Red Commanders by Roger R. Reese - 9780700613977

Red CommandersA Social History of the Soviet Army Officer Corps, 1918-1991\nAuthor(s): Roger R. Reese\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: University Press of Kansas, United States\nImprint: University Press of Kansas\nISBN-13: 9780700613977, 978-0700613977\nSynopsis\nOne of the largest and most feared military forces in the world, the Red Army was a key player in advancing the cause of Soviet socialism. Rising out of revolutionary-era citizen militias, it aspired to the greatness needed to confront its Cold War adversaries but was woefully unprepared to change with the times. In this first comprehensive study of the Soviet officer corps, Roger Reese traces the history of the Red Army from Civil War triumph through near-decimation in World War II and demoralizing quagmire in Afghanistan to the close scrutiny it came under during Gorbachev's reform era. Reese takes readers inside the Red Army to reconstruct the social and institutional dynamics that shaped its leadership and effectiveness ov.