Stalingrad - The
Fateful Siege : 1942-1943 (translated into 26 other languages)
Sir Antony Beevor Viking Press, Penguin Books 1998
Education: Winchester
College, Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
Stalingrad is a narrative history written by
Antony Beevor of the battle fought
in and around the city of Stalingrad during World War II, as well as the events
leading up to it. It was first published by Viking Press in 1998. He is the author of about
The book won the first Samuel Johnson Prize,
the Wolfson History Prize, the Hawthornden Prize for Literature and the Baillie
Gifford Prize (£30,000).
The book starts with Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941,
and the subsequent drive into the Soviet Union. Its main focus is the Battle of
Stalingrad, in particular the period from the initial German attack to
Operation Uranus and the Soviet victory. It details the subsequent battles and
war crimes committed by both sides. The book ends with the defeat and surrender
of the Germans in February 1943 and the beginning of the Soviet advance on
Germany.
Antony Beevor conveys the reality within a
conventional narrative - but he concentrates not on strategy, but more on the experience
of soldiers on both sides. Number of
maps and photographs could be higher - but most military books tend to be lower
than I would like.
His account is enriched by new primary
sources including reports on desertions and executions from the archives of
the Russian ministry of defence, captured German documents, interrogation
of prisoners, private diaries and letters from soldiers on both sides, medical
reports and interviews with key witnesses and participants.
I read the book about the same time I was
playing the strategic game Stalingrad on a Macintosh computer. The main full battle game required 2 hours of
play per night over 60 days to complete.
Supply lines and unit exhaustion levels were critical factors to account
for in the game playing.
The game clearly presented the extended
"meat grinder" battle situation - a battle of attrition and
exhaustion in an arctic weather scenario.
The book also presents this impression.
As a final endorsement - I bought a second
copy of the book to replace a loaned copy which never came back.
Books
by Sir Antony Beevor
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Violent Brink
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1975
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First published by John
Murray, London
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The Faustian Pact
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1983
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Jonathan Cape, London
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For Reasons of State
|
1980
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Jonathan Cape, London
|
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The Spanish Civil War
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1982
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First published Orbis, London
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The Enchantment of Christina
von Retzen
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1989
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Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London
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Inside the British Army
|
1990
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Chatto and Windus, London
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Crete: The Battle and the Resistance
|
1991
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John Murray, London
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Paris After the Liberation,
1944–1949
|
1994
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1998
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Viking Press,
London, later by Penguin, London
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2002
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Penguin, London
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The Mystery of Olga Chekhova
|
2004
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The Battle for Spain: The
Spanish Civil War 1936–39
|
2006
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D-Day: The Battle for
Normandy
|
2009
|
Penguin Books, London
|
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2012
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W&N
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Ardennes 1944: Hitler's Last
Gamble
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2015
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Viking
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