"Published in the United Kingdom by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House, under the title Barbarossa: How Hitler Lost the War"--Title page verso

Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of Soviet Russia in June 1941, was the largest military operation in history. Hitler's fatal gamble, Barbarossa was a cataclysmic mistake. By the time Hitler's armies reached the gates of Moscow six months later, any prospect of his realizing his vision of a Thousand Year Reich had vanished. Drawing on hitherto unseen archival material, including previously untranslated German sources, Johnathan Dimbleby puts the bloodbath that was Barbarossa in its proper place in history, from its origins in the First World War to its impact on post-war Europe. Dimbleby covers the military, political, and diplomatic story from all sides. Using diaries and letters, dispatches and orders, this book provides vivid accounts of the men and women who fought on the front lines. Written with authority and humanity, Operation Barbarossa captures the monumental scale of the cataclysm, transforming our understanding of the Second World War and of the twentieth century. -- Adapted from book jacket

Illustrations -- Maps -- Preface -- Part one: The slide to war. Paving the way -- Dictators and democrats -- Shuttle diplomacy -- Self-delusion and bad faith -- A pact with Satan -- Thieves fall out -- Stalin ignores the warnings -- Part two: Invasion. Blitzkrieg -- Hatred and horrors -- Watching on -- Stalin's rallying cry -- A shaky alliance -- Hideous realities -- America makes a move -- Disarray on the Soviet front -- Hitler's hiatus -- Part three: Counterstrike. Between the lines -- Carnage of Kiev -- Leningrad -- Wars of words -- Operation Typhoon -- Great Panic -- General Mud -- Jewish question -- Allied preoccupations -- Mood changes -- Part four: Retreat. Final assault -- Fateful terminus -- A global war -- Retreat -- Eden meets Stalin -- Fatal gamble -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgements