Zhukov's Greatest Defeat: The Red Army's Epic Disaster in Operation Mars, 1942

by David M. Glantz

Overview

One of the least-known stories of World War II, Operation Mars was an epic military disaster. Designed to dislodge the German Army from its position west of Moscow, Mars cost the Soviets an estimated 335,000 dead, missing, and wounded men and over 1,600 tanks. But in Russian history books, it was a battle that never happened—a historical debacle sacrificed to Stalin's postwar censorship.

David Glantz now offers the first definitive account of this forgotten catastrophe, revealing the key players and detailing the major events of Operation Mars. Using neglected sources in both German and Russian archives, he reconstructs the historical context of Mars and reviews the entire operation from High Command to platoon level.

Orchestrated and led by Marshal Georgi Kostantinovich Zhukov, one of the Soviet Union's great military heroes, the twin operations Mars and Uranus formed the centerpiece of Soviet strategic efforts in the fall of 1942. Launched in tandem with Operation Uranus, the successful counteroffensive at Stalingrad, Mars proved a monumental setback. Fought in bad weather and on impossible terrain, the ambitious offensive faltered despite spectacular initial success in some sectors: Zhukov kept sending in more troops and tanks only to see them decimated by the entrenched Germans.

Illuminating the painful progress of Operation Mars with vivid battle scenes and numerous maps and illustrations, Glantz presents Mars as a major failure of Zhukov's renowned command. Yet, both during and after the war, that failure was masked from public view by the successful Stalingrad operation, thus eliminating any stain from Zhukov's public image as a hero of the Great Patriotic War.

For three grueling weeks, Operation Mars was one of the most tragic and agonizing episodes in Soviet military history. Glantz's reconstruction of that failed offensive fills a major gap in our knowledge of World War II, even as it raises important questions about the reputations of national military heroes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700614172
Publisher:	University Press of Kansas
Publication date:	04/28/1999
Series:	Modern War Studies
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

List of Maps and Illustrations

Introduction

One. Prelude

-To Stalingrad: The Wehrmacht and Operation Blau

-Halting the German Juggernaut: Not a Step Back

-Thunder in the North

-Counteroffensive of the Gods: The Genesis of Operations Mars, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter

-On the Eve

Two. The Red God of War Unleashed

-Storm along the Vazuza River

-The Belyi Deep Thrust

-The Advance up the Luchesa Valley

-The Assault across the Molodoi Tud River

Three. The Red God of War Contained

-The Sychevka Meat Grinder

-Formation of the Belyi Pocket

-Stalemate in the Luchesa Valley

-The Struggle for Urdom

Four. Frustration, Fury, and Defeat

-The Encirclement and Destruction of the Belyi Pocket

-Reinforcing Failure along the Vazuza River

-Exhaustion in the North

-Defeat in the Luchesa River Valley

-Taking Stock

Five. Epilogue

-The Eclipse of Mars and the Demise of Jupiter

-The Achievements of Uranus and Transformation of Saturn

-The Reputations of Gods and Men

Appendices

-From the Archives: Selective Orders and Directives from Operation Mars

-Red Army Command Personnel in Operation Mars

-Orders of Battle

-Comparative Data on Operations

-Postscript on Losses

Notes

Selective Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

The Soviet dead, missing and wounded were estimated at a staggering 335,000. Glantz describes the appalling carnage that occurred in the forests, mud, fog, freezing temperatures and raging snowstorms of western Russia [and] brings Operation Mars vividly to life.”—New York Times Book Review

“This gripping study of the Soviet counter-offensive—a work of permanent value—reveals the full extent of Zhukov’s failure.”—New York Review of Books

“Shows how greatly Soviet leaders distorted the war’s history in their attempts to present themselves as incapable of error.”—International History Review

“Vivid, powerful, compelling.”—World War II

"This is an outstanding contribution to the military history of a very important and little-known event in the campaign on the Eastern Front. That this major setback should have been so concealed from the outside world is characteristic of Soviet censorship; but the depth in which Glantz has studied the whole operation from High Command level to company or platoon using the widest range of source material deserves the highest praise. Also significant is Glantz’s placement of Operation Mars alongside the much better-known Stalingrad battle (Operation Uranus) in Soviet political-strategic planning. Glantz’s evidence is impressive, his conclusions totally convincing, and the actual military detail unrivaled in the literature. A truly important work."—Malcolm Macintosh, author of Juggernaut: A History of Soviet Armed Forces

"A very important book that radically challenges the 'received wisdom' about Stalingrad, the full significance of which cannot be grasped without understanding the role of Operation Mars. That story has remained largely unknown or unexplored for half a century, systematically concealed in Soviet historiography and deliberately misrepresented by Zhukov himself. Glantz’s indispensable account, fundamentally important for a proper understanding of the Soviet–German front in late 1942, rescues Operation Mars from such terrible oblivion."—John Erickson, author of The Road to Stalingrad

"Redressing a major imbalance in the historical record, Glantz does a remarkable job of unearthing the Soviet side of Operation Mars. This book is well worth reading for anyone interested in the Soviet Union’s monumental struggles in World War II."—Roger Reese, author of Stalin’s Reluctant Soldiers: A Social History of the Red Army, 1925–1941

From the Publisher

Glantz brings Operation Mars vividly to life.

New York Times Book Review

This gripping study of the Soviet counter-offensive--a work of permanent value--reveals the full extent of Zhukov's failure.

New York Review of Books

Shows how greatly Soviet leaders distorted the war's history in their attempts to present themselves as incapable of error.

International History Review

Vivid, powerful, compelling.

World War II

Forgotten by history and virtually denied by the Soviet Union, the disastrous Russian defeat of 1942 in Operation Mars is finally exposed in Glantz's exhaustive study of this massive battle on the Eastern Front. Glantz, a U.S. Army historian specializing in Russian military operations, uses memoirs, official reports, and previously hidden archival sources to create a comprehensive view of this gigantic Soviet operation against the Germans just west of Moscow. Operation Mars was commanded by Georgy Zhukov, one of Stalin's most trusted generals. Zhukov threw hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of tanks against the entrenched Germans but was utterly crushed. Glantz explores the Soviets' strategic, operational, and tactical planning and execution of this offensive, with particular attention to Zhukov and his subordinates. The numerous maps and orders of battle are essential for a clear understanding of the scope of this major Soviet offensive and its complete failure. Recommended for public and academic libraries.--Col. William D. Bushnell, USMC (ret.), Brunswick, ME

Library Journal

One of the least-known stories of WWII was Operation Mars, a Soviet operation designed to dislodge the German Army from its position west of Moscow. This account of a catastrophe censored from postwar Soviet histories reveals key players and details major events, using sources in German and Russian archives to reconstruct the historical context of Operation Mars and review the entire operation from High Command to platoon level. Includes b&w photos and maps. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

Booknews

A meticulous, scholarly study of one of the great land battles of WWII, from from the founder of the US Army's Foreign Military Studies Office and editor of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies. Marshal Georgy Zhukov has long been considered one of the exceptional Soviet generals of WWII, the hero of the Siege of Stalingrad who brilliantly encircled the German attacking army and obliterated it. Despite this victory and Zhukov's drive to be the first Soviet general to conquer Berlin, his career in the "Great Patriotic War" was not without its setbacks. Primary of these was Operation Mars, in November 1942. Mars was the companion to the Soviet counterattack at Stalingrad (code-named Operation Uranus) and was key to Soviet attempts to regain the offensive. Glantz's writing of the history of the campaign, while thick with facts and figures, is unassailable. By pulling apart German and Russian reports and communications, as well as later histories, he creates the definitive account of the battle. He assesses the reasons for the failure, which include improper artillery support, poor training of such critical elements as tank crews, a Red Army that lacked winter clothing, and the necessity (due to the high personnel losses in the army) of using officers who had earlier been judged unfit for service. Though most of this prodigious book is filled with the details of strategy and counterstrategy, there are points at which the fascinating characters of Zhukov and his officers shine through and offer a compelling narrative. Top-end scholarship that is too dense for all but the most dedicated aficionados of the Soviet-German conflict. Nonetheless, an important study that should rest on the shelfnext to last summer's brilliant, and more readable, Stalingrad by Antony Beevor. (photos, maps, not seen) (History Book Club Main selection)

Kirkus Reviews