Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945
by Catherine Merridale
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Book Summary Information
Author: Catherine MerridaleEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-01-23
ISBN: 0312426526
Number of pages: 462
Publisher: Picador
Book Reviews of Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945
Book Review: Into a savage crucible
Summary: 5 Stars
"The nearest anyone has come to a consensus is to say that no fewer than 8.6 million Soviet military personnel were killed during the war, either in Nazi prison camps or on the battlefield ... nearly a third of the total number of men and women mobilized into the armed forces." - Catherine Merridale
The minimum numbers of U.S. and U.K. military deaths in World War II are perhaps 291K and 244K respectively in all theaters. Though various "experts" may disagree on the actual numbers, it can't be argued that, in terms of casualties suffered, the U.S.S.R.'s armed forces bore the brunt of the war against Hitler. It could also be asserted that the Soviet Union effectively won the war against Germany. Despite the famous successes of Allied forces in Western Europe, their presence there was perhaps the only reason the Red Army didn't sweep all the way to the English Channel. What sort of army was this?
Professor of contemporary history and author Catherine Merridale's IVAN'S WAR: LIFE AND DEATH IN THE RED ARMY, 1939-1945 is, considering the obstacles confronting the Western researcher in the former and secretive Soviet Union, a wonderfully illuminating narrative.
As best as her sources allow, Merridale examines the full context of Ivan's army experience: the Finnish War (1939-1940), the precipitous rout by the German Wehrmacht in the summer and autumn of 1941, hanging-on for dear life through August 1942, the end of the beginning - the gritty defense of Stalingrad, the beginning of the end - the apocalyptic Battle of Kursk in July 1943, the advance to the U.S.S.R.'s western border, stepping over the line into the capitalist West, the last paroxysm - the Battle for Berlin, and, finally, demobilization, return home, and the postwar years. But, as the title of the book implies, this isn't a rehash of battles so much as an attempt to reconstruct the lives of the individual grunts in the snow, mud, and trenches: conscription, training (or lack thereof), morale, discipline, ongoing political indoctrination, supply, weaponry, contact with family, the relationship with officers and with female troops, regard for the national leadership, loyalty to the Communist Party, the POW experience, medical care, battle fatigue, desertion to the opposition, drinking, rape (especially savage in East Prussia), exposure to capitalism's affluence, looting, post-war health care and benefits (such as they were), and the evolution of heroic memory and tradition.
The first soldiers to return home got the victory parades and the most applause. But then it dropped off until, as Merridale writes:
"Stalin ... was proud to take credit for the victory but reluctant to share it. He was also aware that stories of his own mistakes were waiting to be told, especially those that focused on the debacle and slaughter of 1941 ... By 1948, within three years of the peace, public remembrance of the war was all but banned." The cruelest measure was taken in 1947, when Stalin ordered the streets cleared of beggars, many of whom were ex-Army amputees, and had them shipped off to exile in the north, where many died. And who can forget the hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of liberated Soviet POWs that were treated no better than traitors and convicts by Stalin's secret police?
It wasn't until Brezhnev resurrected and mythologized Soviet memories of the war that veteran Ivans came into their own. At this point in the narrative, I couldn't help but think of America's tribute to its WWII military survivors - a hallowed generation - most recently in such magnificent film portrayals as SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and BAND OF BROTHERS, and contrast their experience, which included the benefits of the GI Bill (which sent my Dad to medical school), VA health care, and the prosperity of the 1950s, with the relatively shoddy treatment of Red Army vets.
IVAN'S WAR includes only one small scale map of the Eastern Front. Normally, I would subtract a star for such a lack of visual detail in a war history, but since this volume is about men and not battles, I'll make an allowance. Commendably, however, the book does contain thirty-four useful black and white photos of Ivan at war.
IVAN'S WAR is a must read for any casual or serious student of World War II, especially regarding the Eastern Front, which receives relatively little attention in the mythology of the western democracies. For the Soviets, the Eastern Front was a savage crucible which transformed the last European peasant army into a modern fighting force.
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