Book of the Month for May: Stalingrad
by Antony Beevor
Cost: About $21 from Borders
Amazon
Review:
Hitler made two fundamental and crippling mistakes during the
Second World War. The first was his whimsical belief that the
United Kingdom would eventually become his ally, which delayed his
decision to launch a major invasion of Britain, whose army was
unprepared for the force of blitzkrieg warfare. The second was the
ill-conceived Operation Barbarossa--an invasion of Russia that was
supposed to take the German army to the gates of Moscow. Antony
Beevor's thoughtfully researched compendium recalls this epic
struggle for Stalingrad. No-one, least of all the Germans, could
foretell the deep well of Soviet resolve that would become the
foundation of the Red Army; Russia, the Germans believed, would
fall as swiftly as France and Poland. The ill-prepared Nazi forces
were trapped in a bloody war of attrition against the Russian
behemoth, which held them in the pit of Stalingrad for nearly two
years. Beevor points out that the Russians were by no means ready
for the war either, making their stand even more remarkable; Soviet
intelligence spent as much time spying on its own forces--in fear
of desertion, treachery and incompetence--as they did on the Nazis.
Due attention is also given to the points of view of the soldiers
and generals of both forces, from the sickening battles to life in
the gulags.
Many believe Stalingrad to be the turning point of the war. The
Nazi war machine proved to be fallible as it spread itself too thin
for a cause that was born more from arrogance than practicality.
The Germans never recovered, and its weakened defences were no
match for the Allied invasion of 1944. We know little of what took
place in Stalingrad or its overall significance, leading Beevor to
humbly admit that "[t]he Battle of Stalingrad remains such an
ideologically charged and symbolically important subject that the
last word will not be heard for many years". This is true. But this
gripping account should become the standard work against which all
others should measure themselves. --Jeremy Storey
