Book Review of
Operation Bagration
The Soviet Destruction of German Army Group Center,1944
Author: Ian Baxter
Casemate Illustrated
Men-Battles-Weapons series
ISBN: 978-1-61200-923-0
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2020
MSRP: $24.95
Men-Battles-Weapons series
ISBN: 978-1-61200-923-0
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2020
MSRP: $24.95
HISTORY:
The story of the destruction of Army Group Center during the summer of 1944 has always been completely overshadowed by the Allied invasion of Normandy a few weeks earlier.
The Soviet offensive Bagration that fateful summer was more catastrophic to the Wehrmacht than the events in the West.
Bagration was the code word that the Soviet Army gave to their summer offensive in 1944. This massive offensive led to the destruction of the German Army Group Center – the greatest military defeat experienced by the German Army during World War II.
On June 22, 1944, the Red Army launched thousands of men, weapons, and armor towards the German lines. The massive hole punched in the German lines by the Soviet offensive sent huge shock waves through Army Group Center as it became clear that their choices were retreat or total annihilation.
What issued was a swift and bloody battle of attrition. In the days and weeks that followed, German units gradually retreated under the constant hammer blows of Russian ground and aerial bombardments, and endless armored and infantry attacks.
German units were duty-bound not to withdraw, which, combined with the speed of the Russian offensive, meant that many became encircled and destroyed – with just the remnants retreating west. By the end of the battle, the German Army had been pushed out of Russia towards Poland with the loss of over 300,000 men and most of its weapons.
THE BOOK:
Casemate Publishers is based in Pennsylvania, USA.
This book is soft cover of 128 pages in 10” x 7” page format.
The cover art shows a black and white photo at the top of Soviet 152mm M-10 artillerymen preparing for a fire mission against German positions. On the morning of June 25th, the Red Army unleashed a massive artillery bombardment along the German Central Front.
At the bottom of the cover on the left is a black and white photo of German soldiers tending a wounded comrade in a woods.
On the right of the bottom there is a black and white photo of German soldiers around 2 of their tanks.
At the top of the back cover on the left is a black and white photo of a German tank fording a river with 7 infantrymen riding atop it.
To the top right is a black and white photo of 11 German infantry-men walking through tall grass on a wide plane.
At the bottom is another black and white photo of German soldiers pushing a small howitzer on a dirt road through a woods.
Casemate Illustrated series explores key elements of military history. Extensively illustrated, this book holds 133 black and white photos, maps, and 20 color profiles of infantrymen.
Black and white photos also of tanks, aircraft and other vehicles. The book provides a wealth of detail .
There are 88 photos of German troops and 23 of Soviet ones, 5 photos of 57mm Soviet cannon, 4 of German cannon, 2 of a Pz.Kpfw. IV, 9 of German half-tracks, 1 of a Tiger tank, 2 of a Hummel tank, 3 of a Sturmgeschütz tank, 3 of German machine-guns, 1 of a panzerschreck, 1 of a nebelwerfer, 1 of a Flak 38, 5 of a Panther, 2 of a panzerfaust, 1 of a train, 1 of a kettenkrad, 3 of a Marder, 4 of a Su-85, 5 of T-34’s, 2 of a Su-152, 1 of a IS-2, 1 of a T-34-85, 1 of a Su-122, 2 of German motorcycles, 1 of a German truck.
There are 6 photos of German commanders:
General Field Marshal Ernst von Busch
General Field Marshal Walter Model
General Walter-Otto Weiss
General Hans Jordan
General Kurt von Tippelskirch
General Georg-Hans Reinhardt
There are 5 photos of Soviet Commanders:
General Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov
Army General Ivan Bagramyan
Army General Konstantin Rokossovsky
General Georgy Zakharov
General Ivan Chernyakhovsky
There are 20 color illustrations of infantrymen:
3 different panzergrenadiers
A MG-42 machine gunner
4 different Red Army infantrymen
A T-34 tanker
A Luftwaffe infantryman
A Herr soldier
A Soviet anti-tank rifleman
Another Red Army infantryman
A Pal gunner
A Red Army machine-gunner
A panzerfaust operator
A SS tank-crewman
A Soviet sniper
A Soviet NCO
On the fold over leaf on the back cover there is 4 black and white cover arts of other Casemate books in the Men-Battles-Weapons series: Kursk 1943, Operation Typhoon, From Moscow to Stalingrad and Air War on the Eastern Front.
This book will be of great interest to both modelers and military historians alike.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
All Casemate books can be viewed on their website at:
The story of the destruction of Army Group Center during the summer of 1944 has always been completely overshadowed by the Allied invasion of Normandy a few weeks earlier.
The Soviet offensive Bagration that fateful summer was more catastrophic to the Wehrmacht than the events in the West.
Bagration was the code word that the Soviet Army gave to their summer offensive in 1944. This massive offensive led to the destruction of the German Army Group Center – the greatest military defeat experienced by the German Army during World War II.
On June 22, 1944, the Red Army launched thousands of men, weapons, and armor towards the German lines. The massive hole punched in the German lines by the Soviet offensive sent huge shock waves through Army Group Center as it became clear that their choices were retreat or total annihilation.
What issued was a swift and bloody battle of attrition. In the days and weeks that followed, German units gradually retreated under the constant hammer blows of Russian ground and aerial bombardments, and endless armored and infantry attacks.
German units were duty-bound not to withdraw, which, combined with the speed of the Russian offensive, meant that many became encircled and destroyed – with just the remnants retreating west. By the end of the battle, the German Army had been pushed out of Russia towards Poland with the loss of over 300,000 men and most of its weapons.
THE BOOK:
Casemate Publishers is based in Pennsylvania, USA.
This book is soft cover of 128 pages in 10” x 7” page format.
The cover art shows a black and white photo at the top of Soviet 152mm M-10 artillerymen preparing for a fire mission against German positions. On the morning of June 25th, the Red Army unleashed a massive artillery bombardment along the German Central Front.
At the bottom of the cover on the left is a black and white photo of German soldiers tending a wounded comrade in a woods.
On the right of the bottom there is a black and white photo of German soldiers around 2 of their tanks.
At the top of the back cover on the left is a black and white photo of a German tank fording a river with 7 infantrymen riding atop it.
To the top right is a black and white photo of 11 German infantry-men walking through tall grass on a wide plane.
At the bottom is another black and white photo of German soldiers pushing a small howitzer on a dirt road through a woods.
Casemate Illustrated series explores key elements of military history. Extensively illustrated, this book holds 133 black and white photos, maps, and 20 color profiles of infantrymen.
Black and white photos also of tanks, aircraft and other vehicles. The book provides a wealth of detail .
There are 88 photos of German troops and 23 of Soviet ones, 5 photos of 57mm Soviet cannon, 4 of German cannon, 2 of a Pz.Kpfw. IV, 9 of German half-tracks, 1 of a Tiger tank, 2 of a Hummel tank, 3 of a Sturmgeschütz tank, 3 of German machine-guns, 1 of a panzerschreck, 1 of a nebelwerfer, 1 of a Flak 38, 5 of a Panther, 2 of a panzerfaust, 1 of a train, 1 of a kettenkrad, 3 of a Marder, 4 of a Su-85, 5 of T-34’s, 2 of a Su-152, 1 of a IS-2, 1 of a T-34-85, 1 of a Su-122, 2 of German motorcycles, 1 of a German truck.
There are 6 photos of German commanders:
General Field Marshal Ernst von Busch
General Field Marshal Walter Model
General Walter-Otto Weiss
General Hans Jordan
General Kurt von Tippelskirch
General Georg-Hans Reinhardt
There are 5 photos of Soviet Commanders:
General Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov
Army General Ivan Bagramyan
Army General Konstantin Rokossovsky
General Georgy Zakharov
General Ivan Chernyakhovsky
There are 20 color illustrations of infantrymen:
3 different panzergrenadiers
A MG-42 machine gunner
4 different Red Army infantrymen
A T-34 tanker
A Luftwaffe infantryman
A Herr soldier
A Soviet anti-tank rifleman
Another Red Army infantryman
A Pal gunner
A Red Army machine-gunner
A panzerfaust operator
A SS tank-crewman
A Soviet sniper
A Soviet NCO
On the fold over leaf on the back cover there is 4 black and white cover arts of other Casemate books in the Men-Battles-Weapons series: Kursk 1943, Operation Typhoon, From Moscow to Stalingrad and Air War on the Eastern Front.
This book will be of great interest to both modelers and military historians alike.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
All Casemate books can be viewed on their website at:
Highly recommended.