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Photos; Maps; Tables; Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; Introduction; Part I. The Front: 1. On the eve of the Balkan offensive; 2. 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts' operations and rampage in Europe; Part II. The Leadership: 3. The kremlin's policies; 4. Propaganda; 5. Disciplinary policies; Part III. The Troops: 6. Soviet soldiers' views of the countries of the Balkans and central Europe; 7. Sexual violence; 8. After the war; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

This groundbreaking history traces the Red Army's advances across central Europe and the Balkans in 1944-1945. It focuses on the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts that occupied Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Austria. Utilizing material from archives across Russia, Ukraine, and Serbia, alongside diaries, memoirs, and interviews, Vojin Majstorovic examines the official policies and troops' behavior in each country and analyzes military violations, from deserting and looting to widespread sexual violence. His findings show that the Red Army was an ill-disciplined force, but that military personnel committed fewer crimes against civilians in 'neutral Bulgaria' and 'friendly' Yugoslavia than in 'enemy' Romania, Hungary, and Austria. To explain the variation in troops' conduct, he stresses the interaction of several continuously evolving factors: Kremlin's policies, the severity of the fighting, the command's policies toward criminals, the official propaganda, and troops' martial masculinity, identity, and views of the local populations.