Stalingrad - Anthony Beevor > Reviews (15)

With a narrative that unfolds like a novel, this acclaimed book gives a comprehensive account of the events that lead to this brutal and epic episode of WW2. Author Beevor also provides a harrowing account of life in the city during the siege and the terrible suffering of the combatants and civillians.

Stalingrad was perhaps the most important turning point of the second World War. Hitler's mad obsession with capturing the city named after his Soviet rival eventually cost the Germans the 250,000 men of the Sixth Army. Their remaining forces never recovered their balance and were soon in a rapid retreat all along the Eastern front.

The first section of 'Stalingrad' deals with launch of the invasion of the Soviet Union. Beevor suggests that Stalin was so intimidated by Hitler and the prospect of the world's most modern army being turned on him that he simply failed to grasp the reality of the situation for a while. As three million German soldiers move to assembly areas on Germany's eastern frontier Stalin dismisses all the talk of invasion as a plot by Winston Churchill to get Russia into the war on Britain's side. Beevor reminds us that Stalin, always paranoid that the military could turn on him, had murdered many of his generals and officers several years before. Lacking experienced officers and cowed by the Communist system, the Red Army is in no state to repulse the elite German formations. Early success in the campaign convinces Hitler that the Soviet Union cannot hold out for very long.

The book is as much about the clash between Stalin and Hitler as the battle itself. Hitler ruthlessly dismisses generals and takes all military decisions himself. Beevor stresses very strongly that Hitler's inability to leave military decisions to his generals paved the way for the disasters that would fall on him. The SS follow the German armies through the campaign, destroying villages and shooting communists and Red Army officers. Stalin enforces discipline within his armies and population with special 'NKVD' squads. This ruthless organisation is used to keep reluctant soldiers and workers in the city during the height of the battle - a bullet the main instrument of persuasion. The psychological study of the two men leads Beevor to highlight the most salient difference that developed between them as the war unfolded, and one that played a crucial role in the eventual outcome; Stalin learnt to listen to and trust his generals, Hitler did not.

Beevor backs up his point by detailing how Stalin sought to restore the status of the Red Army and re-introduced medals and old military traditions. 'Stalingrad' suggests that Stalin was a shrewd pragamatist when his back was agaisnt the wall. Reading the book you get the feeling that these two tyrants would have, if neccesary, gladly sacrificed everyone in their own respective countries just to get one over on the other. Beevor shows how these two men and political systems could both be completely ruthless and the struggle between them is never less than gripping and often terrifying.

There is a huge amount of technical military detail in the book. Beevor details the move of each formation and through the book you build up a picture of what actually happened and why. The inclusion of much military information can be a bit dry but he makes it relatively easy to get a broad picture and some maps are included. This is not though a book for those who find military history a bit boring.

Reading the book I did pick up many facts and tidbits that I wasn't aware of previously. I knew that the Soviets launched a huge counter-attack to encircle the city and the German Sixth Army but I wasn't aware that Stalin and Zhukov had decided some time before to leave just enough forces in the city to hold the Germans while this counter-stroke was being prepared in secret. Reading this you can't help wondering how many of the Red Army officers and troops fighting in the ruins of the city actually knew this. Beevor's access to post-Soviet documents offers many interesting new insights. Although I knew the Soviet counter-attack at Stalingrad destroyed the Roumanian 'satellite' armies fighting with the Germans in Russia I'd never really read much about it. Beevor takes time to dwell on the Roumanians and how they felt about the Germans and the war. So I felt I learnt new things from 'Stalingrad' throughout.

The accounts of life in Stalingrad during the campaign are vivid and haunting. Red Army troops are boated in over the Volga river. This gauntlet runs German shells and NKVD troops eager for any sign of potential deserters. The city is often on fire from Luftwaffe attacks and soon German and Soviet troops are fighting desperate hand to hand battles in destroyed tractor factories - literally fighting over metres of land;

'The dust covered panzers smashed right into the huge sheds of the tractor plant, like prehistoric monsters, spraying machine-gun fire all around, and shards of glass from the shattered skylights under their tracks.'

At the height of this chaos Beevor drops in a pompous speech by Hitler in Germany boasting about how they've virtually captured Stalingrad and are just tidying up. Personal letters from the soldiers are used to emphasise the terrifying and awful ordeal they are being subjected to. His total indifference to the suffering being endured by his armies is painted as an inability to face reality. Hitler flies into a rage when confronted with figures that suggest the Soviet Union is now out-producing Germany in the production of tanks. Even the previously unbeatable and disciplined German troops, without even proper winter clothing, now recognise the absurdity, hopelessness and reality of the war they've been sent to fight. "I often ask myself," a German officer writes in a letter. "What all this suffering is for. Has mankind gone crazy?"

The German Sixth Army, sent to conquer Stalingrad, are eventually encircled by the Red Army and ordered to hold their positions by Hitler. The Luftwaffe can't fly in enough food and a desperate period of suffering in sub-zero temperatures is endured.

Beevor describes these nightmarish scenes in painful detail.

I read Stalingrad in just under a week. It's a huge book but once you get into it the the incredible story will grip you. It's a fascinating and epic story of hubris, suffering, madness, and retribution. I also liked the way it switched between each side throughout the book so the reader could build up a picture of why each event occurred and what the motivation behind each decision was.

If you are interested in history books 'Stalingrad' is an essential purchase.