Eight million Soviet soldiers died on the Eastern Front between 1941 and 1945. However; their history; uniforms; and day-to-day plight remain mostly undocumented to this day. Many misconceptions prevail; most of them stemming from the ferocious Nazi propaganda of the time. In reality; the Soviet soldier proved himself a resolute and well-equipped fighter. His uniform and equipment improved constantly during the Great Patriotic War; despite the shortcomings of a war-crippled economy. There have been few books on the history and uniforms of the World War II Soviet Army. The interested reader will find here a coherent wealth of information on the Red Army's organization and orders of battle; its uniforms and equipment; and its materials (soft skinned vehicles; AFVs; Artillery; Signals...). The various guises of the Soviet soldier; from Barbarossa to the fall of Berlin; have been reproduced in color with more than 50 studio reconstructions of infantrymen; artillerymen; parachutists; tankmen; women soldiers; marines; commissars; etc. A large variety of individual equipment; small arms; personal items; insignia and medals are illustrated in detail. The book also features hundreds of unpublished period photographs; many from the soldiers themselves. A career French Army NCO; Philippe Rio has a passion for the Red Army; from the 1930s to the 1950s. His vast knowledge of the subject has enabled him to contribute many articles to the French Militaria Magazine.
#647239 in Books 2016-08-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.60 x .70 x 7.20l; .0 #File Name: 1940430755250 pages
Review
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Excellent photographs highlight the effortBy clemente_in_rightThis was a book that I was looking forward to reading. Unfortunately it wasn't enjoyable as I hoped it would be. There is some excellent work involved in that the photographs are stellar and the authors have done a fine job of capturing many different points of view on the event. My favorite point of view is that of the groundskeeper - Roger Bossard - who had to get the field in playable shape for a game to be played the next day after the field was destroyed as a result of fans who stormed the field during Disco Demolition. I also enjoyed the interview from Dennis DeYoung from Styx and Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick.The two main problems involve the writing. First; the book is somewhat disjointed. The writing is choppy with far too many one sentence paragraphs. The chapters don't flow very well with not enough connective prose between direct quotes. The book is also dragged down by too deep a dive into the Chicago radio station and club scene. Unless you grew up in Chicago (or unless you possess a much greater knowledge of music history than I do); the discussion involving which clubs or stations started when and by whom and what kind of music they played won't be of much interest. Also; the specs on advertise a 250 page book. The one I received came in at less than 200 pages.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Ok look at the Chicago radio scene in the late 70'sBy Greg YocumWas an ok look at this one event that really took on a life of its own for everyone involved. I did have an issue with the research of some of the facts in this book however. Namely that the author stated that the guitar player for the band The Doors was Ray Manzarek. That's totally incorrect. The guitar player is Robbie Krieger. After that obvious error I started to wonder what else was wrong with facts and dates. You'd think a book about music/music related events and all the people who were/are in the music business that were interviewed for this they would get a band and the members that were in it correct.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A must for anyone living in Chicagoland in 1979By Ryan P. Ver BerkmoesHaving Dahl listed as an author is bizarre as the text and overall content seem to be the work of the excellent Chicago author Dave Hoekstra (who gets a "with..." credit; but still...).That said; the book is a fascinating look at an event that has morphed into a cultural landmark that gets increasingly misunderstood each year. The wealth of material does a superb job of showing the music landscape of 1979 and at male teenage life in Chicago's hard-scrabble white suburbs.As someone who once took the newsroom radio and threw it out the window of our fourth-floor newspaper offices when "Babe" came on for the fourth time one night; I appreciated the discussion of the song's pros and cons.
