The Anvil of War: German Generalship in Defense of the Eastern Front during World War II

An unprecedented look at German operations on the Russian Front during World War II.

The Anvil of War collects U.S. Army–commissioned reports by two highly ranked German officers who served on the disastrous Russian Front: Military Improvisations During the Russian Campaign, German Defense Tactics Against Russian Breakthroughs by Erhard Raus, and Operations of Encircled Forces by Oldwig von Natzmer. The reports show how the Germans adapted techniques to cope with their enemy’s great numerical superiority and managed to delay and sometimes drive back the steamroller Russian forces during the German retreat. The significance of the material detailing the Germans’ vast experience on the Russian Front was emphasized with the onset of the Cold War and the perceived Soviet threat to Europe.

Written as part of a U.S. Army program instigated after World War II by Colonel S. L. A. Marshall of the Army Historical Division, who was convinced that no record of the war could be complete without the input of the German commanding officers and their main staff officers, these reports offer an invaluable record of German operations for historians and general readers. Compiled, edited, and introduced by renowned military historian Peter G. Tsouras, The Anvil of War stands as one of the great historical records of one of the largest military confrontations in history.

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