Stalingrad The Fateful Siege by Antony Beevor

[Stagger]

It's not exactly a reference book, so I figured I'd post it here in General Talk. It's a great book covering every aspect of the battle of Stalingrad. Don't let the title mislead you, the book covers near all of Operation Barbarossa in addition to Stalingrad. It shows it from both the Russian and German perspective, and it has some great full page black and white photos. There is also a chapter on the sword of Stalingrad. It's Stalingrad The Fateful Siege by Antony Beevor. Paperback, over 400 pages.

[CZ]

Stagger,

this is really an excellent book, brilliantly written and offers - I think - the best easy to read overview about "Uranus" at the market now. But it is - like many books of writers from the west - a little bit anti-SU biased and as a result of that a little bit too pro-Nazi-Germany oriented, for my personal taste.

Best regards

Christian Zulus

[McLenin]

I think Beevor's Stalingrad book is a good one but have you read his latest book about Berlin? I found it rather tedious, with too much dwelling on Red Army atrocities without a reference as to *why* some RA soldiers acted that way (such as 25% of the popultaion of Byelorussia exterminated by Nazis in 2 years of occupation). It didn't really give an impression of how difficult and brutal the Berlin operation was to both sides (in my opinion, some may disagree). You are much better off with Cornelius Ryan's Berlin book "The Last Battle". Chuikov's "End of the Third Reich" also covers the Berlin opperation and is pretty good for a translation (as is his Stalingrad book).

However, for a great read concerning all aspects of the Great Patriotic War try Alexander Werth's book "Russia at War." It is huge (1000+ pages) and it is brilliant. He also wrote "The Year of Stalingrad" which is also excellent but difficult to find.

For an amazing personal story from the GPW try "My Just War" by Gabriel Temkin.

Any other recommendations as to what to read (or what to avoid!)

McL

[CZ]

Mc Lenin,

the most candid book about our beloved RED ARMY, which was published in our days and was written from a western autor is:

Russia’s Heroes: 1941–45

Albert Axell

An epic account of struggle and survival on the
Eastern Front

With Hitler’s invasion of Russia on Sunday 22 June 1941 the Eastern front opened in World War II and politicians and generals around the world predicted the swift destruction of the Soviet armies. Nazi Germany threw men and equipment against Russia in unprecedented numbers: 190 divisions, over 4,000 tanks, almost 5,000 airplanes and more than 200 warships. A total of 5,000,000 men took part in the blitz attack along the entire Russian frontier.

Russia’s Heroes is the story of the ordinary and extraordinary men and women soldiers of Russia: the snipers who engaged in duels in No Man’s Land; Cossack cavalry regiments crossing the ice at night to raid ammunition dumps; pilots out of ammunition using their propellers to cut off the tailplanes of enemy aircraft . . . soldiers who fought in an insane, giant conflict – the largest theatre of war the world has ever seen in which 27 million died. Using interviews and primary evidence collected in Russia, much of it never previously published, Albert Axell tells the story of the Eastern Front as it unfolds, interweaving his accounts of individual exploits with the progress of the war itself. The book is both a history and a tale of courage and endurance, unbelievable heroism combined with an implacable refusal to admit defeat – whatever the odds.

For more than 60 years the politics of the Cold War made it unacceptable for the real story of the Eastern front to be told.

Albert Axell was born in New England in 1942. He studied history, philosophy and economics at the University of Wisconsin and later worked as a reporter in Alabama, Virginia and Ohio. His previous books include Stalin’s War, Russia’s Seven Natural Wonders, Soul of the Gobi and Japan’s Destiny.

Constable & Robinson
June 2001
1 84119 312 7
£18.99

Everybody at this forum will love this great book.

Chuikov's "End of the Third Reich" is maybe the most thrilling account about Berlin Operation and Chuikov was always in the "eye of the storm".

Alexander Werth's book "Russia at War" is a fantastic book, but has by far not 1,000 pages in the german edition - why?

Best regards

Christian Zulus

[McLenin]

Hi Christian and all

Yes, I have read it :)
and I agree it is a good one.

I can't answer your question as to the German edition of Russia at War, but it has definitely 1000+ pages in the English edition. If the German edition removed all the references to Nazis then it would be much shorter :D

I am reading "On the Road to Stalingrad - Memoirs of a woman machine gunner" by Zoya Medvedeva at the moment. It is good but loses a little in translation I think. Anyone else read any other personal memoirs?

McL

[CZ]

McLenin,

get the 2 (super translated!!!) books from Dmitry Loza, HSU for capture of Vienna, colonel Sherman-tank-commander:

Commanding the Red Army's Sherman Tanks (1996)

Fighting for the Soviet Motherland (1998)

University of Nebraska Press

Lincoln & London

I found a new one:

Attack of the Airacobras: Soviet Aces, American P-39S, and the Air War Against Germany (Modern War Studies)
by Dmitriy Loza, Von Hardesty (Introduction), Frank Borman

During its titanic military struggle with Germany, the Soviet Union received a major boost with the arrival and deployment of nearly 5,000 Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter planes--courtesy of America's Lend-Lease program. The impact was dramatic, as the Soviets quickly adapted the planes into a devastatingly lethal force. Dmitriy Loza's account, admirably translated and edited by James Gebhardt, vividly re-creates the battle campaigns of this odd coupling of capitalist planes and Marxist pilots and shines a bright light on a little known part of the air war on the Eastern Front.
Built for short range and relatively low altitudes, the P-39 was equipped with a powerful engine and weapons that enabled it to outduel and eventually dominate the Luftwaffe from the Caucusus foothills to Berlin.

Focusing on the combat operations and daily life of one unit--the 9th Guards Fighter Division--Loza refutes the myth that the P-39 was used mainly as a "tank buster" or "flying artillery." Instead, its primary mission was to protect Red Army operations from aerial attacks by the enemy.

Center stage in Loza's story are the P-39 pilots and ground crews themselves, including remarkable Captain Aleksandr Pokryshkin and Major Gregoriy Rechkalov, two of the Soviets' top four aces. In addition, Loza details the organization and operations of the unit's noncombat personnel--who refueled and maintained the aircraft, cleaned and reloaded the guns, packed the parachutes, treated the wounded, guarded the airfields, and commanded the squadrons and regiments.

Based on interviews with Soviet veterans and extensive access to squadron histories and logbooks, Loza provides a rare and insightful look at what it was like to live and fight in this victorious air unit.

This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.

From the Back Cover
"An extraordinarily accurate and vivid account-superbly translated by James Gebhardt-of the combat experiences and everyday lives of Red Army fighter pilots who flew American planes during the Great Patriotic War. It deserves a wide readership."--David M. Glantz, coauthor of The Battle of Kursk

"Loza's fascinating and insightful book shows that the seemingly obsolete P-39 aircraft did much more than 'tank busting' on the Eastern Front. Providing a rare insider's look at Russian air operations.

Best regards

Christian

[Ed Maier]

I agree with Christian, the three books by Loza are great. The book on the Airacobras was Loza's last book as he died last year. He was working on a fourth book, and I think someone is trying to finish it for him.

Other interesting books on Soviet soldiers are:

1) "Wings, Women & War: Soviet Airwomen in World War II Combat" by Reina Pennington. University of Kansas Press, 2001.

This book is much better then the ealier books on Soviet women pilots and is pretty good. It deals with recruitment, training, battle, and demobilization as well as for of the social issues involved with the co-ed military.

2) "Blood on the Shores: Soviet Naval Commandos in World War II" by Viktor Leonov. Naval Institute Press, 1993.

Leonov is a double Hero of the Soviet Union, and this is a translation of his Russian language memiors.

3) "Commandos From the Sea: Soviet Naval Spetsnaz in World War II" by Yuriy Fedorovich Strekhnin. Naval Institute Press, 1996.

Another translated memior. I do not remeber much about it as I read it several years ago, but I believe it was interesting.

4) "Man is Wolf to Man: Surviving the Gulag" by Janusz Barduch and Kathleen Gleeson. University of California Press, 1998.

This book is excellent. Its well written and shows a different side to soldiering in W.W.II. Bardack was a Polish Jew who escaped into the USSR in 1941 to join the Red Army and fight the Germans. He is quickly court-martialed, convicted and sentenced to death only to be sent to the Gulags in Siberia. It not the "glorious" side of the Red Army, but an interesting memior none the less.

I hope that you enjoy the books,
Ed