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Barbarossa

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Barbarossa

By: Stewart Binns
Narrated by: Michael Fenner
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About this listen

Drawing on remarkable and never-before-seen material, the extraordinary story of one of the most horrific and devastating encounters of the Second World War.

Sunday, June 22nd, 1941: almost four million Nazi troops marched on Moscow, with a brutal scorched-earth tactic that saw millions of Soviet citizens massacred. A level of brutality paralleled only after the Soviet's triumphed at Stalingrad and took mindless revenge as they marched back into Berlin.

Beginning with Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, to the appalling circumstances of the Fall of Berlin in April 1945 and told from the perspective of the people of Russia and Eastern Europe, Barbarossa is a heartrending story of tragedy, suffering and heroism.

Stewart Binns draws on Russian archives to paint a uniquely intimate picture of the war from the Soviet side of this terrible conflict - presenting this dark moment in history in panoramic detail, matching sweeping accounts of tactical manoeuvres with harrowing personal stories of civilian hardship and bravery.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Stewart Binns (P)2021 Headline Publishing Group Ltd Europe Germany Military Russia War Eastern Europe Imperialism Hungary

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Critic reviews

"This is a truly astounding book, packed with searing hitherto-unpublished testimony about what it was like to endure, and ultimately defeat, the most formidable invasion in the history of Mankind. The sheer endurance of the Russian people between 1941 and 1945 will leave readers utterly staggered. It is a debt that we in the West should do more to acknowledge." (Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny)

"A masterful narrative, deeply enriched by extraordinary research and a profound analysis of the soul of Russia." (Nick Hewer)
All stars
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Straight off the bat, the narrator, Michael Fenner does a fantastic job in this telling of Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union. Human behaviour at it's worst & most base. Shocking but illuminating.
5*

A tough listen

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The enormity of the eastern front during world war 2; the vastness of the battlefields, the colossal numbers of machines, armies, operations, deaths and wounds and displacements make it difficult to hear the individual voice from within the inferno. This book gives air to those voices, takes care to contextualise events and lets those who had no choice but to experience the almost unimaginable horrors evoke their impact.

Book of horrors, written with sensitivity and skill

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The books focuses on the brutal war in the East, mainly from the perspective of ordinary soviet soldiers and civilians. It starts from the disasters and despair of 1941 and ends with the final triumph in Berlin in 1945. For me the human aspect of the war is far more interesting than the military matters, most books about WW2 focus on, so I enjoyed the book very much. The narration is also very competent and engaging.

One of the most captivating books about WW2

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The book itself was incredibly informative. Just by following and listening, you can tell that there was a lot of research put into it. The flow followed a lot of other Eastern Front history pieces, following the course of the War, managing to stay on certain pointts like the Siege of Leningrad, and the Battle for Stalingrad in a way that it wasn't a quick gloss over, but didn't linger too long just be considered winding on.

The narrator in this book was exceptional. Pronounciation was clear and precise, and the correction emotion was put into reading qoutes: a qoute from someone who was angry, brave or proud was read as such, and vice versa for a scared or distraught piece.

Really a very good book. However, from a personal preference, I wish it had followed the German side of the conflict more. This didn't take away from the experience though.

A German operation which mainly follows Soviets

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I have read and listened to many books on the German Russian war. This book is full of detail a lot of details that are in most books of Barbarossa but not usually in context. This book is a mixture of a scholarly detail filled book along with a personal history from soldiers and other important people from all sides. One of the biggest take aways out with Barbarossa is the exposure of FDR and how much of the world’s problems after the war were directly his fault due to his two faced, massive overwhelmingly ridiculous opinion of himself and his pathetic desperate attempts to be Stalin’s friend. Then to realise just how much Stalin played him like a fiddle.

Best book on Barbarossa in a long time

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A blind spot in my knowledge was brutally brought home by the horrors of the Eastern Front . Educational .

Absolute Horror of War

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The war in the east was more barbaric than any other theatre of war in WW2. A mixture of personal accounts and historical facts made this book very good. The only reason it did not get 5 stars is because of the anti communist polemic that was devoid of context and counter arguments. As this was not primarily a political discourse it should have, as far as possible, left well alone. As a piece of work about the war in the east it was enthralling.

The telling of the untold!

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This author seems to admire the red army. Very little about Wehrmacht. I dont trust this author ,..

Communist?

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