A new paperback version of the first volume in John Erickson's monumental, critically acclaimed history of the Soviet-German war.In fascinating detail, "The Road to Stalingrad" takes us from the inept command structures and strategic delusions of the pre-invasion Soviet Union through Russia's humiliation as her armies fell back on all fronts, until the tide turned at last in Stalingrad. The assessment of the generals and political leaders, as well as of the wranglings within both the Allied and Axis commands, is completely unsparing. The climactic battle, so vividly described here, leaves the...

The follow-up to the acclaimed "The Road to Stalingrad "tells the compelling story of the Red Army's epic struggle to drive the Germans out of Russia and back to Berlin. Using Soviet, German, and Eastern European primary sources, John Erickson describes fighting and hardship on an almost unimaginable scale. The detailed narrative covers battles on all the fronts. The inside information on the Soviet system of war reveals how, under maximum stress, the Russian army achieved near-impossible feats in the field and the factories. All the diplomatic moves and counter-moves, including the...