The Second World War (5) The Eastern Front 1941-1945 [Paperback]

D. M. Horner (Author), Geoffrey Jukes (Author)

Book Description

Series: Essential Histories | Publication Date: July 25, 2002

In 1940, fresh from the success in France, Hitler turned his attention to the East. In this volume Geoffrey Jukes explains what led to Hitler's decision to instigate the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) and offers a concise account of the campaign that followed. The Germans expected to conquer Russia in only four months, but at Stalingrad and then Kursk the Russians fought back. At a human cost of 27 million Soviet lives Hitler was forced into a humiliating retreat and Russia emerged from the war as a super power ready to take on the capitalist world.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This unique series studies every major war in history looking at all the aspects of war, from how it felt to be a soldier to the lasting impact of the conflict on the world around it.

About the Author

After leaving Oxford in 1953 Geoffrey Jukes spent 14 years in the UK Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Colonial Office, specialising in Russian/Soviet military history, strategy and arms control. From 1967 to 1993 he was also on the staff of the Australian National University. He has written five books and numerous articles on the Eastern Front in the two World Wars.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (July 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841763918
• ISBN-13: 978-1841763910
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,162,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction, April 28, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Second World War (5) The Eastern Front 1941-1945 (Paperback)

Since short overviews of the Russo-German front in WWII are hard to come by, I would recommend the book just on the basis of slotting into that gap. The author makes use of archival information released since the fall of the Soviet Union, so is more up to date than many books on the Russian front. Many casualty figures gleaned from this new information are presented--though the author dwells on them perhaps a little too much for my taste. The maps in the book are essentially adequate, but I would have liked a specific map of the front in June 44, since frequent mention is made in the text of the "balcony" salient held by Army Group Center at the time--without a specific map it is hard to visualize what is meant by the "balcony", though of course those familiar with the war will know. The Stalingrad campaign is actually the portion of the war covered at most length, even moreso than the initial invasion. There are many photos, some in color. One color photo shows some German soldiers on the open steppe with a blue sky in the background--looking at it, I almost felt I was there myself in 1941 plunging into the unknown depths of Russia. My bottom line is, though probably not the best short introductory book possible on the subject, this book is certainly worth the price tag.