PDF Russia War A History of the Soviet Effort 19411945 Richard Overy Books

Download As PDF : Russia War A History of the Soviet Effort 19411945 Richard Overy Books

"A penetrating and compassionate book on the most gigantic military struggle in world history."--The New York Times Book Review

"An extraordinary tale... Overy's engrossing book provides extensive details of teh slaughter, brutality, bitterness and destruction on the massive front from the White Sea to the flank of Asia."--Chicago Tribune 

The Russian war effort to defeat invading Axis powers, an effort that assembled the largest military force in recorded history and that cost the lives of more than 25 million Soviet soldiers and civilians, was the decisive factor for securing an Allied victory. Now with access to the wealth of film archives and interview material from Russia used to produce the ten-hour television documentary Russia's War, Richard Overy tackles the many persuasive questions surrounding this conflict. Was Stalin a military genius? Was the defense of Mother Russia a product of something greater than numbers of tanks and planes--of something deep within the Russian soul?

PDF Russia War A History of the Soviet Effort 19411945 Richard Overy Books

"This is more of a narrative of the overall Russian war effort, with a focus on it’s leadership.

It does not attempt to focus on the details or deployments of any particular battle. When it does give service to industrial efforts or troop strengths that is more to give context to the bigger picture.

This is a very well written book.

I might recommend following this up with a book or two that does focus on a particular battle, Stalingrad for instance, to provide that detailed context."

Product details Paperback 432 pages Publisher Penguin Books; Revised ed. edition (August 1, 1998) Language English ISBN-10 9780140271690 ISBN-13 978-0140271690 ASIN 0140271694

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Russia War A History of the Soviet Effort 19411945 Richard Overy Books Reviews :

Russia War A History of the Soviet Effort 19411945 Richard Overy Books Reviews

• An extraordinary book that analyzes and illuminates the Russian victory over Germany in World War II. Overy provides a compelling and often gut wrenching presentation, one that explains and corrects a host of myths that have often obscured the beliefs in both the West and Russia about The Great Patriotic War. By September 1941, Russia’s defeat seemed a certainty. Less than four years later, Russia’s triumph was so complete as to beggar description. The cost of that victory is virtually matchless in history and the two opponents operated with a ferocious and merciless drive that is remarkable even by most standards of unfettered warfare. A harrowing history in every way.
• After reading this book, I have a much better understanding of the Soviet Union's failures and accomplishments in WWII. Mr. Overy provides countless details that explain not only the politics and battlefield strategy, but also the character of the leaders, soldiers, and civilians who fought this war. For example, he desribes Stalin's insecurites and interactions with Churchill and Roosevelt and then explains why non-smoking Germans were put at the front of squads moving into enemy territory.
  
  There are the usual list of casualties and maps you'd expect to find in a military history, but more importantly, Mr. Overy explains how the Soviet Union and their supposedly backward and unflexible leadership actually made dramatic changes in their conduct of the war that enabled them to defeat the Germans.
  
  The book is easy to read and very thoroughly researched. I think Mr. Overy probably had enough material to write a book twice as long, but to his credit, he focused on only that which help the reader understand the eventual outcome of the war. He is objective in both describing the tyranny of Soviet leadership, the terrible losses, and at the same time the contribution that Soviet armies made toward winning the war for the benefit of both the East and West.
• Excellent. I expected this to be simply a military history of the Eastern Front, and it was so much more. Tremendous insight from the author on not only the military battles, but the lesser known Soviet battles as well (Stalin v Zhukov, Communism v Nationalism, etc). The numbers are also staggering; the Eastern Front was where World War 2 was won.
• A popular historian in search of a home run, Overy landed another bloop single. British historians are some of the finest of the modern period (Evans, Clark, Kershaw, Stone, and on and on). Overy’s work always strikes me as in a lower tier, making me appreciate his jaw-dropping, home-run-hitting colleagues when I read them.
  
  I say all this after reading at least 4 of his books now (including “Why the Allies Won,” “The Battle of Britain,” and “The Bombing War”).
  
  Overy relies a lot on secondary sources here, and owes much to Glantz, Erickson, and others who came before him (which he acknowledges). While his introductory remarks tout a fresh look at the Soviet war effort in light of what was revealed after the fall of Communism, there doesn’t seem to be much archival research. Primary sources, such as they are, are things like Zhukov’s memoirs, Grossman’s work, or letters from soldiers. I’m not sure that any of this was eye-opening or revelatory when this was published.
  
  Nevertheless, Overy does wrap the facts with some fresh perspectives worth considering. For example, he notes that the Stalinist state was born in a war against the Czars, against the Whites, against Poland, and so on. This helps explain the constant paranoia and totalitarianism of the state, without excusing it by any means (and Overy’s account is quite damning).
  
  World War II in the east was a Soviet triumph. Overy is careful to spread the credit for the Soviet victory to several candidates. The war, he concludes, was as much Stalin’s victory as his people’s; on this, Overy seems to counter Russian accounts that shift the credit from ruler to the ruled (who did suffer a lot).
  
  What Stalin did right was listen to his generals. Hitler, in clear contrast, never learned to do this successfully or consistently. Overy is right to especially applaud the Soviet economic relocation as a massively well-organized undertaking that ranks as one of the war’s many small Allied miracles.
  
  All in all, the book is a lively survey of the Eastern Front told from a Soviet perspective. It’s relatively short for its subject – much too short to be considered a serious study – and readable. Nearly 20 years after its publication, it remains a good starting point for further study, for either newcomers or dabblers. Eastern Front or Soviet-era grognards can skip this one.
• This is more of a narrative of the overall Russian war effort, with a focus on it’s leadership.
  
  It does not attempt to focus on the details or deployments of any particular battle. When it does give service to industrial efforts or troop strengths that is more to give context to the bigger picture.
  
  This is a very well written book.
  
  I might recommend following this up with a book or two that does focus on a particular battle, Stalingrad for instance, to provide that detailed context.