events this popular historian describes in detail which is easy to understand for the non-military buff.
This book is recommended for anyone interested in World War II; Stalin and the Soviet Empire.