John Erickson (historian)

John Erickson FRSE FBA FRSA (17 April 1929 in South Shields – 10 February 2002 in Edinburgh)^[1] was a British historian and defence expert who wrote extensively on the Second World War. His two best-known books – The Road to Stalingrad and The Road to Berlin – dealt with the Soviet response to the German invasion of the Soviet Union, covering the period from 1941 to 1945. He was respected for his knowledge of Russia during the Cold War.^[2] His Russian language skills and knowledge gained him respect.^[3]

Life

He began lecturing in History at St Andrews University in 1958. In 1962 he moved to Manchester University as a Senior Lecturer. In 1967 he moved to Edinburgh University as a Reader in Higher Defence Studies, becoming a Professor in 1969. From 1988 to 1996 he was Director of the Centre for Defence Studies in Edinburgh.^[4]

Publications

• The Soviet High Command 1918-1941: A Military-Political History 1918-1941, St Martin's Press (Macmillan), London, 1962
• Panslavism, Routledge & Kegan Paul, for The Historical Association, London, 1964
• The Military-Technical Revolution, Praeger, New York, 1966 (Revised and updated papers from a symposium held at the Institute for the Study of the USSR, Munich, Oct. 1964)
• The Road to Stalingrad, Stalin's War with Germany, Volume 1, Harper & Row, Publishers, New York 1975 ISBN 0-06-011141-0
• Soviet Military Power, Royal United Services Institute, London, 1976
• Soviet Military Power and Performance, Palgrave Macmillan Press, London, 1979 ISBN 0-333-22081-1
• The Road to Stalingrad, Stalin's War with Germany, Volume 1, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London 1983
• The Road to Berlin. Stalin's War with Germany, Volume 2, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1983
• The Soviet Ground Forces: An Operational Assessment, Westview Printing, 1986 (ISBN 0-89158-796-9)
• Deep Battle: The Brainchild of Marshal Tukhachevski, by Richard Simpkin in association with John Erickson, Brasseys's, 1987
• The Russian Front, a four-part narrated televised series, Cromwell Films, 1998 (1. Barbarossa Hitler Turns East, 2. The Road to Stalingrad, 3. Stalingrad to Kursk and 4. The Battles for Berlin)
• Barbarossa: The Axis and the Allies, Erickson, John and Dilks, David, eds, Edinburgh University Press, 1994 (contributors include Dmitri Volkogonov, Harry Hinsley, Klaus-Jurgen Muller, Klaus Reinhardt)
• The Eastern Front in Photographs: From Barbarossa to Stalingrad and Berlin, Carlton Publishing, 2001

References

External links

• Erickson, John, 1929–2002 at Library of Congress Authorities, with 35 catalog records (under 'Erickson, John, 1929–' without '2002')
• John Erickson on IMDb