Very impressive. There is far more learning here than you will be able to absorb in one reading.The introductory and concluding chapters are the best, describing Hitler's grand plans and the calculations that went into his decisions. These early and late chapters give a broad sweep to the war on the eastern front, describing its connections with Nazi racial theories and anti-semitism, the search for Lebensraum (living space), Hitler's geopolitical vision, his attempt to create an empire that could equal the United States in power and self-sufficiency (which came as a great surprise to me), and so on. For the average reader, with an amateur's interest in World War II, much of the discussion comes as a revelation
.Given the topics, the writing in these chapters tends to the abstract. While not obscure in the least and not overly dense, it does demand a certain level of concentration.
The very large middle section of the book, narrating the events of the war itself, is a different thing. The good part is the discussion of the goals and thinking of both sides as events unfold. Hitler's decisions, even those sometimes dismissed as bizarre or irrational, are shown to make sense, at least from his point of view. Following the battles themselves, however, is difficult. The tactics are given in considerable detail. There is much along these lines:
Leading off the attack on 25 October, the Third Panzer Corps forced its way across the river, punched a hole in Soviet defenses, and cut off enemy forces at Nalchik. The panzer divisions now wheeled to the southeast and over the next few days crossed numerous swiftly flowing rivers as they skirted the edge of the Caucasus Mountains. By the twenty-ninth, they had reached the Ardon River, at the head of the Ossetian Military Road. The Twenty-third Panzer Division seized Alagir, thus closing the road, on 1 November, while that evening spearheads of the Thirteenth Panzer were only ten miles from Ordzhonikidze on the Georgian Military Road.
Even with a map of Russia beside you, you probably cannot follow what is happening except in the most general sort of way, since the references are often to rather small rivers and towns that are not on the maps in most atlases. What this central section of the book really cries out for is a series of hundreds of video animations showing the movements of troops, the thrusts and retreats, pincer movements, encirclements and break-outs. Describing these movement in mere words is less than satisfying. This is not the book, either, that will give you a sense of what it was like to be on the ground. While you get quotations from the memoirs of generals discussing their strategies, there is very little from the memoirs of the fighting men. You do not get a mental picture of the battles. The Battle of Stalingrad comes and goes almost before you know it. However, in the middle of it all, the author's discussions are highly illuminating.
So long as you come to this book looking for what it has to offer, an intelligent discussion of Hitler's war on the Soviet Union, rather than a narrative, page-turning potboiler, you will be more than pleased with it.
Correction: I was reading an ebook version of the book and was essentially unable to consult the maps while I was reading. With a print edition it will not be quite so hard to follow the battles, so long as you keep your thumb in the page near the front of the book with the appropriate map.
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