German Report Series: Small Unit Actions During the German Campaign in Russia

This publication was prepared by a number of German officers after the end of World War II. There were a number of these publications, many of which are in publication in the German Report Series by Naval and Military Press. They are all of significant importance in understanding the way in which the war was fought, particularly on the eastern front. This particular publication is perhaps the best known of all the German Report Series, and deals with combat at battalion, company, platoon and even individual level. It is full of small actions that are not reported anywhere else, and the whole book is well illustrated with a series of maps showing the situation of the units and the actions described in such detail. The book starts with a look at the Russian soldier and how the Germans learned to adapt to warfare in Russia. It then looks at operations by infantry, tanks and field engineers, and there are many extremely interesting operations described. Special operations are also included, and a number of behind the lines operations receive treatment. It also deals with fighting in the various topographies and vegetation zones of Russia, as well as the differences between the summer, mud and snow periods. This is a fundamental book for anyone looking at German warfare in the Russian campaign, and the way in which so much had to be altered, relearned or improvised by the German forces in this deadly campaign.