Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939--1945 - Catherine Merridale

Finally a compelling expose on the true nature of the red army

I have to say I was mildy surprised that I finally came across a narrative so clearly depicting the true nature of life in the red army.

For so many years we have been bombarded by a whitewash of glorification of the red army, and blatant omissions of their incompetence.

It seems to me that too many people believe that the red army (by virtue of victory) were superior and without fault. Argue with a person holding such a belief and they will simply counter with "oh they won the war after all, ..." and completely ignore the facts.

Ivans war is a frank and honest narrative chronicling the omitted stories of the red army.

Vivid!

A rare insight in the lives and deaths of the millions who fought with the red Army on the Eastern Front. Most of the books dealing with that theater deal with either the Germans suffering in the snow or heat, or focus on the tactical encouters and strategies. Well, if you couldn't help feeling a bit of a pity for those Germans, read this.
Dispair, hate, sorrow and joy in a unputdownable way. Even the reader that has no interest whatsoever in military history will be caught in Merridales nets.

The "Steamroller's" Drivers

Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army
by Catherine Merridale


...For I am bringing disaster out of the North, even
terrible
destruction.
A lion has come up out of his lair; a destroyer of
nations has set out.
He has left his place to lay waste your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant.(Jeremiah
4:6-7 King James Version)

He occupies his own place in military folklore. He is
Nemisis: Judgement rising up out of the frozen
steepes. He is "the steam roller", pressing on with no
regard even for his own life, destroying all in his
path. His military talent is crude, but is more then
made up for by his numbers and fanaticism. He has no
mercy or remorse. Even his virtues seem mechanical.
The traits attributed to him seem more appropriate for
a machine than a man. He never flinches in the cold,
never stops advancing without a grimace through shot
and shell over the bodies of his comrades. He comes
like a flood bringing destruction before him. He is a
creature of nightmare.
He is Ivan...
Of course like all legends it has only partial truth.
The Americans were supposed to be people who knew only
how to dump tons of explosive on an enemy position as
if they were digging a mine shaft(the Germans had a
strange conceit that that was unsporting-which was of
only mild comfort after their death). The Italians
were renowned as the cowards that had unusual numbers
of reverse gears on their tanks. The British were the
conceited old-school snobs that played chess with
exaggerated bravado while bullets whistled round, and
always kept a stiff upper lip. And the Germans were
alternatively the humorless Prussian with his
heal-clicking and goosestep. Or else they were the
military virtuosos destroying their enemies with
cinematic ease like the hero of a cheap karate movie.
All the legends are partly true, all are incomplete.
So with Ivan-the Terror from the North.
The point of view of the Russian soldier is a
regretable gap in history of World War II. In this
book Cathrine Merridale attempts to fill that history.
The goal that Meridale set herself was no easy one.
Russian veterans seldom talk much. What they do give
is usually cliches, and bar-stories. Moreover they
often painfully cling to the party line as if in a
desperate need to think they fought for something more
valuable then survival. Adding to that is the problem
that it really is not safe to think. They are old,
they are reasonably well-honored and they are allowed
to patronize their neighbors who have never been
through it: why make waves? There are few memoirs from
the ranks; a good many were illiterate. Yet Merridale
managed to piece together something of their lives,
through interviews, snatches of letters, what not.
Another problem Merridale had was that World War II
was different for the Russians then it was for the
Allies or even the Germans. The Red Army wasn't an
army like others were. It was a giant slave galley.
Men were disposable parts to a degree far greater
then in other forces. If to outsiders they seemed
mechanical this was because they were often expected
to be. The shadow of oppression reached deep into it.
For instance one reason for Ivan's renowned suicidal
valor is a prosaic and rather sordid one: Russian
officers were afraid to take responsibility for
amending the last order. They simply kept going until
they received another order-from ten miles back. This
problem is part of all armies-it was especially part
of the Russian.
This has been exagerated. The Russian Army toward the
end of the war was agile enough to dance and spar in
the German manner. However they were most at home
grinding on and on.
What kept them going? A lot of it was survival. Many
of them knew as British or Americans did not, that
their families were in immidiate danger. Others came
because the danger to civilians was greater from
hunger, or from the Germans. A few even came for Holy
Mother Russia. They stayed from loyalty, from fear,
and for inertia.
Did they really believe in "the Revolution"? In a way
the question is meaningless-the Revolution was not an
opinion the Revolution existed. Probably very few of
them knew much about the theory, or cared. The
soldiers had their own "ideology", but it was better
described as a folk faith that included an
almalgamation of nationalism, fear, group loyalty, and
their vague interpretation of "something better". Few
of them were religious, but many were superstitious.
Like many soldiers they kept trinkets with them. A
sign of their peculiar situation was that they made an
extra effort to be generic about the charm they chose,
to avoid calling attracting the attention of
"someone".
A large part of what kept them going was hate. They
had enough reason to hate. The Germans were being
deliberately launched on a war of extermination, and
did unspeakable things, both in organized forms and in
"normal" gratuitous cruelty. The Russians were
fighting for survival but they were also fighting for
revenge. And the State did little to discourage this
desire for revenge. As is not unusual they seldom
considered the deeds of their own side. According to
them what the Fascists did was unspeakable but what
the Russians did was necessary, or pardonable. Few
stopped to think. Thinking was not encouraged.
When they became the conquerers the Russians did
horrible things themselves-and not just to Germans.
They desired someone to takeout all their pent up rage
on and anyone handy would do. But explanation really
isn't necessary. The Red Army, despite the fact that
it claimed to represent the future reverted to type
and behaved as most armies have through history.
The book gives some of the details. They are what you
might expect. "I'll be home again," songs. Bits of
folklore. For instance it was considered unlucky to
swear when going into battle. Thus the Russians
settled for their "OoRah" as there war cry.
Another tale that gives insight into the life of the
Russian Army was this. While they were pillaging a
city they came upon a case of champagne. They promptly
smashed it in frustration; they weren't looking for
taste they were looking for something that would allow
them to forget.
One scene it showed was the disillusion so many felt
on marching into Poland and finding the "wealth". Some
were even more disoriented on finding out later that
most Westerners considered Poland a war-torn wreck.
Ivan arguably received little gratitude. Ingratitude
to those returned from war is common, and Russia is a
hard country. For the fortunate was a minor increase
in status. The unfortunate could only make their way
back to their homes if they could and rebuild their
lives-if they could.
I would like to say that I learned from the book.
Unfortunatly the picture it gave was more or less as I
expected. The myth is sometimes true and might be true
here, but the author might at least say so.
Ivan's War is a painful book. But it is at least a
start toward filling a great gap in our knowlege. It
also teaches us several things. "Freedom" easily
becomes a cant phrase, and it is as well to be
reminded what it is like to live without it. And
finnally Ivan, while not exactly our grandfathers'
comrade was at least their-associate. We too owe
something to Ivan.

Here they come again

What a story! Catherine Merridale has done an excellent job of telling the story of the Russian foot soldier on the eastern front, the main battleground of WWII. The immense size of the campaigns is beyond imagination with all of the carnage and cruelty justly portrayed. Battalion sized Russian units were ground into dust by the advancing hordes of huns, but the overwhelming advantage in Russian manpower along with their incredible courage eventually "won them the day."

Merridale writes this book in a feminine fashion, one once removed from the male style of reporting on battles and death. It's very easy to read and fascinating in a way that holds your attention for long spells. When she writes of the hunger, the cold and the utter deprivation from life sustaining sustenances, you feel it down to your bones. It's hard to imagine that men (and women) could put up with these conditions without going mad.

Stalin's cruelty both during and after the war was more than his men deserved yet the USSR continued to exist as a brutal dictatorship for another 45 years post the armistace in 1945.. It breaks your heart when you consider their loves and yearnings, their thoughts and rationales, their heqartaches and hopes - who should deserve what they endured?

The Nazi's came on in a rush for the first few months, but as the winter came and the communist's built for their counter attacks, the momentum changed (oh boy, did it ever) and Merridale captures this revived spirit along with the rising tide of confidence in the Ivan's of the Red army. From the debacle in Finland to the rolling of Berlin, it's a heck of a story.

Anyone interested in WWII should read this book. "The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer also depicts a realistic characterization of the German side in this mother of all conflicts.

Just Who Did Win World War II, the Russians or the Americans?

What really did win World War II? The American entry into the war or the dogged determination of the Red Army and the Russian people, their will, and dogged determination not to be beaten?

After reading what the Russian Army and the Russian people endured and how responded to it, one might well come to the conclusion that the
D-Day landing was merely a mopping up exercise, a necessary and bloody exercise, but an exercise nonetheless. The Red Army already had Hitler and his Nazis on the run, and they weren't stopping. Certainly the Germans, the once mighty Third Reich couldn't stop them.

Not an easy read, but an important read to those who enjoy history. The reader will come to a new appreciation of the Red Army, the Russian people and the attrocities they endured.

While this does not excuse the attrocities the Red Army committed once it reached German soil, it does make them more understandable, wrong though they were and it explains fully why the Russians were and should have been allowed to be the first Allied force into Berlin.

This book, in its essence, is about the human spirit and the human soul, how much it can and will endure in time of war, and about "humanity" and "civilization," how much more fragile it really is. Much more so than we might want to think.

The Russians-they are a tough and rugged people--and are not to be dismissed or taken lightly. Their toughness is battle tested and it is in their DNA.

The nagging question while reading this book is simply this: "Could America and Americans have withstood what these people endured?" Probably not...Read it to understand.

A high five on content, low four on readability, but well worth the effort, well worth the effort.