From Stalingrad to Pillau: A Red Army Artillery Officer Remembers the Great Patriotic War (Modern War Studies) | 
| Author: Isaak Kobylyanskiy
Creator: Stuart Britton
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 64932
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 310
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0700615660
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.541247092
EAN: 9780700615667
ASIN: 0700615660
Publication Date: March 3, 2008
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Book Description
Strange sounds resembling the remote rumble of distant thunder were audible. Everybody understood: it was the echo of the battle for Stalingrad. . . . A heavy rain began falling. Stalingrad's outskirts provided Isaak Kobylyanskiy, a 19-year-old Jew from Ukraine, with his first exposure to combat and initiated his long odyssey in the Great Patriotic War against Germany. It would be more than three years before he was finally reunited with his family and his sweetheart, Vera, the schoolmate he had promised to marry. Kobylyanskiy started the war as a 76-mm infantry support gun crew commander for the 300th Rifle Division (and its later incarnations) and celebrated V-E Day as a battery commander. His combat journey was a long process of exhausting marches punctuated by harrowing moments of intense combat. From the liberation of Sevastopol, through Lithuania's countryside, to the final storming of Koenigsberg's heavy fortifications, Kobylyanskiy's memoir sweeps across the great expanses of the Eastern Front. His narrative is packed with dramatic details and insights into the daily life of the Soviet army: the relentless marches to locate and engage the enemy, the prejudicial treatment of female soldiers, and the plight of Soviet civilians. Kobylyanskiy also discusses the role of military political officers (and his own conflicted views on communism), clarifies the place of Jews in the Red Army and discusses how his reaction to anti-Semitic utterances added a sense of responsibility to his fighting, and frames his account with personal glimpses into the stifling repression of Stalinist society, including the brutal collectivization program and resulting famine in Ukraine. But he balances such memories with warm recollections of some of his comrades and especially with an affecting portrait of his courtship of Vera, and concludes with an emotional coda: their wedding ceremony in a war-ravaged but recovering Kiev. By turns vivid, reflective, intense, and entertaining, Kobylyanskiy's narrative charts one warrior's epic journey and joins a select group of memoirs that deepen our understanding of what it was like for Russian soldiers on the Eastern Front. This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.
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 An Eye-Opening Memoir April 15, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
At last, memoirs from the Soviet side of the Eastern Front of WWII are appearing in English. From Stalingrad To Pillau is the second such Soviet memoir I've read, and several things took me aback before I barely had this book's spine bent. First Isaak K. is a Jew who fought the Soviet war. It apparently wasn't a horrid experience--something like being a black soldier in the U.S. Army at that time--simply distasteful.
The second eye-opener had to do with men and women fighting side by side almost from the start in this conflict. Lest you swoon at the egalitarianism of this revelation (and there is much to consider in that regard, given the years) be advised that the women soldiers often felt it wise to quickly pair off with the first decent men they met, lest they be sexual fodder for the rest.
And the third revelation has to do with the tone of this memoir: much vodka drinking, dancing, and general all-round emoting by Soviet soldiers. If you're now picturing these Soviets as a large, gun-bearing band of Gypsies, rub your eyes. The Soviet soldiers as portrayed here were dedicated, clever, inventive, and persistent while living lives as austere as the vaunted Wehrmacht soldiers. I wonder whether such emotive displays might have given impetus to their ability to re-tool their own war machine in the midst of a horrendous German occupation and conflict.
Mr. K goes to great lengths to present the most basic details of the war, from daily hygiene to smoking materials (tobacco or a local weed called machorka). It seems he remembers more of this sort of thing than the battles, the tactics and various implements of destruction.
Kobylyanskiy was married to his childhood sweetheart during the war. After the war, and as the nation sought to rebuild and restore electricity, sanitation etc., (this is something few consider, I think, in contemplating that Soviet "victory"), the couple lived in a one room apartment with his parents while he sought work and completion of his education as an engineer. One would think a grateful nation would bend over backwards to accommodate those such as Isaak, but this wasn't the case; he was turned down for work and had to fight for re-entry to school. Only through persistence did good things happen for him.
He emigrated to the U.S. in 1994. The great mystery to this memoir is why. Maybe he'll tell us more in a second, equally compelling book.
Authentic Experiences of Russian Artilleryman on Eastern Front April 9, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
FROM STALINGRAD TO PILLAU
A Red Army Artillery Officer Remembers The great Patriotic War
Isaak Kobylyanskiy
(University of Kansas Press 2008)
Isaak Kobylyanskiy was an18 year old student, a Jew, in his hometown of Kiev when he joined the Red Army in October 1942. For the next three plus years (until his discharge in the spring of 1946) he was an artilleryman, first a noncom and then an officer. He was in a battery of 76 mm short barreled field guns which gave the infantry close support (many times they were within 100 meters of the line) in the fighting from Stalingad to Pillau; and this is his story. And it is a story that I respect - as I respect the author.
This is not your usual "war story". While I am as suspicious as any of you about any kind of "war story" this one comes across as true to me. This man writes with a voice of sincerity. I believe he probably had access to regimental records to record the names of his comrades in so many different circumstances and so many different places where they marched to do battle; but taking taking the book by its four cornersthis is the story of a decent soldier who was - and is - proud of his country and of what he did in its defense. (He emigrated to this country ten years ago after a successful career in electronics.) There's not much blood and gore. No heroics Just a real story about how it was to be a fighting man on the move day and night, a story of companionship and pride. I recommend it to you without reservation; and I know everyone of you who has the privilege of reading this would like to sit down and talk with the author . He's a good man. Maybe a bit matter of fact. Not much blood and gore. But a true story and a good one.
 From Stalingrad to Pillau: A Red Army Artillery Officer Remembers the Great Patriotic War (Modern War Studies) April 6, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A VERY GOOD READ, TRUTHFUL, INFORMATIVE AND ENTERTAINING*
By Vadim Brevdo (Brooklyn, NY USA)
As a son of a veteran of the Great Patriotic War (GPW), I have been interested in the topic of the WW-II during most of my mature life. Particularly, I have read plenty of books and memoirs about the WW-II, especially about the GPW (1941-1945).
After reading this book I express my unbiased opinion to all readers who have genuine interest in the GPW's history and its dramatic but little known details: this book is the best war memoirs I have ever read. The author's complete truthfulness, openness, sincerity, and living language make the book unique. It is also evident that the book is perfectly edited by Stuart Britton.
In my opinion, the most valuable features of Isaak Kobylyanskiy's book become apparent and attract the reader when the author describes:
- his brothers-in-arms' and his own feelings while in combat;
- soldiers' interrelations in his multiethnic detachment;
- several characters (most but not all positive) of his brothers-in-arms. (Especially, Boris Glotov's portrait is so vivid!);
- his different reflections on the life in the USSR before, during, and after the war;
- loves and fates of several women who served in the same rifle regiment as the author did;
- his reflections on the anti-Semitism and how Kobylyanskiy being an ethnic Jew "fought" at the front with this phenomenon;
- his feelings and encounters with the Germans, both civilians and soldiers;
- his own one and only love.
I must stop this list - it's too long. Let the reader learn the features completely on his/her own.
Finally, I urge everyone:
MUST BUY, MUST READ, WILL NOT REGRET
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* The Military Book Club named Isaak Kobylyanskiy's FROM STALINGRAD TO PILLAU the main selection of March 2008.
Good addition to Eastern Front literature March 11, 2008
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
I'm always thrilled when a new Soviet memoir from the Second World War is released. In practically every instance I always get to learn something new and read about a plethora of experiences the author went through which enrich my understanding of this time period and WWII as a whole. This book highlights Isaak Kobylyanskiy's experiences as a 76mm gunner (gun commander and battery commander) during the Second World War on the Eastern Front while he served in the 87th Guards Division, 2nd Guards Army. To those interested in gritty details of offensive operations that undoubtedly contain hand to hand combat and the savagery of war, you will not find much of that here. In this book you will experience war from an artillery officer's point of view, although this artilleryman was not in the rear, he was right up there with the soldiers in the front lines providing direct fire in support for their actions, etc.
What I greatly appreciated about this book is that it is divided in half. The first half of the book is devoted to the author's experiences during the war and the other half to his thoughts on the war and the people he served with, the Red Army, writing letters, marches, leisure at the front, being a Jewish Red Army soldier, political workers within the Red Army, his views of the Germans (both soldiers and civilians), rear services troops, drinking alcohol, etc. Usually, one hardly ever comes across such a division within a book, most of the time all these ideas are dealt within the pages of the author's experience throughout the war, but there might be some added benefit to having chapters devoted solely to the war and then chapters devoted solely to stories which might not necessarily deal with the war. While in at least one chapter the author highlights the dubious side of some soldiers within the Red Army, he explains that the Red Army was not made up solely of such characters but these were simply people and events which he encountered throughout the war for the first time, these became lessons he learned for life. I should also like to mention that the editor, Stuart Britton, does an excellent job, a lot of contextual information is given to make the books progress and flow smoothly.
To begin, the author discusses his life in Vinnitsa and Kiev before the war began. It was interesting to learn about the author's reading habits, going from children's books to a plethora of foreign works including Twain, Hemingway, Dumas, etc. The famine of 1933 that took place in Ukraine, and other Soviet areas, was witnessed by the author, although he himself, his family, and his school mates did not suffer much. Also of interest was Kobylyanskiy's description of the "Great Purge" years when his father's boss was arrested and the next day the author's father "obliterated" his boss's face in all the pictures he could find in his photo album with black ink, for fear of being arrested himself. The author himself went to such lengths with some of the certificates of merit that he had received. The author's insight into the political situation as the USSR grabbed land from Poland, the Baltics, and Romania was interesting to hear as well as his thoughts on the winter war, which he was not in agreement with.
When the war began the author encountered Jewish refugees from Western territories, including Poland, streaming through Kiev. Eventually, his mother and brother, amongst many others, would be evacuated but he does recount how some Jews refused as they remembered the German occupation from WWI during which they were treated well enough by the Germans, something that is often repeated when looking for reasons why so many Jews 'stayed' behind. The majority, if not all, of those Jews who remained in Kiev would wind up being shot to death at Babi Yar.
The author's story about a Red Army soldier who wandered too far from his own lines, while wanting to do some ice fishing, and then was caught by the Germans was quite interesting. After 10 days the soldier escaped from the Germans and within a half hour OO (osobyi otdel) troops had tracked him down and taken him away. Although the author says they never heard anything more about the soldier, I personally, don't think this should denote automatically that the soldier was executed. While it is a distinct possibility, it is also possible that he was sent to a Penal formation or assigned to convoy duty, etc. In another episode the author discusses a soldier who shows up after being a POW for months, SMERSH (death to spies) officers had no interest in him. As well, when going through liberated territory the Red Army often received reinforcements from the local population, in one such case it was eventually brought to the attention of SMERSH that one soldier collaborated with the Germans in locating Jews and even executing them. He was sentenced to death and hanged.
A moving account is offered of how Kobylyanskiy had to make a choice of putting a gun crew in danger, by attacking a dozen or so tanks and self propelled guns, or letting them take on Red Army infantry who had yet to fully dig in. Without thinking twice Kobylyanskiy gave the order to fire, the end result was a dead gun commander, but the enemy's tanks did not advance. The author's experiences in what he dubbed "The Ravine of Death" were quite telling of the time period. While the 2nd Guards Army failed in their offensive endeavor, and the commanding officer was dismissed, it took a few days to understand that the failed offensive was in fact a huge help for other sectors of the front, namely in the Kursk area, thus the army in the end received some recognition for its actions. One of the most interesting parts of the book is when the author took it upon himself to try and stop a retreating group of soldiers by firing his pistol into the air, cursing, and threatening to shoot them. Eventually, with help from a few other officers, the retreat was stopped and the soldiers went back to their positions. I also enjoyed the rendition of a speech his divisional commander gave, where in he stressed how quickly houses, buildings, and factories could be rebuilt but how precious soldiers lives were; noting that officers should be careful with their men's lives.
Descriptions of Political workers are offered in the second part of the book and prove interesting, in regards to both the good and bad. The same is true for the examples offered of what it was like being a Jewish Red Army soldier and how Kobylyanskiy dealt with the stereotypes of Jewish soldiers, at times risking his life to prove that a Jewish soldier was just as good, if not better, than any other. The author's frankness in regards to his thoughts about Germans was revealing as well as his honesty in detailing sexual crimes and the Red Army. While he himself did not witness any prosecution within his unit for violation of orders from above (which forbid such activities) he did hear from Germans themselves and through rumors about what some Red Army soldiers did and how some Germans suffered. Especially touching was the story of a German girl, Annie, who on her way back home from Pillau was stopped by numerous Red Army soldiers and made to "lie down." The author is correct that this is a part of war, he stresses, and as would I, that this is not an excuse but should be an accepted fact. War is not pretty, innocent people suffer, but their suffering should not constitute cause for hypocrisy. While Red Army soldiers raped, so did western allied soldiers and so did German soldiers, etc.
While I have more than given away a good deal of what this book is about and what it contains within its pages I can guarantee that you'll find all of this and much more.
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