Throughout 1943; the German army; heirs to a military tradition that demanded and perfected relentless offensive operations; succumbed to the realities of its own overreach and the demands of twentieth-century industrialized warfare. In his new study; prizewinning author Robert Citino chronicles this weakening Wehrmacht; now fighting desperately on the defensive but still remarkably dangerous and lethal. Drawing on his impeccable command of German-language sources; Citino offers fresh; vivid; and detailed treatments of key campaigns during this fateful year: the Allied landings in North Africa; General von Manstein's great counterstroke in front of Kharkov; the German attack at Kasserine Pass; the titanic engagement of tanks and men at Kursk; the Soviet counteroffensives at Orel and Belgorod; and the Allied landings in Sicily and Italy. Through these events; he reveals how a military establishment historically configured for violent aggression reacted when the tables were turned; how German commanders viewed their newest enemy; the U.S. Army; after brutal fighting against the British and Soviets; and why; despite their superiority in materiel and manpower; the Allies were unable to turn 1943 into a much more decisive year. Applying the keen operational analysis for which he is so highly regarded; Citino contends that virtually every flawed German decision—to defend Tunis; to attack at Kursk and then call off the offensive; to abandon Sicily; to defend Italy high up the boot and then down much closer to the toe—had strong supporters among the army's officer corps. He looks at all of these engagements from the perspective of each combatant nation and also establishes beyond a shadow of a doubt the synergistic interplay between the fronts. Ultimately; Citino produces a grim portrait of the German officer corps; dispelling the longstanding tendency to blame every bad decision on Hitler. Filled with telling vignettes and sharp portraits and copiously documented; The Wehrmacht Retreats is a dramatic and fast-paced narrative that will engage military historians and general readers alike.
#454591 in Books University of Kansas Press 2005-03-25Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.31 x 2.15 x 6.31l; 2.89 #File Name: 0700613536828 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. glantz shows genius as usualBy Michael BuckDavid Glantz may not write in the most exciting way or use tons of hyperbole or focus alot on the human facet of his stories on the Russo-German war; however as far as wealth of information on the Soviet side of things go there is no one better equipped in the western world to write about The Great Patriotic War. His access to Soviet military information is unprecedented and his attention to detail of the military operations second to none. When I first began reading Glantz's tomes on the war I had preconceived notions about this conflict. If Hitler had stayed on course for Moscow after the battle of Smolensk; if he had not split Operation Blau into a Stalingrad and a Caucauses dual front and kept those troops together for a concerted drive to the Volga; if Barbarossa had been launched in May instead of late June; if the Rasputista and bitter Russian winter had not intervened; if if if. And i truly believed Hitler could and should have won this war. After starting on Glantz's books around the year 2000 or so; and truly realizing the awesome potential in manpower and equipment the Soviets had; and realizing in these readings how unprepared materially and logistically the Germans were to fight this war my whole mindset has changed. I believe even if the Germans had taken Moscow Russia would still have won this war. Other then the Germans developing atomic weapons before anyone I have radically altered my view on Germany's chances here. The Soviet Union was destined to win this war no matter what the cost. Barbarossa more then anything else; was Hitler's greatest mistake in the war. I owe this new view to the works of David Glantz. His information is incredible; his summaries superlative; his conclusions inescapable. Dry and technical it may be; but for my money there is no better writer on The Great Patriotic War then David Glantz. Remember; Germany lost the war and 90 percent of her casualties on the Eastern front. Remember; the Soviet Union lost 27 million dead and most of her agricultural and economic bases and STILL won this war. She probably could have done so; although at even greater cost; without a second front in Italy in 1943; and in France in 1944. The Russian contribution to World War II must not be downplayed in the west. The war against Germany was primarily a Russian one; and David Glantz deserves accolades for being one of very few western writers to acknowledge this fact.46 of 47 people found the following review helpful. Exhaustively detailed study with no equalBy DimitriosDavid Glantz is today the top Western authority on the Red Army and the Great patriotic War and this massive volume is the latest product of a long process which saw his works to become ever lenghtier; more analytical; more precise and less readable unfortunately. The book leaves no unturned stone in the sparsely explored field of Red Army in the period 1941-43 and is full of statistics; tables; details and expert analysis. Although some of the chapters present little interest; like those of the rear support services and other have been the subject of thorough studies (like the tank formations and the artillery); I found the most interesting part to be that of the top military leadership and the fate of the various commanders from the level of the Corps upwards. One must be warned though that this book is not for the layman; nor for someone who has only a passing interest in the subject. For readers that want a more readable work on the Red Army I would suggest Mackintosh's "Juggernaut" and for those that love the wealth of details and are fascinated by the hard facts of statistics but do not want to pore through 700 pages; Walter Dunn's excellent book "Hitler's Nemesis: The Red Army 1933-45".2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Shows the organization of these army in detail during WW 2By scott baileyAfter reading this book I was mazed at the organization of this army. The ablities the organize units on such a massive scale is quiet the accomplishment. All units and the evolution of the army is well documented and shows the army on going issue of up-grading its formation to standard levels great read with a lot of charts.
