The infamous KGB of Cold War renown was the successor to a series of equally lethal state security agencies that date from the early days of the Russian Revolution: the Cheka; OGPU; NKVD and MVD. Stalin’s Secret Police begins by describing the harsh state security used by the despotic Tsars from the time of Ivan the Terrible. The author then examines the Cheka; the first post-revolutionary organization charged with combating counter-revolution; whose methods were so ruthless that the early Bolshevik government abolished the organization in 1922. After taking control of the Communist Party in 1923; Stalin used the newly formed OGPU to implement mass deportations of the kulaks (wealthy peasants). Stalin’s Secret Police then charts Stalin’s use of the renamed NKVD to carry out the purges of the 1930s; where most of the Soviet dictator’s political rivals were prosecuted in notorious ‘show trials’: millions were arrested and ended their lives in Gulags (forced-labor camps); while countless others were executed. But this was not the end of secret police terror: after World War II; many thousands of Cossacks and White Russians who had fought for the Nazis faced a similar fate. Following the death of Stalin in 1953; the final incarnation of the Soviet secret police; the KGB; became an agency for spreading Soviet influence throughout the world. Illustrated with 120 photographs; Stalin’s Secret Police is a lively and accessible history of secret police oppression in the Soviet Union from 1917 to the early 1990s.
#293245 in Books OSPREY PUBLISHING 2013-02-19 2013-02-19Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.87 x .26 x 7.21l; #File Name: 178096375096 pages9781780963754
Review
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful. Preserving the Old Northwest for the infant USA.By Stone DogAn American army virtually wiped out. It's general taken prisoner and brutally tortured to death. A vengeful and arrogant empire encroaching upon the land; hoping to regain the massive territory it lost in the previous war. Valiant but savage Indians raiding and slaughtering at will. Into this steps "Mad" Anthony Wayne; charged by George Washington himself with the task of arresting the situation in the "Northwest" and reversing it.John Winkler does a fine job of writing this Osprey Campaign book #256; "Fallen Timbers 1794". He sets the stage; giving the reader the previous events leading up to the 1793-1794 campaign including the previous disastrous campaign under Arthur St. Clair at the Wabash. Opposing leaders; forces; weapons and aims of the parties involved - and there were several - are revealed in a cogent fashion as is the step-by-step retelling of the campaign from beginning to end.The author brings the Indians to life as well as the British; but most vividly General Wayne. Wayne is a thoughtful; smart; careful and aggressive commander who literally does everything right. The first thing Wayne does is begin an intense training program for his army. He inclused mock battles with frontiersmen dressed as and using Indian tactics so his new soldiers wouldn't panic and; instead; be able to counter the Indians' favorite ploys. Wayne never underestimates his opponents and is very careful as to his advances into the wilderness; always keeping his logistics and communications safe. When his army stops to rest; it builds defenses and not taken unawares.The author also reveals the many egos involved which threatened to derail the campaign and commit treason. Some went so far as to work hand in glove with the british to deliver their countrymen into the hands of the Indians! This is something which came as a surprise to me even though I have read about the battle in the past.Wayne's victory at Fallen Timbers secured the Old Northwest for the United States; reduced Indian capabilities for the future and ejected the British (who were still building forts on American soil in Ohio; Michigan and Indiana!) from territory of the United States.Like any Osprey title; this book is well illustrated with photos; maps and color artwork. In this case; illustrator Peter Dennis does a fine job with his color artwork down to the bark of the Shagbark Hickory trees which is a native species in Ohio; Indiana; Illinois and Michigan! Well done and helps the reader to visualize what they're reading.This is another fine title in the Osrey Campaign series and I recommend this with five stars!1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. easy to read explication of an immensely important and surprisingly ...By Benton G. RossThis is concise; easy to read explication of an immensely important and surprisingly forgotten chapter of US Military history. We typically think of Indian wars as affairs of forgone conclusions; where technologically superior European forces slowly roll back the frontier. In 1794; however; the world was much different.The US Army is fresh off a terrible defeat at the hands of the Native Confederacy at the Battle of Wabash (called St. Clair's Defeat) in which 1;000 natives almost annihilated an American force of similar size. In response; Washington created the Legion of the United States fight the Indian alliance north of the Ohio River. Maj. General "Mad" Anthony Wayne - the chose leader of the legion - tossed military convention aside and developed new tactics and organizational conventions specifically designed to combat the way of war practiced by the northern natives. Wayne's careful planning and innovative changes culminated at the Battle at Fallen Timbers; which broke the British-backed native confederacy and opened the Ohio River Valley to white settlement; tipping the balance of power in the region for the next decade (and ultimately forever).The book itself is informational rather than narrative. At times; it suffers from poor sentence structure and confusing references back to other pieces of information. Nonetheless; it is - on the whole - very easy to read and assimilate the vast amounts of factual information contained therein. It has some beautiful illustrations; very specific maps; and tables containing numbers; positions; units; and other elements of distribution in the line of battle. If what you are looking for is easily digestible information and reference; this book has it.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Good Osprey analysis of the battle of Fallen TimbersBy Steven PetersonThe United States sent an army west in 1791 to confront marauding (as white Americans saw it) Indians. And that army was essentially destroyed at the battle of Wabash. This is the story of a follow up expedition westward; culminating in the battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794.The commander of the later operation was the renowned general; Anthony Wayne. He performed well in the Revolutionary War and was given command of an expedition to the west. In addition to his rather small force; he would be joined by Kentucky volunteers; creating--in the end--a sizable force.As always in the Campaign series; the book follows a standard outline: opposing commanders; opposing armies; opposing plans; and then the actual campaign. One challenge for Wayne was a key subordinate commander; the duplicitous and treacherous Brigadier General James Wilkinson; an astonishing figure in the early American military. And rightly was Wayne not trusting of Wilkinson. This slender volume does a nice job showing how Wayne tried to mitigate any damage that Wilkinson (and another subordinate officer; John Hamtramck) might do.One thing that characterized Wayne's outline of the campaign was logistics. He carefully planned the movement of his forces; including creation of a series of forts and camps (see the diagram on page 52). Finally; the battle began. Wayne tried to keep his forces linear enough so that the Indians would not outflank his troops (as had happened at Wabash). Once outflanked; the American forces would face a very difficult situation. But Wayne and his officers avoided that and ended up routing the Indians (and their Canadian and English allies).The book concludes with a discussion of the aftereffects of the battle.Overall; a fine entry in the "Campaign" series. So9metimes; one wishes for a bit more detail; but these Osprey volumes specialize in short and punchy treatments of campaigns; making them accessible to a larger audience.
