Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East

De: David Stahel

Narrado por: Stewart Crank

Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began the largest and most costly campaign in military history. Its failure was a key turning point of the Second World War. The operation was planned as a Blitzkrieg to win Germany its Lebensraum in the east, and the summer of 1941 is well-known for the German army's unprecedented victories and advances. Yet the German Blitzkrieg depended almost entirely upon the motorised Panzer groups, particularly those of Army Group Centre.

Using archival records, in this book, David Stahel presents a history of Germany's summer campaign from the perspective of the two largest and most powerful Panzer groups on the Eastern front. Stahel's research provides a fundamental reassessment of Germany's war against the Soviet Union, highlighting the prodigious internal problems of the vital Panzer forces and revealing that their demise in the earliest phase of the war undermined the whole German invasion.

©2009 David Stahel (P)2021 Upfront Books

Great Overarching and Detailed Analysis

very well done, good narrator, good extracts from diaries and other sources. highly recommend for those interested

Full of details, for advanced listeners only

This is a very fine-grained view. The author is perhaps the top expert on this, and makes his case well that Barbarossa was doomed from an early stage. It really fleshes out the story. I can imagine the disquiet and sinking feelings of the generals as this unfolded.

Great story

A good world war two history story about Russia and Germany and how Germany lost

Interesting and thorough

I enjoyed listening and learning a new perspective of the failures of the German generals. Their ego led them to overestimate their ability. At the same time they had no problem aiding and committing genocide without protest or hesitation.

Very detailed and specific

This book goes into details I was never aware of. Shows a totally different view that I never heard before

Original thesis and thinking based on deep documentary evidence

Original thesis and thinking based on deep documentary evidence that flips the enduring myth of German military excellence, that should be required reading at U.S. military academies and PME courses.
Lack of maps. PDF should be included in history audiobooks, especially military history.

Great book

Good book. Is definitely for people into military history. It does a good job of erasing the good general narrative

Critical analysis of Germany's 1941 campaign

Stahel demonstrates the devastating effects of primitive infrastructure, inadequate logistics, and flawed assumptions of Soviet strength on Germany's June 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. Makes a very good case both for the operation's failure within two month's of its commencement for also for it as a root cause of Germany's eventual defeat in WWII. Stahel draws in significant part from the diaries of the commanding generals of the Northern, Center, and Southern fronts, and shows how Hitler's strategic vision drove the army's tactical plans into a muddled and often contradictory battle plan on the Eastern Front in 1941. Provocative conclusions about the Wehrmacht's complicity in those decisions as well as in Hitler's goal of eradicating the Soviet, and especially the Soviet Jewish, population. Recommended.

Nothing the Germans could have done on the field would have mattered

The war was lost for Germany when they began Barbarossa- not when they were halted at Moscow, not at Stalingrad, definitely not on D-Day.

Great listen.

I listened to the entire thing. Twice.

I had concerns reading reviews saying casual fans of history would be overwhelmed. I disagree l. This was mostly easy to follow. Yes some names and specific locations blend together, but for the most part if you know who Stalin and Hitler were you'll be alright.
The narrator did great. The experience felt a bit like Dan Carlin, but not nearly as exciting or dramatic. Not even a bad thing, just how I'd describe the flow of info.
It's not perfect. My biggest gripe is the overall organization. I felt like every chapter was the same? A lot of the information, arguments, and examples kept coming up over and over. This probably could of been a lot shorter, on the other hand Operation Boberrosa was a situation where the same problems kept coming up again and again. So maybe I'm just being picky here.

Overall I'm pleasantly surprised. Casual nerds will be fine, nothing too detailed or convoluted here. Basically, Germany sucker punched the Soviet Union. Hitler assumed it'd be a one shot KO. Hitler was kind of an idiot. If you can grasp that you'll be fine.