Includes bibliographical references (p. 689-788) and index.

Flight of the rabid wolf: the long-term impact of the war in the east -- Absolute and total war -- 'A cruel romance': the Nazi-Soviet alliance and Soviet expansion, August to November 1939 -- Further Soviet expansion and cooperation with Germany, November 1939 to June 1941 -- Who planned to attack whom, and how? -- The war's worst-kept secret -- Iron road east: the country, the forces -- Barbarossa unleashed, and the battles of the frontiers -- Kremlin at war -- Winning oneself to death -- Midnight in Moscow -- Black snow -- White night: Leningrad, September 1941 to February 1944 -- The 'Grand Alliance' -- To the edge of the abyss: the worst year - 1942 -- From defence to attack: the Caucasus, Stalingrad and Mars -- Kursk, and a new professionalism -- Destroying the Wehrmacht. Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic: reasserting Soviet control -- Victory -- New world order.