Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943
by Antony Beevor
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Book Summary Information
Author: Antony BeevorEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-05-01
ISBN: 0140284583
Number of pages: 560
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943
Book Review: The War of the Century...
Summary: 5 Stars
... at least the last one. The German-Russian war, the largest component of what was known as the Second World War, dwarfed all other theaters in the war, and all other wars in that century, in terms of total casualties, as well as the ferocity of the fighting. Beevor estimated the Soviet dead, military and civilian, from all causes, at 27 million. The German figure is roughly half that, and such is the sad state of war statistics, that he could be off by a couple million, one way or the other. The "plus or minus" number of dead outnumbered virtually all other wars in the century, save for the madness that was version one of World War. The author commences his story on the summer's solstice of 1941, with many Berliners taking a train to a park in Potsdam, named the San Souci, and their lives would be anything but, over the next few years.
In the first hundred pages or so Beevor deftly summarizes the war from the invasion of Russia by the Germans to the epic battle. As in so many wars, the Germans expected quick victory, which was justified to some extent by their lightening conquests of Poland, the Low Countries, and France. It was further aided by the abysmal initial defenses of the Russians, due primarily to Stalin's belief that the Germans really would not attack. The German invasion commenced a month later than planned, a crucial flaw. Within a few short months General Heinz Guderian famously stood on a hill, able to see the spirals of the Kremlin, before the weather, and Soviet troops from Asia pushed him back. Meanwhile, Army Group South was making a dash to the Caucasus, with the prize being the oil fields around Baku, essential for the German war effort. And out of the southern dash arose, rather incidentally, the titanic struggle for the city that bore the name of the USSR's leader.
The following three fourths of the book is the battle itself. I liked Beevor's style, at several different levels. The pace is straightforward, and measured at the same time. He addresses the mindset of the nations two leader's well, and the political forces on each, and the ones generated by their personalities. He more than adequately describes the personalities of the top military leaders on both sides; he also tells anecdotes of the lives of the "Ivan" and "Hans" foot soldiers, drawn primarily from their letters and diaries. It IS military history, and so the armaments and particular units involved are described as well, and are accompanied by some excellent maps and pictures. Ironically, the Volga River, upon which Stalingrad sat, was the final eastern objective of the German troops. A massive Russian counterattack, of a 1.2 million troops, lead by General Zhuikov, quickly surrounded the German 6th Army, lead by Paulus, and by Feb. 02, 1943, he had surrendered. Beevor traces the lives of those who were defeated; largely they went quickly to their graves, but a small percentage, yet sizable number lingered in POW and forced labor camps for years after the war. Beevor's "new" contribution to the numerous books on this battle, unearthed from the Soviet archives, is the number, and sad fate, of the Russians who fought on the side of the Germans.
It is an excellent historical account, and should be the classic account of the battle for the general reader. As with all history, there are those parallels with the present. Hitler went to war based on false pretenses, claiming the Soviets had massed troops on the border. There was the ugly racism that Hitler promoted, that the Slavs were not quite human, and strong measures were required to protect "civilization," "our European values." When Paulus surrendered, instead of committing suicide, Hitler was furious. And there was the ultimate "spin-doctor," Gobbels, trying to turn defeat into victory.
I read all the 1, and 2-star reviews, and considered their criticisms of limited merit. Yes, Beevor depicted the German high command in far greater detail than the Soviet one, and it is unclear why, given the opening of records after the collapse of the Soviet Union. And yes, it is only a "primer," but a wonderful one, and isn't that all that the "general reader" needs, which is the vast majority of us.
Due to the justified discrediting of Stalin's rule, the city's name has reverted to Volgograd. Yet there is still a subway stop in Paris named "Stalingrad," commemorating the turning point of the European war. For those wanting more information, there is an excellent movie, entitled "The War of the Century," which interviews the survivors of this conflict, on both side, now in their `70's and `80's.
Beevor's account is an essential read to balance a Western reader's knowledge about WW II, with events that occurred far from the Pacific war or the Western front.
Summary of Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943
Historians and reviewers worldwide have hailed Antony Beevor's magisterial Stalingrad as the definitive account of World War II's most harrowing battle. In August 1942, Hitler's huge Sixth Army reached the city that bore Stalin's name. In the five month siege that followed, the Russians fought to hold Stalingrad at any cost, then caught their Nazi enemy in an astonishing reversal. As never before, Stalingrad conveys the experience of soldiers on both sides as they fought in inhuman conditions, and of civilians trapped on an urban battlefield. Antony Beevor has interviewed survivors and discovered completely new material in a wide range of German and Soviet archives, including reports of prisoner interrogations, desertions, and executions. The battle of Stalingrad was the psychological turning point of World War II; as Beevor makes clear, it also changed the face of modern warfare. As a story of cruelty, courage, and human suffering, Stalingrad is unprecedented and unforgettable.
Hitler made two fundamental and crippling mistakes during the Second World War: The first was his whimsical belief that the United Kingdom would eventually become his ally, which delayed his decision to launch a major invasion of Britain, whose army was unprepared for the force of blitzkrieg warfare. The second was the ill-conceived Operation Barbarossa--an invasion of Russia that was supposed to take the German army to the gates of Moscow. Antony Beevor's thoughtfully researched compendium recalls this epic struggle for Stalingrad. No one, least of all the Germans, could foretell the deep well of Soviet resolve that would become the foundation of the Red Army; Russia, the Germans believed, would fall as swiftly as France and Poland. The ill-prepared Nazi forces were trapped in a bloody war of attrition against the Russian behemoth, which held them in the pit of Stalingrad for nearly two years. Beevor points out that the Russians were by no means ready for the war either, making their stand even more remarkable; Soviet intelligence spent as much time spying on its own forces--in fear of desertion, treachery, and incompetence--as they did on the Nazis. Due attention is also given to the points of view of the soldiers and generals of both forces, from the sickening battles to life in the gulags.
Many believe Stalingrad to be the turning point of the war. The Nazi war machine proved to be fallible as it spread itself too thin for a cause that was born more from arrogance than practicality. The Germans never recovered, and its weakened defenses were no match for the Allied invasion of 1944. We know little of what took place in Stalingrad or its overall significance, leading Beevor to humbly admit that "[t]he Battle of Stalingrad remains such an ideologically charged and symbolically important subject that the last word will not be heard for many years." This is true. But this gripping account should become the standard work against which all others should measure themselves. --Jeremy Storey
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