Originally published in 1950, this book was prepared by a committee of former German officers in late 1947 and early 1948. All of these officers had extensive experience on the eastern front during the period 1941-45. The principal author, for example, commanded in succession a panzer division, a corps, a panzer army, and an army group.The book was written by Germans from the German point of view. Throughout this book, Russian combat methods are evaluated in terms of German combat doctrine, and Russian staff methods are compared to those of the German General Staff. Organization, equipment, and procedures of the German and Russian Armies differed considerably from those of the United States Army. Tactical examples in the text have been carefully dated, and an effort has been made to indicate the progress of the Russian Army in overcoming the weaknesses noted in the early stages of the war.