Stalin's Favorite: The Combat History of the 2nd Guards Tank Army from Kursk to Berlin. Volume 1: January 1943-June 1944

This is the first detailed combat history of any Soviet unit available in the English language. By 1945 the 2nd Tank Army was an elite Guards formation which played a decisive role in the Soviet offensive operations of that year and whose tanks were the first to enter Berlin's streets. AUTHOR: Igor Nebolsin, born in the Soviet Union in 1976, is the author of three documentary monographs and other publications on the military history. He graduated with honors from the Academy of the National Economy under the Government of Russia in Moscow in 1998 and earned a Masters degree at the University of Warwick (UK), where he successfully completed his dissertation in 2010. The history of the Second World War has been passion from an early age. His grandfather and father were both Soviet officers. Igor Nebolsin research focuses on the Eastern front armored battles of 1943-1945. His books are strictly based on the analysis of archival documents from both the Russian and German viewpoints, and materials provided by the Russian Second World War Veterans Councils including the United Council of the Soviet Tank and Mechanized Forces, and Guards Tank Armies museums. The inclusion of recollections from veterans help make Nebolsin s book fascinating reading. Among his consultants are Major-General Analii Shvebig (2nd Guards Tank Army), Lieutenant General Yuri Zavizion (Chairman of the 6th Guards Tank Army Veteran Council), Colonel Alexander Bochkovskii and Nikolai Kosterev (Chairman of the 1th Guards Tank Army Veteran Council). Igor is an active participant of international military forums. 250 b/w photographs, 16pp colour maps, 70 tables

About the Author :
Igor Nebolsin is the author of three documentary monographies of the combat history of the Soviet Guards Tank Armies and other publications on military history. He was born in the Soviet Union in 1976 and graduated with Honors from the Academy of the National Economy under the Government of Russia in Moscow in 1998, and earned a Masters degree at the University of Warwick (UK), where he successfully completed his dissertation in 2010. The history of the Second World War has been a passion from an early age, as his grandfather and father were both Soviet officers; Igor's research focuses on the Eastern Front's armored battles of 1943-1945. His books are strictly based on the analysis of archival documents from both Russian and German viewpoints, and materials provided by the Russian Second World War veterans’ councils - including the United Council of the Soviet Tank and Mechanized Forces, and the Guards Tank Armies’ museums. The inclusion of recollections from veterans help to make Igor's book a fascinating read, and among his consultants are Major-General Analii Shvebig (2nd Guards Tank Army), Lieutenant-General Yuri Zavizion (Chairman of the 6th Guards Tank Army Veteran Council), Colonel Alexander Bochkovskii and Nikolai Kosterev (Chairman of the 1st Guards Tank Army Veteran Council). Igor is an active participant in international military forums and is married with two sons. Stuart Britton is a freelance translator who resides in Cedar Rapids, IA. He is responsible for a growing number of translated Russian military memoirs, battle histories and operational studies, which saw an explosion in Russia with the opening of secret military archives and the emergence of new Russian scholars who take a more objective look at the events and historical figures. Two works that received prizes or prominent acclaim were Valeriy Zamulin’s Demolishing a Myth: The Tank Battle at Prokhorovka, Kursk 1943 and Lev Lopukhovsky’s The Viaz’ma Catastrophe, 1941: The Red Army’s Disastrous Stand Against Operation Typhoon. Notable recent translations include Valeriy Zamulin’s The Battle of Kursk: Controversial and Neglected Aspects and Igor Sdvizhkov’s Confronting Case Blue: Briansk Front’s Attempt to Derail the German Drive to the Caucasus, July 1942. Future translated publications include Nikolai Ovcharenko’s analysis of the defense, occupation and liberation of Odessa, 1941-1944, and Zamulin’s detailed study of 7th Guards Army’s role and performance in the Battle of Kursk against Army Detachment Kempf.

Review :
" ... this is a book you should definitely have if you are a student of the Great Patriotic War. It's as factual as any German unit history I've ever read and far more rigorously supported by modern scholarship. I highly recommend it and would give it five stars!"-- "Rat Patrol Blog" " ... this is an interesting and useful book that helps fill in a major gap in the Red Army's historical record in the Soviet-German War (1941-45) ... This book will no doubt represent a "Godsend" to military historians and history buffs alike ... To its publisher Helion, I give a hearty "well done"-- "The Russian Review" " ... The book's strength lies in its fine-grained detail of what the management of large formations actually entails, alongside the day-to-day and week-to-week rhythm of a Soviet army in offense, defense, and rest ... The book offers a great deal of understanding of what campaigns on the Eastern Front actually meant to operational commanders."-- "Journal of Military History" (10/1/2016 12:00:00 AM) "Igor Nebolsin's Stalin's Favorite offers Second World War armored enthusiasts a treasure trove of information about one of the Red Army's top combat armies. One would be hard pressed to find an English language translation of a Soviet army's combat history, and in doing so here the team of Nebolsin and Britton have performed an invaluable service ... Stalin's Favorite should be found on the bookshelf of anyone interested in tank warfare, and I highly recommend it to my readers."-- "Globe at War" "Stalin's Favorite was a book that I was looking forward to reading and now that I am, I can honestly say it was worth the wait. It is incredibly detailed, yet unique in my experience in the English langue to read such a rich history so beautifully displayed ... For anyone interested in the eastern front and the Russian perspective of operations at the Brigade to Army level I would highly recommend this book, from operational summaries, to lessons learnt, and notable actions it is a wealth of information."-- "Great Patriotic War Blog"