Red Storm on the Reich: The Soviet March on Germany 1945

On the night of January 11, 1945, fog, low clouds, and blizzards reduced visibility at times to literally zero along the Sandomierz bridgehead. So the German troops did not notice tanks, assault guns, and towed artillery pieces moving in position by the thousands along the east bank—the Russian side—of the Vistula River. Within seconds after the order to fire was given by the Soviet commander, General Konev, the air became incandescent with unnatural light. A sky of fire and smoke lowered over the country across the river: Houses flared up like torches, bunkers collapsed, roads were broken up, and men were ripped apart. The ferocity of the first attack shook the Germans so badly that they thought they were dealing with the main assault, and not just a reconnaissance in force. So they were completely unprepared for the principal attack and the horrors it held. Thus began the Red Storm on the Reich—the largest, costliest, and fastest—moving military operation in European history."Essentially, the Second World War was won and lost on the Eastern Front," writes renowned historian Christopher Duffy. Until this book, however, the most dramatic events surrounding this part of the war have been little understood. Utilizing a wealth of recently released Soviet materials from Moscow archives, and cross-referencing these with German accounts, Duffy has uncovered a military campaign of unprecedented scale and intensity during which thirty million lives were lost. Red Storm on the Reich brings to life not only the Russian military assault on Germany, but also the human drama behind the epic sieges of Danzig, Kolberg, and Breslau. Duffy's gripping narrative is essential reading for all those interested in modern European history.

"On the night of January 11, 1945, fog, low clouds, and blizzards reduced visibility at times to literally zero along the Sandomierz bridgehead. So the German troops did not notice tanks, assault guns,"

Publishers Weekly

Duffy, a senior lecturer in military history at the British Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, reminds us that the war against Hitler was essentially won on the Eastern front. In this solidly researched study he describes the Soviet assault on Germany from January to April 1945, tracing events from the start of the Vistula offensive up to but not including the capture of Berlin (``on which very many works have already been written''). It is the story of two massive Red Army groups under marshals I. V. Konev and G. K. Zhukov, their drive across western Poland into Germany, and the futile defensive measures of the German forces. Given the overwhelming superiority of troops and tanks, the Soviet advance was well-nigh inexorable, as Duffy shows, with Zhukov and Konev pausing only to deal with cut-off German strongpoints. The author has interesting things to say in regard to the savagery of the Russian troops once they crossed into the German homeland. Recommended for serious students of modern military strategy, the book presents a comprehensive picture of the epic-scale warfare on the Eastern front in 1945. (Aug.)

Christopher Duffy is a senior lecturer at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst. His books include Siege Warfare, Russia's Military Way to the West, The Military Life of Frederick the Great, and The Military Experience in the Age of Reason.