Sacrifice of the Generals ─ Soviet Senior Officer Losses, 1939-1953

The personnel loss of the Red Army is one of the most controversial aspects of Soviet military history, subject to exaggerations, statistical disagreements, and contemporary Russian politics. This biographical dictionary, the result of nearly twenty years of research, attempts to set the record straight with entries for nearly 1,000 senior Soviet officers who were captured by the enemy, were repressed by Soviet leadership, were killed in combat, or died of illness between 1939 and 1953. Sacrifice of the Generals: Soviet Senior Officer Losses, 1939-1953 is enhanced by the author's access to the Soviet archives that became available since 1990. It also includes a preface that contributes important contextual information on personnel organization and losses of the Soviet Army, essays containing extensive bibliographies, and a foreword by John Erickson, the foremost Western historian of the Soviet armed forces.
This unique research tool greatly increases our understanding of the Soviet Union's mighty World War II effort and related Stalinist politics during its greatest hour. Based on the latest declassified sources, Parrish combines into one volume crucial information that has been widely scattered among many different locations and difficult to access.

Michael Parrish is associate professor at Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs.