Stalin's War with Germany

John Erickson, may he rest in peace, wrote a hisotrical work on the most savage war in the history of mankind in a way that has yet to be surpassed. When one looks at the war in the east from 1941-1945 all the other fronts of the war, except for China's struggle between Communist partisans led by Mao against the Japanese, look like trivial sorry excuses for war. D-day was nothing....a puff of dust, even the ferocious fighting in the Pacific pales in comparision with such titanic actions as Kursk, Operation Bagration, East Prussia, the firey assualt on Budapest. Erickson did not say this flat out but as you read it becomes quite apparent that the war was fought and won by the Russians. This very unconventional but compeling work beats anything Steven Ambrose wrote. Even the scientific battle analysis of david glanz does not come close to this masterwork. John Erickson, you were the best....

this is my favorite work on the great patriotic war. it is superior to alexander werths tome due to its meticulous detail and tough narrative.... This is the only book that shows the east prussia operation in all its ferocity.

All written accounts of the war of the eastern front are exhaustive in detail, and tough to envision. By the sheer fact that the the soviet union was so vast, with seemingly hundreds of cities, towns, and villages. And a battle probably occured in almost every one. Well, at least in the western soviet union. And this book is no different. One cannot possibly memorize all of the actions led by all of the different soviet tank divisions, tank armies, tank corps, rifle armies, shock armies, cavalry divisions, artillery divisions, etc., without going mad. But the book does give you the bigger outcomes of these monstrous engagements in a well written, concise way. The complex political aspect of the forces behind the war are also examined. The only complaint i have is the gross lack of maps to trace the battles. At more than one occasion, i had to break out my atlas to see where the hell everything was happening. In conclusion, a well written, mostly unbiased account of the second half of the war in the east.

The Road to Berlin and its sister book, the Road to Stalingrad, have sat on my bookshelves for 10 years under the "too difficult" heading. Only when I recently started travelling to Russia and saw the names of famous battles spread all over the map, was my interest reignited.And after reading this marathon, with its twists and turns, the endless fighting (only a three month break in 4 years), I am full of awe for the beligerents : yet also of endless questions and "what ifs". When exactly did Germany lose its ability to win the ware and how did it ever intend to defeat Russia in the first place ? Having failed to lose, when did Russia overcome possible stalemate on the Ostwall and become the inexorable winner ? Could Churchill and Roosevelt secured a better post war settlement ?The enormity of the campaign, described in a free flowing narrative exclusively from the Russian perspective, unfolds over the pages and makes real the menacing characters of Hitler or Stalin, always at the end of a phone to their commanders.So after the last page, I am left wanting to see more of the places, to know more of the soldiers on the ground to understand more. Beware, this book will begin an obsession !

Before colonel Glantz started producing its fine string of books devoted to the Eastern Front, John Erickson's two volumes (this one and "The Road To Stalingrad") were THE source for anyone seriously interested in the topic. Also, professor Erickson had the incomparable merit to write using loads of (painfully) researched Russian sources,giving to his work far more balance than any earlier book on the Great Patriotic War (as WWII is known in Russia), that usually were inaccurate or awfully biased towards the German point of view. It's not by chance that the same col. Glantz (another rare bird as historian) always states that his own work is just an update of what Erickson did in the 70's and the 80's. Actually, "To Road to Stalingrad" & "The Road To Berlin" arent' particularly dated, and still convey not only the finest "big picture" of this titanic conflict (whose dimensions are often difficult if not impossible to grasp) but also a stream of invaluable details on the (near) death and unexpected resurrection of the Red Army (and the Soviet State) in its struggle against a ruthless, vicious and powerful enemy. Yes, there are no maps (a minor complaint, given the wealth of Historical Atlas available on the market) but in any case, if you're into the subject, this is the book to buy.