STALIN'S FOLLY : The Tragic First Ten Days of World War II on the Eastern Front

Descripción

This copy is in new, unmarked condition quarter bound in black cloth to black paper covered boards with bright gilt titling to the spine. This copy is bright, tight, white and square. The unclipped dust wrapper is a trifle rubbed at the corners but still in as new condition. International postal rates are calculated on a book weighing 1 Kilo, in cases where the book weighs more than 1 Kilo increased postal rates will be quoted, where the book weighs less then postage will be reduced accordingly. Reassessing the Soviet response to the Nazi invasion of Russia, the author portrays Stalin as an ineffective military leader who allowed hundreds of thousands of his soldiers to be slaughtered in the first ten days of the invasion. Despite their inexperience the Soviet High Command understood that Stalin's decision to position the bulk of his army and air force so close to the front lines was extraordinarily dangerous. From a military viewpoint, defensive lines should be further from the initial point of attack so they would have time to deploy effectively. This advance positioning would only be effective if Soviet forces were planning a preemptive attack on the German forces. And this is exactly what Stalin was planning. Pleshakov's extensive research into Soviet archives indicates that Stalin planned a preemptive strike to commence in June 1942. Stalin knew the pact would not last but that the Germans would not attack until after Hitler's armies had conquered Britain. Sadly for Stalin, by the summer of 1940 Hitler had decided not to invade Britain and turned his attention east. Hitler instructed his general staff to plan for an invasion, codenamed Operation Barbarossa, to begin in the spring of 1941. Once the invasion begins, in the dawn hours of June 22, 1941 Pleshakov takes the reader on a detailed, almost hour-by-hour discussion of the disastrous first ten days. These were ten days in which Stalin would not speak to the Soviet people. Pleshakov details Stalin's mood swings, his deep depression and panic. Disastrous counterattacks were ordered. On the first day of the invasion virtually the entire Soviet Air Force was destroyed on the ground. Three weeks into the war, the Soviet Union had lost 28 infantry divisions and 600,000 soldiers out of 3 million in uniform. It would take 3 more years and at least 10 million more Soviet lives before the territory lost in the first ten days of the war was liberated by the Red Army. Ref LLL 7.

N° de ref. del artículo 035354

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Detalles bibliográficos

Título

STALIN'S FOLLY : The Tragic First Ten Days of World War II on the Eastern Front

Editor

Houghton Mifflin, New York

Fecha de publicación

2005

Idioma

Inglés

ISBN 10

0618367012

ISBN 13

9780618367016

Encuadernación

Hardcover

Edición

1st Edition

Estado

New

Estado de la sobrecubierta

Fine

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