When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler (Modern War Studies)

David Glantz is the foremost historian when it comes to the history of the Eastern Front of the Second World War. All I can give him and Jonathan House is nothing but praise for their work. A youtuber by the username of TIK (whose extensive World War Two videos inspired me to buy this book) said “We are living in the age of Glantz”, and that would be true. I have not read any other comprehensive books that cover the Eastern Front in depth like Glantz; I have yet to read any of Anthony Beevors or James Hollands’ work (I will in the future), but I am someone who likes the nitty gritty details when it comes to military history, and Glantz satisfies me in this regard. This man deserves a lot more credibility, respect, and wider awareness from the general public, the historical academia & from any historical documentaries that will be made in the future on the Second World War! What I learned from this book is so applicable to my knowledge of history, and now I feel I have a greater understanding of the eastern front than I did before. Here in America, we really don’t give much credit to the Soviet Union for its help in defeating Nazi Germany; and while I am not supportive of the political ideology known as Communism (I don’t believe in Statism), I think without Zhukov, Vasilevsky or Rokossovsky, we would’ve seen the third Reich victorious in the east. The western allies would’ve either had to have sued for peace, or would’ve fought a long and costly war against a strong Third Reich that would’ve had the full might of its armed forces ready to defeat whoever stood in its way. I have always had an interest in the Red Army, and the Wehrmacht, because both were unique, and it seems that the roles reversed for both armies in 1943. As Glantz noted the Wehrmacht in 1944-1945 switched its roles with the Red Army of 1941-1942, while the Red Army was vice-versa. This is not to say the Red Army copied the Wehrmacht largely, but it learned a lot from them, and they learned the art of defense in depth, heavy artillery barrages, multiple wave attacks, and leadership that was left to its own devices for the most part by Stalin after 1943. I would recommend this book to everyone who is interested in History, specifically the Eastern Front, and especially those who are like me, in that History is their greatest love of all time. A big thank you to the Youtuber “TIK”, he shouts the highest praises for David Glantz, and his work on Youtube bridges the gap for the world when it comes to the eastern front! If it wasn’t for him, I possibly would’ve never have bought this book.

Probably the finest single-volume book on the on the subject of the military history of the Eastern front (and I have read dozens). Glanz spent 30 yrs in the U.S. Army, and taught at West Point, The Combat Studies Institute, and the U.S. Army War College. He has written more than half a dozen studies for the U.S. Army and over thirty books on WWII's Eastern front. Essentially, the man needs a suitcase just to carry around his credentials.He is, indeed, the world's foremost authority on the German-Soviet war. This book is well-written, meticulously researched, documented, and footnoted. It is a model of modern, informed scholarship. My only quibble is this: Though it is a common -- almost universal -- failing with scholarly books nowadays, the index is sadly skimpy, which degrades its usefulness as a reference volume. Having previously worked as the managing editor of a university press, I know this, of course, is not the fault of the author but of his publisher-- who either could not or would not pay the money to hire a skilled professional indexer. The type is, as Mr. Glusman stated, is not particularly large, especially in the ancillary materials, but the book is already 557 pages long, plus front matter, so an increase in type size (and, by necessity, leading) would create an unwieldy tomb of over 700 pages.Personally, I am 65 and have no trouble reading the text (and footnotes) at all. But in the off chance that you do, my advice is to invest in a magnifying lens.The book is well worth it

My first review did not do it justice, as I was still an amateur in reading like a historian, especially with military history. This is one of the most well-rounded histories of the Eastern Front. The information is enough to give you a better understanding of the military situation and factors in every aspect of military operations, including supply, logistics, and command and control. The military background adds to the military writing, perfectly using the right tactical task to descripe different military operations and tasks. The history focuses slightly more on the Red Army's perspective, but rightfully so as their history was covered up whether to save the Red Army's reputation or that of future Cold War-era leaders. I recommend this book for those wanting to understand more about the Eastern Front and to set a good baseline before reading into the individual battles.

O livro conta com muita precisão e clareza sobre todos os aspectos do fronte leste da Segunda Guerra, apresenta as forças e fraquezas de ambos os lados, seus equipamentos e táticas. A linha do tempo do livro flui muito bem, cada evento de 1941-1945 tem motivos muito bem explicados para acontecer. O livro também apresenta um apêndice com tabelas e números que qualquer amante da Segunda Guerra deveria saber. O único problema do livro são seus mapas que muitas vezes são bem confusos.

Satisfied

Un livre fondamental, extrêmement fouillé.Je pensais trouver un livre faisant revivre l'histoire comme avec Beevor ou Lopez.Ce n'est pas franchement ça. C'est très descriptif et le ton est neutre. Il n'y a pas de souffle, ce n'est pas le but.Il y a 557 pages au total et les notes, index, tableaux, commencent dès la page 365 et ce jusqu'à la finle style est clair et ça se lit facilement.Donc, plus un livre de référence qu'un livre qui va vous faire partager les événements. Une abondante bibliographie vous permettra de prolonger ce livre un peu austère malgré tout.Enfin, il faut noter qu'il n'y a aucune référence au réseau d'espionnage Lucy, Orchestre rouge ou Ultra.Staline n'avait pas recours officiellement à Ultra qui restait chasse gardée de Churchill et Roosevelt. Néanmoins, il y avait largement accès via les Cinq de Cambridge.Donc pour ce pan de l'histoire, il faut se référer à d'autres livres.

Great book. Well written and researched.

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