The Reckoning

The Defeat of Army Group South, 1944

De: Prit Buttar

Narrado por: Richard Trinder

Bloomsbury presents The Reckoning by Prit Buttar, read by Richard Trinder.

'The Reckoning is vivid history, the tragic Eastern Front brought to life through the widest range of Russian and German sources I've ever read. Bravo.' – Peter Caddick-Adams, author and broadcaster

From critically acclaimed Eastern Front expert Prit Buttar, The Reckoning is a masterful re-evaluation of the fateful year of 1944, and how the Red Army irrevocably turned the tide of war until the final defeat within the heart of Germany itself was guaranteed.

The fighting throughout the Ukraine and Romania was brutal, with the German defence dogged and desperate. But for too long the Wehrmacht had relied on the superior combat prowess of its fighting men. What had not been taken into account, however, was that the Red Army would not only rely on its sheer size, but would fine-tune its fighting performance from its senior commanders right down to the individual soldier battling both fear and the elements to take each line, each trench, each inch of land.

Ultimately it is a story not of how the Germans lost, as is all too often told, but of how the Russians increasingly learned how to win.

©2020 Prit Buttar (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Can’t get enough of this narrative!

So informative, had it been written before 2022, surely would’ve been banned in the West.

Exceptional

As always, Buttar is extremely informative and descriptive. Leaving no details to obscurity, he brilliantly outlines what is possibly the most important defeat for the Germans in ww2. Bravo.

The voice petformance did not work well

The use of voice characterizations during telling was annoying. Each voice was essentially the same. For what reason was it done? It didn't work and it couldn't add anything positive, even if done well.

Engaging narrative, solid history.

A good history of the late Eastern Front, and some of the fictions that built up around the 'mythic' strength of Germany during the Second World War. The book includes plenty of primary resources, but does well at not taking them at face value. The author takes the time to apply the rigors of good historicity to the sources to divide what can be verified as true, and what was a more convenient narrative for the author of the primary resource. Soviet generals certainly had reason to mask failures in their dangerous, hyper-competitive system, and German generals were trying to shift blame for their actions and defeats during the war. It is in some ways a controversial piece for those who are married to older histories of how the Eastern Front was fought, but the book makes a thesis and defends it well. Overall, a good general history of the defeat of Army Group South.

Prit Buttar at his best

Prit Buttar always delivers. In each and every exacting work on the eastern front, be it WWI or WW2, he gives the reader the same satisfactory result every time. This is the very detailed account of the crushing defeat of Army Group South at the hands of the Red army in 1944. The details never cease to amaze and the casualties on both sides are shocking. This was the bloodiest fighting imaginable. A must read for any military history lover. Excellent narration to complete.