Overview

Author of an acclaimed history of the Battle of the Atlantic during World War Two (OUP 2016), Jonathan Dimbleby now offers a compelling account of the largest military operation not only of World War Two but of all time--the invasion of Russia by Nazi Germany in 1941. Often seen as the turning point of the war in Europe, Operation Barbarossa turned allies into mortal enemies, triggering the atrocities that would characterize the Holocaust. Historians have spent generations puzzling over Barbarossa. For Hitler and the other Nazi leaders, who began planning the invasion even as the pact with the Soviets was in full force, the invasion would annihilate communism, eradicate inferior races, and provide the German people (and military) with resources that would guarantee not just survival but global domination. What followed was catastrophe. Between June, when the invasion began, and December 1941, when it stalled, some six million men were killed, wounded, or registered as missing in action. Soldiers on both sides committed atrocities on a scale that few events in the history of warfare can rival. When German commanders were forced to retreat, it was clear to the world clear that the German war machine was not only not infallible but fatally weakened. Once the invasion began to falter, it all but guaranteed the Germans would eventually lose the war. Operation Barbarossa has been much written about in histories of World War Two. However, no single general-audience book focused purely on the operation dominates the field, either covering only aspects of what was a massive undertaking or simply outdated. Moreover, Dimbleby's book makes ample use of memoirs, diaries, and letters, along with unpublished and untranslated correspondence from newly opened Russian archives. It promises to become the standard general history of Operation Barbarossa.

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9780197547212

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Reviews

A chilling account of war at its worst, --Bear Grylls A great read. Dimbleby gives an excellent account of the relationships between the leaders and, thanks to a wide range of sources, an authentic sense of the military experience...he brings Barbarossa very vividly to life, as if you are there, --Robert Kershaw, author of War Without Garlands: Operation Barbarossa 1941-1942 and Borodino Field 1812/1941 With his customary literary flair and capacity to master and mobilize very many and varied sources, Jonathan Dimbleby gives us the best single-volume account of the Barbarossa campaign to date, --Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny Like a fast-moving juggernaut of horror, Dimbleby's Operation Barbarossa is a page-turning descent into Hell and back. Part warning, part fable, but all too true, this fresh and compelling account of Hitler's failed invasion of the Soviet Union should be on everyone's reading list for 2021, --Dr. Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire Jonathan Dimbleby's analysis of this monumental struggle is masterly, not least by his use of unpublished Russian sources. It is a deeply researched epitaph on Barbarossa, the huge scale of which was greater even than that of the Western Allies' advance from Normandy, --General Sir Mike Jackson Jonathan Dimbleby rightly identifies the last six months of 1941 - following Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union as the fulcrum on which the history of twentieth century Europe turns. It's a vital story, one everyone should know, and Dimbleby tells it with verve and elan, --Laurence Rees, author of Hitler and Stalin Jonathan Dimbleby's thought-provoking and elegantly written study of Operation Barbarossa describes in compelling detail how Nazi-Germany, despite its earlier military triumphs, had lost this war already by the end of 1941. This book is a captivating eye-opener for all interested in the history of the 20th century, --Professor Dr. Gerhard Hirschfeld, University of Stuttgart, former President of the International Committee for the Study of the Second World War Jonathan Dimbleby's masterly account of the most monumental conflict in human history is an impressive achievement. The vast scale on which Barbarossa was fought, the complex ever-shifting politics, and the rich mix of personalities surrounding Hitler, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt, are woven into a fast-paced, gripping read. But it is the wealth of eyewitness evidence detailing the unspeakable horror and hardship, the apocalyptic scenes and sheer savagery of Barbarossa that leaves the most lasting impression, --Julia Boyd, author of Travellers in the Third Reich

Dimbleby offers a lucid and harrowing account accessible to a popular audience ... Readers new to the subject will find a detailed account of the causes and consequences of this critical campaign and the human tragedy behind the maniacal whims of the Nazi high command. -- David Sutton, Michigan War Studies Review A chilling account of war at its worst, --Bear Grylls A great read. Dimbleby gives an excellent account of the relationships between the leaders and, thanks to a wide range of sources, an authentic sense of the military experience...he brings Barbarossa very vividly to life, as if you are there, --Robert Kershaw, author of War Without Garlands: Operation Barbarossa 1941-1942 and Borodino Field 1812/1941 With his customary literary flair and capacity to master and mobilize very many and varied sources, Jonathan Dimbleby gives us the best single-volume account of the Barbarossa campaign to date, --Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny Like a fast-moving juggernaut of horror, Dimbleby's Operation Barbarossa is a page-turning descent into Hell and back. Part warning, part fable, but all too true, this fresh and compelling account of Hitler's failed invasion of the Soviet Union should be on everyone's reading list for 2021, --Dr. Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire Jonathan Dimbleby's analysis of this monumental struggle is masterly, not least by his use of unpublished Russian sources. It is a deeply researched epitaph on Barbarossa, the huge scale of which was greater even than that of the Western Allies' advance from Normandy, --General Sir Mike Jackson Jonathan Dimbleby rightly identifies the last six months of 1941 - following Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union as the fulcrum on which the history of twentieth century Europe turns. It's a vital story, one everyone should know, and Dimbleby tells it with verve and elan, --Laurence Rees, author of Hitler and Stalin Jonathan Dimbleby's thought-provoking and elegantly written study of Operation Barbarossa describes in compelling detail how Nazi-Germany, despite its earlier military triumphs, had lost this war already by the end of 1941. This book is a captivating eye-opener for all interested in the history of the 20th century, --Professor Dr. Gerhard Hirschfeld, University of Stuttgart, former President of the International Committee for the Study of the Second World War Jonathan Dimbleby's masterly account of the most monumental conflict in human history is an impressive achievement. The vast scale on which Barbarossa was fought, the complex ever-shifting politics, and the rich mix of personalities surrounding Hitler, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt, are woven into a fast-paced, gripping read. But it is the wealth of eyewitness evidence detailing the unspeakable horror and hardship, the apocalyptic scenes and sheer savagery of Barbarossa that leaves the most lasting impression, --Julia Boyd, author of Travellers in the Third Reich

A chilling account of war at its worst, --Bear Grylls A great read. Dimbleby gives an excellent account of the relationships between the leaders and, thanks to a wide range of sources, an authentic sense of the military experience...he brings Barbarossa very vividly to life, as if you are there, --Robert Kershaw, author of War Without Garlands: Operation Barbarossa 1941-1942 and Borodino Field 1812/1941 With his customary literary flair and capacity to master and mobilize very many and varied sources, Jonathan Dimbleby gives us the best single-volume account of the Barbarossa campaign to date, --Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny Like a fast-moving juggernaut of horror, Dimbleby's Operation Barbarossa is a page-turning descent into Hell and back. Part warning, part fable, but all too true, this fresh and compelling account of Hitler's failed invasion of the Soviet Union should be on everyone's reading list for 2021, --Dr. Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire Jonathan Dimbleby's analysis of this monumental struggle is masterly, not least by his use of unpublished Russian sources. It is a deeply researched epitaph on Barbarossa, the huge scale of which was greater even than that of the Western Allies' advance from Normandy, --General Sir Mike Jackson Jonathan Dimbleby rightly identifies the last six months of 1941 - following Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union as the fulcrum on which the history of twentieth century Europe turns. It's a vital story, one everyone should know, and Dimbleby tells it with verve and elan, --Laurence Rees, author of Hitler and Stalin Jonathan Dimbleby's thought-provoking and elegantly written study of Operation Barbarossa describes in compelling detail how Nazi-Germany, despite its earlier military triumphs, had lost this war already by the end of 1941. This book is a captivating eye-opener for all interested in the history of the 20th century, --Professor Dr. Gerhard Hirschfeld, University of Stuttgart, former President of the International Committee for the Study of the Second World War Jonathan Dimbleby's masterly account of the most monumental conflict in human history is an impressive achievement. The vast scale on which Barbarossa was fought, the complex ever-shifting politics, and the rich mix of personalities surrounding Hitler, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt, are woven into a fast-paced, gripping read. But it is the wealth of eyewitness evidence detailing the unspeakable horror and hardship, the apocalyptic scenes and sheer savagery of Barbarossa that leaves the most lasting impression, --Julia Boyd, author of Travellers in the Third Reich

Author Information

Jonathan Dimbleby is a journalist, writer and filmmaker. His books include Destiny in the Desert: The Road to El Alamein and The Battle for the Atlantic, which Max Hastings called ""an exceptionally vivid account of one of the critical campaigns of the Second World War by a masterly writer.""

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