Allan Mallinson

Why did Hitler’s imperial dreams take Stalin by surprise?

The Führer had long sought lebensraum in the east, and his reneging on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was only to be expected, as two new books on Barbarossa argue

German troops advance into Russia in 1941, the swastika serving as identification to their covering aircraft. Credit: Alamy
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  • Barbarossa: How Hitler Lost the War

    Jonathan Dimbleby

    Viking, pp. 620, £25

  • Barbarossa: And the Bloodiest War in History

    Stewart Binns

    Wildfire, pp. 400, £20

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