Vintage 1961 Soviet Book: Landing at Eltigen – V. F. Gladkov | Tsar to Soviet Books

Classic 1961 Soviet Military Memoir: "Landing at Eltigen" by V. F. Gladkov

For military historians, Eastern Front researchers, and collectors of Soviet war memoirs, this 1961 original Soviet hardcover edition in its original dust jacket is an important primary-source record of amphibious operations in the Black Sea theatre. Published in Moscow by Voenizdat (Военное издательство Министерства обороны СССР) as part of the esteemed "Military Memoirs" (Военные мемуары) series, Landing at Eltigen (Десант на Эльтиген) was written by Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Vasily Fedorovich Gladkov.

Protected by a color illustrated dust jacket depicting landing craft under searchlights, the inner light-green cloth hardcover depicts the Mount Mithridat Obelisk of Glory overlooking the Kerch Strait.

The 1943 Kerch-Eltigen Operation & The Defense of the "Fiery Land" Gladkov's account provides operational and tactical perspective on the Crimean amphibious assault:

• The Amphibious Crossing: Details the planning under General I. E. Petrov and the nighttime navigation of the Kerch Strait in November 1943, landing the 318th Novorossiysk Mountain Rifle Division and Black Sea Fleet naval infantry under intense artillery barriers.

• Siege on the Beachhead: Forty days of continuous defensive engagement on a narrow strip of rocky shoreline without natural water sources, subjected to tank attacks, heavy mortar bombardments, and close-quarters infantry fighting.

• The Breakout to Mithridat: Strategic recounting of the December 1943 breakthrough through German encirclement cordons, crossing salt marshes to seize the high ground of Mount Mithridat in Kerch.

• Commemorative Significance: Documents the sacrifice that led to the post-war renaming of Eltigen to Geroevskoye ("Heroic Village").

Complete Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Десант на Эльтиген (Landing at Eltigen)

• Author: Major General Vasily Fedorovich Gladkov (генерал-майор В. Ф. Гладков)

• Series: Military Memoirs (Военные мемуары)

• Publisher: Voenizdat – Military Publishing House (Москва)

• Publication Date: 1961 (Moscow, USSR)

• Language: Russian

• Binding: Original publisher's cloth hardcover in pictorial dust jacket

• Page Count: Complete narrative text block with chapter vignettes

• Classification: Soviet Military History / World War II & Eastern Front / Amphibious Operations & Memoirs

Condition & Preservation Report

• Dust Jacket Condition: Original color illustrated dust jacket is clean, flat, and complete, exhibiting minor rubbing along the spine edges and folds.

• Hardcover Binding: Inner light-green textured cloth boards are clean, flat, and rigid with sharp black and brown illustration stamping and sound board corners.

• Binding Integrity: Exceptionally firm, square, and tight text block with intact hinges.

• Page Quality: Interior pages and chapter heading vignettes are clean and unmarked, exhibiting uniform light cream age-toning typical of early-1960s Soviet publishing paper stocks. Free from marginal notation, underlining, library stamps, or owner signatures.