War on the Eastern Front

The German Soldier in Russia 1941-1945

By: James Lucas, Robert Kershaw - foreword

Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell

Dawn on Sunday, June 22, 1941 saw the opening onslaughts of Operation Barbarossa as German forces stormed forward into the Soviet Union. Few of them were to survive the five long years of bitter struggle.

A posting to the Eastern Front during the Second World War was rightly regarded with dread by the German soldiers. They were faced by the unremitting hostility of the climate, the people and even, at times, their own leadership. They saw epic battles such as Stalingrad and Kursk, and yet it was a daily war of attrition which ultimately proved fatal for Hitler's ambition and the German military machine.

In this classic account leading military historian James Lucas examines different aspects of the fighting, from war in the trenches to a bicycle-mounted antitank unit fighting against the oncoming Russian hordes. Told through the experiences of the German soldiers who endured these nightmarish years of warfare, War on the Eastern Front is a unique record of this cataclysmic campaign.

©1979 Cooper and Lucas Ltd (P)2020 Tantor

A Focused Telling

Rather than a broad overview of the war in the East, this book offers a deeper examination of the finer points of the German soldier's experience, first in the advance, and then in retreat.

Ww2 Russian army organization, weapons, and tactic

Narration is slightly labored but clear

Informative and excellent COMPLEMENT to IVANS’ WAR. This book details above information. IVAN details day-to-day life of Russian grunt.

Good description of events.

Good, personal exploits described, which gave a real feel for the eastern front. However, the narrator was very slow, and I ended up having to listen to the book at 1.7 times speed so that it didn’t drag.

Good listening.

I enjoyed this book. But I was hoping to hear more first hand accounts from the soldiers.

A Must Read for WW2 Buffs

Chris MacDonnell does an excellent job narrating “War on the Eastern Front”.
I like the way James Lucas has many detailed stories from firsthand accounts of not only combat, but what the combatants on both sides were feeling, fiscally and emotionally. The extreme hell and hardships both sides went through.
I’m not pro-Nazi Germany or Communist Soviet Union by any means, but you must admire the comradery on both sides. Lucas shows this very well in his book.
I also like how he ended with the story tellers’ fates on their life’s after the war.