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Why Stalin's Soldiers Fought - The Red Army's Military Effectiveness in World War II (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R1,776
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Why Stalin's Soldiers Fought - The Red Army's Military Effectiveness in World War II (Hardcover)
Series: Modern War Studies
Expected to ship within 10 - 15 working days
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Inept leadership, inefficient campaigning, and enormous losses
would seem to spell military disaster. Yet despite these factors,
the Soviet Union won its war against Nazi Germany thanks to what
Roger Reese calls its "military effectiveness": its ability to put
troops in the field even after previous forces had been decimated.
Reese probes the human dimension of the Red Army in World War II
through a close analysis of soldiers' experiences and attitudes
concerning mobilization, motivation, and morale. In doing so, he
illuminates the Soviets' remarkable ability to recruit and retain
soldiers, revealing why so many were willing to fight in the
service of a repressive regime-and how that service was crucial to
the army's military effectiveness. He examines the various forms of
voluntarism and motivations to serve-including the influences of
patriotism and Soviet ideology-and shows that many fought simply
out of loyalty to the idea of historic Russia and hatred for the
invading Germans. He also considers the role of political officers
within the ranks, the importance of commanders who could inspire
their troops, the bonds of allegiance forged within small units,
and persistent fears of Stalin's secret police.
Brimming with fresh insights, Reese's study shows how the Red
Army's effectiveness in the Great Patriotic War was foreshadowed by
its performance in the Winter War against Finland and offers the
first direct comparison between the two, delving into specific
issues such as casualties, tactics, leadership, morale, and
surrender. Reese also presents a new analysis of Soviet troops
captured during the early war years and how those captures tapped
into Stalin's paranoia over his troops' loyalties. He provides a
distinctive look at the motivations and experiences of Soviet women
soldiers and their impact on the Red Army's ability to wage war.
Ultimately, Reese puts a human face on the often anonymous Soviet
soldiers to show that their patriotism was real, even if not a
direct endorsement of the Stalinist system, and had much to do with
the Red Army's ability to defeat the most powerful army the world
had ever seen.
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