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Stalin's Generals

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While WWII studies have seen a lot of ink devoted to most of Wehrmacht top brass, the same cannot be said for the Soviet war leadership. Reasons have been mixed: lack of material, blind faith on the surmise (popular until mid-70's) that the only Soviet great commander had been Zhukov, and most of the rest had been (at best) a bunch of reliable robots, Cold War cultural policies. So this (a book born out of the sudden flow of material of post-Soviet era) is another "one-of-a-kind", as far as I know is the only collection of monographs dedicated to the wartime Soviet Generals, at least if you don't want to go back to such venerable stuff as Erickson's "The Soviet High Command", that anyway didn't deal with the personal details of each commander. I bought it with some trepidation, but I shouldn't have worried: "Stalin's General" is historiography at his best.

The array of contributor is impressive - John Erickson, Geoffrey Jukes, David Glantz, Richard Woff, Victor Anfilov and many others: what could you ask for more? Each contribution (the list is strictly alphabetical) deals with one name, usually mixing biographical data with some interesting assessment on the relative ability (or inability) of the subject. Some of the portraits are extraordinarily vivid - for instance, Konev as the competitive bastard, Rokossovsky as the compassionate, self restrained but gifted commander, Shaposhnikov as the old-school General Staff officer getting surprisingly well along with Stalin, Antonov and Vasilevsky as the brainy war managers (a la Nimitz), Vatutin and Rybalko as the impetuous field commanders, Golikov as the enigmatic "political" general, Boldin as epitome of mediocrity, Budenny as the man hopelessly out of sync with its times, Batov as the talented, professional Army officer who could have received much more recognition, had he fought with a Western power. And the list could continue - the book collect 26 monographs, plus a final article on the Soviet general fallen during (or immediately after) the war

The articles on Vlasov and Tuchachevksy stands out of the whole pack. The first in negative: Catherine Andreyev portrait of the ex-Soviet General who defected to the Germans has more to do with the then (1993) current Russian political situation than with serious research. On the reverse, Shimon Naveh's story on Tuchachevksy - deep operation lead theorist's, executed by Stalin in 1937 for an alleged "anti Soviet" plot - is simply terrific.

And now comes my only real gripe - where's Chernyakovsky? Red Army youngest "front" commander, and possibly the most talented Red Army field general, killed in action in East Prussia in 1945 after a meteoric and much deserved rise - I just can't believe it that Harold Shukman, book's editor, has just forgotten to include him. I mean, why Moskalenko (a rather undistinguished general) yes and Chernyakovsky no? It's true that you can't have everything in life...

Stalin's Generals is a collection of short essays done on various Soviet generals who became famous or infamous during the Second World War. Most of the information given in this book proves to be rather interesting because most of us know little or nothing about these Soviet generals outside of their names. However, its pretty clear that most of the folks who wrote these essays also know very little of generals themselves. Most of these essays read like some dossier files, giving you the achievements and awards of these Soviet commanders but very little about them as human beings. Compared to essays done in Hitler's Generals where very insightful perceptions on Hitler's generals were made, there seem to be almost none in among the essays wrote on Stalin's generals. Zhukov's essay seem to be bit overdone, overlooking his failures (like Operation Mars) while exhorting his victories.

However, this book is quite useful in introducing these Soviet generals and gives the reader a good understanding how Stalin's general purges of the late 1930s really hurt his miliary in ways that cannot be counted.

I picked this book up when I was in England years ago and to this day it remains one of the best compilations on the Generals and Marshals of the Red Army during WWII. Many interesting facts I never knew are dispersed with general accounts and histories of the Generals as they went from 1941 defeats to final victory in 1945. Although many Generals are missing the ones discussed most definitely deserve the attention that they have received by the authors. Tukhachevsky's account was interesting, but I would liked to see Yakir right there next to him. Another Soviet General who was killed during the purges who had a great impact on Soviet Strategy and theory was A. A. Svechin the author of "Strategy" him I would have also liked to read about. Overall an excellent source for a novice to understand how the Generals in the Red Army did their jobs and under what kind of circumstances did the defeat of the German Army come about.

This is simply a wonderful complete account of the men who served Stalin in the `great Patriotic War'. These men, from various diverse backgrounds, served under a vicious tyrant and yet they were able to propel their nation to victory. Obviously men like Zhukov figure prominently here. He helped lead the defense of Leningrad, Stalingrad and was at the forefront of Operation Mars and the capture of Berlin.

These excellent character sketches apply to almost every high ranking Soviet general and some of the more obscure. The commanders of the Air Force and Navy are included as are sketches of Stalin's key staff officers of `Stavka'. Sketches are also made of the `might have been's' the `ghosts' of Stalin's army which was the officer class Stalin eliminated in the 1930s. These men were persecuted mostly because of their connection to the revolution and/or Trotsky. These men, who Stalin brutally murdered, were the cream of the Soviet military and had been responsible for fashioning the Soviet army into a modern technological army and fighting not only the interventionists but also Poland.

This is must read for anyone concerned with World War Two, Stalin, or the Soviet Military system. This is a wonderful book and biographical sketches like these are almost impossible for find elsewhere(with the exception of Zhukov who everyone is familiar with). Of special interest are the portions written by Dmitri Volkogonov, whose legendary biographies of Stalin, Lenin and Trotsky have been eye opening best sellers in the USA and Russia.

---Seth J. Frantzman November 17 2003

This is an interesting book, one of a series which collects short biographies of various generals from a particular nation. They also did one for Britain and one for Germany---as far as I know that was as far as they got. This book collects a large number of these short pieces, some only a few pages long, and some as long as 20 pages. They're by various individuals, from names that were familiar to me (David Glantz, John Erikson, Dmitri Volkogonov) to those that weren't so familiar (Victor Anfilov, Richard Woff, etc.). Each of these bios is interesting in its own right, the main theme being that most of the Soviet army commanders from the World War II era weren't very good strategists. Stalin killed off most of the better commanders during the purges.

There are some interesting vignettes here. Volkogonov, for instance, is particularly scathing when writing about Voroshilov, while Anfilov pretty much falls all over himself praising Zhukov. Various of the other bios are interesting and more or less objective. Given that this is a collection of essays by different people, there's bound to be some variation. One thing is constant, though. None of the authors has much use for Stalin himself.

There are 26 pieces here, the last one (titled Stalin's Ghosts) covering the victims of the purges (other than Tukhachevsky, who gets his own piece) and those killed in combat during the war. There's a lot of information here, and much of it is stuff you can't find anywhere else, at least in English. On that note alone, I would recommend this book.

There are essays on 26 Soviet officers that were written by ten noted authors who specialize in the Russo-German War or the history of Russia / Soviet Union. These essays vary in length from 8 to 22 pages with the average about 13 pages. Kuznetsov has 8 pages while Rokossovsky had the most at 22 pages. These essays are not limited to WWII. Some got their fame in WWI or during the Revolution while a couple got the bulk of their fame after WWII. A majority of men gained their fame on the battlefield as a Corps, Army or Front commander while a few had staff positions. A couple had staff positions with Stavka.

While these essays are not in-depth personal portraits, the authors have written a concise capsule of each man's upbringing and military careers with highlights of their victories and in some cases their failures, particularly during WWII. You will learn enough about these men to be able to have a better understanding of them and to be able to evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, and to see the loyalty and bravery exerted when facing hardships on and off the battlefield. You will learn who were tortured or imprisoned, blacklisted, shunned and who were favored by Stalin. You will not only learn about the men but also about Stalin and the political environment before, during and after the war. The latest event mentioned, I believe, was the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The last chapter discusses the great purge of the 1930s in which Stalin in a fit of paranoia executes or imprisons thousands of well educated, experienced officers that were so desperately needed during the first year of the war. The officers in this book were the ones that replaced these lost souls and excelled in their jobs.

Many of the contributing authors are well known, having written full length books independently. Some of the better known are Erickson, Glantz, Jukes, Gorodetsky and Vologonov.
I'm not sure of the exact vetting process but the selection, for the most part, was good, giving a good variety of personalities and positions. There were a few people missing from the list that for me would have been more interesting to read about. They would be Popov, Rotmistrov, Chernyakhovsky, Tolbukhin and Alekseev.

There are seven generic maps and a portrait for each personality. There is also a good Bibliography and an Index but no Notes.
After reading this book, you will have a greater understanding about these men when reading other books on the world wars. This is an interesting read and a good reference volume and is recommended.

"Stalin's Generals", edited by Harold Shukman, is a wonderful collection of essays on the Red Army generals of World War II. Each author brings a real depth of understanding to not only the men, but also the military and political institutions of the Soviet Union of the time. One can gradually follow through many of these pieces the character of Josef Stalin himself. Stalin's transformation from jealous guardian of military power to warlord who actually trusted his officers is a central theme of most of the essays. The essays on Rokossovsky, Zhukov, Koniev, Shaposhnikov and Vasilevsky are particularly insightful and informative. This is a great work for both causal readers and serious students of the Eastern Front in World War II.