Crumbling Empire: The German Defeat in the East, 1944 First Edition

by Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. (Author)

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ISBN-13: 978-0275968564

ISBN-10: 0275968561

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The last place a German soldier wanted to be in 1944 was the Russian front. That summer, Stalin hurled into battle more than six million men and 9,000 tanks, supported by 16,000 fighters and bombers and more than 12,800 guns and rocket launchers. Despite this massive effort and the resulting decimation of German forces, events on the Eastern Front are largely neglected by historians who focus instead on German defeats in Normandy and the Ardennes. This account details the massive battles on the Eastern Front from the summer of 1944 until the fall of Budapest in early 1945, a period when Hitler lost the majority of his conquered Eastern territories and many of his best remaining divisions.

To destroy the Third Reich, the Allies needed to defeat the German Wehrmacht militarily, and the decisive victories of this period occurred on the Russian Front. More German soldiers were lost in White Russia than at Stalingrad; more troops were lost in Rumania in a brief ten days than in the entire Normandy campaign; and German losses in Hungary were greater than the Battle of the Bulge. The most mobile army in the world in 1940, the German Army was the least mobile by 1944, and Hitler's stand fast and fortified place policies imposed a paralysis that neither senior German generals nor the High Command of the Army were able to overcome. Outnumbered 3 to 1 in men, 5 to 1 in tanks, and 20 to 1 in airplanes, the German Army was slaughtered, as casualties mounted and the empire crumbled.

Crumbling Empire: The German Defeat in the East, 1944

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The German Defeat in the East: 1944-45 (Stackpole Military History Series) Paperback

Samuel W. Mitcham Jr.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

By late 1942, Hitler had annexed an area more than 20 times the size of pre-war Germany, most of it in the East. But in the summer of 1944, Stalin sent six million men, 9,000 tanks, 16,000 fighters and bombers and over 12,800 guns and rocket launchers into battle against the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS. In Crumbling Empire: The German Defeat in the East, 1944 Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. (Why Hitler?), a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot and professor of geography at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, covers the battles that ensued on a division-by-division, tracking troop movements and setbacks, and through to the battle of Stalingrad and the liberation of Budapest.

From Library Journal

This detailed account of the collapse of the Eastern Front covers the period June 1944 to February 1945. The horrendous defeats at Stalingrad and Kursk were past, and the Wehrmacht had a chance to back off, stabilize the front, and possibly retain some of its gains. Instead, a series of bad decisions by Hitler, coupled with substantial gains in combat efficiency by the Soviet Army, vitiated those efforts. By February, the German empire in the East was gone, and the battles would henceforth be on German soil. Mitcham (The Desert Fox in Normandy) does not break any new ground all citations are to secondary sources) but he does provide detailed information about a complex period. The frequent and confusing changes in leadership, organization, and location are carefully detailed. Most of his attention goes to the decisive area at the center of the front, but he does provide a coherent window on the collapse of Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary. Of considerable interest is Mitcham's extensive footnoting of the fates of the many German and other Axis commanders. Still, most libraries will be sufficiently served by Paul Carell's Scorched Earth (Schiffer, 1994) and Earl F. Zeimke's Stalingrad to Berlin (Dorset, 1986). For substantial military history collections. Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army Combined Arms Research Lib., Ft. Leavenworth, KS
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product details

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Praeger; First edition (September 15, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0275968561
ISBN-13: 978-0275968564
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 9.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 10 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,460,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7740 in Books > History > Asia > Russia
- #9216 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Military
- #10939 in Books > History > Europe > Germany

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Go Elsewhere For This Subject Matter

BySEAN MCATEERon June 4, 2007

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is a not terribly well written, derivative narrative of the German defense of the East from June 1944 to February 1945. The author introduces not a single original thought or analysis, merely rehashing and citing better written secondary sources. People would be better off seeking out and reading that which he cites rather than this derivation. The author's bias is on display, but not exactly as some other reviewers allege; his lack of citing Erickson, while disturbing, is not all that decisive when you consider that the author is explicitly writing an account of the defense and Erickson wrote an account of the offense. Further, I see no particular 'anti-German' bias as alleged and I am rather quick to pick up on that as my earlier criticisms of Weinberg, et.al. attest. This author's biases are in other directions, i.e. identifying Stauffenberg as a Christian hero supporting a place where all can pray rather than the equally accurate identification of him as a murderous traitor ignorant of impending Soviet reality. The author appears to be a right wing leaning man who rather anachronistically imposes his 21st Century weltanschauung upon the realities and mores of 1944 Europe. Further, from a physical point of view, Amazon should be ashamed. The edition sent to me is a digital reprint of decidedly inferior quality, yet sold at full price. They ought to identify when they are selling these digital reprints. On the bright side, the book appeared well-edited and well proof-read, an increasingly rare thing these days. I reccomend Buchner's 'Ostfront' or Carrell's 'Scorched Earth' or Seaton or Ziemke as alternatives...Mitcham cites them often enough!!

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Situation East: Steel meets the Hammer.

BySean Marcheon September 8, 2002

Format: Hardcover

September 7, 2002
Crumbling Empire:
The German Defeat in the East 1944
By: Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr.
By its very title, this book is a detailed account of the changing tide of the war in the east.
Written mainly from a German intermediate corps and divisional perspective, the author intersects both graphic tactical details and a strategic explanation into a coherent discussion of the actual battles.
The book also includes biographies and accounts of lesser known but historically valuable leaders and units which served in this area. From the flanked, preempted commands of Field Marshal Ernest Busch to the largely unknown and less than honorable actions of the Kamensky and Direlwanger battalions; in addition to the vitally important role of famous and elite units like the 3rd SS panzer division "Totenkopf" and the 5th SS panzer division "Viking"--assigned missions of futility and impossibility (and almost achieved them).
At appropriate times, the author overlays with a description of the strategic military and diplomatic situation in the region or sector, and its impact on the vital control of natural resources--copper, bauxite, grain and petrol. It is not mentioned, but also needed foreign currency and gold reserves. Aspects in the war in the east that argueably caused the defeat of the German Reich faster than tactical bloodshead on the battlefield.
Supporting material includes substantive photographs and well documented, detailed footnotes and order of battle diagrams. And some front line situation maps which are lacking. In appearance, it looks as if the maps are hand drawn templates that have been photocoped. The information is compressed, cluttered and difficult to discern against the textual material referenced.
Beyond this, the book is well written and detailed towards the issue. The reader can both imagine and understand the inexorable situation facing the Germans, the ferocity and desperation of the battles themselves and an accurate survey of the strategic situation in the east in 1944 during declining months of the great patriotic war.
Sean Marche

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A Brief Overview of the War from June 1944 to Feb 1945

ByDave Schranckon September 4, 2009

Format: Hardcover

The rating of 4 stars is conditional. If you're a newcomer or have a casual need this book is a quick read and will give you a basic understanding of the Soviet offensive from June 1944 to Feb 1945 from a German perspective. If you have greater demands the rating falls to 3 stars for as an overview it doesn't drill down tactically sufficiently for your needs and there are gaps in the action. I bought the book with a specific intention in mind. I just recently read "Soviet Blitzkrieg" the fine book by Walter Dunn which has a Russian perspective of Operation Bagration and wanted to compare the two books for similarlities and accuracy but it will be difficult to do for the two books have two different levels of detail. Some comparisons will be made but not to the degree needed. The Dunn book spends nearly 250 pages on just the first phase of Operation Bagration while Mr Mitcham's book also covers the offensive against AGN being pushed back into the Baltics (Courtland Pocket) while AGNU, in the south, is pushed back into Rumania and Hungary in about the same number of pages.
It seems a little strange to end the book in Feb but there is a lot to cover in the last 2 months of the war and it was probably beyond the publisher's page limits or maybe they both wanted to milk another book. If reading a predominately German perspective is disagreeable for being onesided, then let me suggest reading Walter Dunn, David Glantz or John Erickson to see the Russian side.
There are a number of positive attributes of the book that makes it worth 4 stars. Though the tactical coverage is an overview and doesn't have the detail of the Dunn book or especially a Glantz book, the information is creditable and informative. You can learn from it. There are bios of Model and Busch, the two commanders of AGC. I knew both generals were loyal Nazis but didn't realize Busch was such a devoted lapdog of Hitler and would mindlessly follow all orders regardless of the consequences. There are also many other lesser ranks discussed throughout the narrative which was interesting. Many of them you just don't read about in other books and I applaud the author for including them in the story. There were photos of some of these less known German soldiers as well. The author is very succinct in desrcibing the huge superiority of men, tanks and guns the Soviets had against the Germans by this time. The author frequently gives statistics with his narrative.
The author also provides Orders of Battle for each front discussed. I also learned about the Kaminsky Brigade which General Schmidt insituted in the Orel district to help police the civilians. There is also brief coverage of the Warsaw Uprising.
The coverage did have some background info on Rumania and Hungary which for the casual reader means not necessarily having to buy another book on this secondary front.
There were many maps, and though they're simple, did help to explain the narrative. Besides the photos of the German soldiers, there are other photos to peruse.
There is a useful Appendix that displays Rank Equivalents, Unit Strengths, Tank Characterstics and Staff Abbreviations. There is also a useful Index that will help you find any of the many army units that were discussed.

Though I was disappointed in some respects - there were gaps in the action and there wasn't enough tactical detail or analysis, I get the impression the author knows his subject matter and for the right person whose needs are small, this overview would be satisfactory.