Russia's Heroes, 1941-45: An Epic Account of Struggle and Survival on the Eastern Front [Hardcover]

Albert Axell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 2001 | Series: The Mammoth Book Series

For four years in World War II, out of an unquestioned love for their mother country, the Russian people heroically defended their soil with their blood -- most famously, as Harrison Evans Salisbury has demonstrated in The 900 Days, in the siege of Leningrad, and as Antony Beevor has shown in his monumental Stalingrad. This new volume by historian Albert Axell captures in full the valor of the sons and daughters, soldiers and villagers, Cossacks and snipers who battled in Moscow and Stalingrad, in the Caucasus and the Arctic, at the Brest fortress and Kursk Bulge. Their defense of Mother Russia, the battlefront that in World War II dwarfed all others, turned the tide of the war against Hitler and enabled the western democratic forces to reduce dramatically the number of their casualties. From the account of the aging Russian general who suffered drenchings in ice-cold water rather than collaborate with his Nazi captors to that of the nineteen-year-old private who flung himself on the gun port of a German pillbox so that his comrades could advance, these pages not only chronicle extraordinary selfless acts of heroism but also rectify an astonishing oversight in innumerable histories of World War II. The stories throughout are altogether remarkable -- like that of Alexei Maresyev, the pilot who crash-landed his plane, crawled in the snow for two weeks with the two broken legs he eventually lost, and with a pair of artificial limbs returned to the air to continue the fight for the country of his blood -- and dramatically illustrate how deeply patriotism and bravery lie in the Russian soul.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A journalist formerly stationed in Moscow, Albert Axell (Stalin's War, etc.) aims to raise some profiles with Russia's Heroes: 1941-45, his collected tales of wartime heroics by patriots defending the Motherland including Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, a highly literate young woman who fought with a guerrilla unit combating the Germans, and the "Night Witch" who belonged to a squadron of young women who flew risky starlight raids in open cockpit biplanes. While a mostly standard account, the names (otherwise mostly male) and exploits should will be unfamiliar except for that of Stalin's son, a Red Army lieutenant taken captive by a panzer unit.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The Soviet-German war produced, in the words of Marshall Zhukov, "many battalions of heroes" on the Soviet side. Most, if not all, are unknown to Western readers, and Axell (Stalin's War) has done a good service in narrating their exploits. He properly underlines the intense, almost mystical devotion Russians feel for their country, never more so than when Russia is battling for its existence. His sources here are personal accounts, interviews, and published records, and his focus is upon a kaleidoscope of heroism: the defense of the Brest fortress, women fighter pilots, partisans, snipers, pilot "rammers" of Nazi aircraft, Cossacks, and 100 Jewish generals, among others. Some accounts are rather fragmentary, but the overall effect is to provoke wonder and admiration even now, 60 years later. While there are books that say something about individual heroic exploits within a section of the war (e.g., Antony Beevor's Stalingrad, LJ 5/15/98), none so thoroughly examines the subject over the whole canvas of the Soviet-German war. This book should appeal to all those interested in World War II and the almost unbelievable Soviet resistance to Hitler's armies. Robert Johnston, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, Ont.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers; First edition (June 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786708565
• ISBN-13: 978-0786708567
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,654,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courage and Sacrifice, October 17, 2001

By 

Chapulina R (Tovarischi Imports, USA/RUS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Russia's Heroes, 1941-45: An Epic Account of Struggle and Survival on the Eastern Front (Hardcover)

This book contains a series of anecdotally-presented portraits of Soviet sacrifice and courage during the four years of War. When the immensely powerful German forces invaded on 22-June 1941, neither the Allies nor the Nazis believed that Russia could long endure. Hitler had stated at a conference of his generals that Russia was to be "annihilated", her cities and everyone within to be destroyed. No one expected the resolve of the people to resist and defend their land. Noted historian Albert Axell compiled many of these portraits of ordinary Soviet soldiers and their often extraordinary heroism from his personal interviews with veterans and/or their surviving families. Others derive from Western eye-witness sources and German military records. The end result is an apolitical collection, free from Soviet wartime hagiographics -- for the most part, that is. Included, notwithstanding, are the romanticized legends from frontline propaganda: teenaged partisan Zoya Kosmodem'yanskaya's patriotic exhortations following her unspeakable torture, and sniper Vasiliy Zaitsev's duel with the German master-shooter. But the majority of the narratives are straight-forward, unembellished recollections. Also featured are biographies of less famous but no less proficient snipers Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Fyodor Okhlopkov, and Nina Lobkovskaya. Here, too, are accounts of the defense of the Fortress of Brest, and anecdotes of civilian valor during the battle of Stalingrad and the blockade of Leningrad. Here are interviews with Nadya Popova, a pilot from an all-female bomber regiment; Alexei Mares'yev, a pilot who lost his legs but returned to fly with artificial limbs; and a few desperate aviators who survived "taran" (ramming) Luftwaffe planes. And here is the fate of Yakov Dzhugashvili, a POW disowned by his father, Josef Stalin. Among "Russia's Heroes" are representatives of a wide spectrum of Soviet citizens: Ukrainians, Georgians, Siberians, Eastern Asians, Cossack cavalrymen, and Jewish generals. As a daughter of a seaCaptain of the North Atlantic Convoys, I'm especially proud that Allied merchant mariners had been honored as Soviet heroes and are included in this book! In recent years many of the specific topics of Axell's research have been presented in greater depth, but "Russia's Heroes" provides a fast-paced and fascinating overall view of the human dimension on the Eastern Front.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tough People, December 23, 2003

By 

T. Corbett (dallas tx.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Russia's Heroes, 1941-1945 (Paperback)

This book is full of stories of brave men and women who fought a monstrous evil, did not whine about it, did not expect or ask for help.
They suffered dearly and were some of the bravest fighters ever.
Think of the Alamo defenders on a huge scale.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Debt Owed To So Many, April 3, 2011

By 

Randall Stephens (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Russia's Heroes, 1941-1945 (Paperback)

On my first visits to Russia I would occasionally encounter an elderly person who would mention American lend - lease contributions to the defense of the USSR during their youth, and they would say thanks.

As I read this amazing book, "Russia's Heroes, 1941-445" by Albert Axell the feelings of debt and gratitude to the selfless sacrifice of so many "Soviet" men, women and children deepened.

From the defense of Brest to the "Night Witches" flying Polikarpov biplanes at Novorossisk, to the sniper wars and the memory families lost to the murderous Nazi horde - I will never forget to thank those who did not turn back and fought to their last breath for freedom, life and ultimate liberty at such a horrible cost.

Thank YOU!