ePub Kiev 1941: Hitler's Battle for Supremacy in the East by David Stahel in History

Review

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating and Well Written Account of this WWII BattleBy J. GroenThis is a fascinating and well written account of this little known but very important WWII in the East battle. Most accounts of the battle of Kiev; fought in September; 1941; highlight the massive victory that the Germans won (and massive defeat of the Soviets). Over three quarters of a million Russians were killed and captured in this battle. However; the Germans didn't get off easy and in fact lost at least 50;000 dead and many wounded; and it was more difficult for them to replace these soldiers.As highlighted in the book; therefore; although this battle was a victory for the Germans; it led to their ultimate defeat. And; in fact their ultimate defeat was pre-ordained by mid-August; when the blitzgrieg was stopped by the battle of Smolensk (see the author's earlier book; Operation Barbarossa which should be read before this one.) This battle only hastened the defeat; and the next German operation (Typhoon) finalized the defeat which led to the Russian Winter offensives.The book covers the battle of Kiev from all angles; strategic/political (e.g. Hitler and his staff); operational (e.g. Rundstedt; Kleist and Gunderian - the main German generals who led the German forces) and tactical (individual soldiers perspective). The view provided; backed by lots of data and facts; lead to the ultimate conclusion that this battle was a near thing and ultimately led to Germany's defeat in the East.For anyone interested in WWII in the East; I highly recommend this book. It will debunk a lot of myths on this battle and campaign. Yes; it is told from the German view only but that makes the story more focused and since the Germans were leading the events; this is most appropriate in my opinion. However; I do recommend reading the author's first book prior to this one; Operation Barbarossa. I look forward to his next book being released early next year which will continue the story.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Kiev 1941. provides detailed coverage of Hitler's triumph over Soviet forces in his greatest eastern victoryBy C. M MillsDr. David Stahel a New Zealander has written a trilogy on the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The books are in order of appearance: "Operation Barbarossa"; "Kiev 1941" and "Operation Typhoon" which recounts the Wehrmacht's failed attempt to take Moscow in the fall and winter of 1941. The German army invaded the Soviet Union its erstwhile and betrayed ally on June 21; 1941. The army of over 3.3 German and Axis allies (Romanians; Hungarians; Italians) invaded the Soviet Union in three main advances: north to Leningrad; center through Kiev and the Ukraine to Moscow and southeast towards Odessa and the Crimea. The battles were fierce and led to the disaster of the Third Reich's collapse. Kiev was a city of 850;000 prior to the invasion; it is the capital of the Ukraine.Stalin's cruel dictatorship was supported by over $10 billion of aid from the United States. Climate; distance and the harsh Soviet landscape would defeat the vaunted Wehrmacht. The book is rich in sage observations on this Nazi-Communist slugfest which led to the deaths of over 20 million Soviet citizens and millions of German casualties. The einsatzgruppen of the SS persecuted millions of Russian Jews; Partisans and Soldiers who died in hellish German POW camps. Among quotable quotations:"The climatic battle of Kiev in late August and September 1941 was an epic of human endurance; strategic uncertainty and ceaseless carnage."-p.3"Indeed the scale of the German success was much less a result of the Ostheer's raw military power than of the catastrophicSoviet strategic direction; which accounted in greatest measure for the one-sided outcome."-p. 4"A man named Bosyi won the State Prize and became a household name after producing his five-month quota in fifteen days."-p. 42"Of course not every German soldier was personally involved in acts of murder; but war crimes on the eastern front involved a far higher ration of "average" men than any other war of the modern age."-p. 75"Stalin was anxious to augment the Red Army with as much British and American war material as possible. and by early September the first large-scale deliveries of Lend-Lease material were at last arriving and being pressed into service."-p. 176"German soldiers seized foodstuffs from the Soviet peasantry...such practices led directly to the widespread starvation of thousands of Soviet citizens."-p. 187"...Soviet pilots whose planes were hit sometimes directed their aircraft into suicidal attacks on German positions."-p. 197"...attritional battles were already becoming routine."-p. 213"Hitler...cast his mind forward to the anticipated end of Stalin's rule; in which his war...would lay the foundation for Germany's future Lebenstraum."-p. 230."Exploiting the battle of Kiev and the placing of Leningrad under siege; Goebbels won back public enthusiasm for the war by presenting the final victory as imminent."-p. 304"While Germany had no shortage of enemies in Europe; by September 1941 Hitler's network of European alliances had already entered its long but steady decline and the demands of the war in the east were providing the main cause of the difficulties."-p. 314 the book is a detailed military history which will bore and confuse some general readers. The maps are difficult to read. The author quotes several leading participants on both sides including generals and foot soldiers. The German-Russian hellhole was the worst war in human history. A good book for military buffs.74 of 79 people found the following review helpful. Detailed Account of a Well Known but Little Analyzed BattleBy WryGuy2Author David Stahel's book "Kiev 1941: Hitler's Battle for Supremacy in the East" is one of the few ... perhaps even only book in English ... to focus on the battle for Kiev in August - September 1941. I've always found this lack of a proper study of the battle to be surprising; given both the epic scale of the German victory/Soviet defeat and the fact that Hitler's decision to turn away from Moscow in August 1941 to deal with the Soviet armies around Kiev proved to be extremely controversial among his generals and historians of the war. In most works; this battle gets a few paragraphs at best before the run-up to Operation Typhoon; the German attempt to take Moscow.The book opens with an analysis of the strategic situation for both sides (including contributions by the western Allies) and examines the economic realities for the Germans. He then covers the internal discussions/struggles (both for the Soviets and Germans) that led to the Battle for Kiev. He then shifts into the fighting that occurred from late August until early October 1941. But Mr Stahel doesn't just cover the fighting around Kiev; he covers the fighting over the entire Russian Front (less the fighting in Finland); which is a good decision; as it shows how the Germans were having to frantically juggle their ever diminishing forces to try and accomplish their goals. It also shows that the Soviets were far from passive; and were trying to smash the Germans with significant counteroffensives in front of Smolensk and other places; and the need for troops to defeat these Soviet attacks further strained German resources and depleted their forces.The author takes the fighting through the liquidation of the final pocket at Kiev and ends with the German forces poised; more or less; to begin Operation Typhoon. I say "more or less" because the fighting was so prolonged and distances to be covered by the German armies so vast; that many of the attacking forces weren't in position at the beginning of this offensive. He also shows that while the Germans won a historic victory; it was as much a matter of Stalin refusing to listen to his military advisors and pull his forces back from Kiev in time as it was the Germans winning the battle outright.The tenet of Mr Stahel's analysis is that the Wehrmacht was wearing itself out (both mechanically and in terms of blood) faster than it could be replenished during Operation Barbarossa; and that the war's turning point had basically already occurred by August 1941; when the Germans failed to crush the Soviets in a quick campaign; and were forced into a battle of attrition. In a way; this book also addresses some of the criticisms of his earlier work; "Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East"; which asked how the Germans could have already lost the war when they later won several smashing victories yet in 1941 at Kiev and at the twin battles of Vyazma and Bryansk; as well as in 1942.The book is fairly German-centric; and by that I mean Mr Stahel primarily uses German records and reports to show how the Germans were being ground down even as they continued to win victories. There is a good coverage from Soviet side; mind you; but most of the analysis and descriptions are from the German point of view; which is in line with his showing of the steady deterioration of the German forces. There are over 20 photographs as well as 13 maps; most of which are from fellow-historian David Glantz's atlas of maps from the war. While the photographs are good; I can't comment much on the maps; as I'm reviewing this book from my Kindle; and the maps aren't large enough to really see much detail. However; if you're read anything from David Glantz; you're familiar with the layout and quality of these maps; which are generally very good albeit with a few weaknesses.As the author notes in his introduction; this book can be viewed as a continuation of his above-mentioned book or as a study on the Battle of Kiev. Mr Stahel has an interesting and succinct writing style; and he presents his arguments clearly and persuasively. While I don't entirely agree with him that the Germans had irrevocably lost the war on the eastern front by August/September of 1941 (I personally think the Germans had a window of opportunity into 1942 to win a favorable peace with the Soviets); I don't disagree with his analysis of what was happening to the Germans during this time frame. I greatly enjoyed this book and found his analysis well-done and it added to my understanding of what was happening during this part of the war in the east. Five stars.