Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front, 1941–1942: Schwerpunkt

Robert Forczyk

Feb 2014 · Pen and Sword

About this ebook

The author of Case White: The Invasion of Poland delves into the strategy and weaponry of armored warfare during the early years of the Russo-German War.
 
The German panzer armies that swept into the Soviet Union in 1941 were an undefeated force that had honed their skill in combined arms warfare to a fine edge. The Germans focused their panzers and tactical air support at points on the battlefield defined as Schwerpunkt—main effort—to smash through any defensive line and then advance to envelope their adversaries.
 
Initially, these methods worked well in the early days of Operation Barbarossa and the tank forces of the Red Army suffered defeat after defeat. Although badly mauled in the opening battles, the Red Army’s tank forces did not succumb to the German armored onslaught and German planning and logistical deficiencies led to over-extension and failure in 1941. In the second year of the invasion, the Germans directed their Schwerpunkt toward the Volga and the Caucasus and again achieved some degree of success, but the Red Army had grown much stronger and by November 1942, the Soviets were able to turn the tables at Stalingrad.
 
Robert Forczyk’s incisive study offers fresh insight into how the two most powerful mechanized armies of the Second World War developed their tactics and weaponry during the critical early years of the Russo-German War. He uses German, Russian and English sources to provide the first comprehensive overview and analysis of armored warfare from the German and Soviet perspectives. His analysis of the greatest tank war in history is compelling reading.
 
Includes photos

Ratings and reviews

I gave it a low review not because of the book but because of google play. I am doing research on russian tanks right now, and google won't let me read this on my kindle fire HD 7.... this was the only russian tank book I could find and I wasted my money on it. This book was probably a good book, but because of google I can't read it. Thanks a lot GOOGLE

Qualifier: Wargamer. This work, as can be seen from the huge number of popular sources, shines as a great sorting-out of facts for actions at the company and battalion level. It makes judicial use of individual personal accounts that promote the appropriate flavor for the points the author makes. I think it does a good job at offering reasons for some of the harder-to-understand outcomes of some of the key battles in the first half of the German-Soviet war.

it's a good reference book about the crucial two years for the Panzer force in WW2 and how Germany underestimated Russians. Good and convincing analytics by the author on the military decision makings from the German side, even Hitler. Not many maps in explaining the tactics and various operations is the only drawbacks about this book for me personally, since I am not fluent in Russian and Ukraine geography. I need to use Google Maps and Wiki as I read along.

About the author

Robert Forczyk is a leading expert on the history of armored warfare, and he has made a particular study of the Second World War on the Eastern Front. His many books include Georgy Zhukov, Demyansk 1942-43, Red Christmas: The Tatsinskaya Airfield Raid 1942, Rescuing Mussolini: Gran Sasso 1943, Sevastopol 1942: Von Manstein's Triumph, Leningrad 1941-44, Model, Erich Von Manstein and Panther Vs T-34: Ukraine 1943.