Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War

Wonderful read. The main focus is the lead up to the War in the East through Kursk in 1943. What sets this book apart is its treatment of Lend Lease and how it tipped the scales - and barely so in 1942 - to give the Soviet Union the edge in holding out against the hammer blows of the German Army. Of course, the book pays tribute to the Russian soldiers (men and women) and the factory workers, farmers, and others who were instrumental to ultimate victory. A must read if you want to learn more about the most brutal conflict in world history.

I read it on Kindle and found it to be a very good book, but the book was not a happy transfer to Kindle. The trouble happened with the many maps. Since they have a lot of detail about the armies' positions and movements plus many names of cities and rivers and other features in them, much of the print is tiny and the Kindle screen leaves them blurred. I compensated by getting out my atlas and using it to get at least partial information. I wish I had bought the paperback or hardcover version. I tried on two Kindles--a Kindle Paperwhite and an older bigger Kindle. I tried using a a handheld magnifying glass, which help somewhat, but still left important text fuzzy.To repeat: the book is very good, mostly clearly written, and well-researched with much new information from Russian sources. I was fascinated.

I have read at least 50 books on the German Russian War---the major component of World War Two in Europe. My first novel, An Honorable German, a World War Two saga told from the point of view of a German UBoat commander, will be published in May. In order to write a novel told in a convincing way from the German POV, I spent 25 years reading German history. I say this to demonstrate my competence to write this review.First and foremost: if you are looking for a superb general history of the Ost Krieg as seen by the Russians, then buy and read this book. There was a brief window in the the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union when scholars such as the author( whom I do not know) had access to previously top secret information about Russia in World War Two. Putin shut this window and much of this information was reclassified. Professor Bellamy scrambled through this window of opportunity and did an amazing amount of original research from the original battle reports, NKVD reports sent to Stalin, records of discussions of the Stavka, etc.Because he was able to examine unredacted material, indeed the actual reports which Stalin had held in his own hands, Dr. Bellamy was able to shatter certain myths of this period---the most hallowed being the tale of Stalin panicking and retreating to his dacha and staying incommunicado for a week till the Politburo begged him to come back and lead the nation. Piece by piece Professor Bellamy takes apart this myth based on the actual communications in their original between Stalin and the key members of the Politburo. I use this as an example to show how carefully he did his homework and in doing so swept away a number of myths people have accepted for decades.Second, Professor Bellamy pauses on a regular basis and specifically cites the verified casualties on each side, how those numbers affected the belligerents within the specific context of that time of the war and then shows the Allied figures for the same period. Anyone who has read deeply into the literature of WW II in Europe knows that in my phrase, "the Americans did the supplying and the Russians did the dying." While many scholars point this out they do it in an unconvincing way because they cannot bear to let go of the cherished myth that the Allied landing on D-Day was the turning point of the war, which is patently absurd.The Normandy landings were a side show compared to what was happening in the East. Two weeks after Normandy the Russians literally destroyed most of Army Group Center in four days---27 German divisions and various corps HQs simply vanished. Over 300,000 men gone--not accounted for to this day.Dr. Bellamy is very, very clear on this point: World War Two in Europe was won in the East. By showing the verified statistics and explaining them in detail and comparing them to the other powers, he demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Ost Front was the decisive theatre of the war in Europe. He further points out that as terrible and ruthless and bloodthirsty Stalin and his men were, they did win the war and for political reasons we in the West have never wanted to acknowledge the sacrifice the Soviets made.Another especially interesting part of this history is the personal interplay between the major figures on the Russian side. Because of his research, he is able to really show how these personalities functioned together and often made horrendous mistakes due to juvenile vanity.A far more nuanced portrait of Stalin also emerges. Stalin was as evil a human being who ever walked the planet. It is almost as if the devil himself had spawned Stalin. But he was a human being with his own emotions---which is the most frightening thing since Stalin demonstrates the evil humans are capable of. But the author reaches through this record of evil and extracts the actual decisions Stalin himself made at critical times and how critical those decisions were to both Soviet victory and soviet losses.Being able to see Stalin up close working with his cabinet so to speak one sees a man who, reluctantly, begins to listen more and more to what he is being told and act on verified information and not fantasy. Using Stalin's personal office diary which notes who saw him and when, the author is able to correct a number of scholars and participants about who met with Stalin and when and what was decided.Perhaps the most original contribution in this book to the history of the time is what a critical role the NKVD played in the war and how this was all thought out before hand. To win the war, Stalin had to stay in power and the population had to be both cowed and controlled. The author shows through numerous original documents exactly how the NKVD did this, how accurate their reports were, and how well organized and motivated they were. Without the tens of thousands of NKVD fighting units and undercover agents, Stalin simply could not have been able to harness the energy of the entire population to repel the Germans.This highly original examination of the NKVD and how it fit into the larger scheme is fascinating and no one else save Professor Bellamy has done it.I will end by saying no history is perfect and there are certainly points I would contest with Professor Bellamy. However, given the originality of his work and given what Dr. Bellamy ferreted out and disclosed for the first time, I would rank him above all other historians of the war in the east and I would go so far as to say he is only one rung below Col. David Glantz who is the greatest historian of the Soviet struggle in World War Two.

Knowing and at least somewhat understanding history is essential, though insufficient, for comprehending contemporary issues and composing policies that may nudge the future into desired directions. Thus, the developments described in this book provide crucial insights into the Russian war against Ukraine. The Nazi war against the Soviet Union was not directed at political aims, as discussed by Clausewitz. Instead it was a ferocious war of extermination, conquest and enslavement. No “laws of war” applied. Mass killing and destruction were the rule. If the invasion of Russia by Napoleon is added to that historic narrative then it is easy to understand Russian worries concerning its Western neighbors and its demand that they should be “friendly”. Therefore reading this (or similar) books is obligatory for all who are puzzled and also worries about Russian warlike operations against Ukraine; and, especially so, top level politicians in charge of seeking a stable relation between the West and Russia -- as essential for containing the danger of nuclear war and for coping with global issues.Professor Yehezkel DrorThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem

A good overall view of the war and the nazi-soviet relations. The authors starts with an anecdote of rabid wolves that were pushed form the russian countryside to western France by the war. The books explore in deeps various aspects of the soviet-nazi war. Its also covers certains topics instead of chronologically order like the role of women and the siege of Lenningrad. The author also take on the Suvorov contreversey and neither deny it neither confirm it.

Un libro lleno de opiniones preconcebidas, expresiones condescendientes y vocabulario inapropiado para un historiador.El autor se basa fundamentalmente en las obras de Glantz (When Titans Clashed) y Erickson (The Road to Stalingrad + The Road to Berlin), libros muy superiores y mucho más objetivos. Bellamy se permite, entre otras cosas, tildar de "quejicas" ('bitchy') anotaciones del diario personal del mariscal Rokosovski, inyectar acusaciones insustanciadas de crímenes de guerra sin una cita que las respalde, repetir el bulo de que la infantería soviética no tenía tácticas más allá de la carga frontal y basar capítulos enteros en referencias a la obra de Erickson, pero re-escritas con su vocabulario de andar por casa.Hay quién recomienda este libro como comromiso entre la obra de Glantz (más corta) y la de Erickson (mucho más larga). Habiéndolas leído, discrepo fuertemente. El lector interesado hará bien en leer a Glantz primero, y si desea un recuento más detallado, pasar directamente a la serie de Erickson. Bellamy no aporta nada que uno no pueda encontrar en esos tres libros, solo sustrae seriedad con sus formas.

The book has some 600 PagesIt takes the author 200 pages to get to June 1941 when Barbarossa beginsIt takes another 150 Pages to cover the first 6 months of the warThe remaining 3,5 years of the war are compressed into some 200 pages - the remaining 50 pages are footnotes ect

Fascinating to read about the second world war fron the Russian point of view!

I wanted to buy a book regarding the russian front and from the reviews I 've read it seemed like a good choice. I am still in chapter 4 but it has left me with the best impressions. I have not read anything else regarding this topic to compare, but I believe it is a good choice for a beginner in this topic. I will retrurn with an update when I finish it. I have bought the paperback edition, which quality is very poor so I recommend to future buyers the hardcover one.update 2/2/2014After reading two thirds of the book I have to say that is more russian oriented. This is not a disadvantge, but I will defenitely buy and another one for a more detailed view of the preparation and problems faced by the German side.