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RED STORM OVER THE BALKANS THE FAILED SOVIET INVASION OF ROMANIA SPRING 1944
Book Type: C By David Glant. Germanyâs Eastern Front in World War II saw many campaigns and battles that have been âforgottenâ by a Soviet Union that tried to hide its military failures. The Red Armyâs invasion of Romania in April and May 1944 was one such campaign, which produced nearly 200,000 casualties and tarnished the reputations of its commanders. The redoubtable David Glantz, the worldâs leading authority on the Soviet military in World War II, now restores this tale to its proper place in the annals of World War II. Working from newly available Russian and long-neglected German archivesâplus Red Army unit histories and commandersâ memoirsâGlantz reconstructs an imposing mosaic that reveals the immense scope and ambitious intent of the first Iasi-Kishinev offensive. His re-creation shows that Stalin was not as preoccupied with a direct route to Berlin as he was with a âbroad frontâ strategy designed to gain territory and find vulnerable points in Germanyâs extended lines of defense. If successful, the invasion would have also eliminated Romania as Germanyâs ally, cut off the vital Ploiesti oilfields, and provided a base from which to consolidate Soviet power throughout the Balkans. Glantz discloses General Ivan Konevâs strategic plan as the 2nd Ukrainian Front prepared its Iasi offensive and fought a climactic battle with the German Eighth Army and its Romanian allies in the Tirgu-Frumos region in early May, then the regrouping of General Rodion Malinovskyâs 3rd Ukrainian Front for its decisive offensive toward Kishinev, which aborted in the face of a skillful counterstroke by a threadbare German Sixth Army. Glantz describes how the Wehrmacht, with a nucleus of combat veterans, was able to beat back Soviet forces hampered by spring floods, while already fragile Soviet logistical support was further undermined by the Wehrmachtâs scorched-earth strategy. Although Konevâs and Malinovskyâs offensives failed, the Red Army managed to inflict heavy losses on Axis forces, exacerbating the effects of Germanyâs defeats in the Ukraine and making it more difficult for the Wehrmacht to contain the Soviet juggernautâs ultimate advance toward Berlin. 44 photographs. 424 pp. ![]() |