bruceb Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 Looking for opinions/recommendations on the best history (in english) of the war in the east, 41-45. Hopefully, something that's still in print or easily available used. What say you? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobs_ladder2 Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 Originally posted by bruceb: Looking for opinions/recommendations on the best history (in english) of the war in the east, 41-45. Hopefully, something that's still in print or easily available used. What say you? "Colossus Reborn" by David Glantz is an excellent book. It deals with the rebirth of the Soviet Army. Just came out a few months ago. He also has two books called "Before Stalingrad" and "When Titans Clashed" which I enjoyed quite a bit. I think the best total history of the war in the east comes from "The Russo-German War 1941-45" by Albert Seaton. A more generalized version of the conflict (a bit antiquated but still good) is "Barbarossa: The Russo-German Conflict 1941-45" by Alan Clark. Also, for a bit of the Russian point of view, "The Road to Stalingrad" and "The Road to Berlin" by John Erickson, are great. And the classic "Lost Victories", by Erich von Manstein. For starters. Cheers Paul 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harper88 Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 I concur with jacobs_ladder2 on Clark's "Barbarossa" although it didn't have the detail I was hoping for. Erickson's 2-volumes are highly detailed. I'm halfway through the first volume and will go right on to the second volume. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runyan99 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 If you want one book covering the whole war, go with 'When Titans Clashed' by Glantz. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Older works from the German PoV are Ziemke's books. Well worth reading, primarily based on German KTBs and work from the OCMH. Manstein maybe a classic, but it is not a history of the war in the east. It is flawed in that it is written by an actor who had no incentive to even attempt an unbiased analysis, and there are at least two pieces in it that have been criticised as faulty (and if I had actually read 'Verlorene Siege' I am sure I could think of more). These concern the advance to Leningrad and the discussion about whether Zitadelle ought to have been continued. Erickson has some serious problems because of his reliance on flawed Soviet archival material. 'When Titans Clashed' is probably your best bet. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwolf Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 "Colossus reborn". "War without Garlands". 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zveroboy Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 Another vote for "When Titans Clashed" by Glantz. You can read on specific operations later when you have a global view of the war. Colossus reborn is more about the Red Army itself than the war on the East Front although it deals with both. War without Garlands is very good but only about Barbarossa. [ May 18, 2005, 09:01 AM: Message edited by: Zveroboy ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hound Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 While I concur as to the quality of the books listed above, Albert Seaton's The Russo-German War 1941-45 should rank at or near the top. IMHO it's a well done, well rounded account of the war in the east. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 Seaton, like Ziemke, would however suffer from a lack of Soviet sources, would he not? I have not gotten round to reading it, but anything published before the mid-90s will suffer from that to some degree I would have thought. Ziemke has to rely on the official Soviet histories to show the Red Army perspective, and they are decidedly dodgy in terms of reliability. Bit like Manstein's memoirs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Bolt Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 I'm about 50% through Russia's War by Overy. I like him as an author. Very high level grand scheme type of book. No hot tank on tank action at all. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacobs_ladder2 Posted May 19, 2005 Share Posted May 19, 2005 Originally posted by Andreas: Older works from the German PoV are Ziemke's books. Well worth reading, primarily based on German KTBs and work from the OCMH. Manstein maybe a classic, but it is not a history of the war in the east. It is flawed in that it is written by an actor who had no incentive to even attempt an unbiased analysis, and there are at least two pieces in it that have been criticised as faulty (and if I had actually read 'Verlorene Siege' I am sure I could think of more). These concern the advance to Leningrad and the discussion about whether Zitadelle ought to have been continued. Erickson has some serious problems because of his reliance on flawed Soviet archival material. 'When Titans Clashed' is probably your best bet. I like Glantz quite a bit. I think he is the best source we have right now (along with Zaloga). I emailed Glantz a month or two ago to ask him about this or that division and he mentioned that he was working on a massive book (800 or so pages I think) covering Barbarossa (in extreme detail) up to the 42 counteroffensive. That, needless to say, will be a worthwile book to have. I should have put a smily face after Manstein's book. I enjoy it immensely, but it is a bit whimsical in places. Cheers Paul 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Chung Posted May 23, 2005 Share Posted May 23, 2005 Seeing as it was the 60th anniversary of Germany's capitulation, I went and bought the Last Battle by Cornelius Ryan (who wrote the Longest Day). It only covers the last few weeks in the battle for Berlin and while is not strictly a military history book it certainly tells a gripping tale. Berlin The Downfall 1945 by Antony Beevor gives a slightly wider perspective of the Eastern Front from January 1945 to May 1945. Danny 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harper88 Posted May 23, 2005 Share Posted May 23, 2005 If you like The Last Battle, Let me recommend John Toland's The Last 100 Days. And if you're interested in a similar book on the end of the war in the Pacific, Richard B. Frank's Downfall is also excellent. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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