Published now!

Black Cross/Red Star The Air War Over the Eastern Front. Vol. 2 - Resurgence.

By Christer Bergström and Andrey Mikhailov


Hard cover, Large size, 232 pages, Glossy paper, 160 photos in Top Quality printing,

including a number of unique color photos,

31 Aircraft Color Profiles (by Claes Sundin, Tom Tullis, and Jim Laurier), Color maps!

Click here for a sample of the Aircraft Color Profiles in Black Cross/Red Star, Vol. 2

Reviews of Vol. 2


 

The first comments on Vol. 2, from readers:

"A great book. Color maps and profiles are noticeable improvments. I am just waiting for the next volume. My congratulations to Mr Bergstrom and Mikhailov."

"I got this in the mail yesterday, and have to say that it's very nice! This new volume has glossy paper, colour maps, and some excellent colour profiles. I've read through the first few chapters, and it follows the style of the previous volume - very readable, with the focus on both the tactical and individual situations. There are alot of very good photos, and the new paper on which they are printed make for much better image quality. Highly recommended." (http://www.simhq.com/simhq3/sims/boards/bbs/Forum35/HTML/001932.html)

"It is an excellent read. Very engrossing. A fine addition to Volume 1."


The front cover painting by Russian artist Eugene V. Alekseyenko shows an engagement between German II./ZG 1 Bf 110s and Soviet 120 IAP MiG-3s. On February 28, 1942, an Eskadrilya of 120 IAP led by Kapitan Viktor Tomilin intercepted three Bf 110s of II./ZG 1 over the snow-covered battlefield between Medyn and Vyazma, west of Moscow. Tomilin managed to shoot down the leading aircraft while the other two escaped. Later that day another group of 120 IAP MiG-3s clashed with the same Zerstörergruppe, shooting down a second. Both losses can be verified in ZG 1 loss statistics.
Contents:

I Maps

Full color maps on the Eastern combat zones in 1942.

II Foreword by Major a.D. Hansgeorg Bätcher (KG 27, KG 100, KG 4)

III Foreword by Guards Polkovnik Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Pavlichenko (210 BBAP, 108 GShAP)

III Glossary and Guide to Abbreviations

Part I: The Legacy of Barbarossa

Chapter 1: Two Crippled Armies

From the content: VVS KBF defector Starshiy Leytenant Petr Kulakov in German and Soviet documents, StG 77 Stukas in action over Stalino, and more.

Chapter 2: The Luftwaffe in Early 1942

From the content: The crisis of Germany's war industry in late 1941, and more.

Chapter 3: The VVS in Early 1942

From the content: Il-2 Shturmovik tactics, Soviet fighter pilots' appraisals on Lend Lease fighters, and more.

Chapter 4: The Devices and Methods

From the content: Navigation devices, bombsights, and gunsights on both sides, and more.

Part II: The Soviet Winter Offensive

Chapter 5: Flying Artillery on the Central Combat Zone

From the content: Order of Battle, the impact of Soviet air supremacy on Army Group Center in January 1942, and more.

Chapter 6: Fire Brigade in the Northern Sector

From the content: Order of Battle, the Soviet combat report from the air combat when JG 54 ace Hptm Franz Eckerle was lost, and more.

Chapter 7: Frustration in the South

From the content: Order of Battle, an article in Soviet newspaper Pravda, allegedly written by a well-known JG 52 pilot, and more.

Chapter 8: Winter Battles in the Crimea

From the content: I./KG 100 Wiking He 111s in action against Soviet shipping in the Black Sea, and more.

Part III: Fateful Spring

Chapter 9: The Demyansk and Kholm Airlift Operations

From the content: Order of Battle, "The Russians have grown more aggressive. One has to be damned alert!" (from the diary of Major Hannes Trautloft, JG 54), and more.

Chapter 10: Target: Red Banner Baltic Fleet

From the content: Operations "Eisstoss" and "Götz von Berlichingen" - why the Stuka operations against the Soviet Red Banner Baltic Fleet in April 1942 failed, and more.

Chapter 11: Spring on the Moscow Front

From the content: Shturmoviks against Luftwaffe airdromes, German bomber operations against Soviet rail lines, the death of Lt Hans Strelow (JG 51), and more.

Chapter 12: Lessons Drawn

From the content: The restructuring of the Soviet Air Forces.

Part IV: Decisive Battles in the South

Chapter 13: Ukrainian Spring

From the content: Examples of doubtful loss statistics and victory claims, Italian and Croatian airmen in action, and more.

Chapter 14: Turn of the Tide at the Black Sea

From the content: German torpedo planes versus Soviet Black Sea shipping, senior Soviet naval air force commander killed in a StG 77 Stuka attack, and more.

Part V: The Far North

Chapter 15: Battle for Air Supremacy in the Far North

From the content: Order of Battle, "Rudi" Müller's (JG 5) claims compared to Soviet combat reports, and more.

Part VI: Annihilation

Chapter 16: Carnage at Kerch

From the content: Order of Battle, why Fliegerkorps VIII could wipe out VVS Crimean Front, and more.

Chapter 17: The Battle for Kharkov

From the content: Hermann Graf - twenty victories over Kharkov, HSU Mayor Yuriy Gorbko's death, and more.

Chapter 18: Fire Over Murmansk

From the content: Luftflotte 5 against PQ convoys, Boris Safonov's last fight, and more.

Chapter 19: Leningrad and Lyuban Starve

From the content: JG 54 Grünherz versus license-built C-47s (PS-84), and more.

Chapter 20: The Sevastopolskiy Fighters

From the content: Order of Battle, excerpts from Gordon Gollob's (JG 52) diary, Kapitan Mikhail Avdeyev versus Oblt Anton Hackl, and more.

Part VII: Twice Resurgence

From the content: Conclusions of the air war over the Eastern Front until June 1942, loss statistics of various VVS units, and more.

Appendix I: Luftwaffe Combat Losses on the Eastern Front

Monthly combat losses for each Luftwaffe Geschwader on the Eastern Front.

Appendix II: The Structure of the Luftwaffe

Appendix III: The Structure of the Soviet Air Forces

Appendix IV: Rank Equivalent Table

Appendix V: The Highest Military Awards

Index


Note: Volume 2 of Black Cross/Red Star is published now!

Volume 1 of Black Cross/Red Star was published in August 2000.

To order your copy: Click here


A small-size samples of one of Claes Sundin's profiles in Black Cross/Red Star, Vol. 2.

© Christer Bergström, Andrey Mikhailov 2001  

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