When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler (Modern War Studies)

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Customer Reviews:

Good as Fact Book but lacks emotions [Posted on 2007-12-17]
I have read the other reviews and I would also agree that this Book supplies you with all the facts , most of them I have not read in other places. However I would recommend this book only for academics or collector of hard facts. This book is more of a text book than interesting read. Nothing against the book. But this is not the kind of treatment I was looking for, just miles and miles of yarns of facts.

I like all stories to have some emotion and some human face. Even war stories. The battle of Stalingrad is dealt with in 2 pages, everything cut down to basic dry facts. In fact I think wikipedia article on battle of stalingrad does a better job. So make your choice based on what you are looking for.

Basic Eastern Front Primer [Posted on 2008-05-11]
This book should be the first book those interested in WW2 history should pick up. The very basic truths of the war are clearly presented: 1.The Soviets beat the Germans basically- the Western Allies fought about 1/4 of the war in Europe; 2. the Soviets learned as the war dragged on- staring from a 20-1 Soviet/German kill ratio we end up with a 1.5/1 ratio- respectable for an offensive army (explaining also the mythical German 5 or 10 to one kill ratio of some reviews); 3. Stalin meddled less with his generals as the war dragged on- Hitler meddled more with bad results; 4. the Soviets took blitzkrieg to a new level and by the end of the war were superior in tank breakthroughs and encirclements; 5. the Red Army was the best land army in the world by the end of the war- combining intelligence and tactics with a brutal trajectory toward any goal.
The book may come across as being very pro-Soviet but that is only because of the literally thousands of tomes about the Western Allies and the German Army which give short shrift to the Soviets- when actual Soviet achievements are exposed they cannot help but look better than we're used to thinking. My only criticism of this book is in the department of statistics- I think it tends to exaggerate Soviet casualties and the numbers given on tables aren't consistent throughout the book. Still- the best basic primer on WW2.

Very good book, but with flaws. [Posted on 2008-05-24]
This book is truly good: well-researched and fascinating and the battle descriptions are quite engaging; not an easy thing for most to do. I find faults with this book, though:

1--The writers go into great detail about what Zhukov did in his preparations for Kursk and how the battle went along. This is all written very well and is exciting, BUT...one thing is sorely missing: ANY mention of the fact that Zhukov (whom the writers have no shortage of accolades for, though they do speak of his defeats in Operation Mars and at the Seelow Heights) KNEW exactly what the Germans were going to do and where they were going to do it because they were getting information from the Lucy Ring, which was supposedly a bunch of disgruntled German officers but most likely was the Brits way of getting their Enigma intel to the Soviets. Any idiot can create a good defense when he's given the other side's playbook denoting EVERYTHING that the enemy is going to do. I was very surprised and upset not to see any mention of this VERY IMPORTANT fact.

2--On page 275, the authors--in the context of the happenings of the `Second Period of War (Nov. '42--Dec. '43)--say, `...the Red Army destroyed Blitzkrieg as a viable offensive military concept'. Apparently the writers had their heads in the sand during the two Gulf Wars because BOTH Coalition Forces commanders--General H. Norman Schwarzkopf and General Tommy Ray Franks--used Blitzkrieg-style tactics to defeat Saddam Hussein's forces. Blitzkrieg works and, more interestingly, the way the writers describe the Soviets tactics during their drive into Central Europe VERY much shows them to echo the tactics of the afore mentioned unviable Blitzkrieg. Odd.

3--My third and final problem with the book is that they answer the question of `Who defeated Germany?' with the only answer possible after looking through the information in this book: it was the Soviets who beat Germany. The only problem is--THIS IS WRONG!!! The Soviets DID NOT defeat Germany; America, Briton AND the USSR defeated Germany. Not a single one of them could have defeated Germany on their own. America needed the UK as a place to launch the attack, Briton would have been starved into submission if it wasn't for the US getting food and supplies to them across the Atlantic and the USSR not only needed the aid it got from the US, as well, but, even though it did fight the majority of German divisions, the Germans had to worry about not only the Soviets but also Briton and later America. If Germany did not have to expend its already limited resources against these two foes, as well, things might have been different. The writers also say that the Russians would have defeated Germany regardless of D-day happening: I can't think of a more ridiculous statement in this book. D-day and the Germans preparations for it tied up a large amount of forces (and Rommel) which could have had a definite impact on the Ostfront. The fact that Stalin was continually urging the Allies to open a second front I think lends credence to this.

The authors also say that Hitler's interference with his generals in the field was not as important as it was eventually made out to be and that it was basically a convenient excuse for the German failure. This is untrue; Hitler did the WORST thing to the generals in the field with his orders: he prevented them from using the very revolutionary tactics that had not only brought them success in the beginning of the war, but were being used AGAINST them by ALL of their enemies.

I do think that this is a book worth getting; the wealth of information on the Soviet struggle is worth it alone, but there are just some things to look out for. This could have been a great book, but the writers, as is usual with many books on this topic, have found their niche and are going to play it up.

Recommended [Posted on 2008-08-22]
I have to second a previous reviewer who cautioned that this book is written for someone well-read in military history. It is not pop-history, but well reasoned military analysis. Mr. Glantz was himself an authority within the U.S. Army on Soviet doctrine and military history. The book itself is probably the best one-volume treatment of the Soviet war effort against the Germans during World War II, though the reader should keep in mind that Glantz himself is a big admirer of the Soviet way of war.

A good resource for history buffs [Posted on 2008-09-16]
This is not light history reading but an in depth recounting of the massive conflict of the Ostfront. Plus the price was great and the delivery was even speedy. I'm enjoying chipping away at this book, chapter by chapter.

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