Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at WarIn 1941 close to one million Russian soldiers died defending Moscow from German invasion–more causalities than that of the United States and Britain during all of World War II. Many of these soldiers were in fact not soldiers at all, but instead ordinary people who took up arms to defend their city. Students dropped their books for guns; released prisoners exchanged their freedom for battle; and women fought alongside men on the bloody, mud-covered frozen road to Moscow. By the time the United States entered the war the Germans were already retreating and a decisive victory had been won for the Allies. With extensive research into the lives of soldiers, politicians, writers, artists, workers, and children, Rodric Braithwaite creates a richly detailed narrative that captures this crucial moment. Moscow 1941 is a dramatic, unforgettable portrait of an often overlooked battle that changed the world. |
Contents
The Shaping of the City | 9 |
Forging Utopia | 20 |
Wars and Rumours of Wars | 38 |
The Russians Fight Back | 81 |
The Volunteers | 95 |
Mobilising the Masses | 115 |
Stalin Takes a Grip | 132 |
The Eye of the Storm | 152 |
Panic | 212 |
Evacuation | 235 |
Compressing the Spring | 251 |
The Spring Uncoils | 270 |
Defeat into Victory | 290 |
Aftermath | 311 |
Acknowledgements | 325 |
Sources | 363 |
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