V. E. Tarrant

What became know as Red Orchestra (Germ. Rote Kapelle) was not a single organization. While the most organized part was definitely one groomed and trained by Soviet Russian GRU service, Red Orchestra was conglomerate of various organizations, some of them conservative, some of them socialist, some high-level military, some Communist, some purely anti-Hitler and nothing else, some working class, some high class, some working in artistic circles and generally living as bohemians.... they came from all social strata, by some magic started to work together united in the common goal - utter defeat of black stormy cloud over Europe that was Nazism.

It was painful to read about people that took the combat against Nazis in a naive way, trying to be politically active in a world that did not tolerate any opposition at all. It was through mistakes like these, silly, silly but oh so human mistakes really, that Germans counter-intelligence managed to gain foothold and in matter of two years completely destroy the network (directly or indirectly).

This is non-fiction history book and as such there is no happy ending. While all the participants of the Red Orchestra contributed greatly to the war effort against Nazis (especially in the East) they were brutally treated by German counter-intelligence (military and Gestapo), betrayed by their own members (some talked under savage torture, some talked because they wanted to save their hides), sent to concentration camps [where majority died] and finally betrayed by their own employers (last chapter was truly, truly sad.... while some got what they deserved others were truly betrayed [yet again]). Author shows in great detail how in country under full control of opposition no spy circle can survive for long, even when highly trained and equipped. It is just situation in which peoples fate resides in hands of the good-will of their environment (best example is Swiss police action that broke one of the best parts of the organization (Rotte Drei) out of fear that Germans will be provoked to invade Switzerland otherwise) and once that good-will is gone there is no way for them to escape. Now just think about possibility of control today.... scary ain't it.

To make example of all arrested members of the group their families, relatives and even just pure acquaintances weren't spared - they were killed or interned into the concentration camps (that had basically the same result in the end). Depictions of the summary executions by hanging and guillotine were truly bloodcurdling.

Excellent book on what was maybe the most important spy ring in the Europe during the WW2.

Highly recommended.… (mere)

Well this is the typical Goodreads/Amazon disaster as far as the database is concerned. It’s cataloged under the incorrect isbn. The correct isbn lists a book by another author, [a:Charles Whiting|125574|Charles Whiting|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1338166975p2/125574.jpg], entitled [b:Slaughter Over Sicily: The Airborne Massacre|4248778|Slaughter Over Sicily The Airborne Massacre|Charles Whiting|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552692349l/4248778._SX50_.jpg|2244517] by the same publisher in the same series. Oddly if you find Slaughter, and search the other editions, the cover photo for Stalingrad shows up as another edition.

This is the proper review. Tarrant keeps the narrative going even through gobs of numbers and details. If you don’t remember the various unit numbers, you are going to be confused when he switches from German to Soviet forces. Pay attention to context and you’ll be okay even if you’re not trying to retain ALL the details. Maps could be a little clearer. Instead of including photos, some colored maps would have been nice.

I’ve been fascinated by the Siege of Stalingrad ever since reading Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman.… (mere)

This is the most recent of 4 books I have read on the Battle of Jutland. The book's claim to fame is that it presents the German side of the events. The author does present a coherent story of the battle. There are many quotes in the text taken from German reports, logs, notes, diaries, etc. Some of these were new to me. However, the majority of the book deals with the events that took place before, during and after the battle. Other than a few of the quotes from the German side, I did not see a great deal of new material in the book. Perhaps I was just disappointed because my expectation was high, hoping for more info about the German side.

On the positive side, the author does do a good job of presenting and explaining the battle and its results. If someone is looking for a first or second book on Jutland, this one is just fine. However, if you have read a few books on this batle, there may not be much here to learn from.… (mere)