The Russian Front 1941-1945 (Cassell Military) [Hardcover]

Bob Carruthers (Author), John Erickson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2000 | Series: Cassell Military

Relive campaign by campaign and battle by battle the bloody war between Nazi Germany and the Red Army of the Soviet Union. Featuring riveting first hand accounts and rare archive photographs from the front, this fascinating volume retells a story of barbarism, heroism, self-sacrifice, patriotism, despair, and triumph. An epic history of war and warfare, it is also the story of ordinary soldiers on both sides who found themselves fighting to the death in an unimaginably harsh and brutal war. 224 pages, 100 color illus., 300 b/w illus., 8 1/4 x 11 1/2.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The Russian Front chronicles the war between the Soviet Union and Germany that began on June 22, 1941, when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, and ended with a Soviet assault on Berlin in April 1945. Among the military campaigns examined is the brutal battle for Stalingrad in 1942, in which the Red Army lost more than 1 million men in defense of the city, and the engagement at Kursk in July 1943 involving 1 million men and 2,700 tanks. The authors are military historians; their book, illustrated with frightening archive photographs, is a remarkable account of a savage conflict. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Bob Carruthers is a filmmaker and producer of TV historical documentaries, of all periods, sold and broadcast around the world. He specialises in military history. Professor John Erickson is a noted historian and widely published author. John Erickson was an Honorary Fellow in Defence Studies and Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh. He was a leading authority on the Soviet German War and lectured on Soviet German affairs at the universities of Oxfod, St Andrews and Manchester as well as a number of American universities.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Sterling; First edition (June 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0304353728
• ISBN-13: 978-0304353729
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,693,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent overview of the Eastern Front, February 16, 2001

By 

A Reader (CA, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Russian Front 1941-1945 (Cassell Military) (Hardcover)

This book is a great overview of the Eastern Front campaign. With Erickson's insights there is plenty of balance in the book regarding German vs Russian bias. My only real complaint is that the later Russian offensives are given less coverage compared to the intial German attacks. Overall though if you are new to the Eastern Front or just want a quick overview as a refresher or just a good read you can't go wrong with this book.

While I have not seen the video series of the same name this book seems to be a companion to it with lots of quotes from the videos.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Woeful!, June 28, 2002

By 

Horemheb (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Russian Front 1941-1945 (Cassell Military) (Hardcover)

Appallingly amateurish effort that looks like it was assembled by a comittee of pre-schoolers. Atrocious spelling and grammar (whatever happened to proofreading?), text that rambles and, towards the end becomes more or less incoherent, text and photographs repeated - sometimes laughably so - one photo is provided with a caption indicating the subjects are vanquished Germans, then a few pages later, the same photo is described as depicting victorious Russians. The text waffles on interminably about "the horror" and "the inhumanity" etc etc, and detail is sacrificed for hyperbole. Few if any good points - some of the photos at least are new and worth seeing - but on the whole, this theatre of the war has been well-described in many other, much more worthy books, Alan Clark's "Barbarossa", for one. My advice is to try one of those and don't waste your precious time on this shabby effort.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but muddled effort, June 5, 2001

By 

D. Held (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Russian Front 1941-1945 (Cassell Military) (Hardcover)

Interesting, but muddled effort covering the major campaigns of "Operation Barbarossa".

Lavishly Illustrated, one might even call it a coffee table book. This volume mixes a straight history of the major campaigns such as Stalingrad, Kursk and the Battle of Berlin with graphically pleasing side bars and "articles" on various aspects of the conflict such as the Panzer Tank, Artillery pieces, etc.

Told from an unabashedly, one might even say approvingly German point-of-view, there are serious errors and omissions. Embarassingly, one picture appears in two different places (pg 164 and 175) with two different captions. The side bar comments by Professor Erickson (The Road to Stalingrad, The Road to Berlin), obviously taken from the video series, on which this book is based, are strange and, at times woefully inaccurate. Witness comments on the Soviet Partisan Movement: "It was unrestricted barbaric warfare because partisans made war in a particularly merciless fashion, killing Germans and carrying out atrocities (sic!). The Germans, in return made war in an even more merciless fashion upon the partisans." Actually, it was the Nazis that initiated the atrocities against the local population and the partisans!

However, the main body narrative is informative and moves in a brisk, journalistic pace. An Interesting "article" on the Leuthen Project, which I have never heard of appears on page 163. It was a last-ditch effort at troop deployment in the waning days of the War. Strategic narratives by several German Generals were particularly informative. Overall a good first book for newcomers to the War in the East.