The Soviet Union's struggle with Nazi Germany played the decisive part in the Allied defeat of Hitler. Gigantic, prolonged, and bloody land battles, running continuously from 1941 to 1945, contrasted with the fighting on other fronts. The Russians largely fought on their own, with an independent strategy, and at a cost much higher than that borne by the other combatants. As for the Germans, Hitler and his high command conceived and carried out the Russian campaign as a singular “war of annihilation”. Benefiting from a post-communist, post-Cold War perspective, Evan Mawdsley takes full advantage of the wealth of new studies and source materials to produce a narrative that is both penetrating and wide-ranging, providing a clear overview of a vast conflict. This is a gripping account of one of the most devastating episodes of European history. -- From the book jacket.

List of maps: the German invasion, 1941 ; The Moscow theater, 1941- 42 ; The Leningrad theater, 1941- 44 ; The Soviet winter offensive, 1941- 42 ; Hitler's second offensive, 1942 ; The Soviet home front ; The Soviet winter offensive, 1942- 43 ; The battle of the Ukraine, 1943- 44 ; Belarussia and to the Baltic, 1943- 44 ; Southeastern Europe, 1944- 45 ; Poland and eastern Germany, 1945.

Part INazi Onslaught, 1941-42 -- Hitler's War -- Preparations and Perceptions -- Operation Barbarossa, June to September 1941 -- Moscow and the End of Barbarossa, October to December 1941 -- First Soviet Offensive, December 1941 to May 1942 -- Moscow, Stalingrad, Leningrad, June 1942 to January 1943 -- g Part II Soviet Victory, 1943-45 -- Total War I: Wartime Arms and Armies -- Total War II: Occupation and Diplomacy -- Turning Tide, January to September 1943 -- Ukraine and Leningrad, August 1943 to April 1944 -- To the Soviet Frontiers, June to October 1944 -- March into Eastern Europe, July 1944 to May 1945 -- Destruction of Nazi Germany, October 1944 to May 1945.