Stumbling Colossus: The Red Army on the Eve of World War Book

Glantz earns a four star rating from me due to the originality of his research and work. Looking at the Soviet army prior to 1941 is usually limited to Finland, or the one or two books (usually heavily error prone) on Nomonhon. However, a staff level planning view of what the Soviet Army leadership were thinking and how their plans matched or did not to the reality of war is fascinating. It is a must read for any student of the Eastern Front in WW2 on this basis alone.

However, there are some glaring omissions which almost made me give it a 3 star. The massive support that the Soviet Union provided Germany with from August of 1939 through June 1941 is omitted along wiht the severe war scare with Japan. Glantz has unfortunately carried over a singular narrative that has the focus entirely on Germany even when Germany was the biggest ally and Stalin was more worried about the UK or Japan. This is not reflected in his research and it would make a fine update or even a second book to delve into the continency plans for the UK and Japanese conflict with Germany as ally from the period 1939 to 1941. The battle assessments from Finland, the border with Manchuria (indeed, even the invasion of Manchuria by the Soviet Union in 1927-1928), the excursions into China to exterminate the ethnic Kyrgystani and other ethnic groups from territory Russia recently captured and occupied, would be additional material necessary to understand more in depth the views of the General Staff in their assessment and planning process.

Despite these omissions, the book remains an excellent reference to understand the buildup to WW2 for the Soviet Union.