Book Description
In June 1941 Adolf Hitler launched the offensive that would prove to be one of the defining moments of World War 2. With the German invasion of Russia - Operation Barbarossa - unrestricted total war was released onto a massive area of central and eastern Europe. On the ground and in the air the massive forces of Germany and the Soviet Union fought out epic battles that stretched as far east as Moscow and Stalingrad before the inexorable strength of the Soviet forces gradually forced the Axis armies to retreat westwards to Berlin and beyond. Historians of the period are familiar with the great land battles of the era - Stalingrad, Kursk and Leningrad, for example; less familiar is the tale of the evolving aerial strategies adopted by the Luftwaffe and by the Russians. Initially outclassed and outperformed by the might of the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front, Soviet equipment and tactics improved immeasurably during the war, thereby helping to negate the potency of the Luftwaffe in the various theaters. Drawing upon his knowledge as a professional military pilot and on detailed researches, Andrew Brookes examines the history of the aerial war on the Eastern Front. Covering the war on the Eastern Front chronologically, the author initially examines the strategic balance before analyzing the role of the Luftwaffe in the first phase of Barbarossa, when the Germans again adopted the Blitzkrieg tactic which had proved so effective in Poland and France. Subsequent chapters record the changing strategic balance as the Russians employed more potent aircraft, including many supplied via the Arctic convoys by Britain and the USA, and as the tide of war turned against the Germans. Supplementing the author's well-researched and authoritative text are some 160 mono illustrations including line drawings and contemporary photographs. With interest in the Eastern Front continuing to increase as more information emerges from the once closed Russian archives, Air War over Russia is a timely and erudite examination of an often ignored part of the war in the east. It will appeal to military and aviation historians alike.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Situated between Sicily and the North African coast, the Mediterranean island of Malta was from the early 19th century a British territory. The importance of the island to the British Empire was never greater than during World War 2, when its location made it of vital strategic importance to both British and Axis forces. Ideally located for the British to disrupt German and Italian convoys to North Africa, the loss of the island would have fundamentally altered Britain's ability to maintain its presence in Egypt and the Canal Zone and, thus, ultimately Britain's chances of victory. Both Allied and Axis powers realised the importance of Malta, with the result that it became a life and death struggle between the stretched defensive forces and the might of the Axis powers. Constantly threatened by blockade and by diminishing numbers of fighting men and materiel, Malta's survival against the odds became a beacon to war-ravaged Britain and was marked by the granting of the George Cross to the whole island -- the only time such an award (Britain's highest award for civilian gallantry) was made to a territory and not an individual.