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  • Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East

  • By: David Stahel
  • Narrated by: Stewart Crank
  • Length: 17 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (57 ratings)
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Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East cover art

Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East

By: David Stahel
Narrated by: Stewart Crank
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Summary

Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began the largest and most costly campaign in military history. Its failure was a key turning point of the Second World War. The operation was planned as a Blitzkrieg to win Germany its Lebensraum in the east, and the summer of 1941 is well-known for the German army's unprecedented victories and advances. Yet the German Blitzkrieg depended almost entirely upon the motorised Panzer groups, particularly those of Army Group Centre. 

Using archival records, in this book, David Stahel presents a history of Germany's summer campaign from the perspective of the two largest and most powerful Panzer groups on the Eastern front. Stahel's research provides a fundamental reassessment of Germany's war against the Soviet Union, highlighting the prodigious internal problems of the vital Panzer forces and revealing that their demise in the earliest phase of the war undermined the whole German invasion.

©2009 David Stahel (P)2021 Upfront Books
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East

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Great book

This book provides a great breakdown of the eastern campaign of World War Two and particularly excels in breaking down the logistical situation and political issues within the Wehrmacht. I’ve got the hard copy and the audible version. Great to have as a well researched source. Highly recommended. Looking forward to the release of the other books in his series.

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3 people found this helpful

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performance good, author and book bad

doesn't speak German or Russian but within a moments of introduction, (with an air of parenthesis) disparages historians that do; historians that would fold him like a spoon in any debate.
very low.
the main thesis is obvious and you needn't listen past the introduction.

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2 people found this helpful

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Absolute Garbage

Listened to about 10 mins and had to stop. The worst account of Operation Barbarossa I've ever encountered.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant

I’d heard for years how good and how detailed this study was. It doesn’t disappoint at all. For anyone who thinks they now the history of the largest offensive in history, this will re-write it.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Barbarossa Defined

Excellent listening of the Barbarossa Campaign. Not specific to individual battles or personal accounts, this book deals with the planning, execution, difficulties and eventual defeat of German forces in the Eastern Front of 1941-43. If you are unfamiliar with the Barbarossa campaign and wish to learn about the background of the planning to execution this is for you, as it will also go as far as to explain the reasons why the German forces failed in its objectives and thus utter defeat in 1945.

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Interesting and well written

There are dozens of books about Fall Barbarossa, written by the authors from many countries. It is another one but I found it quite fresh in its approach to the first months of the war on the Eastern Front. I was genuinely surprised that such innovative but well supported theory about the decisive moment when Hitler lost the war apeared from New Zealander historician but I grabbed another books written by Mr. Stahel and they were equally good.

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Authoritative and compelling

Based on extensive new research in the German archives paints a fascinating picture of why Hitlers invasion of Soviet Russia went so wrong so quickly. Told mainly from the perspective of the German High Command and Army Groups but with supporting evidence of the experience of soldiers at the front. How senior figures in the Wehrmacht allowed themselves to get caught up in Hitlers delusions - none of them had any answers when it turned out that the Red Army wasn’t going to immediately collapse as he fondly hoped.

A fresh new perspective which challenges some post war myths, no wonder some people aren’t happy with it! Narrator better than I first expected from sample- he grew on me.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Book fantastic, narrator okay but could use a pronunciation check

Great book, a really fresh take on a subject where a lot of assumptions and received wisdom have taken over.

The narrator’s German pronunciation a little dodgy in parts but no worse than average for this genre. Quite easy to listen to nonetheless.

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very good

fascinating study on barbarossa.
research is extensive, and well presented.
authors conclusion is convincing.
highly recommend

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Problem with narration

Nice narration, marred by the narrators inability to come even close to an acceptable pronunciation of german names.
The book is fantastic.

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