Many Roads to Moscow; Three Historic Invasions

xii, [2], 240, [2] pages. Illustrations. Bibliography. Index. DJ is in a plastic sleeve. Prologue, The Road by Pultava, The Road by Smolensk, and The Road by Stalingrad. Also includes an Epilogue as well as two endpaper maps, and 17 black and white drawings. There have been three major invasions launched against Russia in the last two and a half centuries. Each one started in an atmosphere of optimism and imminent success, each one ended in total, disastrous failure. Charles XIII of Sweden, Napoleon, and Hitler were all convinced in advance of victory, but all three lost. The invading forces were ultimately defeated not by the superior weight of Russian arms, but by a unique mixture of the immense marching distances, the problems of supply, the murderous Russian winter, the vast reserves of sheer manpower available to the Russian commanders which offset their weakness in weapons, and the indomitable will of the ordinary country people when forced to defend their homes. Derived from a Kirkus review: Russia's natural Iron Curtain--its freezing winters--helped defeat three invading armies which sought to capture Moscow. First came Charles XII of Sweden whose invasion was stopped at Pultava in 1709 when his army, cut off from reinforcements, was weakened further by the weather. In 1812, Napoleon had numbers, initiative, and surprise on his side and managed briefly to capture Moscow, but nepotism contributed to delays which stranded Napoleon's weakened army in Russia in mid-winter and forced a hurried and haunted retreat. In 1941, the Wehrmacht began an invasion which Hitler directed somewhat erratically and which ended four years later with the occupation of Berlin, but before that Hitler had medals struck which most soldiers called the Order of the Frozen Flesh. Cooper naturally cites other factor besides the weather. It's a competent summarization of three military defeats.…