Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front, 1941-1942

Schwerpunkt

By: Robert A. Forczyk

Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan

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 WWII developed their tactics and weaponry during the 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.

©2013 Robert A. Forczyk (P)2023 Tantor

Technical details

All the technical details about the tanks, weapons, especially the cannons. Lots about other transport machinery. Filled in a lot of info on why some battles failed or were won. Explained a lot of the bad match ups.

Excellent narration and synopsis of both sides during the time period

Peter Ochlan did a phenomenal job and I felt very much attempted to nail pronunciations. Very engaging and comprehensive view of the use of tanks by both sides during the short time period.

Superb!

A great listen, plenty of detail without sacrificing listening pleasure! Highly recommend this book and recording

A Great work on tank warfare

Personally, I found a very rich and complete series of details and narrative consistency that made a very interesting work to dive in

The details

I loved it. It was unbiased and accurate. Usually the history is tainted towards which ever side writes the history. This was neutral so it was refreshing.