Meat Grinder

The Battles for the Rzhev Salient, 1942–43

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Meat Grinder

By: Prit Buttar

Narrated by: Nathan Osgood

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Bloomsbury presents Meat Grinder by Prit Buttar, read by Nathan Osgood.

An engrossing history of the desperate battles for the Rzhev Salient, a forgotten story brought to life by the harrowing memoirs of German and Russian soldiers.

The fighting between the German and Russian armies in the Rzhev Salient during World War II was so grisly, so murderous, and saw such vast losses that the troops called the campaign 'The Meat Grinder'. Though millions of men would fight and die there, the Rzhev Salient does not have the name recognition of Leningrad or Moscow. It has been largely ignored by Western historians – until now.

In this book, Prit Buttar, a leading expert on the Eastern Front, reveals the depth and depravity of the bitter fighting. He details how the region held the promise of a renewed drive on Moscow for the German Army – a chance to turn the tide of war. Using German and Russian first-hand accounts, Buttar examines the major offensives launched by the Red Army against the salient, all of which were defeated with losses exceeding two million killed, wounded or missing, until eventually, the Germans were forced to evacuate the salient in March 1943.

Drawing on the latest research, Meat Grinder provides a study of these horrific battles but also examines how the Red Army did learn from its colossal failures and how its timely analysis of these failures helped pave the way for the eventual Soviet victory against Army Group Centre in the summer of 1944, leaving the road to Berlin clear.©2023 Prit Buttar (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Prit ButtarNathan OsgoodOsprey Publishing

20th Century

Europe

Germany

Military

Modern

Russia

War

Soviet Union

Red Army

20th Century Europe Germany Military Modern Russia War Soviet Union Red Army

Critic reviews

This vivid and gripping account is of fundamental significance for our understanding of the Eastern Front... in a story that thrills and fascinates in equal measure, taking us back into the furnace of battle at its most intense.

In Meat Grinder, renowned Eastern Front expert Prit Buttar chronicles in superb detail a largely forgotten episode of the Second World War, in which Soviet and German forces battled for control of the Rzhev Salient in 1942–43. In this compelling account of a terrible attritional struggle, readers will find many stark parallels in the intense fighting in the Donbas some eighty years later, not least the crushing effect of artillery fire on fortifications and fortitude.

This is an excellent book and a worthy addition to studies of the Eastern Front.

Informative … "Meat Grinder: The Battles for the Rzhev Salient, 1942-43" is a comprehensive detailed history that is a simply fascinating read from first page to last.

Most relevant

I admire the detail in Buttar’s books - leaves me wanting more in those written by others.
What I can’t get past, I’m afraid, as with many books on the Wehrmacht and Soviet army, is the American narration. It doesn’t suit the text.