German Infantryman vs Soviet Rifleman: Barbarossa 1941

Osprey Combat #7

by David Campbell

The Axis invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 pitted Nazi Germany and her allies against Stalin's forces in a mighty struggle for survival. Fighting alongside the spearhead Panzer divisions were Germany's highly skilled and veteran motorized infantrymen - including the German Army's premier unit, Infanterie-Regiment (mot.) Grossdeutschland. Opposing these German mobile forces, the Soviets deployed the often ill-trained and poorly equipped men of the rifle regiments, who fought tenaciously and with the threat of savage reprisals from their own side. In this book three bruising clashes during the first seven weeks of the campaign are assessed - a bloody encounter battle at Zhlobin, the struggle for the destroyed city of Smolensk and then a prolonged clash along a dangerously stretched German defensive perimeter at Vas'kovo-Voroshilovo.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military Fiction, Military History

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

David Campbell has worked as a new media producer and content specialist for many years, including roles at IBM, the BBC, various Internet consultancies and the British civil service. He is the author of a number of titles for Osprey.

Reviews

[Jur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Describes the fighting of German an Soviet troops in the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa, so a combination of first line Soviet troops and the new armies that were hastily thrown into battle in July.

There's a lot of Glantz but not much in terms of accounts by Soviet participants, which would have been a great boon in understanding what it was like for Russian soldiers.

The choice to show three encounters from this early phase of Barbarossa can be defended although I think a comparison of fighting in June/July, August/September and October-December would have better shown the development of fighting capabilities of the Wehrmacht and Red Army over time.

I guess the Combat series is picking up for me, but it has not reached its potential.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comparison of the German (Motorized) Infantryman and the Soviet Rifleman through three battles that took place in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa: Zhlobin, Smolensk, and Vas'kovo-Voroshilovo. The accompanying analysis goes into the strengths and weaknesses shown by both organizations.

The usual combination of photographs, art and maps present in most Osprey books help make this a good supplement to any study of Operation Barbarossa.

Fair warning, all three German units covered are Motorized Infantry, and not regular infantry. In addition, the unit in the third example is the Grossdeutchland Regiment which was a unique unit that did not follow standard German TO&Es. All three are typical in the sense that the Motorized units were the ones that were most often in contact with Soviet units, more so than the regular Infantry at this stage in the war.

[Almantas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opsrey Publishing Duel publicaton.

[AH]

Received from Osprey Publishing 7/3/14.

[Richardsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting showcase. Helps to explain the vast differences between both armies, and the reasons behind their successes and failures. Very few color drawings, but of high quality.