Military historian Prit Buttar on his latest book, which recounts one of the bloodiest – and least known – battles of World War II

Written by Nick Soldinger

Between July and December 1942, a series of battles raged on the Eastern Front across a giant bulge in the German front line west of Moscow. The fighting, often taking place in forests and swamps in both the searing heat of summer and the freezing depths of Russian winter, would result in horrific casualties on both sides. More than half a million men were lost fighting for what would ultimately turn out to be one of the most futile causes of World War II. Here, expert Prit Buttar talks about the tragic significance of the Rzhev salient.

Your book is called Meat Grinder: The Battles for the Rzhev salient. Where does ‘Meat Grinder’ come from?

It was the rather grim name given to the entire theatre by the Soviet troops fighting in the Rzhev salient. They were put through the mill several times there, much like British divisions on the Somme. They came to call it the Meat Grinder because so many of their comrades perished for so little gain. The men understood the utter futility of it.

What was the background to these battles; how did the salient form?

In late 1941, the German invasion of Russia ran out of steam when its forces were about 30 kilometres short of Moscow. Soviet forces counterattacked, initially successfully, but then the Germans dug in. As the front line stabilised in early 1942, the salient was formed in the German line about 130 kilometres west of Moscow with the Soviets around its northward-projecting bulge to the east, north and west. It was seen as strategically important by both sides as a potential springboard for a renewed attack on the Russian capital, which is why it became the focus of such intense and bitter fighting.