Elite 111: Heroes of the Soviet Union 1941–45

by Henry Sakaida, illustrated by Christa Hook

Osprey Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-84176-769-7, 64 pages.

This book starts with a brief account of the origins of the German-Soviet war and then gives details of the HSU award itself with a breakdown of its recipients by ethnic group and nationality. Believe it or not, there were four German HSUs! Then come details of 29 actions that resulted in HSU awards, mostly dealing with individuals but some that produced awards to several are lumped together – for instance the storming of the Reichstag. Recipients from all services are included: Air Force, Navy, infantry, tankers, snipers, spies, and partisans. Although there’s not much on the actual tanks involved in tankers’ awards there is enough to make educated guesses, and their stories can inspire some original dioramas. The photographs are principally studio shots, of course, and include men not mentioned in the text with brief details of the actions that resulted in their awards.

John Prigent

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