Prit Buttar is a British
general practitioner and writer. He has written ten
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
books on the eastern fronts of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and two
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
s. Dr. Buttar was Senior Partner at Abingdon Surgery until he moved to Scotland in late 2017.
Career
Buttar studied medicine at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
London University
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...
,
and served in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
as a surgeon
and medical officer for five years. He later worked in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
as a general practitioner (GP). Buttar worked as a GP in
Abingdon-on-Thames
Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historic counties of England, Historically the ...
from 2000 to 2017 and served on the GP's Committee of the British Medical Association. He is Chairman of the Oxfordshire Local Medical Committee.
Buttar's first book, ''Battleground Prussia'', was inspired by one of his patients. The 83-year-old patient recalled stories about her life as a nurse in
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
and escape from the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
near the end of World War II.
Buttar spent 8 years writing the book. His second book, ''Between Giants'', is a study of the
battles for the Baltics in WWII, and explores the experiences of people from
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
,
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
, and
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
.
His third book, ''Collision of Empires'', is a study of the Eastern Front of World War I. It is the first of a four volume series.
Before writing the book, Buttar spent a year studying archives in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, and
Freiberg
Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district.
Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage c ...
. With the help of another historian, the multi-lingual Buttar was able to translate the German archives.
The second book of the series, ''Germany Ascendant: The Eastern Front 1915'', was released in 2015.
Personal life
Buttar is married to Debbie, an army nurse. They have two children. Their daughter studied History at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
.
Published works
*''There Stood A Soldier: A Novel of Stalingrad''. 2005. Lulu Press.
*''Battleground Prussia: The Assault on Germany's Eastern Front 1944-45''. 2010. Osprey Publishing.
*''Between Giants: The Battle for the Baltics in World War II''. 2013. Osprey Publishing.
*''Collision of Empires: The War on the Eastern Front in 1914''. 2014. Osprey Publishing.
*''Germany Ascendant: The Eastern Front 1915''. 2015. Osprey Publishing.
*''Russia's Last Gasp: The Eastern Front 1916-17''. 2016. Osprey Publishing.
*''The Splintered Empires: The Eastern Front 1917-21''. 2017. Osprey Publishing.
*''Old Friends: A story of love''. 2017. Amazon Publishing.
*''On a Knife's Edge: The Ukraine, November 1942-March 1943''. 2018. Osprey Publishing.
*''Retribution: The Soviet Reconquest of Central Ukraine, 1943''. 2019. Osprey Publishing.
*''The Reckoning: The Defeat of Army Group South, 1944''. 2020. Osprey Publishing.
*''Meat Grinder: The Battles for the Rzhev Salient, 1942–43''. 2022. Osprey Publishing.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttar, Prit
British military historians
British historians
20th-century British medical doctors
21st-century British medical doctors
Alumni of the University of Oxford
Alumni of the University of London
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Historians of World War II