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Books : History : United States : 20th Century : World War II : Stalingrad
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Originally published in Germany in 1955, and in England and the United States in 1958, this classic memoir of WWII by a man who was an acknowledged military genius and probably Germany's top WWII general, is now made available again. Field Marshal Erich von Manstein described his book as a personal narrative of a soldier, discussing only those matters that had direct bearing on events in the military field. The essential thing, as he wrote, is to "know how the main personalities thought and reacted to events." This is what he tells us in this book.His account is detailed, yet dispassionate and objective. "Nothing is certain in war, when all is said and done," But in Manstein's record, at least, we can see clearly what forces were in action. In retrospect, perhaps his book takes on an even greater significance.
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When the Germans invaded Russia in 1941, Vasily Grossman became a special correspondent for the Red Star, the Soviet Army's newspaper, and reported from the frontlines of the war. A Writer at War depicts in vivid detail the crushing conditions on the Eastern Front, and the lives and deaths of soldiers and civilians alike. Witnessing some of the most savage fighting of the war, Grossman saw firsthand the repeated early defeats of the Red Army, the brutal street fighting in Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk (the largest tank engagement in history), the defense of Moscow, the battles in Ukraine, the atrocities at Treblinka, and much more.
Antony Beevor and Luba Vinogradova have taken Grossman's raw notebooks, and fashioned them into a gripping narrative providing one of the most even-handed descriptions --at once unflinching and sensitive -- we have ever had of what Grossman called “the ruthless truth of war.”
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In the wake of the Red Army's signal victory at Stalingrad, which began when its surprise counteroffensive encircled German Sixth Army in Stalingrad region in mid-November 1942 and ended when its forces liquidated beleaguered Sixth Army in early February 1943, the Soviet High Command (Stavka) expanded its counteroffensive into a full-fledged winter offensive which nearly collapsed German defenses in southern Russia. Exploiting newly released Russian archival materials, After Stalingrad reveals the unbounded ambitions that shaped the Stavka's winter offensive and the full scope and scale of the Red Army's many offensive operations. For example, it reflects on recently rediscovered Operation Mars, Marshal Zhukov's companion-piece to the more famous Operation Uranus at Stalingrad. It then reexamines the Red Army's dramatic offensive into the Donbas and Khar'kov region during February, clearly demonstrating that this offensive was indeed conducted by three rather than two Red Army fronts. Likewise, it describes how the Stavka expanded the scale of its offensive in mid-February 1943 by ordering major strategic efforts, hitherto ignored, by multiple Red Army fronts along the Western (Orel-Smolensk) axis and, in Zhukov's forgotten operation Polar Star, along the Northwestern (Demiansk-Leningrad) axis as well. Finally, by restoring the full scope of these failed or partially failed Red Army offensives to history, this volume also reassesses the impact of Manstein's dramatic counterstrokes in the Donbas and Khar'kov regions, concluding that their impact was equivalent to that of a full-fledged strategic counteroffensive. This new study includes over 100 operational maps to highlight key aspects of the offensives.
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Appearing for the first time in English, these are original accounts by German soldiers who fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. Included are stories from a panzer crewman who survived the fighting at Stalingrad as well as a paratrooper making a last stand before Berlin. Many of the photos have never been published before.
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This new history of Stalingrad offers a radical reinterpretation of the most crucial battle in World War II. Focusing on the first half of this epic clash, it reveals new information on how nearly the Germans succeeded, and the incredible courage of the Soviet fighters who held on.
Red Army chief of staff Vasilevsky called August 23, 1942, when the Germans reached the Volga, "an unforgettably tragic day." The Russians had never been able to stop a good-weather German offensive, and it appeared that Stalin's namesake city would be lost. Indeed, Soviet armies on all sides were falling back before Hitler's summer offensive, and only one, the 62nd Army, was assigned to hold out in the city to defy the Wehrmacht. Who could have guessed that this sole force, surrounded on three sides, the river at its back, hiding out in ruins, would create such a bleeding sore that the Wehrmacht was never to recover?
Combining eyewitness testimony of Red Army fighters with fresh archive material, this book gives dramatic insight into the thinking of Soviet commanders and the desperate mood of ordinary soldiers. Col-General Anatoly Mereshko, a staff officer to 62nd Army commander Chuikov, worked closely with the author and provided testimony that is entirely new. His accounts of the battle are supported by other key veterans and recently released war diaries and combat journals.
For three months in Fall 1942 the Germans held a preponderance of force in Stalingrad as they tried to root out the diehards of 62nd Army. The latter force was nearly annihilated on several occasions, as guns from across the river failed to stem the German attacks and the Luftwaffe plunged into the chaos, bombing at will. The Russians could only respond by going underground, in caves near the river and in the labrynthine ruins of the city itself. Yet, as the rest of the Motherland held its breath, the small, surrounded force-motivated by inspirational leadership as well as a grave sense of the battle's vital importance-continued to deny the Nazis a victory.
As we now know, Stalin was not idle while the courageous remnants of 62nd Army continued to defend his city. On November 19 and 21, new Soviet armies in overwhelming strength counterattacked across the Volga, turning the tables on the Germans to begin one of the most pitiful sagas in Western history.
The more famous siege of the Germans, concluding on February 2, 1943, has dominated the literature of Stalingrad. This book reminds us that the greater time-line of the battle consisted of the Russians besieged, and just barely holding on.
REVIEWS
"Of all the books written about Stalingrad, there have not been many like this one. . . . Michael Jones probes the minds of men at the edge of the abyss, digging into the psychological factors that allowed them to withstand hopeless odds and untold horrors, and still emerge victorious."-STONE and STONE
"...outstanding new book...important for two reasons: it provides a previously too-often ignored Soviet point of view of t he battle; and the compelling eyewitness testimonies of the Red Army Veterans who fought it cuts through much of the Communist era mythmaking about how the battle actually unfolded...compelling reading..."Armchair General
"...a compelling Military history and analysis that lives up to its title...one of a kind testimony grounded in the words of the people who witnessed history itself."The Wisconsin Book Watch 12/2007
"Although the epic quality of the battle has attracted many historians..., Jones' contribution is special for two reasons. First, he seems to have been able to dig deeper into the Soviet archives than previous authors, and he got some extraordinary testimony from survivors. Second, he addresses the core question of just what it was that motivated these men to keep on fighting, given the low probability of survival and the terrible conditions. The order to hold every position until death was well known, but Jones demolishes the notion that the soldiers fought solely under duress. ...compelling and moving."Foreign Affairs, March/ April 2008
"... compelling, draws us into a vivid, illuminating account of how much of a "near run thing" the legendary Red Army victory was..."World War II Magazine, 04/2008
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Two madmen, Hitler and Stalin, engaged in a death struggle that would determine the course of history at staggering cost of human life. Craig has written the definitive book on one of the most terrible battles ever fought. With 24 pages of photos.
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By the time Hitler declared war on the Soviet Union in 1941, he knew that his military machine was running out of fuel. In response, he launched Operation Blau, a campaign designed to protect Nazi oilfields in Rumania while securing new ones in the Caucasus. All that stood in the way was Stalingrad.Most accounts of the Battle of Stalingrad have focused on the dismal fate of the German Army. Joel Hayward now chronicles Luftwaffe operations during that campaign, focusing on Hitler's use of the air force as a tactical rather than strategic weapon in close support of ground forces. He vividly details the Luftwaffe's key role as "flying artillery," showing that the army relied on Luftwaffe support to a far greater degree than has been previously revealed and that its successes in the East occurred largely because of the effectiveness of that support.
Hayward analyzes this major German offensive from the standpoint of cooperation between ground and air forces to attain mutually agreed upon objectives. He draws on diaries of both key commanders and regular airmen to recreate crucial battles and convey the drama of Hitler's frustrations and reckless leadership. Ultimately, Hayward shows, the poorly conceived strategies of Hitler, Goering, and others in Berlin doomed the efforts of air commander Wolfram von Richthofen, a courageous and resolute leader attempting to come to grips with an increasingly impossible situation.
Stopped at Stalingrad is a dynamic case study in combined arms warfare that fills in many of the gaps left by other studies of the eastern war. By reconsidering the campaign in the light of a wider body of documentary sources and analyzing many previously ignored events, Hayward provides military historians and general readers a much deeper and more complete understanding of the Battle of Stalingrad and its impact on World War II.
This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.
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In THE ROAD TO STALINGRAD Professor Erickson takes us in detail from the inept command structures and strategic delusions of the pre-invasion Soviet Union, through the humiliations as her armies fell back on all fronts before the Barbarossa onslaught, until the tide turned at last at Stalingrad. Unsparingly he assesses the generals and political leaders, and analyses the confusions and wranglings within both Allied and Axis commands. The climax, the grinding battle for Stalingrad, leaves the Red Army poised for its majestic counter-offensive, Operation 'Uranus', discovering it had 'caught a tiger by the tail'.
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A Fascinating Perspective on World War II’s Largest and Most Bitterly Fought Battle*Includes never-before-published material from rare German and Russian KGB sources *Authored by the critically acclaimed author of Voices from D-Day *Features rare photographs from both sides of the front
No previous work about Stalingrad places such emphasis on the experience of ordinary fighters and civilians. This volume of human history and military strategy includes fresh translations from original sources describing this pivotal event of World War II as told by the German and Soviet soldiers who fought the battle, Russian civilians who watched the enemy at the gates as well as Western diplomat and newspaper correspondent onlookers.
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Following the harsh winter of 1941/42, the Germans renewed their offensive operations across the entire Eastern Front once the spring thaw had set in. As in 1941, they made significant advances, particularly on the southern half of the front, penetrating to the River Volga and the city of Stalingrad. The battle for Stalingrad was undoubtedly one of the turning points in the war. Before the German defeat there and at the battle of El Alamein, they had never been beaten. After these defeats, the Germans never again achieved a significant victory. While the land battle for Stalingrad is well known, the air battle fought by the Luftwaffe and the Soviet air force is less well documented but was very important in determining the ultimate fate of the city and the opposing combatants.
This book covers the significant air battles which took place over Stalingrad between August and November 1942 and the subsequent airlift operation in the winter of 1942/43 intended to relieve the German Sixth Army, which was by then trapped in Stalingrad. It also covers the air war during the Russian counter-offensive in early 1943 where the Luftwaffe played a major role in saving the whole German Eastern Front (and thus the whole German war effort) from collapsing. This is an aspect of the war in the East that has previously not been covered in such depth. The strength of the author's writing lies in its detail and his ability to tell the story from the viewpoint of both sides.
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Mansur Abdulin fought in the front ranks of the Soviet infantry against the German invaders at Stalingrad, Kursk and on the banks of the Dnieper. This is his extraordinary story.
His vivid inside view of a ruthless war on the Eastern Front gives a rare insight into the reality of the fighting and into the tactics and mentality of the Red Army's soldiers. In his own words, and with a remarkable clarity of recall, he describes what combat was like on the ground, face to face with a skilled, deadly and increasingly desperate enemy. The terrifying moments of action, the discomfort of existence at the front, the humorous moments, the absurdities and cruelties of army organization, and the sheer physical and psychological harshness of the campaign - all these aspects of a Soviet soldier's experience during the Great Patriotic War are brought dramatically to life in Mansur Abdulin's memoirs.
Of special interest is the insight he offers into ordinary operations and daily life in the lower ranks of the Soviet army. As he tells his story he reveals much about the thinking of the men, their attitude to the war and their loyalties. He also sheds light on the tense relationships between the disparate national groups that were thrown together to create a huge fighting force. But most memorable are his honest, horrifying descriptions of combat, of being bombed and shelled, of trench warfare, of enduring tank attacks and friendly fire, and of coping with the wounded and the dead. The Author Mansur Gizzatulovich Abdulin was born a Tatar in Anzhero-Sudzhensk, near Tomsk in central Siberia, in 1923. He worked as a miner before volunteering to fight for the Red Army in June 1942. After completing his course at the Tashkent infantry school, he fought on the Stalingrad front, during the encirclement of the German 6th Army, participated in the bitter, decisive battle at Kursk and harried the Germans as they retreated across the Steppes to the banks of the Dnieper river where he was seriously wounded. After the war he returned to his work as a miner and he now lives in retirement at Novotroitsk near Orenburg in the Urals.
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Stalingrad 1942
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Road to Destruction' offers a unique visual insight into the climactic Battle of Stalingrad during the autumn and winter of 1942-43. Pushing forward through the southern steppes aiming to capture the vital Caucasian oil fields, before being caught up in some of the most vicious street fighting known in military history, the German 6th Army was bled white and ultimately destroyed. The author has drawn on a wide selection of rare and mostly previously unpublished photographs accompanied by in-depth captions to provide a superb photographic history of this key turning point in the Second World War. The images reveal the unfolding story, through the hopeful beginnings and major successes at the beginning of operations, as German forces cut a rapid swathe towards the oil fields. By early autumn 1942, the Germans were seemingly on the brink of success as they reached the banks of the Volga and the vitally important city of Stalingrad. Yet the Red Army dug extremely deep, and relying on grim determination, courage and resourcefulness, fought bitterly. The German advance was slowed to a crawl, as incredibly bitter hand-to-hand fighting took place throughout the city. The situation for the German troops became worse and worse, winter set in, and with it major Soviet counter-attacks. By late November 1942 the situation was worsening for the Germans fighting at Stalingrad. Completely encircled, Soviet forces slowly closed in as the vicious winter took hold, and the Luftwaffe's air support operations became increasingly ineffective. The remnants of 6th Army surrendered in February, shadows of the troops that had advanced across the steppes the previous summer. In all, the horrendous fighting resulted in more than 1.5 million casualties on both sides. An important visual record of one of history's greatest and most bitterly fought battles.
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Strange sounds resembling the remote rumble of distant thunder were audible. Everybody understood: it was the echo of the battle for Stalingrad. . . . A heavy rain began falling.Stalingrad's outskirts provided Isaak Kobylyanskiy, a 19-year-old Jew from Ukraine, with his first exposure to combat and initiated his long odyssey in the Great Patriotic War against Germany. It would be more than three years before he was finally reunited with his family and his sweetheart, Vera, the schoolmate he had promised to marry.
Kobylyanskiy started the war as a 76-mm infantry support gun crew commander for the 300th Rifle Division (and its later incarnations) and celebrated V-E Day as a battery commander. His combat journey was a long process of exhausting marches punctuated by harrowing moments of intense combat. From the liberation of Sevastopol, through Lithuania's countryside, to the final storming of Königsberg's heavy fortifications, Kobylyanskiy's memoir sweeps across the great expanses of the Eastern Front. His narrative is packed with dramatic details and insights into the daily life of the Soviet army: the relentless marches to locate and engage the enemy, the prejudicial treatment of female soldiers, and the plight of Soviet civilians.
Kobylyanskiy also discusses the role of military political officers (and his own conflicted views on communism), clarifies the place of Jews in the Red Army and discusses how his reaction to anti-Semitic utterances added a sense of responsibility to his fighting, and frames his account with personal glimpses into the stifling repression of Stalinist society, including the brutal collectivization program and resulting famine in Ukraine. But he balances such memories with warm recollections of some of his comrades and especially with an affecting portrait of his courtship of Vera, and concludes with an emotional coda: their wedding ceremony in a war-ravaged but recovering Kiev.
By turns vivid, reflective, intense, and entertaining, Kobylyanskiy's narrative charts one warrior's epic journey and joins a select group of memoirs that deepen our understanding of what it was like for Russian soldiers on the Eastern Front.
This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.
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The German invasion of Russia was Hitler's biggest gamble in his quest for "Lebensraum" in the East--and it was at Stalingrad that his gamble failed. Stalingrad: The Infernal Cauldron is a detailed history of Hitler's great failure, and a comprehensive account of one of the most important battles of World War II. With full-color strategic maps, 170 black and white photographs, over half of which have never before been published, and detailed appendices that contain information on orders of battle, losses, and equipment, Stalingrad is an exhaustive account of the battle that bled the German army dry, and turned the war in the East decisively against the Germans.
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Operation Barbarossa—as this campaign is famously called—was arguably the greatest land campaign mankind has ever fought. Hitler named his assault after the 12th-century Frederick I Barbarossa, an emperor of the First Reich. Although he succeeded in capturing almost 40 percent of European Russia, Hitler was defeated there. Exploiting newly available Soviet archives, David M. Glantz challenges the time-honored explanation that poor weather, bad terrain, and Hitler’s faulty strategic judgement produced the German defeat. He reveals how and why the Red Army thwarted Hitler’s seemingly inexorable progress.
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This major study of the Soviet-German conflict in World War II has enjoyed an outstanding reputation among those interested in military history and in such areas as the development of Soviet command skills and the exigencies of total land war across a huge front. Save for the introduction of nuclear weapons, the Soviet victory over Germany was the most fateful development of World War II. Both wrought changes and raised problems that have constantly preoccupied the world in the more than twenty years since the war ended. The purpose of this volume is to investigate one aspect of the Soviet victory - how the war was won on the battlefield. The author sought, in following the march of the Soviet and German armies from Stalingrad to Berlin, to depict the war as it was and to describe the manner in which the Soviet Union emerged as the predominant military power in Europe. Earl F. Ziemke is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, where he received a Ph.D. degree in history. In World War II he served with the U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific theater. In 1951 he joined the staff of the Bureau of Applied Social Research, Columbia University, and in 1955 he moved to the Office of the Chief of Military History. Since 1967 he has been a member of the history faculty at the University of Georgia. He is the author of a number of books on military history.
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On October 4, 1942, Hitler and the Japanese War Lords were at the apex of their power. By January 1, 1943 the Axis was headed toward certain defeat. The Allies had reversed the tide in five decisive engagements: Guadalcanal, El Alamein, Operation Torch, Stalingrad and The Barents Sea. Thomas Carmichael's incisive study tells the story of those five battles and that ninety days. Detailed maps accompany the text.