Nash, Douglas E.
Hell's Gate: The Battle of the Cherkassy Pocket, January to February 1944
London: Greenhill Books, 2002
Binding: Hardcover
See also other edition(s):
RZM, 2005 - Hardcover
RZM, 2002 - Hardcover
See also more books from:
Douglas E. Nash
See also more books on the same topic(s):
Battle of the Korsun Pocket
Liberation of the Ukraine and operations on the central front, 1943-1944
Feedback from visitors
Feedback from KIRK KEMPF on Wednesday, 4 September 2002
Rates this book: 
HELLS GATE, THE BATTLE OF THE CHERKASSY POCKET BY DOUGLAS NASH WAS A MASSIVE WORK BY THE AUTHOUR, ALL OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE PERTAINING TO THE ACTIONS BY THOSE INVOLVED. THIS BOOK GLANCES AT SMALL UNIT ACTIONS BUT THE BULK OF THE READING CENTERS ON THE HIGH COMMAND[HITLER] DECISIONS AND THE GERMAN COMMANDERS IN THE POCKET THESE DECISIONS HAD AN IMPACT ON AND THEIR OWN INITIATIVES THAT THEY SUPERIMPOSED OVER THESE ORDERS FROM THE HIGH COMMAND. THE BOOK DETAILS NICELY THE TROOP MOVEMENTS AS WELL AS THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND TERRAIN CONDITIONS FOUGHT OVER. AUTHOURS SUCH AS MICHAEL REYNOLDS WHO WROTE STEEL INFERNO AND TONY LE TISSIERS'WITH OUR BACKS TO BERLIN HAVE A ELEMENT MISSING IN HELLS GATE, THE FRONTLINE INFANTRYMANS ACCOUNT. AS WITH TOO MANY BOOKS THATDO NOT GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE, THIS BOOK MENTIONS THE RUSSIAN SOLDIERS, BUT ONLY AS A MATTER OF BODY COUNT AND GOES TO NO EXTRA EFFORT TO SHOW THEIR SACRIFICE AND COURAGE DESPITE THE UNHEARD OF CASUALTIES THEY ALSO SUFFERED. THIS SEEMS TO BE ANOTHER BOOK THAT TELLS HOW THE GERMANS WON ALL THE BATTLES, YET LOST THE WAR.
Feedback from Nathan Storck on Wednesday, 11 September 2002
Rates this book: 
Douglas Nash's first book about the Battle of the Cherkassy Pocket is bound to be an Eastern Front classic. It is extremely well researched, with tons of detail. More importantly, it is an easy read. He has interviewed both German and Soviet veterans and provides a thoroughly unbiased presentation of the day by day events that made up this historic battle for survival. The maps provided are detailed, yet easy to read and understand. The photo's found within are excellent and provide some insight into the hell that was the "kessel" (cauldron), as the German soldiers referred to the area in which they were surrounded. I would recommend this book to anyone that is a serious historian of World War II and the battleground that was the Eastern Front.
Feedback from Steve Ehlers on Wednesday, 11 September 2002
Rates this book:
This is an epic work that covers a forgoten battle from a forgoten war... Soviets v.s. 3rd Reich in yet another battle to the death... Two months in 1944 that went mostly unnoticed by all, except those who were actually there...
Yet somehow, Col Nash manages to bring this "lost" battle to life, re-telling the tale in minute and fascinating detail. He shows us the players, the setting, the story... he draws us in, and makes us feel part of the struggle.
I am very impressed with this book! Firstly, it is HUGE! Almost "coffee table book" in size, it is literally bursting with rare photos, detailed organizational charts and informative maps and charts. Second, it is packed with invaluable and otherwise impossible to find information. Third, it is masterfully writen... Col Nash has re-invented the military history book! This is no dry listing of dusty facts... this is an exquisite retelling of history... a true "page turner" that draws you in and holds your attention until the last page! The best history book I have ever read, military or otherwise. I give this book my highest and most enthusiastic rating, especilly to students of WWII and/or the Russian Front.
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