Soviet Blitzkrieg: The Battle for White Russia, 1944 (Stackpole Military History Series) [Paperback]

Walter S. Dunn Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2008

Two weeks after the Americans, British, and Canadians invaded Western Europe on D-Day, June 6, 1944, the Soviet Union launched Operation Bagration on the Eastern Front, its massive attempt to clear German forces from Belarus. In one of the largest military campaigns of all time, involving two million Soviets and 800,000 Germans, the Red Army advanced 170 miles in two weeks and destroyed German Army Group Center. Using recently declassified Soviet documents as well as German and Soviet unit histories, Dunn recounts this landmark operation of World War II.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Well researched and vividly told…both entertaining and informative. --Armor magazine

A concise, well-organized battle analysis. --The Journal of Military History

About the Author

Walter S. Dunn, Jr., is the author of Stalin's Keys to Victory (9780811734233), Kursk (9780275957339), and Hitler s Nemesis (9780275948948)

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (March 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081173482X
• ISBN-13: 978-0811734820
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,088,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > History > Asia > Belarus

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece of World War II History, March 11, 2000

By 

Tim Elliot (West Des Moines, IA.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soviet Blitzkrieg: The Battle for White Russia, 1944 (Hardcover)

The serious student of World War II will appreciate the immense scholarship that lies behind the writing of "Soviet Blitzkrieg." The author, Dr. Walter S. Dunn, Jr., gives ample testimony to the high scholastic demands of his doctorate in history. In his years of researching the archives of World War II and its eastern front and amassing figures on the relative strength of Russian and German military forces, Dr. Dunn displays the rigorous discipline of the seasoned professional historian. So dedicated was Dr. Dunn to his reasearch tht he acquired a rudimentary knowledge of the German and Russian languages, the better to understand the written records of both sides.

The book describes in great detail each offensive of the blitzkrieg from beginning to ultimate outcome. This is the first time that such an epic description of the Russian-German struggles on the eastern front has appeared in English. "Soviet Blitzkrieg" is one of several authoritative descriptions of World War II events published by the author. Other books are "Second Front Now," "Hitler's Nemesis," and "Kursk."

The reader less familiar with the battles for White Russia will benefit from having on hand a detailed map of Russia. Chapter 1, titled "The Strategic Position," describes a complicated series of movement on the eastern front that would be more understandable were the reader able to follow the action on a map.

In its 248 indexed pages, the student of World War II will find this book to be a treasure trove of authoritative information.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top quality operational analysis for WWII buffs, April 18, 2006

By 

Dimitrios (Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soviet Blitzkrieg: The Battle for White Russia, 1944 (Hardcover)

This book recounts the catastrophic defeat of the German Army Group Center in Bielorussia in the summer of 1944 and the reasons behind the colossal Soviet success. It is full of operational details and no stone has been left unturned. The reader will not find in this book great war stories, personal accounts and first person narratives, but will discover how the soviet armies moved, how they achieved huge concentrations in short time, how they planned to overwhelm the enemy defenses, how they built their numerical superiority, how they used "maskirovka" to conceal their forces and how they executed the brilliant operation destroying more than 20 German divisions in a few weeks. There are also references to the German plans (albeit in less degree than those of the Soviets) and their tragic misconceptions about the axis of the next soviet main offensive, which they awaited in Ukraine and happened in Belorussia.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One of the Largest Campaigns of All Time, October 6, 2008

By 

Michael L. Shakespeare (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Soviet Blitzkrieg: The Battle for White Russia, 1944 (Stackpole Military History Series) (Paperback)

Veteran historian and military author, Walter S. Dunn Jr's latest work is an exhaustive analysis of the nearly complete destruction of Hitler's Army Group Center by the Red Army -- pitting two million Russians against 800,000 Germans. As one learns from this detailed and researched book, this decisive Soviet campaign effectively cleared Nazi forces from White Russia and eastern Poland. Stalin's Operation Bagration resulted in "the worst defeat suffered by the German Army in World War II," cites the author.

Mr. Dunn has based much of his results from the interpretation of a massive database he has complied from many sources -- including recently released records in Russia. In his own words, Mr. Dunn explains, "I have made a determined effort to compare quantitative data from numerous sources and to present rational interpretations of events."

In support of his narrative and analysis, Mr. Dunn leads off with some heavy-duty background chapters: "The Strategic Position", Comparison of German and Soviet Units", and "Production Battle." If you like your history dense -- very dense -- this is the book for you.

Mr. Dunn, also the author of Kursk: Hitler's Gamble, 1943 (Stackpole Military History Series) and Hitler's Nemesis: The Red Army, 1930-45 (Stackpole Military History Series), set himself a monumental task in this book. He has organized his operational coverage into six offensive drives rather than the usual chronological or north-to-south presentation. "Dividing the action into separate drives allows the reader to appreciate the amazing performance of the Soviet armored columns as they plunged forward in true blitzkrieg fashion...", argues Mr. Dunn.

The author's impressive 231 page analysis can be boiled down to one sentence: "The Red Army was able to inflict the catastrophic defeat of Army Group Center by the application of eight factors: local superiority, deception, surprise, leadership, timing, use of terrain, training, and better technology. The crushing victory in White Russia was possible because the Soviets had the men, weapons, training, and experience to execute the blitzkrieg."

Mr. Dunn's arguments will sound very familiar to the readers of his other masterful effort: Stalin's Keys to Victory: The Rebirth of the Red Army in World War II (Stackpole Military History Series). Even so, there are some fascinating new details to be found in the book.

The heart of his work is seven chapters of thick battle narrative -- much of it on the operational level. the author has taken on the difficult task of producing a digestible analysis of the colossal campaign -- Operation Bagration. This is definitely not popular history, and promises to be a difficult, trying read. I found myself lost in a blizzard of military units Mr. Dunn's story was tracking -- in places over 50 fighting units are mentioned per page.

"Soviet Blitzkrieg: The Battle For White Russia, 1944", a Stackpole Military History Series book contains 12 maps. 20 data-tables and figures, and a gallery of uncommon photographs from the campaign. You may run across the original hardbound version that was published in 2000 by Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. Mr. Dunn's book is rigorous, with valuable insights, and will stand as a formidable read for students of the eastern front.