The largest invasion the world has ever seen kicked off on 22 June 1941, as Hitler's massed forces swarmed across the border into the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa, as the campaign was named, was supposed to last just ten weeks. In fact, Germany enjoyed five months of victory before they were eventually denied and turned away at the very gates of Moscow. Thus, the long and slow road to defeat began. This new book by Robert Kirchubel outlines Germany's ambitious hopes for Operation Barbarossa via a careful selection of photos. In typical style for this series of Concord books, the work begins with some concise background text. Here the author explains what led up to the invasion of Russia, as well as providing salient points about the campaign right up to Operation Typhoon, the final assault on Moscow. The core of"Barbarossa" is the set of superb black and white photographs that document this spectacular, but ultimately futile, campaign. Soldiers are seen in all sorts of contexts in the vast steppes of Russia through contemporary camera lenses. There is a wide variety of vehicle types and weapons on show, which will please readers.
Vehicles such as trucks, horse-drawn carriages and halftracks are all in evidence, as are numerous captured or destroyed Russian tanks and military vehicles. Photo captions are brief but provide relevant data and information about this long and arduous campaign. The artist Ramiro Bujeiro has also provided four colour plates depicting realistic-looking impressions of German soldiers and officers. These are accompanied by detailed descriptions giving pertinent facts about uniforms and personal equipment. This is an interesting volume packed with unique photos from this important campaign. As the writer states in his concluding paragraph,"When the war in Russia transformed from one of maneuver to one of attrition, it became a war Germany could no longer win." Readers wishing to see how Operation Barbarossa played out, and how German soldiers participated in it, will find this book a valuable ally.

Illustrated by: Ramiro Bujeiro