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When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler. By David M. Glantz and Jonathan M. House. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1995. Tables. Maps. Notes. Index. Pp. xiii, 414. $39.95.
For the most part, Western historians have written about the Eastern Front in the Second World War using German sources. Until recently few Russian sources were available to those who could not read Russian, and even Russian linguists found much of the available material censored and larded with propaganda. In the past few years the situation has changed, and the authors of When Titans Clashed have presented a summary of the revised interpretation of the events on the Eastern Front based on the newly released Soviet archival sources plus previously published Russian secondary source material. German sources are used sparingly, as are published works by Western authors.
In addition to the summary (290 pages of text), the authors have included 124 pages of appendixes, notes, and index. The notes are of special interest, often taking the form of short bibliographical essays concerning various operations and developments. Of great value is the essay on archival sources, relating the amount being made available: "the tip of the iceberg" and what remains to be opened. Much of the material currently being made available has been "processed," consisting of reports...