Battle in the East: The German Army in Russia - Concord Publications

There have been many books written about German forces fighting on the Eastern Front. This is hardly surprising considering the enormity of the campaign and the seemingly inexhaustible amount of data and photographs available. Concord is pleased to release one more title, authored by Gordon Rottman, focusing on this crucial campaign in the East. This volume is all about the infantry at the core of Germany's military exploits in the enormous expanse of Russia.

The opening text delves into the complexities of the standard German infantry division. Though usually short on motorized transport, these self-contained combined-arms units fought extremely effectively, penetrating almost to the gates of Moscow. The introduction includes a detailed table of organization listing all major and minor subunits (usefully provided in both English and German). It then proceeds with an annotated description of key divisional components, which is very helpful in understanding how a division is equipped. As is par for this series of books, the collection of black and white photos forms the centerpiece. These photos show infantrymen from the early days of the conflict through to much later periods. Members of many branches are on display, for example, artillery, assault pioneers, military police, antitank, reconnaissance and infantry. The photos reveal a host of interesting details and show weapon systems found in the infanterie division.

This book also features a set of four colour plates expertly illustrated by Stephen Andrew. These depict infantrymen and panzer grenadiers in a wide range of uniforms fighting in various seasons and regions. Photo and colour plate captions are well detailed and thorough, providing a wealth of information. This is a very helpful book for those wishing to learn more about those soldiers at the "coal face" of Germany's extraordinarily grueling campaign in the East.