The highest military decoration in the Russian Empire, and in the Russian Federation after 1994. The order was created by Catherine the Great in 1796.

Rudolph Peterskhagen was a colonel in the Knights Cavalier and was gravely wounded near Stalingrad. After his recovery he was named commander of the city of Greifsvald [Neuenkirchen, Germany]. In the spring of 1945, not wanting more senseless death, Peterskhagen gave the city to the Red Army. This was the only instance in which the Red Army took a city without combat. In the early 1950's,...

The publication is a detailed and most complete description of the history of the three-month battle of the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940 in the area of the Taipaleen-Yoki River (now the Burnaya River), on the easternmost flank of the Mannerheim Line. The book is based on numerous archival and documentary sources and gives a broad idea of the conditions of military life of both Soviet and...

The Atlantic Wall became the most grandiose system of coastal fortifications in the history of mankind. Its coastal batteries, concrete underground structures, and various anti-landing defenses represented masterpieces of artillery and construction engineering. At the same time, Hitler and his admirals made a number of unforgivable miscalculations that made the successful Allied invasion of...

The assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo started a chain of events that led to the beginning of World War One. It lis less clear, in the eyes of the author, as to why security was minimal for the Archduke, how dangerous was the 'Black Hand' organization and who stood to benefit from the destruction of the old man of Europe?

Memoirs of a German officer, in which the author talks about his service in the Reichswehr, Hitler's Wehrmacht and the Bundeswehr. In 1960, Bruno Winzer, a staff officer in the Bundeswehr, secretly left West Germany and crossed into the territory of the German Democratic Republic, where he published this book - the story of his life.

Originally published in 1969, this book is Che Guevara's description of guerilla tactics and strategy based on his experience and hit-and-run tactics that were paramount to the overthrow of Cubas government and the establishment of the Castro regime.

Vasilii Chapaev was one of the most active participants in Russia's Civil War; in our time, he is known as the hero of many jokes. The real story of his life is interwoven with fabrications from the well-known movie about his life. Before the fall of the USSR, the name Chapaev was surrounded by an aura of heroism and whole-hearted devotion to the Revolution. This book is based on archival...

12 hours 47 minutes. Read by V.Mazur.