From the Publisher
"thought-provoking and valuable. It dispels any illusions that the first months of Operation barbarossa were a pushover for the Wehrmacht; Stahel documents in detail, from German war diaries and letters, the heavy fighting and the high casualties." -Evan Mawdsley, The English Historical Review
"...a thoroughly researched, comprehensive, and convincing analysis of Barbarossa…Any still-lingering notions of a German 'genius for war,' as opposed to skill in some aspects of warmaking, is unlikely to survive this intellectually-disciplined, archivally-documented analysis of one of history’s most misbegotten, mistakenly executed campaigns." -Dennis Showalter, Journal of Military History
"Stahel paints a convincing portrait of a Germany army whose shape edge was already well into the process of being blunted during the first weeks of the fighting. […] This is a serious book and a welcome contribution to the military debate over Operation Barbarossa." -Robert M. Citino, Central European History
"The author’s research is impressive. […] Stahel’s clearly written and accessible account convincingly questions the competency of the German planning for Barbarossa. […] all will profit from reading this fine work." -Howard D. Grier, The Journal of Modern History
"Operation Barbarossa and Germany’s Defeat in the East will undoubtedly stand as a standard work on the first phase of Operation Barbarossa for a long time to come. […] The staggering amount of detail offered ensures this is an invaluable addition to Eastern Front literature and Operation Barbarossa in particular." -Yan Mann – Global War Studies
"...interesting and well researched." -Michael Jabara Carley, Canadian Journal of History
"a thrilling book that no military historian can afford to ignore" -