Ostfront 1944: The German Defensive Battles on the Russian Front 1944 (Schiffer military history) [Hardcover]

Alex Buchner (Author)

Book Description

Series: Schiffer military history | Publication Date: November 1, 1991

OSTFRONT 1944: The German Defensive Battles on the Russian Front in 1944 Alex Buchner. In 1944, when the entire Russo-German front was ""ablaze"" under continual Soviet attacks, wrong estimations by the highest German command led to critical decisions with

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.; First edition (November 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887402828
• ISBN-13: 978-0887402821
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #579,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent blend of tactics with personal accounts, October 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ostfront 1944: The German Defensive Battles on the Russian Front 1944 (Schiffer military history) (Hardcover)

I was lucky enough to find this book at a local book store. If you can find it, buy it. It documents six eastern front battles in 1944 where large numbers of German troops were surrounded and eventually destroyed or captured. Battles include Cherkassy, Ternopol, the Crimea, Bagration, Brody, and destruction of the Sixth Army in Romania. The book puts the history in very personal terms. A few soldiers were lucky enough to escape the pockets, sometimes traveling up to six weeks behind Russian lines before being reunited with the German army. There are many personal accounts of the behind thelines adventures, and they are the most captivating reading.

The book is compelling for it's account of the horrors of war, and the massive destruction that the German Army suffered on the eastern front, in terms of men, machines, and horses. The book is written from a former german soldier turned historian, so there is an obvous pro-german army bias in recounting the suffering and difficulties, but I did not find that detracting from work. My only complaint is that there are few maps, and the ones provided are poor.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Other Side of the Coin, March 25, 2005

By 

F. A Castellon "Prime" (Silver Spring, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ostfront 1944: The German Defensive Battles on the Russian Front 1944 (Schiffer military history) (Hardcover)

This is a very interesting book because if one thinks of it, the reverse of everything that is discussed in this book about the Germans in 1944, the encircliments, the retreats and above all the dispair of the poor soldiers could have been written about the RUSSIANs in 1941-42. This book though, touches on the German side of the coin and how desperate they were to just survive and not be capture.

The outline of this book is one that all books should fallow. It starts out with a Situational map of the battle. Than it tells you how the battle was fought, where the engagements took place, the penetrations and in the end gives you direct stories from the survivors. That is a great way to read a book as you get all information you could ever need. The first Chapter on the Cherkassy Pocket was great and is worth you just buying the book.

All people in wars suffer, wheather you are the defender or the aggressor, winning or losing. To every one, death comes to rob you of your future moments, so as only memories live of you. Wheather it was a worthy cause or not, all one can do is give his best and try to survive. For the Germans in 1944, it was a bitter year, fallowed by the end the next. How they might have felt or thought, is written in this book. Would you feel pity for them after all you know now? Read and find out, after all we are all just people of flesh and blood.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Coverage Of An Area Not Well Covered In The West, March 5, 2006

By 

SEAN MCATEER "Red Sox Fan and Deadhead" (Cranston, R.I. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ostfront 1944: The German Defensive Battles on the Russian Front 1944 (Schiffer military history) (Hardcover)

This book is a well-written account containing many first person accounts not translated into English anywhere else.

The prior reviewer from Greece needs to understand, 1) this book does not cover the Soviet side purposefully...hint, check the subtitle--this is a history of the German battles....it does not pretend to be anything else than a narrative of events from the GERMAN side, and, 2) Stemmerman was made commander of both 11th and 42nd Corps within the pocket...Lieb remained commander of 42nd, Stemmerman of 11th, but the pocket commander and Lieb's immediate superior was Stemmerman.


Perhaps the man from Greece should check out "Hell's Gate".