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War on the Eastern Front

The German Soldier in Russia 1941-1945

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War on the Eastern Front

By: James Lucas, Robert Kershaw - foreword
Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
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About this listen

Dawn on Sunday, June 22, 1941 saw the opening onslaughts of Operation Barbarossa as German forces stormed forward into the Soviet Union. Few of them were to survive the five long years of bitter struggle.

A posting to the Eastern Front during the Second World War was rightly regarded with dread by the German soldiers. They were faced by the unremitting hostility of the climate, the people and even, at times, their own leadership. They saw epic battles such as Stalingrad and Kursk, and yet it was a daily war of attrition which ultimately proved fatal for Hitler's ambition and the German military machine.

In this classic account leading military historian James Lucas examines different aspects of the fighting, from war in the trenches to a bicycle-mounted antitank unit fighting against the oncoming Russian hordes. Told through the experiences of the German soldiers who endured these nightmarish years of warfare, War on the Eastern Front is a unique record of this cataclysmic campaign.

©1979 Cooper and Lucas Ltd (P)2020 Tantor Military Russia War Soviet Union Solider German Military

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All stars
Most relevant
I loved this,was sceptical, but it worked well, really good story and good narrating, learnt a lot!

personal stories

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In depth analysis and verbatim reporting of German and Russian weapons, tactics and operational techniques during WW2. Not at all dull - as other reviews mention - but detailed and deep. Recommended if you want factual analysis of ww2 on the Eastern front

Detailed and absorbing

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This book first came out in the '70s and I fear it shows. Whilst there are some interesting personal accounts, such as about the first winter of the war and the operations of StuG units, the book is marred by some spectacular gaps.

There is not a single mention of the "Commissar order", whereby German soldiers were ordered to shoot any captured political officers out of hand. Equally, Hitler's order that any crime committed by his soldiers in Russia would not be liable for punishment is absent. These are issues that have a profound impact on what was a race war, with a totally different flavour than that pictured here.

The author talks of German soldiers having "compassion" for Russian civilians and describes the welcomes that many people in the West of Russia gave to the supposed liberators of countries like Ukraine, the Baltic states etc. He is pretty silent on the way that changed very quickly.

As a result, this is a very partial story of the war and in my view, deeply flawed as a result.

Interesting, but some glaring omissions

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Hands down one of the best battlefield book i ever read. Writer really gave an excellent account of war stories, strategies and reasoning behind the war on eastern front.
Well narrated by Chris MacDonnell too.

One of best military book i read/listened

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Much detail of the kind found in few other books on this topic. Weather, weaponry, living conditions, tactics, hierarchy, are all dealt with giving insights that precious few other titles offer. Narration is the weak point

Surprising

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