Retreat from Moscow, David Stahel
Retreat from Moscow, David Stahel
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Retreat from Moscow
A New History of Germany’s Winter Campaign, 1941-1942

Author: David Stahel

Narrator: Matthew Waterson

Unabridged: 15 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/19/2019


Synopsis

Germany's winter campaign of 1941–1942 has commonly been seen as its "first defeat." In Retreat from Moscow, David Stahel argues that, in fact, it was its first strategic success in the east. Though the Red Army managed to push the Wehrmacht back from Moscow, the Germans lost far fewer men (1:6), frustrated their enemy's strategic plan, and emerged in the spring unbroken and poised to recapture the initiative.

Hitler's new strategic plan called for holding important Russian industrial cities, which the German army would do. And the Soviet plan as of January 1942 aimed for nothing less than the destruction of Army Group Centre, but in fact, not a single German army, corps, or division was ever successfully destroyed. Lacking the professionalism, training, and experience of the Wehrmacht, the Red Army mounted an offensive that attempted to break German lines in countless head-on assaults, which led to far more tactical defeats than victories.

Through journals, memoirs, and wartime correspondence, Stahel takes us into the Wolf's Lair and reveals a German command at war with itself. And through soldiers' diaries and letters home, he paints a rich portrait of life and death on the front, where the men of the Ostheer fight against frostbite as much as they do Soviet artillery.


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 Jonathan on September 15, 2021

Dr. David Stahel concludes the saga of Army Group Center's campaigns during Barbarossa, Typhoon and the Soviet counterattacks in front of Moscow with this fine volume (the fifth in the series) that covers the fighting in December-January. Having failed to reach the Soviet capital, AGC found itself s......more

Goodreads review by Eric on November 05, 2019

TL;DR David Stahel’s Retreat from Moscow provides a comprehensive, effective argument for looking anew at the battles of the 1941-1942 German winter campaign. Highly recommended for history and WWII buffs. Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Find more......more

Goodreads review by Arthur on September 12, 2021

A 15 and a half hour unabridged audiobook. I know of Barbarossa in general, and have a bit more thorough knowledge regarding Stalingrad, Leningrad, Kursk, etc. But I'm lacking in the areas this book covered. I'm glad I listened to it. It did not drag on or get boring at any points and definitely gav......more

Goodreads review by Venky on December 26, 2019

Riding on the back of research that can only be appropriately described as ‘monumental’, David Stahel’s “Retreat From Moscow”, portrays in an unsparing and eviscerating fashion, Germany’s ill-fated winter campaign between 1941 – 1942. Drawing on new sources of history, Mr. Stahel argues that the des......more

Goodreads review by Terence on November 11, 2023

Cliff Notes review:If you like military and/or WW2 histories, I would recommend this book. Retreat from Moscow goes deep into the weeds to chronicle how the Nazis were able to stabilize the Eastern Front over the winter of 1941-42 after the failure of Operation Barbarossa (the initial invasion of S......more