To War with the 4th: A Century of Frontline Combat with the Us 4th Infantry Division, from the Argonne to the Ardennes to Afghanistan

At the end of September 1941, more than a million German soldiers lined up along the frontline just 180 miles west of Moscow. They were well trained, confident, and had good reasons to hope that the war in the East would be over with one last offensive. Facing them was an equally large Soviet force, but whose soldiers were neither as well trained nor as confident. When the Germans struck, disaster soon befell the Soviet defenders. German panzer spearheads cut through enemy defences and thrust deeply to encircle most of the Soviet soldiers on the approaches to Moscow. Within a few weeks, most of them marched into captivity, where a grim fate awaited them. Despite the overwhelming initial German success, however, the Soviet capital did not fall. German combat units as well as supply transport were bogged down in mud caused by autumn rains. General Zhukov was called back to Moscow and given the desperate task to recreate defence lines west of Moscow. The mud allowed him time to accomplish this, and when the Germans again began to attack in November, they met stiffer resistance. Even so, they came perilously close to the capital, and if the vicissitudes of weather had cooperated, would have seized it. Though German units were also fighting desperately by now, the Soviet build-up soon exceeded their own. The Drive on Moscow, 1941 is based on numerous archival records, personal diaries, letters and other sources. It recreates the battle from the perspective of the soldiers as well as the generals. The battle, not fought in isolation, had a crucial role in the overall German strategy in the East, and its outcome reveals why the failure of the German assault on Moscow may well have been true turning point of World War II.

About the Author :
Martin King is an Emmy Award winning British military historian, lecturer, and author. He spends his time writing, lecturing, working with veterans' organisations, and visiting European battlefields, where he's had the honor of reintroducing many veterans to the sites where they fought. He has lectured at universities, and British and US military bases around the world. In 2007 he became Historical Consultant and writer on the hit series Greatest Tank Battles. His previous books include The Tigers of Bastogne and The Fighting 30th.

Review :
...interspersed with many first-hand accounts which vividly bring to life the realities of warfare. This is a good history of a single division, allowing the reader to understand the way in which the battlefield has changed since the battles of 1918, but also how many of the experiences of the individual soldiers have remained the same. The book authors liberally season their narrative with first hand accounts by individual soldiers, including some from the enemy’s side, which help illustrate how the experience of military service and combat has changed, and in some cases not changed, over the century… To War with the 4th will be of value for those with an interest in the experience of combat.