#10--Richard Harrison

In this episode, we discuss: *How the Germans and Soviets organized their forces in and near Ukraine on the eve of Operation Barbarossa and the principal senior commanders on each side *Why the Southwestern Front put up a stouter resistance against Army Group South than did its counterparts against Army Groups North and Center *The Uman encirclement and what this defeat meant for the Soviets *The likelihood of a Soviet soldier captured in 1941 surviving until 1945 *The 3-month siege of the city of Odessa *The capture of Crimea *Where the Soviets thought the main German blow would land in the summer of 1942 and why *The Second Battle of Kharkov *The role the Dneper River plays in the fighting in Ukraine in 1941 and 1943 *Where the war in Ukraine stood by the end of 1943 *The Cherkassy Pocket *Hube’s Wandering Pocket *Stalin's role in military operations and how this changed over time *Stalin’s working relationships with his generals and how these evolved *Aspects of the war in Ukraine in WWII that Richard would like to research *Two things Richard wants U.S. Marines and soldiers to know about Ukraine in World War II *Some parallels between the fighting in Ukraine in WWII and the war there now *Richard's assessment of the Russian and Ukrainian militaries’ performance so far *How likely we are to see the war escalate to involve NATO forces Links The Russian Way of War: Operational Art, 1904-1940 by Richard Harrison Architect of Soviet Victory in World War II: The Life and Theories of G.S. Isserson by Richard Harrison The Soviet Army High Commands in War and Peace, 1941–1992 by Richard Harrison When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler by David Glantz and Jonathan House Errata Near the beginning of the interview, I ask Richard about the “German” siege of Odessa in 1941. In fact, the Romanians besieged and captured the city, with some assistance from the Germans.