Barbarossa (Paperback)

by Alan Clark (Author) "On the afternoon of Sunday, 5th November, 1939, it was raining in Ber..." (more)
Key Phrases: siege perimeter, mechanised corps, attack frontage, Red Army, Chief of Staff, Army Group Centre (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Many histories of the Second World War written by American and English authors downplay Russia's critical role in the Allied triumph over Germany. Some of this has to do with the Cold War rivalry that emerged after 1945, and perhaps more of it comes from a lack of Russian source material and unfamiliarity with the Russian language. In any event, Alan Clark's classic study of the Eastern Front remains the best book on the subject, "the greatest and longest land battle which mankind has ever fought." These pages concentrate on four major events: Moscow in the winter of 1941, Stalingrad, the Kursk offensive in 1943, and the battles on the Oder at the start of 1945. The author, first a historian and later Margaret Thatcher's secretary of state, suggests that the Russians might very well have won the war on their own, or at least fought the Germans to a standstill, without American intervention. He also makes the provocative point that Hitler's military instincts were often quite good, and usually better than his generals'--contrary to received wisdom. Barbarossa is a reliable and readable account.

Product Description

On June 22, 1941, before dawn, German tanks and guns began firing across the Russian border. It was the beginning of Hitler's Operation Barbarossa, one of the most brutal campaigns in the history of warfare. Four years later, the victorious Red Army has suffered a loss of seven million lives. Alan Clark's incisive analysis succeeds in explaining how a fighting force that in one two-month period lost two million men was nevertheless able to rally to defeat the Wehrmacht. The Barbarossa campaign included some of the greatest episodes in military history: the futile attack on Moscow in the winter of 1941-42, the siege of Stalingrad, the great Russian offensive beginning in 1944 that would lead the Red Army to the historic meeting with the Americans at the Elbe and on to victory in Berlin.

Barbarossa is a classic of miltary history. This paperback edition contains a new preface by the author.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (June 25, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688042686
• ISBN-13: 978-0688042684
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #397,367 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Overview Of 2nd World War Along The Eastern Front!, July 30, 2000

By	Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This very well written history of the German assault into the Soviet Union and the ensuing war along the Eastern front represents a kind of landmark in being one of the earliest of the many histories of that conflict to emphasize the enormous contribution of the Russians to the Allied effort. It was considered controversial in its time because of its emphasis on Soviet strengths and attributes as central to the eventual result. Most other historians had argued that blame for losing the war belonged to Hitler, the Wehrmacht and the well-debated arguments and disagreements among the German General Staff regarding the specifics of the waging the total war Hitler had envisioned must be fought to annihilate the Russian army.

All the basics are here; the tragic misinterpretation of Soviet strength, especially as it applies to Soviet reserve and manpower resources, which were 300 percent higher than believed, the belief that by simply crushing the troops massed between the border and the Leningrad-Moscow-Crimea salient they would crush the communist government and send the country into anarchy, chaos, and ruin, and their own uniform arrogance in believing they could master and quickly dominate this gargantuan nation of several hundred million in a single season. Hitler and the German General Staff were shocked and amazed again and again by the tenacity, resourcefulness, and staying power of an army they had presumed to have already beaten in the opening weeks of the campaign. The author masterfully explains how the Russians, after losing two million men in a single two-month period could rally itself, reorganized, re-outfit, and send another two million into combat so quickly. This is truly one of the most maligned, misunderstood and mysterious aspects of the war in Europe.

Alan Clark has succeeded in this book, which was first published in 1965, in providing an entertaining, edifying, and accurate overview of what the Russians referred to as the "Great Patriotic War". He centers in on four aspects of the more than four year long struggle; first, on the futile and badly coordinated attack on Moscow in the early winter of 1941-42; second, the siege at Stalingrad, a Wehrmacht blunder of catastrophic proportions; third, the Kursk offensive in 1943, which was the largest and most dramatic tank battle in history; and finally, the great Soviet offensive beginning in 1944 that drove the Wehrmacht to its knees, sending it crawling back inch buy inch and yard by yard all the way to the ashes and ruins of a ravaged Berlin. My recommendation is to combine this excellent book with "When Titans Clashed", a more recent tome, which provides an amazing nuts and bolts perspective that is even more strictly written from the Soviet perspective. With the two books combined, you will have a much better understanding of the war along the Eastern front and better appreciated ho the Russians did so much to help win the European theater of the Second World War. Enjoy!

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A NICE BROAD ANALYSIS OF THE RUSSO-GERMAN CONFLICT, August 12, 1999

By A Customer

Depending on how you look at this book, it rates 5 stars because of what the book covers and analyzes, or it rates 3 stars as my fellow reviewer from Moscow, Russia, (down below) points out so nicely.

Author Clark covers several major fronts during the German attack on Russia, and at the same time provides some excellent analysis on the battles and the infrastructure, both political and military, that supported them. The book is very readable and helps provide a clearer understanding of that piece of history from the attack on Soviet territory to the Soviets entering Berlin as Hitler took his life. Therefore the 5 stars.

Although Alan Clark presents his reasoning for what he chose to report on, I, the reader, still felt a little left out. - I expected more of Moscow, on the one hand, and more analysis on the Russian political picture towards the end, on the other. In some cases, Clark would lead us somewhere, but then not follow through. Thus the 3 stars.

Overall, however, this book is must reading to the World War II scholar. In keeping with where Clark leads us (to Stalingrad and Soviet commandos' street fighting), I would recommend reading Commandos from the Sea : Soviet Naval Spetsnaz in World War II (Naval Institute Special Warfare Series) by Iurii Strekhnin, et al - For a broader view of where Clark takes us in his detailed "Barbarossa" analysis, I would strongly suggest the reader pick up a copy of Why the Allies Won by Richard Overy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good look from the strategic level., February 1, 2000

By	Matthew T. Meskill (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Paul W. Rose ([e-mail]) from Chicago, IL, doesn't know what he's talking about. The author makes no claims that he'll tell the story from the individual soldier's point of view! He does, however, provide a great look at "the conflict" from the strategic level, which is exactly what he set out to do! And as far as not revising, the author clearly stated he had reviewed the new Soviet documents and found that his text still stood up i.e.it didn't need revision.

If you're a history novice maybe this book's not for you. If you're a WWII buff this book must be in your library!