Ivan's War

Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945

By: Catherine Merridale

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

A powerful, groundbreaking narrative of the ordinary Russian soldier's experience of the worst war in history, based on newly revealed sources.

Of the 30 million who fought in the eastern front of World War II, 8 million died, driven forward in suicidal charges, shattered by German shells and tanks. They were the men and women of the Red Army, a ragtag mass of soldiers who confronted Europe's most lethal fighting force and by 1945 had defeated it. Sixty years have passed since their epic triumph, but the heart and mind of Ivan - as the ordinary Russian soldier was called-remain a mystery. We know something about how the soldiers died, but nearly nothing about how they lived, how they saw the world, or why they fought.

A tour de force of original research and a gripping history, Ivan's War reveals the singular mixture of courage, patriotism, anger, and fear that made it possible for these underfed, badly led troops to defeat the Nazi army. In the process, Merridale restores to history the invisible millions who sacrificed the most to win the war.

©2006 Catherine Merridale (P)2019 Tantor

Fascinating perspective on WW2

This is the finest WW2 audiobook I’ve ever listened to. Beautifully written. Impossible to put down. I was hooked! Narrator was perfect.

I’m a Russophile - from the Romanovs to WW2. Books like Ivan’s War make me admire them even more.

Remarkable Overview of Soviet War Experience

Based on 200 interviews with surviving veterans, extensive archival research in official records (including NKVD reports), and a vast array of secondary sources (including Werth's excellent history), Merridale presents a picture of Soviet soldiers at war. Her great strength is her ability to combine these complex threads seamlessly to present both the bird's-eye and up close views and weave together both analytical, topic based chapters and an overall narrative. Some have argued there is not as much ground level, personal perspective as they might have liked here (though I suspect the original text better indicates her sources), but I think Merridale does an exceptional job, given the limitations of survivors' memories, imperfect access to former Soviet records (some of which were still restricted or secret at the time of writing), and the heroic mythos of The Great Patriotic War. Her central conclusion, much like Werth's, is that the great suffering and exhausting effort of defeating and destroying the Nazi invaders drew from rage but also hope for a better postwar life. But it was a life that Stalin made sure they could never enjoy, indeed, a betrayal of the heroism (if not the brutality) of his people. Perkins' reading enhances the work and helps keep it engaging throughout many hours of listening. Highly recommended.

A story we have not heard.

This perspective is one we have not heard. It is gut wrenching, brutal, horrifying, and gives shape to a history where there was a gaping hole in our knowledge. The loss and destruction on the Eastern front of WWII is truly shattering in scope. This book captures it from the most personal stories of its soldiers. Worth reading.

Bird's eye view of the Eastern Front in WW2.

I bought this book thinking that it was going to give me some detailed information about the life of the average Soviet soldier in World War II. I had already read quite a few books on the Eastern Front in the Second World War and so was not particularly interested in reading another book about the battles. What I wanted was some information about what daily life was like for those who fought in the Soviet Army, what discipline was like, what daily life was like, how the chain of command worked, how the political and military branches worked with (or against) each other and how the average Soviet soldier survived in such terrible conditions.

What this book provided was a much higher view of the Soviet side of the Eastern Front. Instead of the daily life of the soldier and how he fought against the German forces I found details of the clothing they wore, how their uniform changed as rank became more important, how the Army evacuated civilians during the first part of the war and how they helped harvest crops in the second part of the war, how the civilians lived, how the Soviet soldier changed during the war and how difficult reunions were after the war, corruption, demobilization and other high view topics. That is not to say that the book is uninteresting. It is, in fact, very interesting and I learned quite a bit, but not what I thought I would learn from buying the book.

One thing that did surprise me is that the book spends considerable time explaining why some of the terrible things that happened during the war occurred. Stalin's order "Not One Step Back" (Order 277) that ended up insuring the captivity of more than a million Soviet soldiers rather than their retreat to safer locations is justified due to the existing conditions of the fighting. The author explains the causes of the looting and the epidemic of rape that occurred when the Soviet soldiers reached Germany, and almost seems to understand it. It is not that the author thinks well of the old Soviet reign of terror as the book is clear that the Soviet government was a brutal dictatorship resulting in the unjust conviction, imprisonment and/or death of many innocent soldiers and civilians and gives many examples of normal soldiers, sometimes heroes, who ended up being unable to prove that they were innocent and ended up either dead or in the Gulag. It is a frightening picture of what life was like in Stalin's USSR.

Mr Perkins' narration is first class and adds to the content of the book immeasurably.

A welcome addition

Ivan’s War is a welcome addition to the literature about WW II in Europe. With all of the attention on the Western Allies, it is easy to lose sight of the decisive and determinant role played by the USSR. Merridale’s interviews with Russian combatants and her exhaustive archival research give her an excellent vantage point to write this important history. The narration is excellent.

Fantastic and fascinating.

Great writing, research and insights from the author and perfect narration. Highest recommendation for those interested in the history of the average Russian soldier’s actual experience in WW2. Added perspective of complicated Russian societal and political background wove through the military information. Masterful

Respect

There is a shortage of history about the Soviet World War II in the West, and a lack of critical history of it in Russia. More Americans should read and remember their war - both the inspiring and the toxic parts

Deeply insightful, revealing, and utterly human

The author takes us through WWII through Soviet eyes, both official and from the unheard 'masses.' In this regard the book is already exceptional. I appreciate the author's own gradually developed understanding about some of the reasons behind the reticence of former Soviet soldiers. A must read for anyone interested in WWIs European theater

Unknown truth with details

Exceedingly fine description of just how it was in the USSR WW2 army. If the reader wants to get the same kind of picture of what really happened "on the ground" from the individual German soldier perspective you should get "The Forgotten Soldier" a very graphic view of the German side by one that was there.
I knew quite a bit about the USSR's role in WW2 but at the Stalin, Molotov and Zhukov level. After listening to this book it helped me to understand why it was that the Soviet Union was able to beat the Nazi's. It also adds to my belief that as much as I might wish it not so the USSR won the European war. Could the US and it's allies have beaten Germany with out the Soviets? Absolutely, but it would have cost the Allies an additional 1 million deaths or more. The Red army saved all those American lives. Something we forget. Really amazing considering the conditions and poor leadership the individual Red soldier had to endure, especially at the start.

Great audiobook

So, this isn't a happy book, but if you're interested in the Great Patriotic War, you probably know enough already to just shiver slightly whenever Kursk, Stalingrad, or Brest are mentioned. That said, if this is your first exposure to the Eastern Front, it is a good place to start. Well researched (a lot of quotes from The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexeivich, which is an even better audiobook).