The Great Offensive

by Maurice Hindus

The Great Offensive by Maurice Hindus is a historical account of the Soviet Union's military campaign against Nazi Germany during World War II. The book provides an in-depth analysis of the Soviet Union's strategy, tactics, and leadership during the war, as well as the social and political factors that shaped its military operations. The author draws on his personal experiences as a journalist and observer of the war, as well as interviews with Soviet soldiers and officials, to provide a vivid and compelling narrative of this critical period in world history. The book covers key battles and events such as the Battle of Stalingrad, the Siege of Leningrad, and the Soviet counteroffensive that ultimately led to the defeat of Nazi Germany. Overall, The Great Offensive is a comprehensive and insightful account of one of the most significant military campaigns in modern history.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

372 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2010

Reviews

[Madeleine M · Rating 3 out of 5]

A report on the progress of Stalin's Five Year Plan by Maurice Hindus, a Russian-American writer who was sympathetic to the aims of the Soviet Government. It's an interesting contemporary source – published in 1933, after extensive travels through Russia – but has to be taken with a grain of salt. He actually believes Soviet statistics – I mean, he just publishes their figures on grain production and so on as though they were trustworthy – and at one point he visits what is clearly a model prison and takes it as representative of Russian prisons. If only!
He's oddly unsympathetic to Ukrainian peasants, considering that his own father was a kulak in Belarus. He acknowledges that they are hungry, that they have no feed for their dying animals, and have reason to be resentful of the new regime, but he also says of peasants flocking to cities to look for jobs:
"This, of course, drains agriculture of energies it cannot spare, particularly in these times of feeble organization and loose division of labor on the collectives. But the peasants, especially the older men, are too self-centered to care."
God forbid they should try to avoid starvation. He also attributes the famine (he doesn't call it that) in Ukraine to overzealous local grain collectors and dishonest Ukrainian government officials, with zero blame apportioned to Moscow.
The edition I have is very nice, but the way. The second printing from November 1933, with red cloth boards, decorative endpapers showing Soviet propaganda graphics, thick paper with wide margins, and a frontispiece. Definitely enhances the reading experience.