The Stalin and Molotov Lines Soviet Western Defences 1928–41

by Short, Neil; Hook, Adam

• ISBN13: 9781846031922
• ISBN10: 1846031923
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-09-23
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

During the Russian Civil War, the Red Army created a series of fortified areas, or ukreplinnyje rajony (UR), which were to be used not only for defence but were also to act as staging points for offensive operations. Following the end of the war these defences were extended, creating a front that stretched over 2,000km from the Baltic to the Black Sea, that consisted of more than 3,000 positions from forts to machine gun and antitank positions, emplaced tank turrets, and observation and command positions. By the outbreak of World War II, these defenses - known as the Stalin Line - were largely complete. However, after the Soviet occupation of eastern Poland in October 1939 the Stalin Line was too far behind the new border to be of use as a springboard for an offensive. So, a new set of defenses was begun, named after the Soviet Foreign Minister, Molotov. Equipment was stripped from the Stalin Line, but only 25 percent of the positions had been completed by the time of the German invasion in June 1941 and it proved no match for the Wehrmacht - positions were mostly empty or simply bypassed during the advance. Illustrated with cutaway artwork and rare photographs this book provides a detailed examination of the development of these defensive lines, and the fighting that took place around them in 1941, and is packed with detail and information that is not readily available in the English.

Author Biography

After completing an Honors Degree in History at the University of Lancaster, Neil Short gained a Master's Degree in Military History at the University of Leeds. He is a fully qualified Management Accountant working for the Ministry of Defence, but in his spare time undertakes research on World War II. He has previously written on Hitler's Siegfried Line in Sutton's Fortress Europe series; and for Osprey has written Fortress 15: Germany's West Wall and Fortress 45: German Defences in Italy. The author lives in Bristol, UK.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 4
Chronology	p. 6
Design and Development	p. 6
The Russian Civil War
The first building phase - war alarm
The second building phase
The third building phase
The Molotov Line
The Principles of Defence	p. 15
The strategic level
The operational level
The tactical level
A Tour of the Defences	p. 19
Machine-gun shelters
Artillery bunkers
Anti-tank gun shelters
Tank turrets
Mina Armoured turrets
Passive defences
The Living Sites	p. 32
Construction work on the Stalin Line
Construction of the Molotov Line
The workers The engineers
Manning the defences
Operational History	p. 42
The Molotov Line
The Stalin Line
Aftermath	p. 53
The Sites Today	p. 56
Belarus
Poland
Russia
Ukraine
General information
Bibliography	p. 61
Glossary	p. 62
Red Army Order of Battle, 22 June 1941	p. 63
Index	p. 64
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.