Barbarossa: The Axis and the Allies

by John Erickson, David Dilks (Editor)

On 22 June 1941, German tanks rolled into the Soviet Union in an offensive which was to claim the lives of nearly 49 million people. Until the opening of Soviet archives, however, and the easing of their ideological grip, 'Operation Barbarossa' remained a mystery.Now, through the distinguished contributions of people like President Yeltsin's adviser, Colonel-General Dmitri Volkogonov, and the German historian Professor Klaus-Jurgen Muller, comes a book which for the first time challenges the official Soviet historiography and offers the first truly global picture of the war in Russia. From Nazi-Soviet relations at the start of the war, and the Soviet Union's response to the German attack, Barbarossa moves to the little examined subject of the invasion's aftermath. And offering dramatic new evidence on Hitler's objectives, Stalin's strategy and readiness for war, the Battle of Moscow, and Japan's wartime policy towards the Soviet Union, this book also deals with the previously taboo subjects of the personalities and politics of collaboration and the massive human toll of the invasion.

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1993

About the author

John Erickson was a British historian of World War II.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Daniel Siter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and thoroughful analyse of different and unfamiliar aspects of the Axis and Allies mostly during the first year of the deadliest battlefront in the history of modern warfare. John Erickson and others did a solid work in presenting military, diplomatic, intelligence views and even psycho-political aspect of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The book also includes total Soviet response: from last breath in front of Moscow in 1941 into - in terms of social, economical and military factors - complete reorganization of the Red Army, which supported by combined Allied efforts pushed Nazi war machine back to the starting positions of operation Barbarossa. Especially interesting part is the content about Japanese diplomatic and military possibilities, goals and ambitions.