Zhukov at the Oder: The Decisive Battle for Berlin (Stackpole Military History Series) 0th Edition

Author Le Tissier is up to his normal very high standard with this work which is probably a reprint of his 1995 "Zhukov At The Oder", a book that I do not possess and therefore cannot verify the correctness of my statement. But no matter, if the reader is interested in the preliminaries to the Battle of Berlin, this is certainly the definitive work. I recommend that it be supplemented with the author's "Slaughter At Halbe" which describes the fate of the Ninth Army after the actions in the book being reviewed, and also his "With Our Backs To Berlin" which contains narratives (some of which are partially included in this work) of the fighting in and around Berlin. For a more comprehensive work on the fall of Berlin, try "The Fall Of Berlin" by Anthony Read and David Fisher.

One of the outstanding features of this book are the maps which allow the reader to follow the course of the Zhukov's attacks -- twenty-nine of them as a matter of fact. As one who often comments on the lack of maps to aid in comprehending the narrative, I was very pleased with the author's use of these supplements. The only negative I have to offer is a certain amount of repetition in the narrative and the author's use of the same stories and narratives in more than one of his works.

Part One discussed Zhukov and the Soviet and German military forces. Here I recommend reading "The Memoirs of Marshal Zhukov" (Delecorte Press: 1971) for more detail on Zhukov; David Glantz's "Colossus Reborn" on the Red Army; and the US War Department's "Handbook On German Military Forces" (Louisiana State University: 1995). The author's treatment of these subjects is very concise, and the interested reader will no doubt seek more detailed references.

Part Two presents the formations of the Soviet bridgeheads across the Oder from which they could launch the final attack on Berlin. The fighting in the Kuestrin Corridor was particularly intense, even though the German forces were cobbled together hurridly and were vastly overmatched. Zhukov's 1st Byelorussian Front had outrun its supplies, become disorganized and stalled by the dogged defense.

Part Three gives the planning of the Berlin offensive by Zhukov and what planning there was on the German side. The author also presents Stalin's tactic of playing Koniev off against Zhukov, supposedly in the sense of having the marshals compete for fame and glory, but actually to help keep Zhukov from becoming a personal threat to Stalin himself. The meddling by Hitler and Himmler are discussed, and fortunately for the Germans, the defense specialist, General Heinrici, was put in charge of the Oder Front (Army Group Vistula.)

The Battle of Seelow Heights and the Oderbruch is contained in Part 4 in four chapters -- one for each of the first four days -- and Zhukov's planning and operational decisions are shown to be close to disasterous. Fortunately for the Soviets, the German forces were simply too weak to accomplish anything more than make the Soviets pay dearly for every yard. In addition, Koniev was able to create a breakthrough in the South by Gorlitz, and Stalin changed his axis of advance to approach Berlin from the South. Zhukov was not able to make a clean breakthrough until the third day of atacks, but when he did, he was able to beat Koniev to the heart of Berlin. It must also be mentioned that Heinrici pulled his men back from the forward lines immediately before the Soviet artillery barrage and attack, so that the attack not only hit air, but it became disorganized and bogged down in the churned-up bottom land in front of the Seelow Heights. Untouched by the heaviest barrage of the war, the Germans on the Heights took a very heavy toll of Soviet soldiers and tanks. Nonetheless, the foruc is on Zhukov's generalship, and in this instance his performance was less than stellar.

The remainder of the book covers the operations following the breakthrough, the fate of the German 9th Army, and Zhukov's later years. He was greatly mistreated by Stalin, not so much for his excessive losses before Berlin, but for his popularity and potential as an opponent to Stalin.

Through all of this the author discusses the operations and sprinkles first-hand accounts of the fighting and situations to give the reader a clearer concept of what was actually happening. Personally, I think these personal accounts are what makes the author's works so compelling, easy to read and interesting. One can readily fall asleep reading about some corps capturing some town and losing however many tanks in the process. But the personal accounts bring the situation into the reader's living room.

The end notes are even important, particularly in explaining such things as "Seidlitz-Troops" and resolving conflicting accounts. The bibliography is also an excellent list of references although I would like to add "Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg, Vol 10/1, Der Zusammenbruch des Deutschen Reiches 1945, Die Militaerische Niederwerfung der Wehrmacht" (2008). This is the official German history of World War Two and the volume covering the events of the author's work.

In conclusion, this is an important and thorough scholarly work. I recommend it to all students of the European conflict in World War II.

This is by far one of the best books on a particular battle that I have read. This author can be rated with Ryan, Liddel-Hart and the rest of them. The the events leading up to the battle are provided in-depth, giving the retreat of the Germans up to the Oder. It is shown how the Germans were quite unprepared to make a stand but how the resistance slowly grow until the Russions were forced to build up their forces on the river. The writer treats the Germans and the Soviets with equal apathy and objectivity. One do not find emotional moral opinions about the war that are so prevalent in the recent PC discussion of history. As a matter of fact the author do not even analyze the mistakes and reason for victory or defeat, but simply provide the host of facts and leave the conclusions up to the reader. The battle is treated in detail, highlighting the planning and execution of both sides, with ample quotations from participants' diaries - from low level soldiers to the generals. In this way one gets a feel for the nitty gritty of the battle as well the high level strategy and planning. The maps are a bit too detailed but one does not have to understand it all in order to enjoy the book. At least there are enough maps! I really could not find fault with the presentation of the battle story - and could not put the book down. Thanks!

Well written...if you like very detailed blow by blow description.
An epic, but one sided battle that decided the fate of Berlin.
Despite the overwhelming odds and lack of ammunition and equipment the Germans held on for as long as possible.
From the other side, the profligate waste of Russian lives to conquer Berlin was criminal.
And in the final analysis - the difference between Hitler and Stalin was non-existent.

This book provides a detailed description of the German Armageddon at the end of World War II. It gets down to individual unit experiences and even the experiences of individuals. The book provides the perspective of both the Germans and the Russians, although the Germans are in more detail probably due to the availability of source materials.

On the negative side, for the Kindle version, the maps again are difficult to read and so you can't follow the events on the map with a clear understanding. Also, there is a lot of bouncing around between units and individuals and it is hard to keep up with that at times. Although the book does a good job of putting the events into an outline, by day and part of the battlefield.

All in all, this is a good book for an individual who has read other books on the Russo-German war of 1941-45. However, I wouldn't recommend it for the casual reader on WWII.

The author presents an interesting narrative. It is easy to get lost in the narrative because there is little to refer to in regards to good the clear maps and the names of the towns in the battle area are not exactly names familiar to most military historians other than Kustrin, Frankfort on the Oder and a few others. The main problem is that good maps are needed to follow the action. The publisher reduced the maps to the size that is difficult to clearly read them and find the places mentioned. The hardback copy most likely has larger maps and possibly a better section for the reader. I do not recommend the paperback simply because the format of the book is too small for easy reading - this has nothing to do with the author's work since the text is well done.

I found this to be another good book from this author.

Good read.