On 22 June 1941 the Germans launched their long-expected invasion of the Soviet Union. Codenamed ‘Operation Barbarossa’, after the famous 12th-century crusading emperor, what followed was perhaps the greatest clash of arms the world has ever witnessed. The attack was a culmination of Hitler’s long-held desire to create Lebensraum (‘living space’) for the German people. In the early summer of 1941, the Germans amassed an army of 3 million men and 20,000 tanks. The struggle that followed was one of the most ferocious, uncompromising conflicts in the history of modern warfare. The German forces advanced in three formations. Army Group North was detailed to capture the Baltic states and Leningrad, Army Group Centre was to push for Moscow while Army Group South was to subjugate the Ukraine. Within six days, the Wehrmacht had captured Riga, Minsk and Lvov and Army Group Centre had advanced 200 miles deep into Russian interior. With the aid of specially commissioned maps, Barbarossa: The First 7 Days describes the dramatic history of the first week of the invasion of the Soviet Union. The book begins with an extensive overview of the Wehrmacht’s success up until 1941, followed by chapters outlining the German High Command’s plan of attack and the defensive positions of the Soviet forces. The author goes on to describe the opening bombardment, followed by detailed accounts of the three Army Groups’ fortunes in the first week of the campaign. The book finishes with an analysis of the remainder of the campaign and the ultimate failure of the Germans to destroy the Red Army and capture Moscow. With first-hand accounts from both sides, vivid photographs, detailed fact boxes and specially commissioned maps of the German advance and Soviet defensive actions, this is a comprehensive examination of the first week of the four-year war on the Eastern Front. Will Fowler was the Army Editor of Defence magazine and is the author of more than 15 books, including D-Day: The First 24 Hours. He also served with the 7th Armoured Brigade in the first Gulf War. Barbarossa: The First 7 Days will be available in spring 2004. This large format book is 200 pages long and contains over 150 photographs and 24 maps. Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 127 Table of Contents Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by Greenhill Books This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com