The battle for Stalingrad has been studied and recalled in exhaustive detail ever since the Red Army trapped the German 6th Army in the ruined city in 1942. But most of these accounts finish at the end of the battle; with columns of tens of thousands of German soldiers disappearing into Soviet captivity. Their fate is rarely described. That is why Adelbert Holl's harrowing and vivid memoir of his seven-year ordeal as a prisoner in the Soviet camps is such an important record as well as an absorbing story. As he moves from camp to camp across the Soviet Union; an unsparing inside view of the prison system and its population of ex-soldiers emerges. He describes the daily life in the camps – the crowding; the dirt; the cold; the ever-present threat of disease; the forced marches; the indifference or cruelty of the guards – in authentic detail. The Soviets treated German prisoners as slave laborers; working them exhaustively; in often appalling conditions. The prisoners could only struggled to survive; to support each other; and hope against hope to return home.
#770429 in Books Osprey Publishing 2016-08-23 2016-08-23Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 236.98 x 4.45 x 7.25l; .43 #File Name: 147281065148 pages9781472810656
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Very good. Discusses every aspect of the BT tank series: armament; armor; engines; combat deployment.By Bayard B.Very good. Discusses every aspect of the BT tank series: suspension system; armament; armor; engines; design engineers; specialist variations; combat deployment. There are also plenty of black and white photos; a color cutaway showing the tank components and construction features; and several color renderings.One of the problems that was not discussed much is the stagnation that occurred in Soviet tank design from about 1931 when the BT series was introduced through 1940 when it was superseded by the T-34. Thus; for nine years the Soviet tank designers focused on making minor improvements to the BT series and didn't spend much effort on trying for a really significant improvement. Admittedly; there were reasons for this beyond their control: the purges of the late 1930s killed both Army officers who might have pushed for more radical or advanced concepts and also killed several of the weapons engineers who might have been able to develop something really better. Also; the Soviet tank industry was poorly developed at the time and there were many manufacturing issues with the early BT models. This latter issue is discussed to some extent in the book.8 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Fast; light cavalry tank.By Stone DogIn another Osprey title by Steven Zaloga; BT FAST TANK chronicles one of the Red Army's staple armored vehicles in the 1930's and early WWII period.Zaloga first begins with the genesis on the BT series tanks in the Soviet shell corporation Amtorg which trolled the West for military and industrial technology it could acquire or steal...or in the case of Christie; an unscrupulous inventor who had no problem knowingly selling military technology to a pariah state that had already murdered millions of innocent people.The Christie tank formed the basis for the BT; but the Soviets would develop the BT into an effective light and fast tank in fits and starts. One designer/engineer was under arrest during the purges; people were shot; there were the usual inefficiencies in communist systems. Even so; the Soviets developed new engines; developed new turret styles as well as an effective 45mm main gun. Zaloga does a good job of showing the progression of improved models and their salient features.He does a fairly good; but all too brief; job of giving the reader a summary of the BT's combat history. He even includes important early combat both in the Spanish Civil War and against the Japanese in Manchuria as well as in Finland and the Polish walkover before getting to the catastrophe in 1941. It's only here that the book stumbles a bit. No first-person accounts or accounts of battle at the tactical level with the exception of a poorly executed attack in Spain.Basically; it's the usual Zaloga work: thorough in technical details; good on the big picture; but somewhat dry and lacking in examples of combat. All the usual Osprey color plates; period photos and line drawings. Four stars.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Zaloga is thorough and excellent; as alwaysBy Lord Haw HawExcellent book by Zaloga; one of the world's foremost military historians who is still alive. Covers the under-appreciated BT series of 'fast' cavalry tanks developed by the Soviets in a time where motorization and the use of mass armored attacks was blossoming. Great tech and historical detail; which is the norm with most of Zaloga's works. A must-have for fans of the USSR in WW2 as well as gamers and modelers.
