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Stalin's Revenge: Operation Bagration and the Annihilation of Army Group Centre
In the summer of 1944 the Red Army crushed Army Group Centre in one of the largest offensives in military history. Operation Bagration - launched almost exactly three years after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union - was Stalin's retribution for Hitler's Operation Barbarossa. Earlier battles at Stalingrad and Kursk paved the way for Soviet victory, but as Anthony Tucker-Jones demonstrates in this fascinating study, Bagration ensured that the Germans would never regain the strategic initiative. In one fell swoop the Wehrmacht lost a quarter of its strength on the Eastern Front. And in a series of overwhelming assaults, the Red Army recaptured practically all the territory the Soviet Union had lost in 1941, advanced into East Prussia and reached the outskirts of Warsaw. As he reconstructs this massive and complex battle, Anthony Tucker-Jones assesses the opposing forces and their commanders and gives a vivid insight into the planning and decision-making at the highest level. He recreates the experience of the soldiers on the battlefield by using graphic contemporary accounts, and he sets the Bagration offensive in the wider context of the Soviet war effort. He also asks why Stalin's road to retribution proved to be such a long and bloody one - for the Germans, despite their crippling losses, managed to resist for another ten months.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2009
29 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Tucker-Jones
76 books29 followersDefence analyst Anthony Tucker-Jones spent nearly 20 years in the British Intelligence Community before establishing himself as a defence writer and historian: commenting on regional conflicts, counter-terrorism, intelligence and military affairs.
He is a highly experienced expert with particular strengths in editing, feature writing, report writing, communicating to specialists and non-specialists alike.
Anthony Tucker-Jones has been extensively published in numerous titles and on various news websites. He has also written a number of books.
He is widely travelled with assignments in Africa, Europe, the Far East, Latin America and the Middle East. He lived for a time in Bahrain.
Anthony holds an MA in International Relations & Strategic Studies from Lancaster University.
(Taken from official website.)
He is a highly experienced expert with particular strengths in editing, feature writing, report writing, communicating to specialists and non-specialists alike.
Anthony Tucker-Jones has been extensively published in numerous titles and on various news websites. He has also written a number of books.
He is widely travelled with assignments in Africa, Europe, the Far East, Latin America and the Middle East. He lived for a time in Bahrain.
Anthony holds an MA in International Relations & Strategic Studies from Lancaster University.
(Taken from official website.)
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 30, 2012
The subject matter of this book (Operation Bagration) is very interesting and not much is written about it. This book however doesn't sattisfy your interest enough, or at least that was the case with me.
After an introduction and a short summary of the war upto that point (june '44) the author introduces us to the generals and armies, the role of Hitler and Stalin and the terrain over which this massive campaign is fought.
The second part of the book obviously deals with the campaign itself. But, this is only some 50 pages, 75 max if you count the preperations. The events are dealt with much to quick and in a sketchy way. Unfortunately, as it could have been a great book. Next to that there are very few personal-accounts. Another thing I miss are some more good situation maps.
Then the ending of the book. In the conclusion the author returns to the same point over and over again. He states some facts as much as seven times, three or four times on the same page. The appendixes are rather interesting, on the development of Stalin's tank-force, the German tank models and both air-forces.
Overall I would give the book 2,5 stars. But for the appendixes it will be 3. And now, clearly I have to find another book on Bagration as I want to read more about it.
After an introduction and a short summary of the war upto that point (june '44) the author introduces us to the generals and armies, the role of Hitler and Stalin and the terrain over which this massive campaign is fought.
The second part of the book obviously deals with the campaign itself. But, this is only some 50 pages, 75 max if you count the preperations. The events are dealt with much to quick and in a sketchy way. Unfortunately, as it could have been a great book. Next to that there are very few personal-accounts. Another thing I miss are some more good situation maps.
Then the ending of the book. In the conclusion the author returns to the same point over and over again. He states some facts as much as seven times, three or four times on the same page. The appendixes are rather interesting, on the development of Stalin's tank-force, the German tank models and both air-forces.
Overall I would give the book 2,5 stars. But for the appendixes it will be 3. And now, clearly I have to find another book on Bagration as I want to read more about it.
March 2, 2015
This book attempts to sum up Operation Bagration in a scant 50 pages. It is the briefest of overviews of one of the biggest military operations of the entire war.
Which is a shame really. There's enough here to wet the appetite of anyone interested in this surprisingly little known event, but nowhere near enough to really do justice to it. Most of the book seems to be long lists of the units involved in the various battles during the operation, which is awkward, especially without detailed maps to better show the reader where exactly those battles were taking place. There is also a lack of personal accounts from the soldiers involved, though the author does makes mention of the lack of German first-hand accounts of the battle, due to the massive number of casualties sustained by the Germans.
Bagration deserves far more in the way of books and study. This feels like it'll be a great reference book for military historians looking to tell the tale of Operation Bagration, and give it the treatment it so clearly deserves.
Which is a shame really. There's enough here to wet the appetite of anyone interested in this surprisingly little known event, but nowhere near enough to really do justice to it. Most of the book seems to be long lists of the units involved in the various battles during the operation, which is awkward, especially without detailed maps to better show the reader where exactly those battles were taking place. There is also a lack of personal accounts from the soldiers involved, though the author does makes mention of the lack of German first-hand accounts of the battle, due to the massive number of casualties sustained by the Germans.
Bagration deserves far more in the way of books and study. This feels like it'll be a great reference book for military historians looking to tell the tale of Operation Bagration, and give it the treatment it so clearly deserves.
October 7, 2024
Despite the praise on author's name, the book is very disappointing. It proves once again how books that are titled "Stalin X" or "Hitler's Y" are usually disappointing, and it is exactly the case with this one.
The book was supposed to be Operation Bagration, but it is filled with the usual narrative "x number of jews being persecuted", an information that is oversaturated, and this case, completely irrelevant at all.
From the writing style, it is obvious that the author has a bias against the Axis, which normally, this person shouldn't write history book. The book is written with plenty of bad personification "Stalin does x", "Hitler does y", which is a very poor style because while these two guys made some big decisions, they are not in full control of the occurrence.
Typical book that is written with victor's bias.
The only interesting thing about this book is that the Appendix is easier to read than the main content.
The book was supposed to be Operation Bagration, but it is filled with the usual narrative "x number of jews being persecuted", an information that is oversaturated, and this case, completely irrelevant at all.
From the writing style, it is obvious that the author has a bias against the Axis, which normally, this person shouldn't write history book. The book is written with plenty of bad personification "Stalin does x", "Hitler does y", which is a very poor style because while these two guys made some big decisions, they are not in full control of the occurrence.
Typical book that is written with victor's bias.
The only interesting thing about this book is that the Appendix is easier to read than the main content.
December 28, 2020
Bones of a good account of a critical battle
Tucker-Jones has amassed the raw material for a solid overview of one of the great campaigns of World War II, one that has been inexplicably neglected. Unfortunately, the book is not well organized or edited. The early chapters are quite confusing unless the reader is already well-versed in the war on the Eastern Front. In many places the narrative is quite disconnected, jumping back and forth between the antagonists from one battlefield to another, making it hard to follow. It's too bad, because Bagration was arguably the Red Army's greatest victory over the Wermacht and it deserves to be better known.
Tucker-Jones has amassed the raw material for a solid overview of one of the great campaigns of World War II, one that has been inexplicably neglected. Unfortunately, the book is not well organized or edited. The early chapters are quite confusing unless the reader is already well-versed in the war on the Eastern Front. In many places the narrative is quite disconnected, jumping back and forth between the antagonists from one battlefield to another, making it hard to follow. It's too bad, because Bagration was arguably the Red Army's greatest victory over the Wermacht and it deserves to be better known.
October 17, 2025
very, Very Detailed…
One has to be a WWII buff in order to get through this awesomely detailed book regarding both armies and their strengths and weaknesses.
If Roosevelt hadn’t of insisted upon Unconditional Surrender, maybe Hitler would have sued for peace by 1944? Or maybe not what with the crimes against humanity he and his gang of “Aryans” had perpetual by then.
One has to be a WWII buff in order to get through this awesomely detailed book regarding both armies and their strengths and weaknesses.
If Roosevelt hadn’t of insisted upon Unconditional Surrender, maybe Hitler would have sued for peace by 1944? Or maybe not what with the crimes against humanity he and his gang of “Aryans” had perpetual by then.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews