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THE UNKNOWN WAR THE EASTERN FRONT
The Unknown The Eastern Front sheds light on one of the most pivotal yet often overlooked chapters of World War II. Authored by esteemed historians, this comprehensive account delves into the complexities and brutalities of the conflict between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. From the initial invasion to the final battles, the book offers a gripping narrative that captures the scale of the fighting and the human cost of war. Drawing from archival sources and firsthand testimonies, it explores the strategic maneuvers, military tactics, and political machinations that shaped the Eastern Front. Through detailed analysis and vivid storytelling, The Unknown War brings to life the experiences of soldiers and civilians alike, revealing the untold stories of courage, sacrifice, and resilience in the face of unimaginable hardship.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 13, 2024
About the author
Winston S. Churchill
1,401 books2,494 followersSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, politician and writer, as prime minister from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955 led Great Britain, published several works, including
The Second World War
from 1948 to 1953, and then won the Nobel Prize for literature.
William Maxwell Aitken, first baron Beaverbrook, held many cabinet positions during the 1940s as a confidant of Churchill.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can), served the United Kingdom again. A noted statesman, orator and strategist, Churchill also served as an officer in the Army. This prolific author "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values."
Out of respect for Winston_Churchill, the well-known American author, Winston S. Churchill offered to use his middle initial as an author.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston...
William Maxwell Aitken, first baron Beaverbrook, held many cabinet positions during the 1940s as a confidant of Churchill.
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can), served the United Kingdom again. A noted statesman, orator and strategist, Churchill also served as an officer in the Army. This prolific author "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values."
Out of respect for Winston_Churchill, the well-known American author, Winston S. Churchill offered to use his middle initial as an author.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston...
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 29, 2025
During the Great War, the horrors and immediacy of the tremendous conflicts and staggering casualties of the Western Front often overshadowed any news that filtered out of the East. But, as Churchill amply demonstrates in this, the final volume of his “World Crisis” series, the struggles between Germany and Austria-Hungary on one side, and Czarist Russia and Serbia on the other, were on just as great a scale and equally costly in casualties and destruction as anything taking place in the West—and just as important in determining the eventual outcome of the war.
A description of the declining state of the Habsburg monarchy leads directly to a discussion of Austria’s inability to field an army adequately equipped and competently led, weakened as it was by ethnic divisions and nationalistic rivalries which had long plagued the far-flung and essentially ungovernable empire. Detailed timelines are given of how the assassination of Franz Ferdinand led to a declaration of war against Serbia and the “slippery slope” involvement of Germany and Russia; which, as the author shows, was the culmination of rivalries and hatreds which had been building up for centuries.
Russia’s unpreparedness for war is also amply illustrated in the accounts of the seesaw battles that raged back and forth between the Czar’s armies and the Austrians and Germans. Though certainly not lacking in manpower, the Russians, still trying to recover from their defeat in the Russo-Japanese war and the turmoil of the Revolution of 1905, lacked an industrial base to keep their troops adequately supplied with arms and ammunition and, like the Austrians, but for a few exceptions like Brusilov and Grand Duke Nicholas, lacked competent and effective leadership. The only decisive victories the Russians were ever able to win were against the Austrians, who were just as poorly led and equipped and often had to rely upon the Germans to extricate them from disaster. Germany with its huge war industries and far-flung railway system had infinitely superior armament, logistics, transportation and quality troops and the encounters with the Russians usually ended in a Russian retreat and the advancement of the front further to the east. Hindenburg and Ludendorff were an unbeatable team (at least on the Eastern Front) despite disagreements with Falkenhayn.
As the author explains in great detail, the outcome of all this, aside from the slaughter of millions of men and destruction on a grand scale, was the Bolshevik Revolution; the withdrawal of Russia from the war; the treaty of Brest-Litovsk which reshaped national boundaries; the breakup of Austria-Hungary and end of the Habsburg Dynasty; and the transfer of millions of German troops to the Western Front, enabling the great Ludendorff Offensive of spring 1918 which arguably prolonged the war.
Churchill has succeeded in assembling the vast scope of the war in the East into a readable narrative (written in 1931) that will also help readers understand how and why the war in the West ended when it did and the configuration of the map of eastern Europe during the interwar period. Highly recommended!
***** review by Chuck Graham *****
A description of the declining state of the Habsburg monarchy leads directly to a discussion of Austria’s inability to field an army adequately equipped and competently led, weakened as it was by ethnic divisions and nationalistic rivalries which had long plagued the far-flung and essentially ungovernable empire. Detailed timelines are given of how the assassination of Franz Ferdinand led to a declaration of war against Serbia and the “slippery slope” involvement of Germany and Russia; which, as the author shows, was the culmination of rivalries and hatreds which had been building up for centuries.
Russia’s unpreparedness for war is also amply illustrated in the accounts of the seesaw battles that raged back and forth between the Czar’s armies and the Austrians and Germans. Though certainly not lacking in manpower, the Russians, still trying to recover from their defeat in the Russo-Japanese war and the turmoil of the Revolution of 1905, lacked an industrial base to keep their troops adequately supplied with arms and ammunition and, like the Austrians, but for a few exceptions like Brusilov and Grand Duke Nicholas, lacked competent and effective leadership. The only decisive victories the Russians were ever able to win were against the Austrians, who were just as poorly led and equipped and often had to rely upon the Germans to extricate them from disaster. Germany with its huge war industries and far-flung railway system had infinitely superior armament, logistics, transportation and quality troops and the encounters with the Russians usually ended in a Russian retreat and the advancement of the front further to the east. Hindenburg and Ludendorff were an unbeatable team (at least on the Eastern Front) despite disagreements with Falkenhayn.
As the author explains in great detail, the outcome of all this, aside from the slaughter of millions of men and destruction on a grand scale, was the Bolshevik Revolution; the withdrawal of Russia from the war; the treaty of Brest-Litovsk which reshaped national boundaries; the breakup of Austria-Hungary and end of the Habsburg Dynasty; and the transfer of millions of German troops to the Western Front, enabling the great Ludendorff Offensive of spring 1918 which arguably prolonged the war.
Churchill has succeeded in assembling the vast scope of the war in the East into a readable narrative (written in 1931) that will also help readers understand how and why the war in the West ended when it did and the configuration of the map of eastern Europe during the interwar period. Highly recommended!
***** review by Chuck Graham *****
Displaying 1 of 1 review