In the summer of 1941, not only hostile ideologies and social systems collided, not only the most powerful and numerous armies of Europe, but also two of the largest command and control bodies of the armed forces - the General Staff of the Red Army, headed by G.K. Zhukov and the General Staff of the German Ground Forces represented by F. Halder. In this battle of military geniuses, in the duel of the best strategists of the era, the fate of the Great Patriotic War and the fate of the world was decided. A new book by a leading military historian analyzes the events of 1941 from precisely this point of view - as a competition of military schools, a battle of wits, a DUEL OF COMMANDERS. Why was the first round of hostilities lost outright by the Red Army? Is it true that the main cause of the disaster was the overwhelming superiority of the German command - both the officer corps and the senior generals? Who bears the lion's share of the blame for the tragedy of 1941 and whose merit is that the Red Army nevertheless survived, albeit at the cost of monstrous losses? Why did Stalin execute the commander of the Western Front, Pavlov, but did not touch the Chief of the General Staff, Zhukov? In this book you will find answers to the most complex and controversial questions of the Soviet past. The General Staff of the Red Army against the High Command of the Wehrmacht! Zhukov vs. Halder! The greatest duel in military history!