John EricksonFRSE 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.[2] His Russian language skills and knowledge gained him respect.[3]
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]
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 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, 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
