Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East

Name: Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East
Brand: Tantor Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: David Stahel
ISBN: 9798350827255

Author: David Stahel

Narrator: Stewart Crank

Unabridged: 17 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/19/2021

Categories: Nonfiction, History, Russian History

Synopsis

Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began the largest and most costly campaign in military history. Its failure was a key turning point of the Second World War. The operation was planned as a Blitzkrieg to win Germany its Lebensraum in the east, and the summer of 1941 is well-known for the German army's unprecedented victories and advances. Yet the German Blitzkrieg depended almost entirely upon the motorised Panzer groups, particularly those of Army Group Centre. Using archival records, in this book David Stahel presents a history of Germany's summer campaign from the perspective of the two largest and most powerful Panzer groups on the Eastern front. Stahel's research provides a fundamental reassessment of Germany's war against the Soviet Union, highlighting the prodigious internal problems of the vital Panzer forces and revealing that their demise in the earliest phase of the war undermined the whole German invasion.

About David Stahel

David Stahel was born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1975. He completed an honors degree in history at Monash University in Melbourne, an MA in war studies at King's College London, and a PhD at the Humboldt University in Berlin. His research has centered primarily on German military history and particularly the Wehrmacht's war against the Soviet Union. Stahel is senior lecturer in European history at the University of New South Wales in Canberra. His titles include The Battle for Moscow, Retreat from Moscow, and Operation Typhoon.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Boudewijn on December 08, 2023

This book deals with the planning and preparation of operation Barbarossa and the crucial first six weeks of the campaign. It shows the different viewpoints of both the German High Command (Brauchitsch and Halder) and Hitler and the subsequent development of the German war plans. It also shows why G......more

Goodreads review by Creighton on July 01, 2022

David Stahel’s book has been the best book I have read on Operation Barbarossa, and I would say I think very highly of it. It is an eye opener for sure, and is written in a way that I love. Stahel’s book is a must read for World War Two enthusiasts; it will make you view operation Barbarossa in a di......more

Goodreads review by Jonathan on April 03, 2024

An in-depth examination of the planning and execution of the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany, why Operation Barbarossa failed and how this failure became the decisive campaign of the Second World War, dooming the Germans to defeat. Cogently written, the focus of the narrative are the op......more

Goodreads review by Eric on January 08, 2022

Not a light read but well worth the effort. Main theme of the book is that Germany lost the war when it invaded the Soviet Union and that Operation Barbarossa had an unrealistic chance of success because of lack of logistics, transportation, strategic direction along with poor planning, roads, weath......more

Goodreads review by Nicholas on June 13, 2018

This is one of the most interesting books I have read recently. The research is excellent and well presented with detailed information and a logical format. It certainly shows a reality away from the myth that is so often stated. You might go into this book with the idea of German military supremacy......more