Customer Rating: 
Summary: An untold story at last, but maybe dubious in parts
Comment: Having read several books about the Eastern Front from the point of view of German generals and soldiers, it was very interesting at last to get my hands on an account told from the Soviet point of view. This book is packed with detailed anecdotes, not only about tank actions, but also the whole experience of living through the dreadful "Great Patriotic War", especially as a Red Army soldier. Anyone familiar with the ways of the US, British, or German armies can immediately see the differences: less formal discipline, but seriously brutal command decisions. For instance, what British or German driver would yell at his tank commander, "God damn you, Lieutenant! Why did you fire? I didn't get to close my hatch! Now the gases have blinded me". Soviet tank commanders could be shot if they abandoned their tank, even if it was disabled. Officers took a very casual attitude to human life.
As other reviewers have noted, the interviews on which this book is based were obviously all with soldiers who survived - which automatically makes them very lucky. Tens of thousands of Soviet tankers burned in their T34s, largely because of inflexible tactics that sent them head-on against the dreaded German 88 mm cannon. Yet the T34, especially the T34-85 version, were excellent tanks in their way. I think it is wrong to discount stories of T34s that destroyed several German tanks - even Tigers - because this was perfectly feasible if they got a side or rear shot from close range. Indeed, in one famous incident a single T34-85 blew up three Royal Tigers and damaged others, when they drove past its concealed position in a corn field. (Ironically, sPzAbt.501's official records state that the Tigers ran into "massive anti-tank defences", which just goes to show how deceptive these things can be).
You have to think that it is strange for so much dialogue to be recalled word for word, after 50 or 60 years. Perhaps some of it really was burned into the men's brains, but confabulation is also a possibility. Whereas German, British and US accounts of the war are often confirmed by other sources, these stories mostly have to stand on their own. One example that struck me was Fadin's account of how two JS-2 tanks destroyed two Tigers, whereupon the other eight Tigers in the unit "decided to leave the battlefield" and "hid behind the monastery wall". That doesn't sound at all like the Tiger crews I have read about, which mowed down Soviet tanks by the dozen. With odds of eight against two - plus a faster rate of fire and better optics - you would think the Tigers would easily have avenged their comrades. The truth of the matter is that, in a fight between Tigers and JS-2s, any hits were likely to be fatal so it was mostly a matter of quick wits and tactics.
All in all, this is a very good book containing a wealth of fascinating details. You just need to read it with a slightly sceptical eye.
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