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This book is an amazing history. Truly for a nerdy WWII wonk. Choke full of great info and stories and blow by blows of this relatively unknown (depending on the person) battles of the Moscow front. Im giving it 5 stars because i loved it. I will say though that there is some shocking editing errors that are hard to believe. About half way through, there are some chapters from the soviet perspective. Starting there, and continuing on in NUMEROUS locations the word 'German Army" was replaced the term "Red Army"!!!!!!! Such as "The Red Army then was systematically destroyed by The Red Army." It makes for some really confusing info. I was following it so closely that I could tell right away that it was happening, but man....how does something like that happen? Also the maps were terrible. How can you write a whole book about a battle (Velikie Luki) and not have a map of the city and show were the guys were? Because the whole time he's saying this and that position and this and that village, which all sound the same and switch sides several times. The couple maps are really confusing. Its like he took an actual map from the german high command or something and just put it in the book. The author should have created a couple maps detailing the situation for the layman. ESPECIALLY one for the city of Velikie Luki. Seems academic that you would do that. BUT dont let it stop you from giving it a shot. Its really good still.

One man's junk is another man's treasure. That old "saw" is very appropriate for this book. After reading the other three reviews, you might question my rating but I come from a different perspective and actually found the battle coverage, for the most part, of this critical sector interesting.

This book presents the operational history of AGC on its northern border in the Velikie Luki area for over a year where it was defending itself against a relentless enemy. In 1941 the Germans, on the way to Moscow, captured this area northwest of the Rzhev salient and throughout all of 1942 and into early 1943 the Soviets made repeated attacks from different axes to regain this area. The author provides nearly a daily account of those attacks and how desperate the Germans became in holding the line.
Interspersed with the battle narrative are many fragments of after action reports, communiques, diary entries and while not strict Orders of Battle the author does present mini listings of units involved. Though the account is German-centric, details are provided for both sides. Battle action frequently drills down to regiment and battalion level. Paratroopers were brought in and converted to infantry for lack of adequate troops to bolster the line. In addition to the battle action, you'll usually read about the weather and the terrain features that will influence the upcoming battle. Eventually the Germans would lose their supply corridor and you'll read about the Luftwaffe attempts to supply the troops by air drop or by glider.

In addition to the narrative each chapter concludes with a brief assessment or situation report that summarizes what has been covered. Secondarily, a progress report on how AGC in general is doing is also provided. A discussion of Soviet plans are also included. For example, Velikie Luki was not the main objective but an early objective. Velikie Luki was suppose to be the penetration point for a much bigger operation. Once through the line, the Soviets were to drive to the Baltic Sea and isolate and destroy AGN before turning around and attacking the exposed flank of AGC.

There are five black and white 2-D maps which were OK and should help follow the action. Most of the maps have boundaries from Kholm in the north and Nevel in the south. One map has Smolensk as a southern border. With the small sector being covered, the author must have felt five maps were adequate but a few more maps of specific engagements would have been helpful. There are a few good photos: Model studying the front or a worried Kluge or Busch as well as some battlefield scenes.

David Glantz has written two books that includes overviews of this area: "Before Stalingrad" and "When Titans Clashed". This book with its daily coverage and first hand accounts will make a good supplement to these overviews.

The book is a translation and while there are a few rough passages, the overall reading experience is alright. The pacing of the narrative is also uneven. At times the pace is brisk and impersonal while other times the pace slows way down and the author spends extra time on small events when it highlights the bravery or determination of the German soldier. While this isn't the smoothest flowing story, there are some good nuggets to be mined if you don't mind getting your hands dirty.
There is no Notes or Index but there is an extensive Bibliography.

If you have read and enjoyed "Panzerkrieg" or some of the other chronologies of the author or are interested in this battle zone or time period, you should consider this book. On the other hand if you didn't enjoy those books or format then maybe you should let this one pass.

This review is merely a confirmation of the two preceding. This is another in a long list of poorly produced books from Schiffer Military. As is typical from them, there are no maps of any value in the book. One wonders why they bother. Numerous places are identified in the text that cannot be located even using Google Earth at its greatest resolution. (It is Russia, after all.) The problem is further compounded by the duplication of Russian names within the area covered by the book. From the text's English syntax it appears as though this book was translated from German using Google Translate. There is some new information on the subject matter, but it's so poorly presented that the book deserves no recommendation.

The author basically spits out fragments of various divisional histories of units involved in the battle, with absolutely no analysis. There is no coverage of Russian units, the writing style is exceedingly poor, and the maps (all three of them) are horrible. One of the worst books I ever bought.

I have to agree with Keith. I read this book about 10 years ago and it was painful. Very confusing, no first person accounts. It was like a bunch of after actioon reports thrown together.

To the authors credit, I am reading Infrantry Aces right now and it is really good.

Better depicted as the struggle for Velki Luki from 1942-43, it protrays a forgotten, but important battle that showed how the operations of German encircled forces shaped up. Interestingly the book shows the encircled forces suffered fewer casualties than the German relief forces. The German relief attempts appear to have disorganized and half hearted but the author fails to highlight that during this time the Russians were launching massive attacks against Rhzev (larger than the Stalingrad operation) and the huge Stalingrad offensive. A good addition but one wishes the maps were better and better descriptions would have been provided of the opposing forces and their organization. There is also little description of the fortifications the encircled the city and most importantly the use of gliders, though he does touch on the importance of the glider pilots.

Recommended.