Recommended books for Eastern Front

[Nero's Cat]

Hello everyone - can anyone please recommend any books for me on the Eastern Front during Second World War - any time period.

Would be much appreciated - going to buy myself something for Christmas!

Regards

[George MC]

What sort of stuff you after? In depth strategic/photos/ first hand accounts? I've a whole list but me typing ain't up to it. Let us know

Or you could check out using the search function cos there have been a load of other requests along the same lines maybe some of these will give you ideas?

Cheers fur noo

George

[Nero's Cat]

Oops - sorry. Didn't think to check search function. Will do now.

Kind of thing i'm looking for is a detailed overview - thought Antony Beevor's Stalingrad and Berlin were great but obviously only covered certain aspects - am looking for that kind of detail for other aspects.

I've heard a lot about Glantz - is that the kind of thing i should be looking for and if so, which ones?

[George MC]

Anything by Glantzis superb - although it is rather dry, but just the stuff to read if you are after the detail regarding units (divisonal level and above) and what they were up too. So if it's detailed overview then Glantz is one of your men

George M. Nipe Jnr has done a superb account of The Battle of Kharkov, and the Soviet counter offensive after Kursk - Decision in the Ukraine. Also Hell's Gate by Douglas Nash about the Korsun Pocket battles.

Cheers fur noo

George

[JasonC]

For the whole war read -

Barbarossa by Alan Clarke

Road to Stalingrad and Road to Berlin by Erickson

When Titans Clashed by Glantz and House

Lost Victories by Manstein

There are scores of good books on individual campaigns or battles, but those are indispensable ones for the war as a whole.

[Bigduke6]

I would add Gudarian's Panzer Leader to Jason's list.

Armageddon by Max Hastings is not just the East Front, but it gives an excellent general treatment of the Red Army's operations in 1945, and better puts those operations in context with what was going on in Italy and the West. I put it far ahead of Beevor's book on the Fall of Berlin.

I recommend Zladoga's Red Army Handbook highly as the easiest way to learn how the Red Army was put together.

Personally I think Nash's Hell's Gate is hugely

one-sided, but YMMV.

And if I had to pick one single book of them all, it would be When Titans Clashed. If a person wants to start learning about the Eastern Front, would suggest he read that one first.

[Andreas]

Originally posted by JasonC:

There are scores of good books on individual campaigns or battles, but those are indispensable ones for the war as a whole.

You forgot Ziemke/Bauer and Ziemke in this list:

Moscow to Stalingrad

Stalingrad to Berlin

Far better than Erickson in terms of writing, and makes an honest attempt to take the Soviet side into account based on what was available. The German side is very thoroughly treated, much better than what you get in either Glantz or Erickson, using German army records.

All the best

Andreas

[Leprechaun]

Originally posted by Nero's Cat:

Oops - sorry. Didn't think to check search function. Will do now.

Kind of thing i'm looking for is a detailed overview - thought Antony Beevor's Stalingrad and Berlin were great but obviously only covered certain aspects - am looking for that kind of detail for other aspects.

I've heard a lot about Glantz - is that the kind of thing i should be looking for and if so, which ones?

I just got finished reading Enemy at the Gates by Craig and really liked it. Preferred it to Beevor's treatment of the same subject.

[ December 20, 2007, 04:08 PM: Message edited by: Leprechaun ]

[Bannon DC]

Has anyone read:

"A Writer at War: Vasily Grossman with the Red Army, 1941-1945" by Vasily Grossman?

or

"Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945 by Catherine Merridale?

Also, wondering if anyone has read "Marshal of the Soviet Union" -- Zhukov's memoir. I picked it up a couple of months ago but have not gotten to it yet.

[George MC]

Hi Bannon

I've read a "Writer at War". It's an interesting and extremely well written IMO account and has some useful insights into the war experience for your average Soviet/Russian combatant and civilian. If it's stuff for scenarios you are after there is not a lot there.

Only flicked through the latter whilst browsing a bookshop - looked a worthwhile read.

Cheers fur noo

george

[Bigduke6]

I've read both.

Neither book is worth much for CM and scenarios and shooting and tanks and stuff.

I recommend the Grossman book highly. The Merridale book less so.

The Grossman book is a window into the Red Army's propaganda and information machine, plus a study of what happens if you put a man in the line for close to three years.

Probably most importantly, Grossman was with elements of 1st Ukrainian Front when they overran Treblinka and Majdanek. His report in Pravda of what a death camp was, and how the Germans ran it, was definitive - it got submitted into the Nuerenburg Trial process as evidence. It is horrific reading any one interested in the period should see, and it is generally accounted one of the most powerful news reports written by a reporter, ever.

You can Google the report of course. But he was at pretty much every major battle (Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, Berlin, etc.) and his career is I think very interesting.

Merridale's book essentially chronicles how the Red Army used its cannon fodder - how it recruited them, fed them, and expended them. The book makes clear how brutal the Red Army was, and how cheap human life was held in the organization.

The criticism I have with the book is that it leaves the impression that the key to Soviet victory, essentially, was ruthless expenditure of the lives of Soviet citizens. This is true, but it really isn't the full picture - as pointed out by Glantz and others the Red Army learned from its mistakes and by the end of the war arguably was the most efficient land force the world had ever seen. You get none of that from Merridale's book.

My two kopecks.

[76mm]

Two good books for tactical accounts:

1) IN DEADLY COMBAT by Biderman; and

2) TANK RIDER by Bessonov.

You can get in-depth reviews, etc. on Amazon, but basically both books are by soldiers (Biderman-German, Bessonov-Russian) serving at the company level during a couple years of combat, and are both pretty frank about the pluses and minuses of their respective armies.

[GSP]

Black Cross+*Red Star, Vol's I,II&III are some great books about the Air War on the Eastern Front. As a big fan of the Game IL-2, these have been worth every penny.

https://eagle-editions.com/la_7.htm

[sudowudo]

just finished and can recommend "The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer a mid war Gross Deutchland recruit who somehow survived until the end.not a book to read if you are depressed or have suicidal tendencies though.

[JasonC]

Except he wasn't, and made it up.

Mike Dorosh will be along in a few minutes to give you details, if you require them.

[sudowudo]

not necessary.i used the power of google and read through this page...........

http://members.shaw.ca/grossdeutschland/sajer.htm

certainly an entertaining book even if it is fiction.

[jtcm]

Well, is it or isn't it ?

(Guy Sajer actually writes graphic novels in French, under the nom de plume Dimitri-- either right-wing political satire, or Landser" type WWII (or WWI) combat narratives. I used to read them, and think "The author's some kind of Nazi", and was surprised to find out that Dimitri was actually Guy Sajer-- i.e. (as far as I believed, and still believe) a real ex-WWII Nazi soldier.)

[Bannon DC]

Originally posted by 76mm:

Two good books for tactical accounts:

1) IN DEADLY COMBAT by Biderman; and

2) TANK RIDER by Bessonov.

You can get in-depth reviews, etc. on Amazon, but basically both books are by soldiers (Biderman-German, Bessonov-Russian) serving at the company level during a couple years of combat, and are both pretty frank about the pluses and minuses of their respective armies.

Both good books... interesting and quick reads. Good tactical level CM stuff, especially from Bidermann.

[DonsBoy88]

Cat , I've recently read a very good book on Stalingrad, by Michael Jones. This book gives the account of the battle from the Soviet point of view, using many sources and first person accounts .

Another great book about a city under siege is;

The siege of Budapest - 100 Days in WW2, by Krisztian Ungary.

This time the Soviets are the ones doing the besieging, and the book details not just the various warring factions, but also the terrible suffering of the trapped civilians.

I could not recommend ; The siege of Leningrad by David Glantz.

While the book is full of details, is well sourced and has some great photos it reads like stale toast. Infact this book has put me off Glantz's works for life.

Operation Barbarossa - The war in Russia as photographed by the solders

By Paul Carell.

While people can argue about Carells politics this picture/ text book is simply superb. It's chock full of amazing photos from both sides with some in colour . It's one of my all time favourite WW2 books.

God, Honor, Fatherland

Grossdeutschland on the Eastern Front 42/44

This is the best pictorial divisional history I've ever seen. The photos are crystal sharp and cover the division through training and into action. Also included are some nice bios on a number of officers. If your interested in the Wehrmacht this is a must buy in my opinion.

Platz Der Leibstandarte

The SS - Panzer - Grenadier - Division LSSAH

and the battle of Kharkov 43

Similar to the previous title in quality and again highly recommended.

Two books that relate well to CMBB are;

German Report Series - Small unit actions during the German campaign in Russia.

Department of the Army Pamphlet Number 20-269

Panzer Tactics - German small - unit armour tactics in WW2

By Wolfgang Schneider

Essential reading for the understanding of German combined arms tank doctrine and it's use in every day situations.

[John Kettler]

Nero's Cat,

If you did indeed run the search, you should now be in complete overwhelm as a book buyer, faced with way more options than you have budget. Past threads on your topic have listed dozens, if not hundreds, of books, with more written every year. It took practically forever, but I am heartened to finally see Russian first person combat accounts show up.

Regards,

John Kettler

[RockinHarry]

Not just good for XMas, rather for all your wargaming life:

Guderian´s "Panzer Marsch!"

and

Middeldorf´s "Taktik im Russlandfeldzug" (tactics in the russian campaign)

No idea whether these are available in english translations.

[Zalgiris 1410]

Originally posted by Bigduke6:

Personally I think Nash's Hell's Gate is hugely one-sided, but YMMV.

What does YMMV stand for?

[Der Alte Fritz]

If you want Russian material You should have a look at the huge list of official accounts that you can get from David Glantz himself. They tend to be pricey but have lots of Soviet detail unavailable elsewhere.

[Sgt AA]

Originally posted by 76mm:

Two good books for tactical accounts:

1) IN DEADLY COMBAT by Biderman; and

2) TANK RIDER by Bessonov.

You can get in-depth reviews, etc. on Amazon, but basically both books are by soldiers (Biderman-German, Bessonov-Russian) serving at the company level during a couple years of combat, and are both pretty frank about the pluses and minuses of their respective armies.

Read both now, and thanks for telling me about them. They both very good and I learned a lot. Like Biderman best, more details there, but I missed maps or at least "sketches" over some situations.

[MeatEtr]

I agree about the "In Deadly Combat" its a good read. Not too sure about the "Tank Rider" book. It seemed kinda iffy about how almost all the german tanks he saw were tigers and panthers. Nothing major though, on par with other diary/memoir type books.

As for other book recommendations, I liked "Blood Red Snow".

I would also like to echo the "Enemy at the Gates" recommendation. I'm about half way through this excellent book about Staingrad. I'm already liking it much better than Beevors book. I consider a must read for Stalingrad fans. I got a good deal on a hardcover from Amazon . Is in great condition, like new, for only $12.