I received a free copy of this book. The following review are made up of my own thoughts, and has not been influenced by the author, the publisher or Net Galley.

I've been trying to expand more into the Second War, as I usually keep to soldiers in the field, biographies of the big players, or overviews of the battles and/or the war. This one was a book that caught my eye when I was scrolling through Net Galley and I decided to take a chance.

Something I must mention is that the beginning of this book, when the author is listing all of the various organisations within Russia and the Third Reich, is hard going. Each department has sub-departments and since they all go by I/II/etc and A/B/C, it can be extremely difficult to keep track of what department is involved in a particular part of the story. I have to admit that after a bit, I just had to gloss over it. I kept the main departments written down in a notebook beside me, and only referenced those when they were mentioned. Otherwise, I would have put down the book and never picked it up again. This would have ended up being a Did Not Finish.

And it doesn't deserve that.

This is a brilliant book. While some of the detail bogged down the book, I enjoyed how it was all explained. The writing style was excellent, not conversational but the words and a flow that were easy to understand. There were a few issues with commas. There were quite a few run-on sentences, that desperately either needed commas or other grammar help, or, should have been broken up into several ones. That's my own complaint on that.

The rest of it really kept my interest. I found it fascinating how the Germans completely misunderstood what the Russians were capable of, and how the Russians, despite continuously failing at their own security, still managed to out-wit the Germans. The Russians kicking the Germans out of their own country was more than they had the numbers to do so. They were smart. They used really good tactics to make the Germans lose battle after battle, until the Germans were in full retreat.

I would highly recommend this, if the grammar is corrected. I found it a very good way to step into the more Spy and intrigue parts of the Second World War. The reader will need to have notes and lists of the various departments and sub-departments to keep track of who is doing what, but I didn't find it too annoying.

4 Stars.

🧚‍♀️ Wishes do come true! 🧚‍♀️

The Secret War Between Hitler and Stalin by Norman Ridley, it's a shame these books was not available when I was a school Many, Many years ago. . . . especially this book. I learnt so much about the relationship etc between one of the most evil men of our world history, Hitler and Stalin. I was always fascinated by them and other hence why I did History in my Secondary school, but never found a book that told this information about them. WoW, this book was excellent and packed with so much information about them. So glad my wish came true.

The intelligence war between Germany and the Soviet Union, ignited by Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, was fiercely contested over four years. Neither side was prepared for the scale of the conflict, and both quickly developed methods to assess and counter each other’s military intentions. This book explores the intelligence strategies of Stalin’s SMERSH and Hitler’s Abwehr. SMERSH coordinated three independent counter-intelligence agencies within the Red Army, while the Abwehr was Germany’s military-intelligence service.

Focusing on key battles like Stalingrad and Kursk, the book examines how both sides competed for intelligence advantage. The Soviets excelled in strategic deception, manipulating German decision-making. Early in the war, they used counterintelligence to deceive the Germans, notably during their surprise counteroffensive at Moscow in December 1941 and their hidden tank formations in 1942. German intelligence chief Gehlen underestimated Soviet deception and overestimated German superiority, which hindered effective analysis. Meanwhile, the Soviets deployed agents behind German lines and employed terror tactics to destroy German operations. The pivotal battle of Stalingrad revealed the Germans' intelligence failures, and their subsequent losses marked a turning point. By the war's end, Soviet counterintelligence had become a critical weapon, reshaping the intelligence landscape and significantly impacting the outcome of the war.

I highly recommend this book. It did take some reading, but I am so glad I had the chance to read it. Thank you.

A great book. . . . A book to read if you want to learn more about Hitler and Stalin - very clever men and very evil with it!!!

This book compares the performance of the intelligence and counter-intelligence agencies of Germany and the Soviet Union during the war on the Eastern Front. Both countries used deception to achieve a military advantage. This use of deception was effective for Germany during Operation Kremlin and for the Soviets during Operations Barbarossa and Bagration. In the end the Soviets intelligence used deception to trick the arrogant Nazi regime in their downfall.

This was a well-researched and organized account of the role of intelligence and counterintelligence in the Soviet Union/Germany's World War II operations. The author gives a very detailed account of what happened behind the scenes in each strategic movement. The appendix in the back of the book has the Soviet Military Counter-Intelligence organizational structure, intelligence, and security services. It also has the German Abwehr command and operations structure. Included in the book are pictures of the people and equipment used in the operations.