Enduring the Whirlwind

The German Army and the Russo-German War 1941-1943

By: Gregory Liedtke

Narrated by: James Anderson Foster

Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Despite the best efforts of a number of historians, many aspects of the ferocious struggle between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during the Second World War remain obscure or shrouded in myth. One of the most persistent of these is the notion - largely created by many former members of its own officer corps in the immediate postwar period - that the German Army was a paragon of military professionalism and operational proficiency whose defeat on the Eastern Front was solely attributable to the amateurish meddling of a crazed former Corporal and the overwhelming numerical superiority of the Red Army.

A key pillar upon which the argument of German numerical-weakness vis-à-vis the Red Army has been constructed is the assertion that Germany was simply incapable of providing its army with the necessary quantities of men and equipment needed to replace its losses. In consequence, as their losses outstripped the availability of replacements, German field formations became progressively weaker until they were incapable of securing their objectives.

This work seeks to address the notion of German numerical-weakness in terms of Germany's ability to replace its losses and regenerate its military strength, and assess just how accurate this argument was during the crucial first half of the Russo-German War.

©2016 Gregory Liedtke (P)2017 Tantor

Nice detail

Good book, nice details, I am not sure I fully agree with the authors interpretation of all of the data however there was a lot of research done.

interesting but not perfect

interesting statistics, but thesis left questionable, overall missing detail. thesis may have been proven with more specific small scale examples and detailed timeline of operations

Long overdue

Some chapters were a bit long.

Overall, a very solid and informative volume of work.

beat audible since David Gland Stalingrad

amazing research had gone into this title. be prepared to rethink and relearn almost everything you thought you knew about the German struggle in the east. kudos to the producers of this selection. Hope for more of the same caliber WW2 east front titles.

excellent! Wonderfully detailed!

This work IS NOT for the Operation Barbarossa beginner! This essential book investigates a crucial but neglected aspect of the war on the Eastern Front.

Informative Analysis

Enlightening about troop unit strengths versus the main stream history of this theater. Worth several listens from the volume of material.

WW2 east/west military might.

Tedious statistical delineation ot Russian. /German military might during 1940--1943. Vivid description of Stalingrad campaign. Meant for scholars, not for amateur historian ww2 meant to studyband ponder. Meant for academics to study and ponder. ........Narration is uninspiring.

Great thesis, tons of facts.

If you are interested in lots of numbers, this book is for you. The thesis explores the idea that Germany lost WWII, not because of the onslaught of Soviet forces, but rather key strategic and logistical reasons. However, rather than using personal accounts, it goes into a long and detailed logistics analysis citing countless unit and division strengths and weaknesses throughout the war.

Narrow Thesis

Feel like the author had a narrow thesis that he thinks blows the lid on eastern front research . All the author proved to me was that the Germans were able to maintain established troop strengths in 41-43. Would the Germans have trained, equipped , and deployed more divisions if they had the manpower, industrial resources, and infrastructure to do so ? Yes .

Best book on total numbers of the eastern front.

this is the best manual of numbers I've ever found on the Eastern Front. manufacturing, logistics, distribution. totally well worth the time.