Barbarossa: The First Seven Days: Nazi Germany's 1941 Invasion of the Soviet Union

by Will Fowler

On 22 June 1941 The Germans launched their long-expected invasion of the Soviet Union. Codenamed ""Operation Barbarossa," after the famous 12th century crusading emperor, what followed was perhaps the greatest clash of arms the world has ever witnessed. With the aid of specially commissioned maps, The First 7 Days describes the dramatic history of the first week of the invasion of the Soviet Union. The book begins with an extensive overview of the Wehrmacht's success up until 1941, followed by chapters outlining the German High Command's plan of attack and the defensive dispositions of the Soviet forces. The author goes on to describe the opening bombardment, followed by detailed accounts of the three Army Groups' fortunes in the first week of the campaign. The book finishes with an analysis of the remainder of the campaign and the ultimate failure of the Germans to destroy the Red Army and capture Moscow. With first hand accounts from both sides, vivid photographs, detailed fact boxes, and specially commissioned maps of the German advance and the Soviet defensive actions, The First 7 Days is a comprehensive examination of the first week of the four-year war on the Eastern Front.

Genres: History, Military History

192 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2004

About the author

Will Fowler is Professor of Spanish at the University of St Andrews, where he has taught since 1995. He earned his PhD at the University of Bristol and worked as a lecturer in Spanish at Leicester Polytechnic (subsequently renamed De Montfort University) for four years before joining the University of St Andrews.

Reviews

[Robert Drumheller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book with many pictures of the beginning of conflict that took place in the second world war.

[JEAN-PHILIPPE PEROL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nenhuma revelação ou análise nova nesse livro de Will Fowler escrito em 2006 mas publicado so esse ano no Brasil. Mas esse Barbarossa é bem escrito e bem apresentado, com mapas claros e fotos bem escolhidas. Guardando uma visão fria de historiador, o autor lembra também com razão que o fracasso final dos alemães já era previsível devido não somente a imensidade da Russia, mas também a alguns trunfos pouco lembrados por muitos escritores : a coragem dos soldados soviéticos, a qualidade das suas armas pessoais, a adaptação dos seus equipamentos, a potência dos T34, e a expertise dos generais do Exercito vermelho. Lembrando também como os soviéticos souberam aproveitar "a surpresa que foi o inverno russo para os turistas prussianos" (Ilia Ehrenburg).