Soviet victory over Germany was the most fateful development of World War II. The purpose of this book is to investigate one aspect of the Soviet victory - how the war was won on the battlefield. The author sought, in following the march of the Soviet and German armies from Stalingrad to Berlin, to depict the war as it was and to describe the manner in which the Soviet Union emerged as the predominant military power in Europe. Content: Invasion Retreat Stalingrad the Encirclement Stalingrad the Turning Point The Countermarch The Center and the North Operation Zitadelie The First Soviet Summer Offensive The Battle for the Dnepr Line. The Rising Tide Offensives on Both Flanks- the South Flank Offensives on Both Flanks-the North Flank Paying the Piper Prelude to Disaster The Collapse of the Center The South Flank Retreat and Encirclement Defeat in the North The January Offensive The Defense of the Reich Earl F. Ziemke is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, where he received a Ph. D. degree in history. In World War II he served with the U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific theater.