In this first volume of John Erickson's monumental history of the grueling Soviet-German war of 1941-1945, the author takes us from the pre-invasion Soviet Union, with its inept command structures and strategic delusions, to the humiliating retreats of Soviet armies before the Barbarossa onslaught, to the climactic, grinding battle for Stalingrad that left the Red Army poised for its majestic counteroffensive.

"Erickson. . . has written the outstanding history of the Soviet-German war in English, or, for that matter, any language. The research alone is breathtaking. Erickson has mastered all the Russian sources and compared them with the German records. . . . He has shed light on many heretofore murky matters."-Reid Beddow, Washington Post Book World

"Masterly. . . . A vividly detailed yet comprehensive account of the decisive Eastern-front battleground."-Christopher Hudson, London Evening Standard

"The outstanding book on the Soviet war in any language."-A. J. P. Taylor, Observer

"This authoritative book by a first-class military historian is easily read."-Philip Warner, Daily Telegraph