|
Readers see the murderous brutalities of the Nazi invaders, the defenders' scorched-earth retreat, partisan activities, and the also-disgusting brutalities of Stalin and his secret police/NKVD apparatus. Then, as the weather turns colder that fall, readers feel the bitter winds, frostbite, ration shortages, frozen corpses, and increasing German desperation once the Red Army surrounded the attackers and Hitler refused requests to retreat. Historian Anthony Beevor recreates this horrid life-and-death struggle in gripping, readable detail. The author shows how the German Sixth and Fourth Panzer Armies entered Stalingrad sensing easy victory, but soon found tenacious defenders fighting desperately from the city's ruins. He also is one of the few historians who writes with easy-reading prose. As many know, the German Wehrmacht lost much advantage in its retreat from Moscow in December 1941, but still held the initiative the following summer. We also get a bird's-eye view of the private war councils of Paulus, Von Manstein, Chuikov, Zhukov, and other top commanders.
In short, an ugly and brutal battle in a brutal, ugly war. The author begins by briefly examining the German invasion of Soviet Russia (Barbarossa) in June, 1941. Finally, nearly 100,000 starving Germans surrendered to the Red Army at the end of January (few would survive captivity). At this point Hitler made the fatal decision to split his southern armies between Stalingrad and the Caucauses, and Stalingrad was soon to become a test of wills between the two dictators. Readers are made to feel as if we are there amongst the bombed-out factories only yards from the Volga River, enduring air raids, shells, snipers, tanks, and other daily horrors. Anthony Beevor is a British historian who makes excellent use of official documents, first-person interviews, letters and diary entries from the soldiers (many of whom didn't survive). The result is a gripping look at a brutal battle that was one of the major turning points of the war.
Indeed, because much of it is unpleasant. According to Beevor, Manstein more than any other both had the knowledge of what was happening inside the Kessel and - perhaps - the ability to lead an anti-Nazi coup within the Wehrmacht. He might have broken out had he disobeyed orders, but by mid-December 1942 it was too late. Emotionally and morally broken by the time of his capture, Paulus seems at once both dutiful and weak. He also includes enough traditional war history material about the large-scale movement of armies and units to make the broader strategic context clear. Beevor's narrative methodology alternates between three threads: the Sixth Army at Stalingrad itself, the Soviet side, and the German military and political leadership on the Eastern front and in Germany proper.
Among these three narratives, the primary focus is on German soldiers, of all ranks, within the Sixth Army. Beevor's bias is not anti-Russian, as he makes clear that the real culpability for this massive panorama of human suffering lies with Hitler, Goebbels and the German senior military staff. Anthony Beevor's "Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege" is one of those books you just have read, even as much of it is unpleasant. Nor do any German officers appear to have tried to their rank to get out, despite there being almost daily airlifts almost until the end. Like many German officers who were not Nazi Party members, Manstein disliked Hitler, talked him down among close colleagues and even trained his dog to do the Nazi salute as a joke. But he didn't.Beevor portrays Paulus himself as more of a tragic figure. What can be said in Paulus' favor is that he made no attempt to save himself.Although Beevor makes use of Russian sources, the source material is definitely German-dominated here.
Blaming Hitler and the Nazis is easy; the more difficult question is who among the German general staff was in a position to turn against Hitler before it was too late. What this book does is bring to you the reality of war as much as any book can. He seems almost a pathetic person to be leading an armed force in one of history's most significant events.The valor of ordinary German soldiers shines through, and is impossible to ignore despite the heinous nature of their country's political leadership. But that is not what makes this book what it is. Beevor points to General Erich von Manstein, the Eastern front commander to whom the much-maligned General Friedrich von Paulus, head of the doomed Sixth Army, reported. Beevor gives many examples of this, noting, for instance, that of the 600 doctors assigned to the Sixth Army, none capable of working flew out. He does not ignore the Russian side, but my estimation - without doing a precise page count - is that a bit more than half the material is focused on the Sixth Army and other German units directly involved, about a third focuses on the Red Army and the Soviet government, with the remainder taken up in discussion of the German senior staff and events back in Germany.
If you want to read the absolute best history of the battle for Stalingrad read Roger Craig'sEnemy at the gates, by far a much much better read.
Although I found the details about the seige and the war to be very thorough and interesting, I could not connect to any of the characters in the war. Maybe I'm used to the intimacy of books like Gods and Generals, but I felt Beevor did not make me feel the human suffering on a personal level, but only on a general broad level. There were a lot of quotes from individual soldiers, politicians, and officers, but no consistency throughout to connect me to any single person, especially the foot soldier that experienced the Hell of Stalingrad. Strong on depicting the Hell, but not making it intimate for the reader to experience it through the eyes of those who were there.
Can you imagine a leader in the 21st century uttering such words. Most combat veterans will tell you that artillery barrages are among the most terrifying actions they ever survived in War. I blew up maps on a copier and had them near so I could see the location of units. The term "gut-wrenching" captures the essence of being under such a seige of exploding metal and fire.Beevor brings intellectual force, historical accuracy and riveting realism to almost endless "gut-wrenching" actions in the Stalingrad of 1942/42. "Not one step backward" Stalin decreed. Wish I could have viewed real time Google Earth from 1942/43.No matter, Stalingrad ranks next to Bernard Fall's "Hell in a Very Small Place" to me. Both books will sear the serious reader.
|
