In-depth study uses primary sources and the memoirs of veterans to document the events on the Eastern Front of 1944. In 1944, when the entire Russo-German front was "ablaze" under continual Soviet attacks, wrong estimations by the highest German command led to critical decisions with grave consequences. The Red Army was growing increasingly stronger, and launched a major offensive. They engaged the Germans in a series of battles—Cherkassy, Tarnopol, Crimea, Vetebsk, Brody, Jassy—that ended in the collapse of Army Group Center, and catastrophic German losses. These battles cost the German army in the east well over a half-million casualties. This book tells the story from the German point of view, reflecting on what is considered the most barbarous fighting of World War II.