The encirclement of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad in mid-November 1942 and its final collapse in February 1943 was a signature defeat for Hitler; as more than 100;000 of his soldiers were marched off into captivity. Frank Ellis tackles this oft-told tale from the unique perspective of the German officers and men trapped inside the Red Army's ever-closing ring of forces. This approach makes palpable the growing desperation of an army that began its campaign confident of victory but that long before the end could see how hopeless their situation had become. Highlighting these pages are three previously unpublished German army division accounts; translated here for the first time by Ellis. Each of these translations follows the combat experiences of a specific division—the 76th Infantry; the 94th Infantry; and the 16th Panzer—and take readers into the cauldron (or Kessel) that was Stalingrad. Together they provide a ground-level view of the horrific fighting and yield insights into everything from tactics and weapons to internal disputes; the debilitating effects of extreme cold and hunger; and the Germans' astonishing sense of duty and the abilities of their junior leaders. Along with these first-hand accounts; Ellis himself takes a new and closer look at a number of fascinating but somewhat neglected or misunderstood aspects of the Stalingrad cauldron including sniping; desertion; spying; and the fate of German prisoners. His coverage of sniping is especially notable for new insights concerning the duel that allegedly took place between Soviet sniper Vasilii Zaitsev and a German sniper; Major Konings; a story told in the film Enemy at the Gates (2001). Ellis also includes an incisive reading of Oberst Arthur Boje's published account of his capture; interrogation; and conviction for war crimes; and explores the theme of reconciliation in the works of two Stalingrad veterans; Kurt Reuber and Vasilii Grossman. Rich in anecdotal detail and revealing moments; Ellis's historical mosaic showcases an army that managed to display a vital resilience and professionalism in the face of inevitable defeat brought on by its leaders. It makes for compelling reading for anyone interested in one of the Eastern Front's monumental battles.
#436636 in Books University Press of Kansas 2006-11-16Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.20 x 1.41 x 6.36l; 1.83 #File Name: 0700614656462 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Another Case of Soviet Historical Omission UnveiledBy R. A ForczykIn Red Storm over the Balkans (2007); renowned East Front historian David M. Glantz sheds valuable light on the heretofore virtually unknown Soviet offensives into northern Romania in April-June 1944. For decades now; Mr. Glantz has been unearthing important new historical details from Soviet-era archives and bringing new perspectives to our understanding of the Russo-German conflict; this book adds to that contribution. As with many of Mr. Glantz’s books; Red Storm over the Balkans is written for those with a deep interest in military history; not casual readers unfamiliar with the War in the East. Readers expecting an American Sniper-style first person account should turn to Stephen Ambrose or others of his ilk (I only include this remark because a fair number of readers seem to be shocked when military history does not read like a film script). I opened this book with some unease since some of the author’s recent books have not been as well organized as his earlier works; but was surprised to see that this is one of the best books he has produced since it is tightly focused on a relatively small battle area. Overall; Red Storm over the Balkans is a valuable addition to any East Front library. Red Storm over the Balkans consists of nine chapters; arranged chronologically. The book includes ten tables; including orders of battle for the periods between 1 April and 1 June 1944; as well as 32 maps. The first two chapters deal with the campaign in the Ukraine during December 1943 – April 1944 and Soviet planning in regard to the invasion of Romania. The Soviet invasion was spearheaded by Ivan Konev’s 2nd Ukrainian Front and Rodion Malinovsky’s 3rd Ukrainian Front; against the German 6th and 8th Armies. In essence; the Germans were defeated in the Ukraine and fell back across the Dniester River into Romania; the Soviets hoped to bounce the river and capture Romania before the Axis could establish a new frontline. However; the German-Romanian forces were able to mount a surprisingly strong defense around the obscure town of Tirgu Fromos in northern Romania. Konev’s offensive was stopped cold in April 1944 and Malinovsky achieved little; which brought the Soviet advance to a temporary halt. The author does a great job laying out the operations of both sides and there is great drama in watching the German defensive success against the odds. Eventually; the Soviets brought up more forces and overwhelmed the Axis defense by June 1944; which ended up knocking Romania out of the Axis camp; but the initial setbacks were so humiliating that Soviet post-war historians obliterated this entire campaign from their version of the Great Patriotic War. Red Storm over the Balkans offers an insightful look at an important campaign that was deliberately concealed by decades of Soviet white-washing. Thanks to Mr. Glantz’s dogged and erudite research; we can now see the significance of this campaign which helps us to better interpret the events of 1944 on the Eastern Front. Overall; Red Storm over the Balkans is a solid; insightful and rewarding piece of military historical writing.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Another Glantz's masterpiece about a little known WWII battleBy Carrosio RobertoWho knows David Glantz ; knows already which kind of marvellous books ; he is getting used to write; for who doesn't know him; I can say that this book is a complete research book based on both sides of the story; absolutely fully documented and based on first hand accounts.The story is about the failed Soviet invasion of Romania (and of the Balkans) on Spring 1944.The Soviets were coming after 9 months of continuos successful offensives (after the battle of Kursk) and they were thinking to be unstoppable; so the Stavka chose the 2nd and the 3rd Ukrainian Fronts to invade Romania and after; all the Balkans.Instead ; they failed with huge losses.As usual ; the history is written by the winners and this offensive has been cancelled in the "official history"; and as usual; David Glantz; using a lot of unknown diaries and documents; reconstruct the real development of the actions of both sides; writing another page of true deep history.Wonderful!2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. I expected a better bookBy F. Carol SabinDefinetely this is not one of the best book of Glantz. There are several reasons for this failure.At first glance the title is somehow deceiving ("Red storm over Balkans"); but we recovered when reading the subtitle ("the failed soviet invasion of Romania"). Since The Balkans countries are those teritories south of Danube; the correct title; according to the content; should be the subtitle.Despite the claim of being a "forgotten battle"; the truth is far from that; the battles discussed were well known; for example; in Romania.After a short introduction the author focused in the next chapters on different battles and encounters between Soviet and GermanRomanian forces in Romania during april-may-june 1944 (including the then provence of Moldova).Speaking about romanian forces; apart from quoting Axworthy's book; the readers will not find any other romanian books to serve as documentation. Too bad for Glantz who is well known for his scrupulous research and from different sources.The russian offensives and german/romanian defence operations are well described; but we deal a lot with a huge details about units/subunits or long tables.As usual we can find a lot of photos with soviet troops/commanders; probably this is price for researching freely the russian archives.Concerning the maps they are satisfactory and help orient the reader about different locations depicted in the book.If you jump to the conclusions - which are good - you can save some time. Otherwise your patience is tested; the text being at the upper part of not being readable.
