Grand delusion : Stalin and the German invasion of Russia

This important book draws on vital new archival material to unravel the mystery of Hitler's invasion of Russia in 1941 and Stalin's enigmatic behavior on the eve of the attack. Gabriel Gorodetsky challenges the currently popular view that Stalin was about to invade Germany when Hitler made a preemptive strike. He argues instead that Stalin was actually negotiating for European peace, asserting that Stalin followed an unscrupulous Realpolitik that served well-defined geopolitical interests by seeking to redress the European balance of power. Gorodetsky substantiates his argument through the most thorough scrutiny ever of Soviet archives for the period, including the files of the Russian foreign ministry, the general staff, the security forces, and the entire range of military intelligence available to Stalin at the time. According to Gorodetsky, Stalin was eagerly anticipating a peace conference where various accords imposed on Russia would be revised. But the delusion of being able to dictate a new European order blinded him to the lurking German danger, and his erroneous diagnosis of the political scene-colored by his perennial suspicion of Great Britain-led him to misconstrue the evidence of his own and Britain's intelligence services. Gorodetsky highlights the sequence of military blunders that resulted from Stalin's determination to appease Germany-blunders that provide the key to understanding the calamity that befell Russia on 22 June 1941. Contents List of Illustrations and Maps Vlll Preface Introduction: The Premises of Stalin's Foreign Policy 1. 'Potential Enemies': London and Moscow at Loggerheads 'The Truce of the Bear 'He Who Sups with the Devil Cripps's Mission to Moscow 2. The Scramble for the Balkans Soviet-Italian Collusion The Soviet Seizure of Bessara bia British Schemes for the Balkans The Vienna Award: The German Encroachment in the Balkans Clash over the Danube 3. On a Collision Course Drang nach Osten: The Initial Plans Soviet Intelligence and the German Threat The Bulgarian Corridor to the Turkish Straits 4. The Road to 'Barbarossa Molotov's Visit to Berlin Hitler Opts for War Postscript: Preventive War 5. The Curtain Falls on the Balkans The British Perspective: Co-operation or Embroilment Bulgaria Turns to the Axis The Urge for the Straits 6. The Red Army on Alert The Soviet Defence Plans The Bankruptcy of the Military The Gathering Clouds 7. At the Crossroads: The Yugoslav Coup d'Etat British Intelligence and 'Barbarossa The 'Cryptic' Warning Rumours of War and a Separate Peace The Bogy of a Separate Peace Aftermath 9. Japan: The Avenue to Germany 10. 'Appeasement': A New German-Soviet Pact 11. 'The Special Threatening Military Period On the Alert Emergency Deployment 12. The Flight of Rudolf Hess to England The Conspiracy The Mission Fictitious Negotiations 'Running the Bolshevik Hare Hess as Perceived by the Kremlin 13. On the Eve of War 'Mobilization Is War A Middle East Diversion: The Flaw in British Intelligence The Tass Communique 2 14. Calamity Self-Deception London: 'This Avalanche Breathing Fire and Death 22 June 1941: The Long Weekend Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index "Grand Delusion draws on crucial new documentation to unravel the mystery of Hitler's invasion of Russia in 1941 and Stalin's enigmatic behaviour on the eve of the attack. Gabriel Gorodetsky challenges both the Russian revisionist view - that Stalin was about to invade Germany when Hitler made a preemptive strike, and the Cold War version popular in the West - that Stalin was simply outwitted. Instead he shows Stalin as rational and level headed - though unscrupulous - pursuing well-defined geopolitical interests, actively negotiating for European peace."--BOOK JACKET. "Gorodetsky bases his argument on the most thorough scrutiny ever of Soviet archives for the period, including the files of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the General Staff, the security forces, and the entire range of military intelligence available to Stalin on the eve of 'Operation Barbarossa'."--BOOK JACKET. A history of the German invasion of Russia in 1941, in the light of archival material. It challenges the view that Stalin was about to invade Germany when Hitler made a pre-emptive strike, arguing that Stalin was actually negotiating for peace in order to redress the European balance of power.