Book Description
One of the least-known stories of World War II, Operation Mars was an epic military disaster. Designed to dislodge the German Army from its position west of Moscow, Mars cost the Soviets an estimated 335,000 dead, missing, and wounded men and over 1,600 tanks. But in Russian history books, it was a battle that never happened--a historical debacle sacrificed to Stalin's postwar censorship.
David Glantz now offers the first definitive account of this forgotten catastrophe, revealing the key players and detailing the major events of Operation Mars. Using neglected sources in both German and Russian archives, he reconstructs the historical context of Mars and reviews the entire operation from High Command to platoon level.
Orchestrated and led by Marshal Georgi Kostantinovich Zhukov, one of the Soviet Union's great military heroes, the twin operations Mars and Uranus formed the centerpiece of Soviet strategic efforts in the fall of 1942. Launched in tandem with Operation Uranus, the successful counteroffensive at Stalingrad, Mars proved a monumental setback. Fought in bad weather and on impossible terrain, the ambitious offensive faltered despite spectacular initial success in some sectors: Zhukov kept sending in more troops and tanks only to see them decimated by the entrenched Germans.
Illuminating the painful progress of Operation Mars with vivid battle scenes and numerous maps and illustrations, Glantz presents Mars as a major failure of Zhukov's renowned command. Yet, both during and after the war, that failure was masked from public view by the successful Stalingrad operation, thus eliminating any stain from Zhukov's public image as a hero of the Great Patriotic War.
For three grueling weeks, Operation Mars was one of the most tragic and agonizing episodes in Soviet military history. Glantz's reconstruction of that failed offensive fills a major gap in our knowledge of World War II, even as it raises important questions about the reputations of national military heroes.
This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.
Customer Reviews:
Welcome to the Meatgrinder.......2007-04-29
ZHUKOV'S GREATEST DEFEAT is an exhaustive and exacting study of one of the biggest and least-known land battles in history, the Battle for the Rzhev Salient, which took place west of Moscow over three weeks in late 1942. It was written by David M. Glantz, the director of the U.S. Army's Foreign Military Studies Office, who also penned two other Red Army studies, WHEN TITANS CLASHED and STUMBLING COLOSSUS. Like Mr. Glantz's other works, it is notable primarily for its extensive use of Soviet and Russian-language sources, which with the fall of the Soviet Union are becoming increasingly available to Western historians. Thanks to his diligent research, this gigantic clash of Nazi and Soviet armies that produced 400,000 (mostly Soviet) casualties, for decades effectively covered up by postwar Communist historians and generally ignored by westerners obsessed with the simultaneously-occurring Battle of Stalingrad, has now been lifted out of historical obscurity.
Glantz's book primarily covers the period between November 25 and December 15, 1942, when the Red Army launched Operation Mars, a massive offensive on the northern-central sector of the Eastern Front to destroy two German armies poised in a 50 x 30 mile bulge that pointed threateningly towards Moscow. This so-called Rzhev Salient was viewed by Marshal Georgi Zhukov, the ablest of the Soviet generals, as a perfect staging ground for an massive encirclement operation of the type that was being carried out at that moment at Stalingrad. The two operations, it was hoped, would annihilate not merely one German army, but two complete Army groups, and caused a frontwide collapse of Nazi forces in Russia. Zhukov made pain-staking preparations and was fully confident that the cold, dispirited and understrength German divisions in the Salient would quickly fall prey to his massive pincer attack. As Glantz shows us, he was wrong. Poor weather, unsuitable terrain and a tenacious German resistance turned the glorious offensive into an enormous bloodbath. One Soviet brigade after another was shattered, driven back or wiped out completely, only to be replaced by still more who met the same fate. German lines were bent but obstinately refused to break as the Nazi commander, Walther Model, hurled in his last reserves to stem the enemy tide. Long after it was clear that Mars would not achieve any of its objectives, the pathologically stubborn Zhukov continued the attack, as if, in Glantz's words, "to punish" his armies for their failure. The result was 100,000 Russian dead, 235,000 wounded and missing and an incalculable amount of equipment destroyed or captured, for gains that nowhere exceeded more than a few kilometers. It was not for nothing the Soviet soldier dubbed the area of the Salient "the Rzhev meat-grinder."
ZHUKOV'S GREATEST DEFEAT is an important book on the Nazi-Soviet war, but it is clearly meant for hard-core fans of military history only. Glantz is a diligent, thorough, and methodical researcher, but unfortunately, his writing style has these same qualities. There is no attempt to edit, filter or streamline the vast amount of information which marches past on every densely-written page: we are treated to every brigade movement, every redeployment of a grenadier battalion, every argument between unit commanders over tactics and supplies. Stylistically, this reads like a military publication -- extremely heavy on tactical and logistical details, light on prose style. As a result, I often found myself in a Rzhev-like struggle to finish certain parts of the book. Many times I found myself longing for the stylistic skills of a John Keegan, Stephen Ambrose, David Irving or Alan Clark, and instead got fact-stuffed passages talking about how the 3rd Battalion of the 173rd Grenadier Regiment, 12th Panzer Division was replaced in the line by the 1st Battalion, 3rd Regiment, Grossdeutschland Motorized Division. Obviously this type of detail is necessary here and there in any battle-book, but after a couple hundred pages it wears on the eyes.
Having said this, I think ZHUKOV'S GREATEST DEFEAT is still something of a triumph. Mr. Glantz has done nothing less than resurrect a forgotten battle and reconstruct it before our eyes down to its smallest details. He may not be the most asthetically pleasing historian around, but he brings the same type of grim determination to tell the story that Zhukov displayed trying to win the battle. Unlike Zhukov, however, he succeeds.
Thank Goodness for David Glantz !.......2006-08-15
For those who forget the past are condemned to relive it. The supression of knowledge of Operation MARS as military history because of its failure can be dangerous. Failure can be just as instructive as success if not more so. With the addition of this book, we can place the Eastern Front in the broader context that has been missing. This book allows an examination beyond the dogmatic explanation from Soviet sources.
Detailed account of the (virtually unknown) Rzhev operation.......2006-05-24
This is an interesting and detailed account of Operation Mars, the Soviet offensive around the Rzhev salient in the fall of 1942. This massive attack was contemporaneous with the counterattack further south that ultimately led to the encirclement of Stalingrad, and of similar scale in terms of men and material. According to Glantz, this operation was a colossal failure and was largely covered up by the Soviet government. I'm not sure that I entirely agree with this assessment, but little has been written about this operation, and this book nicely fills a longstanding void. It may well have been the Soviet plan for the Stalingrad offensive to be the secondary front, but they would not have succeeded there without the tremendous sacrifice by the Red Army around Rzhev.
This book has several strengths, and I generally recommend this book to any student of the Eastern front. The operation is explained at both the strategic and operational level, and there are detailed maps to show the positions of the larger units (regiment and above) relative to each other and geographic features. The text is divided into five sections. The strategic situation of both sides is outlined in the first, the initial attack in the second, the containment of the offensive by the Germans in the third, the subsequent futile Soviet attacks and ultimate failure in the fourth, and an epilogue and summary in the fifth. This was a rather complex, multi-directional attack to reduce a salient, and the text could easily have been a muddled mess. Glantz does a good job (through the text and the maps) of keeping everything straight so the reader can follow events in both time and space. One feature I thought was particularly useful was that some maps are zoomed in on small regions of the front. Other reviewers expressed a dislike for the maps and symbols, but I thought they were fine.
There are several serious drawbacks to this book that prevent me from giving it 5 stars. First, Glantz's position is VERY pro-Soviet (this is common throughout virtually everything he writes). He pulls no punches here. Historians are often looking for balance, and admittedly for fifty years much of the history about the Eastern front in the West came from German sources, so that our knowledge been skewed. Glantz certainly references many German sources and is clearly very knowledgable in this area, but he has done a great disservice by taking such an evident pro-Soviet position. There is a blatant lack of balance in this work. Second, Glantz often refers to the detailed inner thoughts of commanders. I find it hard to believe that such extensive knowledge of the personal thoughts and feeling of the participants is known. This seriously detracts from this work as history. I got the impression that Glantz is directly putting his own views and interpretations into the narrative by claiming such detailed knowledge of the participants.
I give this book four stars because it is a solid effort written about a virtually unknown operation on the Eastern front. I would not argue with anybody who gave this three stars though, this work does have some serious problems. I found this book easy to read, although I admit that I'm obsessed with this era. This is a dense book packed with information and may not be to everyone's taste. For any serious student of the era, this is really a must have, even given its limitations. There is a wealth of information here, much of it taken from Soviet sources, that is likely to be unknown to the most well read student. For the more casual reader of this epoch, I cannot recommend this book, and suggest that you spend your money elsewhere.
Glantz's research is shoddy.......2006-02-08
David Glantz's research for this book would be unacceptable ,if he were writing a book ,say, on the American Civil War.His access to original sources was inadequate.Therefore, I would take the information in this book with a grain of salt.He exaggerates the casaulty figures of Operation Mars. Operation Mars was meant as a diversion.Glantz has a bias against Zhukov.In his lastest book ,however, he seems to have come to a more objective assessment of Zhukov. Save your money.
Too much detail.......2005-12-05
This ought to to have been a ground-breaking book on the war in Russia, and the tenacity of Hitler's military machine.
But the author seems to have no sense of what is important and what is speculation. The book is overloaded with unnecessary detail. Like most historians, Glantz is a big paragraph man.
No one has ever told him that short paragraphs are easier to read.
I fear in his case, even this slight modification would be of no help.
A ruthless editor should get to work on it and cut through the verbiage to leave what's important.
And other reviewers are right: the maps are appalling.
Book Description
In his new book, Tony Le Tissier provides the first detailed account of the Soviet-German conflict east of Berlin, culminating in 1945 with the last major land battle in Europe that proved decisive for the fate of Berlin. When the first Red Army soldier reached the Oder on the 31st of January, everyone at the Soviet Headquarters expected Marshall Zhukov's troops to bring a quick end to the war. However, despite desperate fighting by both sides, a stalemate persisted for two months, at the end of which the Soviet bridgeheads north and south of Kustrin were united, and the fortress finally fell. By drawing not only on official sources, but also on the accounts of individuals involved, Le Tissier meticulously reconstructs the difficult breakthrough achieved on the Oder: the establishment of bridgeheads, the battle for the fortress of Kustrin, and the bloody fight for Seelow Heights. Numerous maps and step by step illustrations show the operations of both contestants in detail and reveal a most interesting episode in the history of the Second World War in Europe.
Customer Reviews:
Best Military History Ever on The Battle of Berlin.......2007-03-25
This is the best book ever written on the Battle of Berlin. The author to his great credit uses mostly primary sources, to include interviews and memoirs of participants, unit records and histories, and his own detailed knowledge of the terrain. This book is not a rehash of other books. It breaks new ground and is a must read for students of warfare. The first 1/3 of the book focuses on the period of January-March 1945 and the battles fought on the Oder River, as the Red Army struggled to seize and expand bridgeheads, while eliminating German ones, even as the remnants of the German Army's "Army Group Vistula" threw in desperate counterattacks to stabilize the frontline short of Berlin. The author does an incredible job integrating and explaining the tactical and operational pictures of the opposing armies, and interweaving the fighting with the immense psychological pressure Stalin and Hitler placed on their commanders. Zhukov's rivalry with Koniev is explained for the first time as a life and death matter for Zhukov, as Stalin moves his chess pieces and pits them against each other to ensure and secure his own postwar prominence and leadership. The second 1/3 of the book focuses on preparations the German NINTH Army made to defend Berlin and contrasts these to those Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front made to break through the German lines and seize the Reichstag. The last 1/3 of the book focuses on the first four days of the last major Red Army offensive and ends with the incredibly bloody seizure of the Seelow Heights. Throughout the book the author tends to divide individual chapters into easily readable and understandable segments dealing with each German Corps and the Red Army forces they opposed. The maps help you follow the action. The author also provides excellent order of battle information for each side. The Germans are clearly scrapping the bottom of the barrel, but some of the Wehrmacht's last-levy forces put up an incredible fight, to include obscure formations such as "Battle Group 1001 Nights." The surprising reliance the Soviets were forced to place on the Polish Army is a clear indication the Red Army's enormous manpower losses in previous campaigns has bled Russia white. The author also explains the doctrine the opposing forces used in this campaign, to include a new (1945) German doctrine on defensive operations that would cost the Red Army dearly in men and tanks. The book ends before the actual fighting in the city of Berlin. To read about this part of the campaign, read the author's superb book, "Race to the Reichstag" and then read his "Slaughter at Halbe" for an exciting and fascinating account of the German NINTH Army's breakout south of the city to the west.
Le Tissier is the man........2007-01-10
Le Tissier furthers strengthens his hold on excellent reporting for the German-Soviet conflit in 1945.
Look for all of his works and when you have them all you have the most complete telling of Germany's final days in the east.
The Thundering of Berlin 1945.......2000-05-22
I like reading books on the subject of the Berlin War of 1945 when the Reds stormed across Eastern Europe and ready to plunge into Berlin, the heart of the Reichstag.John Le Tissier knows very well of this War and he researched thoroughly of the subject, like the blunders Zhukov committed at Sellow Heights, and the endurance as well as the misery of the 9th Army under General Busse, not to mention the decimated German Army and the preparation for the showdown in Berlin.I believe this book is not just a book of WWII, but rather a good book on Courage, Sacrifice, Endurance of the German Army as well as the Germanic people, and also the madness of Hitler and his cronies in the Highest Command of the OKW.
Amazon.com
Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov, arguably the greatest general in Russian history, is famous among military historians for his coordinated campaigns in defense of Moscow, Leningrad and Stalingrad -- campaigns in which millions of Soviets lost their lives -- and for leading the Red Army into Berlin in the spring of 1945. After Stalin's postwar fall from grace, however, Zhukov was all but forgotten in his own country, even after twice being officially "rehabilitated." In this richly detailed biography, Chaney analyzes Zhukov's successes (and occasional failures) as a tactician and fighter whose contributions to the war undoubtedly hastened the collapse of the Third Reich.
Customer Reviews:
Great, balanced biography.......2006-12-30
The biography starts a bit shaky, with first 20-25 pages sounding quite amaturish. I had to read the authors credentials to ensure I wasnt wasting my time. As it turned out, I wasnt. The book takes on a good flow and does justice to Zhukov's life. I read Yuriy Bubnov's comments and let me say that this book 'does' throw light on Zhukov's darker side, there is no attempt to hide it, he was a ruthless, egomaniac but you still cant dispute his military genius.
As for the mistakes Zhukov made, most of them were thanks to Stalin and his cronies, who just could not stop meddling and overruling military strategy for political reasons though Stalin had no military experiance. War is best left to the generals.
However if you really want to read the best book on Russia's role in WWII, Russia at War by Alexander Werth is THE book. The best book on WWII I ever read.
Great Biography!.......2006-01-17
Excellent biography of Marshal of the Soviet Union Giorgi k. Zhukov. Very well written, a great amount of sources used, very valuable to any student of the Eastern Front. The only downside might be the fact that Zhukov's memoirs keep coming out anew with much information that was censored. I'm afraid that Cheney's book most likely leaves a lot of that information out in the end because it isn't constantly being updated. Even so a great source for understanding what happened on the Eastern Front of the Second World War. I very much disagree with the reviewer who gave this book '1 star', there is no propaganda here nor was Zhukov responsible for what befell the Red Army in 1941. Although intelligence was abundant about Hitler's Intentions that in and of itself cast doubt as to what Hitler really wanted to do in 1941. Please, keep in mind that if such an invasion was actually being prepared who in their right minds would think that in fact there would be so much information confirming it? The reasons for Stalin's reactions and that of the Red Army throughout the first hours, days, and weeks are understandable when seeing the situation both found themselves in. Stalin wanted the pact to last while at the same time being fed information that showed Hitler would not attack by his Chief of Military Intelligence (GRU) Golikov who was giving him what he thought Stalin wanted to see and leaving out that information that showed Hitler would attack. There was also reason to think that Hitler might first make demands, which is why an outright invasion was such a shock to Stalin. (Some of these answers can be found in "What Stalin Knew : The Enigma of Barbarossa" by David E. Murphy.) In either case, if you are interested in the Eastern Front this will prove an excellent source for understanding how Soviet higher headquarters functioned and what it was like to deal with Stalin. Highly recommended.
Historian Reader.......2005-10-02
This book is repeating the soviet propaganda lies about most useless, rude and barbaric marshall of USSR, lying and bragging in his memoirs book. Whole disaster of first days of war from June,22 on his behalf. He was the Chief of General Office, he was planning operation, army units dislocations, supply, routes and etc. He has full intellegence information in his hands about Germans and they intentions. He gave the orders "Do not do any actions in return" when Germans have striked. According his orders defending batalions was removed from fortified structures and structures was disarmed. 4 lost millions of best Soviet soldiers in the beginning of was on his behalf. He does not have any relation to Stalingrad battle. He was in other place of the war during Stalingrad battle. Zhukov has came to Leningrad after the situation was already stabilized. He did situation worst when he did not trust information of his own front intelligence and allow to Germans cut off Leningrad from main land. And more, more and more. The man who wants 5-6 time superior force to fight and senseless to casualties. The cad in his attitude to other. The numerous army commanders was shoot dead by Zhukov's orders without any remorse. He was the one of inventors of putting a firing squad behind the attaking troops. No way back guys!
I am amaized. Soviet Union propaganda still alive, or it is new Putin's propaganda continue to sing old soviet fables?
The book for anyone interested in the Soviet military........1997-10-05
This newest edition of "Zhukov" is a must for anyone that has an interest in the Marshal's career and/or an interest in the former USSR military machine and how it operated. After years of false and censored information on Zhukov and the Soviet military, "Zhukov" brings to light the the personalities (and incompetence) of such Soviet individuals as Stalin, Khruschev, and Breznev. The book helps show how these 'leaders' (through their low level of intelligence and maturity) helped stunt the growth of the USSR as a nation. Most importantly, the book brings to light the actual accomplishments of Marshal Zhukov (ie. Moscow, Stalingrad, Berlin, etc.) and how much of a role he had in the planning of these operations. From these accomplishments of the Marshal, one can see how 'cults of personalities' were able to appear in such magnitude in the former USSR. The book is a fast reader and highly enjoyable. Read it if interested in WWII from the Soviet perspective.
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Zhukov, Marshal of the Soviet Union (War leader book ; no. 28)
Otto Preston Chaney
Manufacturer: Ballantine Bookd
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G. Zhukov, Marshal of the Soviet Union: Reminiscences and reflections
Georgiĭ Konstantinovich Zhukov
Manufacturer: Progress Publishers
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Book Description
This account of four of World War II's most colossal battles presents these epic conflicts from the perspective of the man largely responsible for Russia's most decisive victories during the Patriotic War.
Customer Reviews:
Zhukov: The man who saved Russia.......2007-03-10
Most Americans have no idea as to how the Russians suffered at the hands
of Hitler's invading army. Still fewer realize that had Hitler been
victorious there, the outcome of WWII may have been very different.
After sustaining continuous and devastating losses to his military and
civilians, Stalin put Georgi Zhukov in charge of the entire defense. This
book is his own story of the battles- Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk- that
turned the tide against Germany despite seemingly unsurmountable odds.
He ends with the battle of Berlin, where the Germans pay so dearly for
their earlier treachery and atrocities against Russia. There was no
military commander in WWII, and perhaps in history, who was smarter,
tougher or more dedicated to his country than Marshal Zhukov. After the
war, Stalin delegated him to obscure duty in Siberia because he felt so
threatened by Zhukov's popularity. It was not until Stalin's death that
Zhukov received the recognition he deserved. Despite appearing to suffer a bit in the translation, this book is a must read for students of WWII.
This is the real thing.......2005-12-19
Western writing about the Eastern Front tends towards melodrama and are patronising of the Soviets because of the past Cold War mentality. Most people are unaware that the most decisive and the largest battles of WW11 were on the Eastern Front: Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk. The well documented stories of Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, Normandy, North Africa, and Hollywood's celluloid myths about these are eclipsed in reality by the sheer size and ferocity of the war in the Eastern Front. The world will never see land battles of this enormous size again. And in these wars which produced a clutch of brilliant military commanders on both sides, Marshal Georgi Zhukov was surely the greatest of all.
This book is factually very interesting to the student of military history and Salisbury's editing and notes are excellent. The only drawback, as usual, is the lack of larger detailed maps to follow the campaigns. It is also interesting to political students for the glimpses of Stalin as Soviet Supreme Commander behind this gigantic enterprise. He comes out much better than in the descriptins by Western writers, despite his initial blunders in this war when he failed to recognise the German threat.
Self Praising and full of riduculously wrong statistics???.......2005-10-28
The reviewer from Philadelphia said something about "riduculously wrong statistics". Well, such kind of statemnts are not surprised me.
This reviewer is from the country were teachers tell students at school that WWII was won by US, UK and... Poland. This reviewer is from the country where even people who are into history told me Americans killed Hitler, etc. etc.
The most American books on WWII don't pay too much attention on Stalingrad battle, though some of them briefly admit it was the biggest battle in human history.
Yes, the numbers in this book are correct! German lost more than 8 millions in this war. And Stalingrad was a biigest battle in WWII, so 1.5 soldiers don't seem like "wrong statistics" from that perspective, isn't it?
Another one example: 1 million soldiers were engaged in Berlin battle in April-May 1945. Wrong statistics again?
Yes, German started the war with 1,5 millions soldiers in JUne 1941, but by December 1942 they army had some much more soldiers.
Besides, Romanian and Italian troops took part in Stalingrad battle. Italy lost in Stalingrad more soldiers than in the whole WWII, did you know that?
I understand it's hard to believe in 1.5 millions loses after reading about "one of the most important battle in WWII" in Ameican historical books, the battle for Northern Africa, where 40,000 soldiers from both sides were engaged! Slightly different scale, isn't it?
I'd suggest the reviewr to read serious historical books before making statements he made here.
Self Praising and full of riduculously wrong statistics.......2003-06-18
I have read a few sections of this book and I was a bit disappointed that zhukov only talked about his triumphs and successful manuevers and skipped failures (operation Mars etc). Most disturbing was the fact that the casuality figures of enemies (germans) were highly cockeyed. For instance, he said that the enemy lost 1.5 million soldiers, 3500+ tanks, 3000+ airplanes etc in stalingrad. He actually multiplied each figure with 10. If germans had lost 1.5 million (half of the their original total strength that attacked russia)men in stalingrad they would not have left much to fight with. It could have been called 'Destruction of Army Group South' but we all know that all the South group was not totally destoyed in Stalingrad.
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The Highlands of Central India
J. Forsyth
Manufacturer: Natraj Publishers
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- Marshal Zhukov
- role and impact of zhukov
- LARGELY DISAPPOINTING READING
- Marshall Zhukov
- A very poor history of a very great man
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Marshal Zhukov
Albert Axell
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Zhukov
ASIN: 0582772338 |
Customer Reviews:
Marshal Zhukov.......2005-07-24
A facinating subject for a biography, I bought it with enthusiasm and dived straight in the day it arrived. Sadly this book was a considerable disappointment. Thin and lacking in detail, but surely most surprisingly discussion of Zukovs greatest battles and tactics are almost completely absent.
For example the 'chapter' dedicated to the tank battle at Kursk, the most important tank battle of WWII, totals a mere 7 pages, five discuss the set up for the battle, and two discuss the aftermath. Details about the actual battle are completely ommitted. The battles for Stalingrad and Berlin are likewise passed over in cursory fashion. The author Axell may argue that his book is a biography not a military history, but Zhukov was a general, if his actions and decisions on the battlefield aren't relevant then what is?
I would have loved this to be a great book, regretably it is a very poor attempt.
role and impact of zhukov.......2005-04-30
i do not agree with the views of dermot doyle . the interpretation is amateurish and somewhat infantile. the book gives a fairly good idea of a man who played a very very critical role in holding of the nazis in the period before america entered the war .the impact of zhukov on world war 2. ,the world and the general fate of mankind .
LARGELY DISAPPOINTING READING.......2004-02-18
The book brings very little new information about one of the best known Soviet general. It lacks archival research and impartiality in evaluating interview materials on which it largely based.
Also, criticism of an excellent Anthony Beevor's book "The Fall of Berlin 1945" is unjustified. Indeed, Beevor's book is what Axell's is not: a well researched historical study.
Marshall Zhukov.......2003-11-12
Disjointed, incoherent, rarely deals with the subject at hand; namely Marshall Zhukov himself. This book lacks any sense of structure or direction. In short, one of the worst biographies that I have ever read.
A very poor history of a very great man.......2003-08-13
I purchased this title, full of enthusiasm to learn about the great Russian general of World War 2. Unfortunately I found Axell's treatment of the subject to be poorly researched, poorly written, poorly laid out and worst of all, partisan.
Regarding the author's groundwork the evidence relied on in the book is awful. He quotes liberally from Zhukov's own memoires, often in lieu of any other material, and when he doesn't he instead produces the most flimsy support for his arguments from his conversations with other academics and Zhukov's daughters. In both cases the reader usually hears nothing other than opinion, generally given by a supporter of Zhukov and often on a topic which they couldn't have known about (for example Zhukov's daughters speaking about the military tactics formulated and used when they were children). Although there are primary sources referred to, the spartan list of footnotes at the end of each chapter is the clearest display of research bordering on amateur.
Axell also makes repeated attacks on arguments made by Anthony Beevor in his book 'The Road to Berlin', where Beevor claims that the Red Army was responsible for a huge number of rapes and other atrocities on German territory. Axell attempts to refute Beevor's claims, but instead of countering with primary source evidence to the contrary he presents yet again the 'opinions' of Russian academics with a few anecdotal examples of Zhukov's meetings with Berliners. Whether Zhukov could have prevented the wrong doings alleged by Beevor is debateable, however not only does Axell fail to point this out, he contents himself with a simplistic mantra that boils down to the following: 'No matter what the Russians did they were never as evil as the Germans because the Germans had concentration camps and the Russians didn't'.
Worst of all, a good proportion of the book is wasted on topics that either had little to do with Zhukov or are so widely known that only a first-time reader of history could be intrigued by the details. Examples include the location of Hitler's corpse, and the fate of Beria (in which Zhukov, not being a politician, had only an incidental role).
Axell's writing style is inexcusably bad, and the book could have been improved with some elementary editing. Worse than that, Axell is repititive, constantly bringing up either the same jarring phrases or the same details in new chapters. Armies taking 'big losses' is perhaps the most irritating, and the most frequent.
Even the layout of the book is a travesty. When Axell concludes the chronological span of Zhukov's life, which he does two-thirds of the way through the book, he introduces topical chapters whose contents are only a rehash of what has gone before. Zhukov and Stalin, Zhukov and Eisenhower, Wifes and Daughters etc. Even whole dialogues are repeated, including an exchange between Zhukov and Stalin where the General offered to step down, given full length in two seperate chapters.
In short this is the worst biography that I have ever read. The only thing I have taken from it is the urge to purchase a copy of Zhukov's own autobiography and rid myself of the confusion of Axell's attempt.
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