Soviet Cavalry Operations During The Second World War offers a unique perspective on the fighting between Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II. In addition, the reader also gets a brief look into the developmental genesis of such operations and their impact on modern Soviet and Russian ground forces.
The strength of this book is in showing a reader otherwise confronted with a blizzard of works emphasizing the role of the tank on World War II's Eastern Front that in fact cavalry often proved decisive in the success of Soviet defensive and offensive operations.
Rollback: The Red Army's Winter Offensive Along The Southwestern Strategic Direction, 1942-1943 covers the fighting in Southern Russia and the Eastern Ukraine west and northwest of Stalingrad during the heart of the winter of 1942-1943. This book is an edited and translated reproduction of articles published by the Soviet General Staff both during and following the Second World War. As such, the book contains much insight into the effectiveness of the Red Army when on the offensive during this stage of the war, including a detailed look at its tank and mechanized formations.
The Forgotten Battle of the Kursk Salient is the third English language translation of Valeriy Zamulin's near incomparable break-down and analysis of The Battle of Kursk. I have previouslyreviewed his two earlier works covering other aspects of this, one of the most important battles of the Second World War. I find this latest effort as ranking among his finest work.
In this volume Zamulin once again returns to the efforts made by the Red Army's Voronezh and Steppe Fronts in defeating Germany's Army Group South’s quest to meet the goals set for Operation Citadel (the German code name for
Casemate's Illustrated Series is a welcome addition to the available literature targeted at the general World War II enthusiast. These volumes, originally published in French by Histoire & Collections during predominately the 1990s, do exactly what one would expect in an illustrated series - that being, offering up plenty of photos and high quality illustrations.
Each volume averages 128 pages in length and is packed with around 150 Second World War era photographs as well as numerous and excellent illlustrations (with credit here going to Jean Restayn). Background detail and history is
The Battle of Kursk was quite possibly the turning point in the Second World War. Though that contention is of course debatable, the fact that Kursk can be considered in such terms speaks to its importance. Moreover, for enthusiasts of armored warfare Kursk featured not only one of the greatest concentrations of armored fighting vehicles in history but, in a battle within a battle, few continue to attract as much interest as the clash of armor that occurred in July of 1943 near the small Russian town of Prokhorovka.
Gregory Liedtke's Enduring The Whirlwind is more than anything else a deep dive into the statistics behind the first two years of the war fought between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Most importantly, Liedtke's work seeks to address the ongoing controversy over whether or not the numbers game played the key role in explaining the Ostheer's defeat at the hands of the Red Army. To do that, the author focuses the book on German personnel and material losses during the war's early years, and then looks at whether or not the Third Reich was capable of replacing those losses.
I previously reviewed and endorsed Volume One of Igor Nebolsin's two-volume set entitled Stalin's Favorite. Here, I shall examine what Volume Two has to offer (subtitled "From Lublin to Berlin, July 1944-May 1945). Like Volume One, Volume Two offers Second World War armored enthusiasts a treasure trove of information about one of the Red Army's top combat armies and the mechanics of tank warfare in general.
Continuining where he left off Nebolsin takes the combat history of the 2nd Guards Tank Army (hereinafter referred to in this review as the 2nd GTA) into the war's final year (and well
The Battle of Rzhev was a fifteen-month campaign that took place during World War II. During these battles the Red Army sought to not only evict German forces from a central position not far outside of Moscow, but also eliminate the bulk of Army Group Center. These battles formed a campaign so colossal that in a number of metrics outdid the fighting at Stalingrad. However, there is much controversy surrounding the Rzhev battles.
As such, Svetlana Gerasimova's The Rzhev Slaughterhouse seeks to "lay out the history of combat operations in 1942 and early 1943 on the central - the Moscow - axis
Igor Nebolsin's Stalin's Favorite offers Second World War armored enthusiasts a treasure trove of information about one of the Red Army's top combat armies. One would be hard pressed to find an English language translation of a Soviet army's combat history, and in doing so here the team of Nebolsin and Britton have performed an invaluable service.
As the mouthful of a sub-title indicates this is the first of a two part look at the 2nd Guards Tank Army (hereinafter referred to in this review as the 2nd GTA). This volume covers events from the 2nd GTA's formation late in 1942 up to June of
