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Since the end of World War II, Germans have struggled with the
legacy of the Wehrmacht -- the unified armed forces mobilized by
Adolf Hitler in 1935 to ensure the domination of the Third Reich in
perpetuity. Historians have vigorously debated whether the
Wehrmacht's atrocities represented a break with the past or a
continuation of Germany's military traditions. Now available for
the first time in English, this meticulously researched yet
accessible overview by eminent historian Rolf-Dieter Muller
provides the most comprehensive analysis of the organization to
date, illuminating its role in a complex, horrific era. Muller
examines the Wehrmacht's leadership principles, organization,
equipment, and training, as well as the front-line experiences of
soldiers, airmen, Waffen SS, foreign legionnaires, and volunteers.
He skillfully demonstrates how state-directed propaganda and terror
influenced the extent to which the militarized Volksgemeinschaft
(national community) was transformed under the pressure of total
mobilization. Finally, he evaluates the army's conduct of the war,
from blitzkrieg to the final surrender and charges of war crimes.
Brief acts of resistance, such as an officers' "rebellion of
conscience" in July 1944, embody the repressed, principled humanity
of Germany's soldiers, but ultimately, Muller concludes, the
Wehrmacht became the "steel guarantor" of the criminal Nazi regime.
In late November 1942, Soviet forces surrounded General Friedrich
Paulus’ Sixth Army in a pocket at the Russian city of Stalingrad.
In response, the Germans planned a relief operation, Operation
Winter Thunderstorm, intended to break through the Soviet forces
and open the pocket, releasing the encircled units. The 6th Panzer
Division was the spearhead of the German relief force. The attack
started on 12 December 1942 and was aborted on 23 December after
heavy Soviet counterattacks. This failure sealed the fate of the
German Sixth Army in Stalingrad. This account of the operation was
first published in German in 1956, written by the well-respected
military historian and retired German officer, Horst Scheibert, who
was a tank commander in 6th Panzer Division during the attempt.
Utilising many excerpts from war diaries, and telegrams sent during
operations, it is a unique account of the entire operation from the
situation in mid-November through the two German offensives, the
Soviet counteroffensive and ongoing fighting until early January.
This book includes 16 maps from the original edition and is the
first English translation of this important German account.
Although much has been written about the Western Front in World War
I, little attention has been given to developments in the east,
especially during the crucial period of 1914--1915. Not only did
these events have a significant impact on the fighting and outcome
of the battles in the west, but all the major combatants in the
east ultimately suffered collapses of their political systems with
enormous consequences for the future events. Available for the
first time in English, this seminal study features contributions
from established and rising scholars from eight countries who argue
German, central, and eastern European perspectives. Together, they
illuminate diverse aspects of the Great War's Eastern Theater,
including military strategy and combat, issues of national identity
formation, perceptions of the enemy, and links to World War II.
They also explore the experiences of POWs and the representation of
the Eastern Front in museums, memorials, and the modern media. The
scholarship on the First World War is dominated by the trauma of
the modern, technologized war in the west, causing the significant
political events and battles on the Eastern Front to shift to the
background. The Forgotten Front illuminates overlooked but vital
aspects of the conflict, and will be an essential resource for
students and scholars seeking to better understand the war and its
legacy.
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(1)
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