Stalingrad: How the Red Army Triumphed Pen & Sword Military: Amazon.co.uk: Michael K. Jones: Books

Frequently Bought Together

+

+

Price For All Three: �28.01

Show availability and shipping details

This item: Stalingrad: How the Red Army Triumphed (Pen & Sword Military) by Michael K. Jones
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Victory at Stalingrad by Geoffrey Roberts
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
Stalingrad by Antony Beevor
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Victory at Stalingrad

by Geoffrey Roberts

5.0 out of 5 stars (3) �6.99

D-Day: The Battle for Normandy

by Antony Beevor

4.2 out of 5 stars (64) �12.49

Stalingrad [2005] [DVD]

�9.98

Stalingrad

by Antony Beevor

4.8 out of 5 stars (11) �6.03

Leningrad: State of Siege

by Michael Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars (3) �6.99

› Explore similar items

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

(What is this?)

Military OneSource

www.MilitaryOneSource.com Available 24/7 for all your needs! You name it. We can help.

Search Military Records

www.ancestry.co.uk/Military Full access to WW1 & WW2 Records Subscribe Today & start searching!

Sussex Swords.

sussexswords.com British Military Sword Sales, Sword Refurbishment and Accoutrements

Product Description

Book Description
Michael K. Jones's new history of Stalingrad offers a radical
reinterpretation of the most famous battle of the Second World War. His
compelling account combines eyewitness testimony of Red Army fighters with
fresh archive material to give a dramatic insight into the thinking of the
Russian command and the mood of the ordinary soldiers. He focuses on the
story of the Russian 62nd Army, which began the campaign in utter
demoralisation, yet turned the tables on the powerful German 6th Army which
Hitler claimed could storm the gates of heaven itself. As he recounts the
course of the battle and seeks to explain the Red Army's extraordinary
performance, the author uses a novel approach - battle psychology,
emphasising the vital role of leadership, morale and motivation in a
triumph that turned the course of the war.
Former deputy commander of the Warsaw Pact, Colonel-General Anatoly
Mereshko fought throughout the battle as staff officer to the 62nd Army's
commander, Chuikov. As one of the principal surviving witnesses to events,
he has worked extensively with the author. Much of Mereshko's testimony is
entirely new - and will astonish a western audience. It is backed up by
accounts of other key veterans and the recently released war diary and
combat journals of the 62nd Army. These show that the oft-repeated
descriptions of Stalingrad's two critical days of fighting - 14 September
1942, when the Germans broke into the city, and 14 October, when they
launched a massive attack on the factory district - disguise how desperate
the plight of the defenders really was. In their place is a far more
terrifying reality. Grasping this, we come to see Stalingrad as more than a
victory of successful tactics - rather, as an astounding, improbable
triumph of the human spirit.

From the Publisher
`Michael Jones' book...represents a milestone in the treatment
of the battle.... Jones is able to zero in on the psychological state of
Red Army combatants and successfully determine just what motivated them to
fight and endure as they did in such extreme circumstances....The result is
highly effective and utterly captivating. Previous accounts have been
unable to fully convey the desperate ferocity of the battle. Now we see it
in all its horror - and better understand the courage of Stalingrad's
defenders. This is the finest history of its type published to date.'

David M. Glantz, from the Foreword

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

battlefield guide

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stirring account of what so many suffered and so few survived, 28 Nov 2007

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

At the outset, I feel obligated to acknowledge that I am unqualified to determine to what extent Michael J. Jones's and Antony Beevor's accounts of the Battle of Stalingrad are...and are not...accurate, nor have I read any of Beevor's books. The remarks that follow focus entirely on Jones's book and explain why I hold it in such high regard. Briefly, here are some facts that help to establish the context for the account that Jones provides. After Germany and the Axis powers invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 and advanced deep into Soviet territory, they suffered a series of defeats and failed in their drive to conquer Moscow. The United States had by then declared war on Germany and Hitler wanted to end the fighting on the Eastern Front or at least minimize it before the U.S. became deeply involved in the war in Europe.

Hitler was determined to invade and occupy Stalingrad because it was a major industrial city on the banks of the Volga River (a vital transport route between the Caspian Sea and northern Russia) and its capture would secure the left flank of the German armies as they advanced into the Caucasus with large oil deposits, desperately needed by the German army. Also, the city bore the name of Hitler's nemesis, Joseph Stalin, and capturing it would be an ideological and propaganda coup. Stalin also had an ideological and propaganda interest in defending the city but there were severe constraints in terms of time and resources. The Red Army, at this stage of the war, was less capable of highly mobile operations than was the German Army. Stalin's strategy was to have his troops engage in combat inside the city, an area that could be dominated by short-range small firearms and artillery rather than armored and mechanized tactics. The Battle of Stalingrad began in August of 1942 and continued until February of 1943. Estimates vary but most military historians agree that the combined casualties were at least 1.5 million and probably more. Jones examines the 65-day period during which the German forces began their siege of Stalingrad and took the battle into the city until the Russians launched a counter-offensive that eventually trapped and destroyed the German Sixth Army and other forces around the city.

There are several reasons why I think so highly of his book. Here are two. First, I was fascinated by the leadership style of Lieutenant-General Vasily Chuikov, Commander of the 62nd Russian Army. As Chuikov later wrote, "The most important thing I learnt on the banks of the Volga was to be impatient of blueprints. We constantly looked for new methods of organizing and conducting battle, starting from the precise conditions in which we were fighting." According to Jones, "Making a stand in such terrible conditions required absolute ruthlessness. Chuikov demanded the utmost of his men, insisting that they hold their lines come what may. It was a pitiless edge of steel behind Stalingrad's defenders."

Jones also quotes Anatoly Mereshko, a 20-year-old lieutenant, who served on the HQ staff of the 62nd Army, working directly under Chuikov. According to Mereshko, "Yuri Bondarev, in his film Hot Snow, did not hide the fact that one of his heroes, General Bessenov, was almost an exact prototype of Chuikov. The words he used when necessary to stop the German advance are virtually the same: `I allow no right of withdrawal. Not a step back! The present lines must be held to the last man. For everyone, without exception, there can b only one justification for leaving their position - death.'" Whenever necessary, Chuikov, could be - and was - merciless. But eventually under his leadership, the Russian forces prevailed.

Having already seen the film Enemy at the Gates, I was especially interested in what Jones shares in Chapter Eight concerning "The Birth of `Sniperism.'" In the film, the Russian sniper (Vassili Zaitsev portrayed by Jude Law) becomes involved in what amounts to an on-going duel with his German counterpart (Major K�nig portrayed by Ed Harris). Both in the film and in reality, the snipers are caught up in the Battle of Stalingrad but there are significant differences that Jones cites, notably Beevor's claim that Zaitsev originated "sniperism." Jones's research suggests that this "is a wonderful myth - but nevertheless propaganda rather than truth. Zaitsev was a skilful teacher [who served with distinction in the 1047th Regiment of Colonel Nikolai Batyuk's 284th Rifle Division, killing more than 200 German soldiers] but he did not initiate the sniper movement." Proper credit should be given to Alexander Kalentiev who served in the same regiment. Be that as it may, Jones provides a wealth of information about the "tough, self-reliant hunters" whose singular temperament and talents as snipers are juxtaposed with the massive forces of two great armies engaged in perhaps the bloodiest combat throughout the entire war.

When concluding his account, Jones quotes Mereshko's observation that "Stalingrad was a smithy for commanders and many of those who distinguished themselves in battle went on to lead armies in their own right." Today, many of those commanders are buried on the Mamaev Kurgan, the hill that dominated the battle for the city. Vasily Chuikov is buried there. "Somehow in the burning hell that was Stalingrad, Chuikov created an army able to withstand everything the Germans threw at it. Their heroic story has struggled hard to come to life, caught between the propagandist clich�s of the communist state - insinuating everyone at Stalingrad was heroic, and that the city would never have fallen to the enemy - and Western cynicism, which believes that Red Army heroism was only created at the barrel of a gun. Neither suffices. This terrible fight took Chuikov and his troops to the very limits of human endurance, and their testimony, now finally recovered, possesses a universal significance and power." In November of 1942, on and around Mamaev Kurgan, approximately 300,000 soldiers of the Wehrmacht, Axis allies, and Hilfswilligers were encircled and destroyed in a massive Soviet counter attack.

Even after reading this book, I find it incomprehensible that any of the Russian forces who defended Stalingrad and any of their opponents survived 65 days of being in the "burning hell" until finally, Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus surrendered on January 31, 1943, a day after he was promoted to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall by Adolf Hitler. I am grateful to Michael K. Jones for helping me to understand and appreciate "the universal significance and power" of what so many suffered and so few survived.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ground breaking new study, 17 May 2007

By	David Grummitt - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Few battles can have been so written about or, on the face of it, be as well known as the battle of Stalingrad. It is our ostensible familiarity with the events on the Volga in the autumn and winter of 1942 that makes this new book on the battle the more remarkable. Michael K. Jones, already recognised as one of the most innovative of current military historians from his work on the battles of Agincourt and Bosworth, had applied his fascination with `battle physcology' to understand how the Red Army overcame incredible odds to turn the tide of the war on the Eastern Front. The author has used new testimony from Red Army veterans, particularly Anatoly Mereshko, an officer on the staff of the Soviet commander, Chuikov, to draw a very different picture of the battle, one in which the position of the 62nd Army (the defenders of the city upon whom the battle concentrates) was even more desperate than has previously been thought. Jones' ability to cut through the Soviet rhetoric and bring out the authentic voice of Stalingrad's defenders, and what motivated them to perform acts of superhuman courage and determination, makes for compelling history. Key points in the battle - the defence of `Pavlov's House', the German assault of mid-October, and the development of the sniper movement among the defenders - are reinterpreted in the face of this new evidence. This is not just another book on Stalingrad: it rewrites the story of the battle and the picture that emerges is even more extraordinary than the one with which we are familiar. This is military history at its best: innovative, original and highly readable.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A staggeringly good read, 13 May 2007

By	A. J. Dinsdale "James Dinsdale" (Bedfordshire, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a defining book that opens up a whole new way of considering that awful conflict in the East: From the individual Russian soldiers point of view, first hand, on the ground, from the source and without communist rhetoric or dubious translation. It is sure to become a classic.

Professor Richard Homes was once the master of telling the story of the ordinary soldier at war, the baton has clearly now been passed to Michael K Jones. Jones takes this type of narrative prose to an all new level having been able to obtain accounts from veterans whilst actually touring the battlefield with them and having access to both their private papers and actual contemporary combat records.

The book sets the scene for the overall conflict then comprehensively takes us through the battle detailing all the key events. The details of the 14 September and 14 October when the Red Army all but collapsed are chilling. The narrative is compulsive; Jones clearly knows the terrain like the back of his hand so that you get a real sense of being there. The pictures from the battlefield as it is today are somehow unnerving as they draw the whole story into reality. The book is not over long and wont be half read and left on a shelf.

Just how Jones managed to get access to so many veterans to tell their stories is a mystery to me. How do you get an ageing ex Deputy Commander of the Warsaw Pact or a revered War Poet to meet you and travel with you?

This book sets the standard and is a comprehensive work, I hope Jones will be able to bring his unique approach to the other major areas of the War in the East, hopefully this book will be the first in a series.

Any chance of Kharkov, Sevastopol or Leningrad?

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 3 customer reviews...

Listmania!

Sleeping Sensations: A list by Pillowtail "The Squirrel"
BEST WAR FILMS EVER: A list by "fredtomlin88"
War Heaven: A list by Roman Ilyushenko

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Books > History > Military History > Wars, Battles & Campaigns
Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Battles & Campaigns
Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Countries > Europe
Books > History > World History > World War II 1939-1945 > Countries > Russia
Books > Home & Garden > Animal Care & Pets

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.

The Body Shop

Protect and boost your glow with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost.

›Shop The Body Shop

Make A Wish

Make sure you always get what you want with an Amazon.co.uk Wish List.

›More info on Wish Lists

Up to 53% off Braun Series Shavers

Braun Series 3 390cc Clean & Renew System Rechargeable Foil Electric Shaver

Get in touch with your smooth side with Braun Series shavers, now with Gillette blade technology.

›Discover Braun Series at Amazon.co.uk

Treat Someone

With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

	62% buy the item featured on this page: Stalingrad: How the Red Army Triumphed (Pen & Sword Military) 5.0 out of 5 stars (3) �14.99
	14% buy Stalingrad 4.8 out of 5 stars (11) �6.03
	10% buy Leningrad: State of Siege 5.0 out of 5 stars (3) �6.99
	9% buy D-Day: The Battle for Normandy 4.2 out of 5 stars (64) �12.49


Amazon Home

International Sites: United States \| Germany \| France \| Japan \| Canada \| China

Business Programs: Sell on Amazon \| Fulfilment by Amazon \| Join Associates \| Join Advantage

Customer Service \| Help \| View Basket \| Your Account

About Amazon.co.uk \| Careers at Amazon

Stalingrad: How the Red Army Triumphed (Pen & Sword Military) (Hardcover)

Frequently Bought Together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Product details

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

Product Description

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Customer Reviews

Customer Discussions

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Listmania!

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

The Body Shop

Make A Wish

Up to 53% off Braun Series Shavers

Treat Someone

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History