Helion & Company- War in Ukraine
Volume 1: Armed Formations of the Donetsk People's Republic, 2014-2022
Book Specifics
Author: Edward Crowther
Europe@War Series No. 21
Price: $29.95
ISBN: 978-1-915070-66-1
11.75 X 8.25 inch paperback, 88 pages with nearly 120 color photographs, 21 color profiles, 4 maps, 1 diagram, and 2 tables
What's Inside
The @War series from Helion is a great primer for modern era theaters of combat. Other series look are Africa@War, Asia@War, MiddleEast@War, and LatinAmerica@War- but this particular book in the series delves into the armed formations of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) which is the largest of two separatist entities in eastern Ukraine. The book is a brief overview of their formation in 2014, through to their status at the beginning of the present war that started this past February. The book is full of excellent information on their identity and symbology, while also exploring the combat forces and equipment that makes them up. Often dismissed as proxy extensions of Russian Federation forces, the DPR along with the neighboring Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) he actually retained some of their own independence of control over their own units and planning. Filled with propaganda art and accounts, the book's subject is very reminiscent of what we he come to know was present in the Soviet Union during WWII. Often, military glory and memorials are shown through military parades, murals, and monuments. One thing that really stood out to me in the book were a series of photos of fallen soldiers commemorated in a postcard set "Gold Star Heroes" issued by the DPR Ministry of Communication. They remind me of the baseball cards or superhero trading cards that are prominent here in the States.
The book is broken down into the following integrated chapters:
Origins of the Conflict in Eastern Ukraine Ideology and Motivation Propaganda and Symbology Strategic Aims of the DPR and the Russian Federation Key Battles and the Formation of Units Command and Control of DPR 1st Army Corps DPR 1st Army Corps and Principal Units Armed Formations of the DPR not falling under 1st Army Corps Weaponry and Equipment Medals and Memorialisation ConclusionIn the 70 pages of textual content, it reads initially very much like the political science textbook I remember from freshman year of college. I admit I had to look some words up and I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable and educated. That being said, it was all fascinating to read about it all-- nothing I ever even heard of from the general media I am usually exposed to. The modern day purges of some of the combat leaders, and assassinations and the like, under-the-radar support from the Russian Federation, and the fact of the changing nature of the relationship between the DPR and Russia- and how DPR interests ran parallel and sometimes counter to those of the Kremlin as the author states. The DPR's armed formations were characterized from three main groups: Donbas residents who were recruited locally, international volunteers who came from abroad to join the cause, and Russian Federation military personnel deployed to fill specialist support, command, and liaison roles.
I won't go into great detail explaining the content but suffice it to say, I learned quite a bit about what to me was not too well-known content. Like everyone else interested in military affairs, I he been following the war in the Ukraine- and so this first book of the series with two more coming has been a great primer for me to learn more. The photos and captions are excellent-- usually two to three to a page. A great reference for those looking to model DPR armor and weaponry-- there are tons of photos of unit patches and insignias, and the color profiles feature DPR technicals, trucks, MBTs, APCs, and other AFVs. One even shows a post-WWII era IS-3 that was restored and driven off of a memorial plinth. Armed with just a hey machine gun, it did very little tactics-wise, but proved to be a powerful propaganda tool as the DPR tried to champion its cause by comparing it to the efforts of those who fought the Great Patriotic War.
Conclusion
This is another great book in this series from Helion. I he come to really enjoy these books- one of the people I follow on social media is Tom Cooper, another prominent author in the series and his summaries of the combat occurring there. I look forward to the upcoming two books in this series-- authored also by Crowther, as well as Tom Cooper, Adrien Fontanellaz, and Milos Sipos which look more closely at the current war. As mentioned before, there is loads of information in this thin package and I really learned quite a bit.
Highly Recommended for anyone interested in the events that led to the formation and initiation of the DPR and the War in Ukraine.
Thanks goes out to Casemate Publishing for this review sample.
Reviewed by Michael Reeves
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