The Greatest Battle: The Battle for Moscow, 1941-2

by Andrew Nagorski (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2007

  $5.06

  The battle for Moscow, which took place from September 1941 to April 1942, was the biggest battle of World War II - indeed, the biggest battle of all time. Seven million troops were involved. The combined losses of both sides amounted to 2.5 million men - 2 million on the Russian side. Even Stalingrad, immortalised in Antony Beevor's classic work, involved half as many troops and less than half as many losses. But most of all, this battle turned the course of the whole war. Hitler had declared war on the Soviet Union, and hoped for a swift victory. Had Moscow fallen, Hitler might have won the war - but in the bitter winter the Soviet army held the Germans back. But Stalin committed huge strategic blunders - initially refusing to arm his troops after Hitler sent his troops east without winter clothing - and his reign of terror caused mass looting in Moscow and the flight of half its citizens. As a result the Soviets suppressed the full story of the battle, and only now have the secret archives been declassified for Andrew Nagorski to tell the full story. Anyone gripped and astounded by Stalingrad will find this an amazing account of privation and attrition on an unimaginable scale. This title draws on previously secret Russian documents - suppressed by Stalin - and eyewitness testimony. It is written by an award-winning Newsweek foreign correspondent. It continues Aurum's distinguished military history record after The Most Dangerous Enemy and The Winter War . This is the story of the biggest battle of all time - involving 7 million troops. Even Stalingrad involved half the number of troops and less than half the number of losses. This is the battle that marked Hitler's first reverse and the turning point of WW2.