PRELUDE TO BERLIN: The Red Army's Offensive Operations in Poland and Eastern Germany, 1945

2-210880

Offers a panoramic view of the Soviet strategic offensives north of the Carpathians in the winter of 1945. Consists primarily of articles that appeared in various military journals during the first decade after the war. The General Staff's directorate charged with studying the war experience published these studies, although there are other sources as well, such as a personal memoir that offers a rare insight into Soviet strategic planning for the winter-spring 1945 campaign. Also featured are documents relating to the operational-strategic conduct of the various operations, which were compiled and published after the fall of the Soviet Union. The book is divided into several parts, corresponding to the operations conducted -- including the Vistula-Oder operation by the First Belorussian and First Ukrainian Fronts out of their respective Vistula bridgeheads. Also examines in considerable detail the First Ukrainian Front's Upper and Lower Silesian operations of February-March 1945. Contains 7 black and white maps.