Russia's Heroes, 1941-45: An Epic Account of Struggle and Survival on the Eastern Front - Hardcover

Axell, Albert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786708565 ISBN 13: 9780786708567

Publisher: Basic Books, 2001

Synopsis

A tribute to the extraordinary Russian heroes of World War II who defended their country with bravery, valor, and blood features detailed accounts of the men, women, and children who defended their homeland including a nineteen-year-old private who flung himself on the gun port of a German pillbox so that his comrades could advance.

About this title

Reviews

A journalist formerly stationed in Moscow, Albert Axell (Stalin's War, etc.) aims to raise some profiles with Russia's Heroes: 1941-45, his collected tales of wartime heroics by patriots defending the Motherland including Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, a highly literate young woman who fought with a guerrilla unit combating the Germans, and the "Night Witch" who belonged to a squadron of young women who flew risky starlight raids in open cockpit biplanes. While a mostly standard account, the names (otherwise mostly male) and exploits should will be unfamiliar except for that of Stalin's son, a Red Army lieutenant taken captive by a panzer unit.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The Soviet-German war produced, in the words of Marshall Zhukov, "many battalions of heroes" on the Soviet side. Most, if not all, are unknown to Western readers, and Axell (Stalin's War) has done a good service in narrating their exploits. He properly underlines the intense, almost mystical devotion Russians feel for their country, never more so than when Russia is battling for its existence. His sources here are personal accounts, interviews, and published records, and his focus is upon a kaleidoscope of heroism: the defense of the Brest fortress, women fighter pilots, partisans, snipers, pilot "rammers" of Nazi aircraft, Cossacks, and 100 Jewish generals, among others. Some accounts are rather fragmentary, but the overall effect is to provoke wonder and admiration even now, 60 years later. While there are books that say something about individual heroic exploits within a section of the war (e.g., Antony Beevor's Stalingrad, LJ 5/15/98), none so thoroughly examines the subject over the whole canvas of the Soviet-German war. This book should appeal to all those interested in World War II and the almost unbelievable Soviet resistance to Hitler's armies. Robert Johnston, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, Ont.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786708565
• ISBN 13: 9780786708567
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256