The Greatest Batt;e: Stalin, Hitler, and the Desparate Struggle for Moscow

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	• The Greatest Battle: Stalin, Hitler, and the Desperate Struggle for Moscow That Changed the Course of World ... Andrew Nagorski Simon & Schuster, 2007 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 49 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Greatest Batt;e: Stalin, Hitler, and the Desparate Struggle for Moscow

Generally speaking not much new material, but some of the specifics are new and of interest. Good interviews with the few men who are still living. Book demonstrates that both Hitler and Stalin were sadistic brutes.
Gus Schill, Jr.

A battle you don't hear about as much as you should.

The Eastern Front in World War II is known for many things: the heroic stand of the Soviet troops at Stalingrad, the massive tank battle at Kursk, the 3-year siege of Leningrad that resulted in mass starvation of the populace. While it's common knowledge that Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 faltered just short of Moscow due to the extreme winter weather, for which the Germans were unprepared because Hitler insisted the war would be won before it set in, not much has been chronicled about the actual battle for the Soviet capital.

That is, until now. Andrew Nagorski's The Greatest Battle demonstrates that the stand in front of Moscow is what truly changed the course of the war, as well as showing that both dictators made so many extreme mistakes that it seems both were trying to lose, even though it's obvious that they weren't. While uneven, the book does a good job of showing the circumstances leading up to the battle, as well as the hardships that set in and how close the Germans came to actually capturing the city.

Nagorski does an excellent job analyzing the conduct and thought processes of both leaders, highlighting mistake after mistake that enable first Hitler, and then Stalin, to gain the upper hand in the ongoing battle. Hitler's decision to delay the final assault on Moscow for over a month is shown to be a fatal blunder, one that his top Panzer general, Guderian, credits for beginning the loss of the war.

What's especially riveting about The Greatest Battle is the illustration of the conditions in Moscow as the Germans approached. One of the roads was wide open due to Soviet tactical blunders, but the Germans didn't have the strength to follow up on it. Nevertheless, panic ensued in Moscow for at least 24 hours, with massive evacuations and civilians jamming the streets and roads trying to get out while they could. They were convinced that the Germans were on their doorsteps, and there were some reports that the Germans had even entered the city. This wasn't true, as the closest they ever came was in some of the suburbs, but it was enough to raise anxiety levels. Nagorski uses first-hand accounts as well as diaries to show that, no matter how the official histories deny it, the residents of Moscow gave in to mass panic on October 16, rather than resisting stoically as the government would have everybody believe.

Nagorski pulls no punches in his analysis of the entire battle. He demonstrates the Soviet disregard for the humanity of its soldiers, throwing them into the meatgrinder of battle in mass human wave attacks, guaranteed to cause massive casualties. NKVD (forerunners of the KGB) battalions followed military units into battle to make sure there were no thoughts of desertion. Stalin has a general executed and then, when the general's brother comes to speak with him, acts like he's never heard of the general. These details bring The Greatest Battle to life, and add to the interest level.

Despite how good this book is, however, there are some problems with it. First, Nagorski spends a lot more time discussing the overarching aspects of the battle and how it affected the civilian population than he does the actual military situation. There are a couple of maps detailing the invasion and the assault on Moscow, as well as the counter-productive Soviet counterassaults in the early months of 1942, and there are some descriptions of battles in the book. Overall, though, The Greatest Battle looks above it all rather than at the military detail. Fans of military maneuvers will find themselves wanting at times while reading this book.

Secondly, The Greatest Battle uses my least favorite form of notation, where the notes are in the back of the book and you can only find them by an excerpt from the page (though at least it does give you page numbers). This has the reader paging to the back of the book a lot more often than is comfortable. I finally decided it wasn't worth it.

While these problems do detract from the book, it's still extremely interesting. I love the fact that so much of Nagorski's information comes from interviews with survivors of that battle, so many years ago. It immerses the reader in the history, making it even more vivid. Nagorski's writing style also keeps you reading, not getting bogged down in extraneous historical detail. The Greatest Battle is definitely a must-read for anybody with an interest in World War II, mostly because a lot of this information has never really been put out there for popular consumption. Don't let the little bugs get in your way. It's a great read.

David Roy

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Bloodbath

Bloodbath
Andrew Nagorski starts this terrific history of the massive, horrific Battle of Moscow with a few jaw dropping facts: The most stunning is that approximately 7 MILLION soldiers took part in the battle from September 30, 1941, to April 20, 1942, with a total of 2.5 MILLION casualties! To quote Mr. Nagorski, "The battle of Moscow was arguably the important battle of World War II and inarguably the largest battle between two armies of all time." To say it was an immense battle is the definition of an understatement. It was gigantic in all respects and Mr. Nagorski does an admiral job of capturing all the battle's terrible, bloody, cataclysmic events. and desperate nature of all the participants. Each side knew this battle would profoundly affect the outcome of the war and fought ferociously to obtain victory at all costs. Mr. Nagorski does a wonderful job of chronicling ALL aspects of this terrific battle, and the epic personal struggle of two great European dictators engaged.
The Greatest Battle is more than just a history of the clash of two mammoth armies, it also deals with the various leaders and how they fit into that struggle. Mr. Nagorski also analyzes the diplomatic moves as well as the psyche of the participants from the common soldier to the supreme leaders of both the German and Russian nations. He delves into why certain events happened the way they did and why certain glaring tactical and strategic errors were made. He defends no one although at times he is charitable to the various generals who had to suffer under the yoke of dictatorial rule by Hitler and Stalin who at best were marginal military strategists. He is very sympathetic to the common soldier who toiled, bled, and died in huge numbers while enduring the harshest of environments in a magnificent, stoic manner. Never truly complaining, both nations' soldiers fought believing in ultimate victory for their cause. An amazing story of devotion, courage, and dedication to duty on both sides.
Although this is a history, Mr. Nagorski has a wonderful writing style that makes the pages simply fly by. He engages the reader with simple examples of courage, heroism, misery, and utter travail as he paints a picture of total war as war really is: Dark, ugly, dirty, yet an endeavor of absolute engagement of the human spirit at ALL levels of the human condition.
I heartily recommend this book for anyone interested in World War II and particularly the horrific Eastern Front. Mr. Nagorski tells it the way it was and spells out both the blunders and heroic sacrifices of all involved. He does all this in an easy writing style and does not bog down the reader in too many facts or numbers. The book has plenty of good informative maps to keep the reader well orientated. Mr. Negorski also includes a section of photographs to give the reader a better feel of the hardships and historical perspectives of the time. Overall and outstanding read.

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