Germany's Eastern Front in World War II saw many campaigns and
battles that have been "forgotten" by a Soviet Union that tried to
hide its military failures. The Red Army's invasion of Romania in
April and May 1944 was one such campaign, which produced nearly
200,000 casualties and tarnished the reputations of its commanders.
The redoubtable David Glantz, the world's leading authority on the
Soviet military in World War II, now restores this tale to its
proper place in the annals of World War II.
Working from newly available Russian and long-neglected German
archives--plus Red Army unit histories and commanders'
memoirs--Glantz reconstructs an imposing mosaic that reveals the
immense scope and ambitious intent of the first Iasi-Kishinev
offensive. His re-creation shows that Stalin was not as preoccupied
with a direct route to Berlin as he was with a "broad front"
strategy designed to gain territory and find vulnerable points in
Germany's extended lines of defense. If successful, the invasion
would have also eliminated Romania as Germany's ally, cut off the
vital Ploiesti oilfields, and provided a base from which to
consolidate Soviet power throughout the Balkans.
Glantz traces the 2nd Ukrainian Front's offensive along the
Tirgu-Frumos, Iasi, and Dnestr River axes and the 3rd Ukrainian
Front's simultaneous advance to the Dnestr River and dramatic
struggle to seize bridgeheads across the river and capture
Kishinev. He discloses General Ivan Konev's strategic plan as the
2nd Ukrainian Front prepared its Iasi offensive and fought a
climactic battle with the German Eighth Army and its Romanian
allies in the Tirgu-Frumos region in early May, then the regrouping
of General Rodion Malinovsky's 3rd Ukrainian Front for its decisive
offensive toward Kishinev, which aborted in the face of a skillful
counterstroke by a threadbare German Sixth Army. Glantz describes
how the Wehrmacht, with a nucleus of survived combat veterans, was
able to beat back Soviet forces hampered by spring floods, while
already fragile Soviet logistical support was further undermined by
the Wehrmacht's scorched-earth strategy.
Although Konev's and Malinovsky's offensives ultimately failed,
the Red Army managed to inflict heavy losses on Axis forces,
exacerbating the effects of Germany's defeats in the Ukraine and
making it more difficult for the Wehrmacht to contain the Soviet
juggernaut's ultimate advance toward Berlin. By re-creating this
forgotten offensive, Glantz commemorates a rich and important
chapter in the history of a war that brought down the German Army
and reshaped the map of Europe.
General
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