The Right-Bank Ukraine Offensive, which is essentially all of the activities of Vatutin’s First Ukrainian Front and Konev’s Second Ukrainian Front from December 23, 1943 to April 17, 1944, involves 2,406,100 Soviet soldiers, with KIA of 270,198, and 839,330 wounded.
During the opening ceremony of the Olympics, when they did the “History of Russia,” Mrs. henkster asked if there was any positive history from Russia. I replied that there certainly was a lot from the arts and music. But for most of the rest of it, what they did accomplish was done at a human and environmental cost that Americans would consider unacceptable.
The Russians have every reason to be proud of what they accomplished in the Great Patriotic War, but the cost was staggering.
The numbers are so big that they’re just a blur. The Western front is small by comparison, but there are still so many men and ships and everything that it’s dizzying. I’ve just begun reading “The Day of Battle”; the war may be over before I finish it. I’ve learned why the Italian campaign news is marked as originating in Algiers!
every reason to be proud? of expanding their communist empire?