Anyone Read the new Glantz Book? Thoughts?

[Zitadelle]

Yesterday while browsing the shelves of the local bookstore I encountered a new David Glantz book. The book is a sequel to his analysis of the pre-war Soviet military Stumbling Colossus. The new one entitled- Colossus Reborn: 1941-43 details the resurrection of the Red Army.

Has anyone started reading the tome? Any thoughts?

Of course, it will probably follow the usual Glantz format.

[Becket]

*thread necromancy!*

(but at least I have something more to say than "I agree" )

I'm enjoying the book immensely so far. I'm through the first part and just getting into the second. The first section should be separately published as required reading for any student of the war. Glantz summarizes the widely held western view that uses the East Front as a "bloody backdrop" for the "more important" actions in the West, resulting the view that the western allies won the war. He then draws upon his years of research into forgotten battles to solidly smash this view. He also takes time out to thwack Suvorov again.

Targets for this analysis include: General Winter; the "if only Guderian hadn't turned" argument; the "if only Barbarrossa had started earlier" argument; and numerous others. Great stuff.

I really like his summation of the major turning points in the war:

After Moscow, Hitler could no longer win the war on his terms.

After Stalingrad, Hitler could no longer win on any terms - all that was left to determine was the scope of defeat.

After Kursk, that defeat was going to be inexorable and total.

I'm just now moving into the parts about force structure, but I've already jumped ahead a bit to read about the leaders. I'm particularly interested in Glantz's discussion of Rokossovsky, who truly seems to stand head and shoulders above the rest in terms of being a good man, in addition to being a great general. (One wonders what he really felt when forced to stand idle outside of Warsaw.) I've read the censored version of his memoirs; apparently there's an unexpurgated version, but not yet in English.

Apologies again for raising a dead thread.

[ February 08, 2006, 03:50 PM: Message edited by: Becket ]