Stalingrad, 1942-1943 The Infernal Cauldron

The German invasion of Russia was Hitler's biggest gamble in his quest for 'Lebensraum' in the East - and it was at Stalingrad that his gamble failed. The book begins with a study of the background to the battle, and a description of events on the Eastern Front before the German forces reached Stalingrad. The strategic importance of the city is considered, and the factors that caused it to become such a decisive battle. The rubble-strewn city gave rise to a bitter hand-to-hand struggle between both sides, and landmarks like the Mamaev Kurgan hill could change hands seventeen times a day. STALINGRAD moves on to discuss the Soviet forces' preparation for a counter-strike against the weak flanks of the German forces, and how the Sixth Army was quickly surrounded, and then squeezed into a smaller and smaller space. Accounts from soldiers on both sides, reveal the privations of the soldiers in the hellish inferno that the city had become. When Von Paulus refused to disobey Hitler's orders, the fate of the Sixth Army was sealed. The final chapter discusses the full implications of the battle for the Germans and Russians, and assesses the battle's impact on the war as a whole. STALINGRAD is a comprehensive account of the battle that bled the German army dry, and turned the war in the East decisively against the Germans.