The Viaz’ma Catastrophe, 1941: The Red Army’s Disastrous Stand Against Operation Typhoon

This is an excellent work which probably gives a better understanding of the some of the massive defeats suffered Soviet army in 1941 than any other book I've read. Some of the details about the lack of Soviet command and control are very interesting. In particular, the author details many of the false reports submitted by senior Soviet commanders to the Stavka, and the wholly impracticable orders issued by these commanders to their units (many of which were never even received). In general, the author provides a very balanced treatment of the Soviet army's performance during Typhoon.

The author also provides insight into why some Soviet military records should be reviewed with caution, even today. For instance, he offers a detailed critique of the Krivosheev loss numbers for the Soviet military, explaining why they are too low, and the reasons for it.