Scorched Earth; Hitler's War on Russia by Paul Carell (1970, Book, Illustrated)

This is the companion second volume to "Hitler Moves East 1941-1943" translated from the original German. There is little I can add to what has been written about these two books: Paul Carell produced what is widely considered the definitive work on the Russo-German war, a massive conflict that dwarfed the western front in terms of duration, casualties and combatant units involved (refer to the four great battles of Kursk in which entire tank armies clashed and thousands of tanks were destroyed). The title accurately indicates the offical Wehrmacht policy of retreat, to destroy everything and leave nothing usable behind for the Russians (including cities). Like the first volume, the second is meticulously researched, lucidly presented and will fully inform the reader of the vast complexity of the largest land struggle during the only truly global war in world history. This volume deserves the highest recommendation from a historical viewpoint and is quite accessible to the novice student. Mr. Carell has earned our praise. It is comprehensive, informative and certainly ranks among the most important works produced on the entire subject of the Second World War. The reviewer is a historian who has studied nearly all available english editions on the subject covering 1933-1945.