Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945, by Catherine Merridale (2006), is a highly detailed account of the enormous burdens borne by "Ivan," the prototypical Russian soldier whose courage and determination in World War II was largely instrumental for holding the forces of Nazi Germany back as they attempted to penetrate the Soviet Union. Merridale (2006) draws heavily upon a variety of sources to outline the challenges faced by Russian soldiers as they battled an enemy better armed and provisioned in a climate that was, to say the least, inhospitable to all combatants. Some eight million men and women died in the Russian war effort, leading the country as noted by Merridale (2006) to claim a major share of the responsibility for the ultimate defeat of the Nazis and to argue that it has borne a greater share of the war burden than any of the other Allies. This brief essay will first summarize key points made in the text and then relate it to a secondary school history lessons focused on the Second World War.
The Red Army, as described by Merridale (2006), consisted of a small cadre of seasoned officers and a large body of raw recruits who were in many instances poorly trained and ill-equipped and provisioned by a country stretched to the breaking point by the war. Using interview techniques, the author elicits from male and female soldiers and officers their personal understanding of the war. She makes it clear that war shattered Soviet family and social networks, divided society, and debased the values of mercy, cooperation, and even good manners. Soviet soldiers who became prisoners of war in Germany were greeted upon their return with suspicion, overt hostility, and in some cases, imprisonment.
To force a reluctant and exhausted people to continue fighting, Soviet leader Josef Stalin issued increasingly harsh and restrictive rulings that attempted to prevent soldiers from slacking in their efforts. ...