The Greatest Battle

'A new and beautifully researched account of what had been a poorly understood part of the war' New York Review of Books 'A fine diplomatic and military history, but its real triumph is in the voices of the survivors of the Battle of Moscow' Washington Post The Battle for Moscow, which took place fr [...]
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'A new and beautifully researched account of what had been a poorly understood part of the war' New York Review of Books 'A fine diplomatic and military history, but its real triumph is in the voices of the survivors of the Battle of Moscow' Washington Post The Battle for Moscow, which took place from September 1941 to April 1942, was the biggest battle of World War II - indeed, the biggest battle of all time. Seven million troops were involved. The combined losses of both sides amounted to 2.5 million men - 2 million on the Russian side. Even Stalingrad, immortalised in Antony Beevor's classic work, involved half as many troops and less than half as many losses. But most of all, this battle turned the course of the whole war. Hitler had declared war on the Soviet Union, and hoped for a swift victory. Had Moscow fallen, Hitler might have won the war - but in the bitter winter the Soviet army held the Germans back. But Stalin committed huge strategic blunders - initially refusing to arm his troops after Hitler sent his troops east without winter clothing - and his reign of terror caused mass looting in Moscow and the flight of half its citizens.As a result the Soviets suppressed the full story of the battle, and only now have the secret archives been declassified for Andrew Nagorski to tell the full story. Anyone gripped and astounded by Stalingrad will find this an amazing account of privation and attrition on an unimaginable scale. Andrew Nagorski is a senor editor at Newsweek International. He served two tours as Moscow bureau chief, and won awards for his foreign reporting. He lives in New York.