WWII

Russo-German War

review by Al Coughlin

Written by W. Victor Madeja, it is published by Valor Pub. Co., Allentown, PA 18103, 77 logs. per vol., $10.00. Bill Rutherford

Russo-German War is actually a series of books, of which I've seen 3: Summer 1944, Autumn 1944 - 25 January 1945, and 25 January to B May 1945. These books are packed with information on the War in the East, describing the operations and battles on that front during the specified time periods, as told from the German point of view. Each contains upwards of 40 maps, many of which are reproductions of German WWII situation maps, and several of which are in color. Detailed high level (Army group and above) orders of battle abound, as do various tables and charts showing production levels, casualty levels, etc., of materiel and men on the Eastern Front.

These maps, tables, and charts are these books' strong points, as, with an average of a bit under 30 pages of text each, the battle descriptions are really only short summaries and are lacking in detail. I had three problems with the books. First, no bibliography was given for the massive amounts of information presented - the author states that a proper bibliography will be provided after the publication of a later volume in the series - the reader is, for the time being, however, out of luck. Second, the books would appear not to have been proofread, as they contain numerous grammatical errors. Finally, Mr. Madeja holds some very strong views about the Soviets and Eastern Europe in his writing. Most of this bias is kept to the introduction and conclusion of each book, but does manage to slip into the narration on occasion. recommended for gamers wanting a strategic view of the Eastern Front and for the maps and charts - but use a supplemental source to expand upon the text!

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