The First Day on the Eastern Front: Germany Invades the Soviet Union, June 22, 1941

June 22, 1941: three million German soldiers invaded the Soviet Union as part of Hitler's Operation Barbarossa, aiming to destroy the Soviet Union and secure its land for the Third Reich. In the spirit of the classic First Day on the Somme, Craig Luther narrates the events of that fateful day on the Eastern Front, one of the pivotal days of WWII.

About the Author :
Craig Luther is a former Fulbright Scholar and is a recently retired U.S. Air Force historian. He is author of Blood and Honor: A History of the 12th SS Panzer Division and Barbarossa Unleashed: The German Blitzkrieg through Central Russia to the Gates of Moscow. He lives near Bakersfield, California.

Review :
Certainly the most complete, balanced, and, without question, the most thoroughly researched treatment of the first twenty-one hours of Operation Barbarossa. Luther has captured the drama, shock, and devastation of those fateful hours like no one else. It is a powerful and enthralling read. Highly recommended. A formidable, balanced, and successful effort to capture the immense complexity and overpowering emotional impact of the first day of Adolf Hitler’s Operation Barbarossa, characterized by impressive and carefully documented detail. An extremely impressive, well-written, and well-researched account of a critical phase in the history of World War II in Europe. It addresses the first day of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 in unprecedented detail, using both German and Russian primary materials. This book is a high-class offering. Anyone who believes that there's nothing new to be said about the Eastern Front in World War II is in for a shock: Dr. Luther's revelatory look at the German strategic staging and the first dramatic day of Hitler's invasion of Stalin's Russia is a must read for anyone with an interest in one of the most-ambitious and complex campaigns in history. Well done, indeed! Craig Luther’s The First Day on the Eastern Front continues his invaluable explorations of the disastrous German invasion of the Soviet Union, by focusing on the first day of Operation Barbarossa. His meticulous research has brought to light invaluable German and Russian primary documents that suggest the landmark invasion was far more carefully planned and organized than sometimes previously thought. Hitler did not blunder blindly into Russia, but had a better appreciation of the Soviet Union's military capabilities, particularly its technology, productive capacity, and the mettle of the Russian soldier, than we may think—a fact that makes the invasion perhaps all the more incomprehensible and atrocious. Arrogance, not stupidity, doomed the Wehrmacht. A rich scholarly resource that historians of the Eastern Front will find invaluable. Exhaustively researched and well written, Luther has produced a work with a very unique approach to a well-covered topic. This book is a must-read for students of the Eastern Front in World War II.