East Front book talk

[FM WarB]

I'm currnently reading War Without Garlands an interesting account of Barbarossa combining first person accounts with a good operational overview.

Having Zaloga's Red Army Handbook, Dunn's Hitler's Nemesis and Erickson's two volumes which I havent slogged through yet, how useful would Glanz' Colossus trilogy be for an understanding of the Soviet forces?

How useful is the Osprey Barbarossa trilogy?

Any other book suggestions are encouraged.

[DrewBlack]

Hi

I have just finished this from the master Glantz

The Initial Period of War on the Eastern Front, 22 June - August 1941: Proceedings of the Fourth Art of War Symposium, Garmisch, October, 1987 (Cass Series on Soviet Military Experience, 2), edited by Colonel David M. Glantz, Routledge, (1997) ISBN 978-0714642987

Really interesting, but i will/have bought anything by him the amount of intricate detail is astounding. The Osprey books are quite good as well, especially how they split over 3 volumes for the 3 Army Groups.

For a general overview Albert Seatons book Russo German War is good as well.

Drew

[Flaviusx]

Gotta read your Glantz. There's just a ton of stuff there you won't find elsewhere, and even Erickson is rather dated at this point.
 
If you want a nice taste of it, check this out:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Clz27nghIg

[wodin]

Great book War without garlands.

I'm waiting for the second part of Glantz Stalingrad trilogy...the next book is about the fight for the city which I'm really looking forward to.

Glantz books are the ones to read by all accounts....

[ComradeP]

Moscow to Stalingrad: Decision in the East and Stalingrad to Moscow: The German Defeat in the East by E. F. Ziemke and others.

[SGHunt]

For operational descriptions, read Glantz's books on Operation Mars (it's called 'Zhukov's Greatest Defeat') and the Soviet '42 Kharkov offensive (called 'Disaster on the Donetz' and presumably is the primary source for the excellent game by SSG of the same name - I've just completed the excellent little Kirovograd scenario); they are both gripping accounts and incredibly detailed - probably the best books in my library. His 'From the Don to the Dnepr' I'm reading just now. (I wish he'd get someone in to do the maps better!) These also provide a welcome relief to the German-centric view of the war of most other histories besides Erikson's 'Road to Stalingrad' and 'Road to Berlin' (pretty good but also pretty dry and hard going).

I have not read the Symposium mentioned above mainly because it is soooo expensive and my lovely wife would not be amused.

Beevor's Stalingrad is an really excellent read (and his 'Berlin' also makies for great but grim reading), and I enjoyed the style of Paul Carrell's books 'Hitler Turns East' and 'Scorched Earth', although I'm not at all sure about the history.[:-]

Clark's 'Barbarossa' is a good overview (although with huge gaps), as is Glantz's own 'Before Stalingrad'.

I also enjoy the autobiographies (recognising you have to take them with a lot of salt!): Erhard Raus's 'Panzers on the Eastern Front', von Manstein's 'Lost Victories' and Chuikov's memoirs of Stalingrad (sadly now lent and lost forever it seems - aaaaaghh!!!), and lots by individual soldiers and junior officers.

I have Bartov's 'The Eastern Front 1941-1945: German Troops and the Barbarisation of Warfare', and Craig's 'Enemy at the Gates' waiting to be read! Oh and another titel by Newton...

More advice welcome on other good titles!

S

[Theng]

Manstein's Lost Victories is also very good as a personal account of the events

[Helpless]

Beevor's Stalingrad is an really excellent read

[Banzan]

Guderians pre-war book "Achtung - Panzer!" is quite good. Shows alot about the upcoming "Blitzkrieg" and modern mobile warfare in gerneral.
His past-war book "Erinnerungen eines Soldaten" is good,too. Not sure if it got a translated title as Achtung Panzer doesn't. If yes, it should be something like Memories of a Solider/an Officer as in the US "soldier" means a bit less then in german.

Also very nice: Martin van Crevelds Kampf-Kraft - Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945 even when its not an East Front Book. [;)]
Its not about US army against wehmacht, but how they were different and perform their tasks.

[SGHunt]

My dear Helpless

I'm so sorry to see you're experiencing a little upset tummy! [;)]

What's your objection to Beevor? I said it's great read (ie it's a very readable narrative)- I especially liked the way his story went from Hitler through the command to the front lines and then over to Ivan and up again.

Wossaproblem?

Stuart

[Helpless]

..Beevor

Dear Stuart,

Don't take it personal personal.. that's my allergic reaction on the trash-writer the beevor is. Don't even want to waste my time discussing his opuses. I'll better fix some WITE bugs instead.

Edit: read Glantz, it is verified and "hygienically" clean.. [:)]

[SGHunt]

There you go again - you will insist on things being factually accurate, histroically astute etc ... [:'(]

PS it would take a lot more than someone being sick on my shoes for me to take offence! I was concerned that I'sd upset you [;)]

[DrewBlack]

ORIGINAL: von Jaeger


I have not read the Symposium mentioned above mainly because it is soooo expensive and my lovely wife would not be amused.

The Symposium was not that bad in paperback, avialable for 30 of our british pounds the hard back starts at 90[X(]... my wife is sick to death of my massive book collection but Glantz is SOOO good I think she understands my thirst for knowledge.[:D]

Drew

[ComradeP]

His past-war book "Erinnerungen eines Soldaten" is good,too. Not sure if it got a translated title as Achtung Panzer doesn't. If yes, it should be something like Memories of a Solider/an Officer as in the US "soldier" means a bit less then in german.

It's called Panzer Leader in the English speaking part of the world.

I hope I can eventually find a copy of Guderian's book "Kann Westeuropa verteidigt werden?"/"Can Western Europe be defended?" as it would be interesting to compare what Guderian writes to what French General Robert Close would write 27 years later.

[EisenHammer]

IMO... Evan Mawdsley, Thunder in the East the Nazi-Soviet War 1941-1945 is the best single volume book on the Eastern front; it is just above Glantz When Titans Clashed.

[bush]

I have recently read Richard Overy's Why the Allies Won the War. This covers different aspects of the entire war, and I thought the whole book was a keeper. The section on the Russian Front (Deep War if I am not mistaken) was very enjoyable. I followed that up with his Russian War book. Not as good, but still some interesting info in there.

I have always been a huge fan of Mantstein's Lost Victories, particularly his first (Russian front) command of a Panzer Corp. Really exciting section. Also the Crimean campaign section is a good read.

[ComradeP]

In an ideal world, any Crimean campaign history written by a German should be compared with a Romanian account, the truth probably being somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, I can't read Romanian and am at this point unaware of Romanian memoirs that are available in English or German.

[Naughteous Maximus]

I purchased "Germany and the Second World War", the EXPENSIVE series. I am not getting the whole thing, only those books worth reading. I have vol.# 3,4,6, and 7 right now. Vol.#4 covers the Operation Barbarossa. It will blow your mind. It discusses in the book, some of the things Hitler did and why he did them and the astonishing mount of detail is jaw dropping. In vol.#6 The Global War, it covers the battle of Stalingrad and gives you in graph form, practically everthing that was flown into and out of the pocket, per day! I also got pretty much, most of the books you guys have mentioned. Great stuff! I even have a Mauser Kar98k, with nazi stamps, manufactured in august '44, with bayonet. Its my pride and joy.

[colberki]

Paul Carrell's Hitler Moves East is superb. Funny no one mentioned it. I am sure many people know of it.

[Zovs]

Paul Carrell is a fake name his real name is Paul Karl Schmidt, he was a German Nazi and SS leader during WW2 so his work is not only one sided, slanted and pro German/Nazi is mostly garbage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Carell

There much better books from the likes of Ziemke, Erickson and Glantz to say the least.